Cairo, Egypt
I am going to be moving my blog to http://liznugent.blogspot.com. Please check for updates there!
Best,
Liz
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Visiting London
Cairo, Egypt
This weekend, I was fortunate to escape the heat of Cairo for a few days and traveled to London. I spent the weekend with my friend Sebastian and was able to meet up with my cousin Peter who has been working in London for the past few years. It was a really great weekend and I'll have my pictures posted within the next few days (we're still stealing internet from a neighbor...) Riding on London's clean and fully functioning subway system and experiencing respect for traffic laws (i.e. stopping for pedestrians) really made me miss home.
However, I am excited to be back in Cairo. Although my roommates disagree, I contend that the weather is starting to cool down; perhaps I have developed a skill for being able to tell the difference between 96 and 95 degrees. I am also getting into a schedule of balancing my language classes and work at STC, which should keep me quite busy during the week. Tomorrow is the first day of full classes, which should be a rude awakening of how little I've used my Arabic since I graduated!
Best,
Liz
This weekend, I was fortunate to escape the heat of Cairo for a few days and traveled to London. I spent the weekend with my friend Sebastian and was able to meet up with my cousin Peter who has been working in London for the past few years. It was a really great weekend and I'll have my pictures posted within the next few days (we're still stealing internet from a neighbor...) Riding on London's clean and fully functioning subway system and experiencing respect for traffic laws (i.e. stopping for pedestrians) really made me miss home.
However, I am excited to be back in Cairo. Although my roommates disagree, I contend that the weather is starting to cool down; perhaps I have developed a skill for being able to tell the difference between 96 and 95 degrees. I am also getting into a schedule of balancing my language classes and work at STC, which should keep me quite busy during the week. Tomorrow is the first day of full classes, which should be a rude awakening of how little I've used my Arabic since I graduated!
Best,
Liz
Monday, August 27, 2007
Starting up with Save the Children
Cairo, Egypt
For the Communications department, I will be doing some of the PR side of it - the flashy brochures and booklets that also get sent out to sponsors as well as people within the international development community and potential sponsors. This includes the pictures, and collecting the information. Some of the information comes from the finance department, but I will have the opportunity to go out into the field and do some case study work - looking at a specific child or family, taking information their conditions prior to the implementation of a certain program, how a certain program positively influenced their life or did nothing (although that's not something that we would write about in a PR publication!), and then talk about the changes and interview the child or family to get their personal account of the experience.
Today was a busy day! I officially started at Save the Children and spent most of the morning reading executive summaries of STC's programs in Minya. Last week I met with Patrick Crump, the STC country director for Egypt, as well as Amira and Amina, with whom I will be working closely. I have two major responsibilities. First, in the Information department, I will be helping with communication with sponsors. STC operates with funding from both one-to-one sponsors (a person/family 'adopts' a child and pays directly for them) and ambassador sponsors (where many people sponsor one child). There is a professional part of STC that does the letter writing with the children, but I will be working on the mass mailings that go out to ambassador sponsors and other NGO workers, diplomats, and important figures in the Middle Eastern development community.
For the Communications department, I will be doing some of the PR side of it - the flashy brochures and booklets that also get sent out to sponsors as well as people within the international development community and potential sponsors. This includes the pictures, and collecting the information. Some of the information comes from the finance department, but I will have the opportunity to go out into the field and do some case study work - looking at a specific child or family, taking information their conditions prior to the implementation of a certain program, how a certain program positively influenced their life or did nothing (although that's not something that we would write about in a PR publication!), and then talk about the changes and interview the child or family to get their personal account of the experience.
STC also just opened a completely new program in a new location! Minya has had alot of positive change over the last 20 years, and so they've taken on a completely new area in Assuit, about an hour and a half further south than Minya. Patrick said there will be alot of opportunities for me to do case studies there, and mentioned that the last intern was able to accompany them to Minya and yesterday went with them to visit children's clinics in Cairo. I am really excited, and it seems that if I stay motivated and ask questions I will have alot of great opportunities! It seems to be a great time to be at STC because it is the 75th anniversary of STC globally and the 25th anniversary of STC operations in Egypt, and many events and new programs are happening to celebrate those achivements.
Tonight, I had dinner with Stephen Hanchey, the country director for AMIDEAST, after being invited along by Deena Shakir, a senior at Harvard here researching the impact of western NGOs on education reform in Egypt (and who I met during my study abroad - what a great group of friends!). We ate at La Bodega on 26th of July and had great conversations about Egypt, its shortcomings and its potentials. All in all, a great night with great people!
