My Holiday in Germany

 After a crazy end to my first semester of graduate school I was more than excited to get to Germany for a month of holiday. It was definitely a relaxing and amazing break and I enjoyed seeing new places such as Bamberg, Dusseldorf, and Cologne! Germany has stolen a bit of my heart, I'm afraid, with it's beautiful landscape and history. I can't wait to go back, for several obvious reasons, to explore more of this country. Below I've posted some of my favorite pictures from the trip--enjoy!

A day at Tubingen with Seb and his sweet mom! The town was post-card perfect and it was so relaxing to walk around during the crisp weather. There were still some lights up from the Christmas markets!

Right before we went for a sweet treat. I believe this is the Neckar river--the village holds boat races here when there's warm weather. It was quite nice just to walk by the river, talk about nothing, and enjoy the scenery (and building anticipation for "lunch"). 

Black forest cherry cake! There were only a few bites left after I massacred the heavenly treat.

*Hermine's (Seb's grandmother) apple strudel would beat this any day!*

Prost! We made approximately 180 jello shots for Silvester (New Years Eve in Germany). They proved to be extremely tasty...and potent, which is why I shall not post more pictures of that night. Ahem.  

Having some G&T's in Munich with two of the sweetest girls. Although my time in Munich was a little rainy it was still a really nice city. Can't wait to see them again this summer!

At the famous Hofbrauhaus in Munich enjoying my pretzel and trying to drink my half liter of Radler. Thankfully I had some help finishing it all! ;) The atmosphere was just as you would expect--lots of cute lederhosen, long tables with strangers sitting beside one another, and massive quantities of beer. 

 I finally got to meet my friend Sina after four years of not seeing her! Staying with her family in Sprockhovel (an area near Dusseldorf) was so much hilarious fun! This day we went to Cologne to explore--here I'm standing in front of the city's most famous cathedral. Climbing the stairs to the top was quite challenging but the view was gorgeous and definitely worth it!

Apparently the random photographer thought the bicycle and lamp post would make nice additions to the photo. It was such a memorable and fun day!

A nice view of Cologne! A charming city but I still prefer the south of Germany. 

Possibly the funniest evening that I had with Sina! Her father, Thomas, decided to take us on an adventure so I could see "some art on a hill." After much skepticism we found ourselves at the base of a small mountain staring at a PYRAMID! We hiked numerous stairs made of mud and tree branches to get to the top, then meandered onto the  Tetraeder and found ourselves staring out at the foggy city. 

I was extremely pleased when I discovered the surprise artwork was actually a pyramid. Here is Sina and I standing in front of the structure before we barreled back down the mountain. As a side note, we got lost for several moments because none of us had a flashlight and couldn't remember which way we came since everything looked different in the dark! Thankfully we found our way and made it home just in time for a chicken curry dinner. 

 Wuppertal: The industrial city with the FLOATING TRAIN! It reminded me of the train from Harry Potter--however butter beer was not served and Ron Weasley was not on board. :(

My friend Kate, and her lovely boyfriend John, met up with us in Bamberg for some kasesspatzle after sightseeing for a day! She couldn't quite finish her meal so she had this humongous doggy bag to put the remnants in. 

 

 Bamberg is such a gorgeous and historic city! It's on the list of UNESCO's world heritage sites. The streets were so clean and all of the little shops and restaurants seemed so enticing. I can't wait to see it when the trees and flowers are blooming in the spring time!

I also got to meet Kate and John in Regensburg for a day--another city on the world heritage list! This town was also enchanting, especially because the Danube river flowed right through the middle (and there were several places with nice drink specials). I found this statue to be rather humorous, apparently no one can figure out its purpose but I thought the little guy was kind of charming. 

While we were frolicking in Regensburg John told us that images from popular bible stories had been painted on numerous buildings throughout the village during previous years. This is one of the only scenes left. 

Seb and I in Regensburg during our self guided tour--followed by chai tea lattes, beer, and cheesecake!

Article 19: Freedom of Expression

This has definitely been one of those “Cairo, you’re making me question my sanity” weeks. I normally wouldn’t consume a whole box of dates in two days or box of Digestives biscuits in one sitting but it seems that my stress levels have sky rocketed to something unfathomable.

I can usually handle the continual shouts and whistles from cars speeding by but I’ve felt so uneasy this week. Maybe it’s because of some papers regarding women’s rights in the MENA region or simply because of all the horror stories and articles I’ve had to read to prepare for them.

On Thursday I gave a presentation on sexual harassment in Egypt and was just appalled at the behavior and responses of many of my classmates—yes, even the women. While doing research on the topic I noticed  that sexual harassment is not specifically addressed or even defined in the Egyptian constitution *which will be reconstructed in the following year—who knows if women will even be able to participate when writing the constitution.* There are in fact only three articles *Yes, just THREE* that can be applied in cases of harassment. The articles pertain to insulting behavior, indecent behavior, and sexual assault. All of this information I found extremely frustrating and belittling, especially because Egypt ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)  in 1981.

It is so very obvious that these rules are not being implemented within society and I don’t think that many people in the classroom even knew about these articles beforehand. I understand that it can be hard to talk about this touchy subject in Egyptian culture, so humor may be involved to lighten the mood and make conversation a little more easy going. However, I found myself so frustrated that a few of the male students could not wrap their brains around what I, along with my professor and some foreign classmates, was trying to speak with them about. There were plenty of opportunities for all of the Egyptian students in the class to speak up and freely express their concern and experiences with this problem but some only joked about the matter or had only sexist things to say.

*Please take note however that there were a few among us, men included, that were really interested in the topic and asked fantastic questions concerning the implementation of certain policies and the current initiatives that are being created in Cairo to combat sexual harassment.*

If there is no respect in the classroom (a safe haven in the middle of Cairo where freedom of expression is allowed, for the most part) when discussing an issue such as sexual harassment then how is there going to be respect for women on the street? Is it okay for women to be groped and shoved in the Metro or when they are trying to assist protestors in Tahrir? Absolutely not.

On another hand, I am completely ready for December 8^th to arrive! One of my best friends, Jayanni, is coming from Tennessee to spend two weeks with me here! I’m REALLY looking forward to seeing her in the midst of this chaos—she’s always been my breath of fresh air. We’re planning on going to Alexandria, Luxor, and ALL of the sites in Cairo that I have not been able to see yet (there are too many to count)! Inshallah!

Also, I’m really looking forward to going to Filderstadt, Germany in just three weeks! I’m hoping that it will be beautiful there during Christmas and hopefully snow will be everywhere. I’ve been waiting for so long to go back—these next weeks will be almost unbearable!

A break from Cairo and all of its hustle and bustle is just what I need.

"You're a desert girl now."

Sometimes I go through these maddening stages where all I want to do is write. I have this lovely little journal that I purchased before I came to Cairo. I’ve written bits and thoughts of things that I’ve learned, heard, seen, or tasted. Sometimes I also find dessert (also DESERT) crumbs and varying colors of coffee stains that make a nice addition to the bare pages that I started to write on, which is quite humorous because that helps me to remember where I was and what I was doing on that day.

However, life has been a bit chaotic lately and I tend to get dates and times mixed up and frequently forget how to function properly on a day-to-day basis. Perhaps this means I am adapting quite well to Egyptian society? Let’s hope so. I have fortunately laid off of the shisha but have found other devices of self destruction, such as Haribo gummies in the shape of teeth and cinnamon porridge, to help my daily advances.

In the last few weeks I’ve experienced some rather interesting things, one topic concerning the outlook of AUC students and its female population in general I will have to save and elaborate more on during another blog.

Sandboarding.

This is definitely one of the best things that I have done in Egypt so far. After getting a late start and having to drive a bit longer than expected, which was perfectly fine due to the fun music and great company, I found myself in the middle of nowhere. In this case, the middle of nowhere looks like a mirage—nothing but desert sand and massive, beautiful dunes for miles. I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life. 

As my friend Angela and I were unloading the truck/trying to make ourselves look busy, the tour guides quickly gave directions to another party that came in a different caravan. They started climbing and slipping up to the top of the dune and slowly began to slide back down while sitting on their bottoms.  I then heard, “Whitney, yalla!”

I found myself clambering up the sandy dune and began to wish for death. It was outrageously hot and I felt like an injured mountain goat, or perhaps a rhinoceros, while making my way to the top. FINALLY I was able to reach the peak. It took longer than expected from immense amounts of laughing and buckets of sand in my socks and eyes. I stood up and tried to take everything in—the view was surreal. All I could see was the beautiful desert that at times looked an eerie shade of blue. The rays of the massive sun and the cool, salty wind teased my skin and hair. Goose bumps covered my body. It was a breathtakingly, gracious reminder of why I had fallen in love with Egypt. I was startled that this place had remained somewhat the same for thousands of years. I was lucky beyond belief to experience such a creation. 

I felt a nudge on my shoulder and realized I had to go down at some point. I decided to be a scaredy cat the first time and sat down as securely on the board as possible. It started moving through the sand so quickly and I completely forgot what I was supposed to do after leaving the top of the dune. Fortunately, I screamed my way down the dune and ended at the bottom without any battle wounds. The second trek to the top proved to be as successful and I actually managed to sand board without falling all of the way to the bottom of the hill! It was so invigorating and exciting! At this point I was exhausted and decided Angela and I needed nourishment.

After several peanut butter and strawberry sandwiches later, followed by apples, grapes, and popcorn, we continued to trek around the desert. I felt like I walked miles and miles in my bare feet as the day began to grow cooler. Before we knew it we had spent hours playing and the sun grew tired of our frenzied adventures. We marched for the last time up to the top of an untouched dune for the most beautiful sunset that I’ve ever seen. The sun didn’t look like a sun at all. It was so strange and pink, like a huge glowing candy ball without any rays beaming off of it. The setting sun was selfish and only stayed for a few moments before it melted into the horizon.