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
In Cairo!
Cairo, Egypt
I just got back from a great dinner with some friends and wanted to let you all know I'm doing well getting settled here in Cairo! I had dinner at Naguib Mahfouz Cafe in Khan el-Khalili with 3 friends who studied abroad with me during the summer of 2005. It is interesting to see how many of my fellow study abroad-ers are still in the Middle East and trying to make a positive impact on and lasting change in the region. These 3 friends are in Cairo - doing research on education reform, getting a Master's in Middle Eastern Studies, and training for a Dubai-based financial institute - another is in Bahrain, and 3 more are on Fulbrights to Morocco and Syria. It's nice to run into the same faces - and quite interesting that so many are having such positive impacts on the Middle East politically, economically, and diplomatically.
I found an apartment in Zamalek in a great location near a number of markets and am putting the finishing touches on my room. I'm living with Yashreeka, a fellow Hoya, and Kristen, another Fulbrighter who is a journalist and works for the Washington Times. During this upcoming week, I'll be starting my work with STC and need to wrap up a few loose ends with opening a bank account and taking a quick exam for placement in my Egyptian Colloquial class.
All in all, I am so happy to be back in Cairo. It's busy and dirty, but it's such an interesting place with tangible effects of being at the crossroads of the world in so many aspects. I can't wait to get started with my Fulbright project!
Best,
Liz
I just got back from a great dinner with some friends and wanted to let you all know I'm doing well getting settled here in Cairo! I had dinner at Naguib Mahfouz Cafe in Khan el-Khalili with 3 friends who studied abroad with me during the summer of 2005. It is interesting to see how many of my fellow study abroad-ers are still in the Middle East and trying to make a positive impact on and lasting change in the region. These 3 friends are in Cairo - doing research on education reform, getting a Master's in Middle Eastern Studies, and training for a Dubai-based financial institute - another is in Bahrain, and 3 more are on Fulbrights to Morocco and Syria. It's nice to run into the same faces - and quite interesting that so many are having such positive impacts on the Middle East politically, economically, and diplomatically.
I found an apartment in Zamalek in a great location near a number of markets and am putting the finishing touches on my room. I'm living with Yashreeka, a fellow Hoya, and Kristen, another Fulbrighter who is a journalist and works for the Washington Times. During this upcoming week, I'll be starting my work with STC and need to wrap up a few loose ends with opening a bank account and taking a quick exam for placement in my Egyptian Colloquial class.
All in all, I am so happy to be back in Cairo. It's busy and dirty, but it's such an interesting place with tangible effects of being at the crossroads of the world in so many aspects. I can't wait to get started with my Fulbright project!
Best,
Liz
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Less than a month to go!
Saint Louis, Missouri
Hi again -
I was finally given my flight information, and I'll be in Cairo starting August 16th. I'm very excited to finally be there and working on my project, an idea that began over a year ago! As promised, here is more information about my Fulbright project.
First, I am taking Arabic language classes at the American University in Cairo's Arabic Language Institute. Even though I spent 4 years as an Arabic major during my undergrad time at Georgetown, there is still alot I can learn about the Arabic language. Arabic is different from English because, for example, there are two main types, a formal Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or foosha) and dialect Arabic (ameeya). I'm not positive how many different dialects there are in the Arab world, but the language varies by country and region. Taybat, a woman I work with at Barnes-Jewish Hospital's Refugee Health Services, speaks over 20 different dialects! I have spent most of my time studying MSA, which is used in the news and for formal documents, and so I'll be adding more Egyptian dialect study to my experience during my previous summer abroad. Egyptian Arabic is a great dialect to know; a large number of Arabic-speakers understand it because many movies are filmed in this dialect.
Second (and the part I'm most excited about!), I am working for Save the Children (STC). It will be both an intensive language experience (except for the country director, who is American, the entire office speaks Arabic, and the documents I'm required to review are also in Arabic!) and a great program development opportunity. I will be working in the Information and Communication Unit, which is responsible for documenting and evaluating programs, designing public relations materials in Arabic and English, and supporting correspondence with STC's sponsors. STC's main impact area is in the villages of the Minya Governate, a few hours outside of Cairo, so I'll be spending some time there in addition to STC's office and youth programs in downtown Cairo. If you're curious about STC's mission and programs in Egypt, follow the link on the side of the page to their website. I'm particularly excited to be working with STC because their programs have been very successful in so many different countries and political, economic, and humanitarian circumstances. They have a keen sense of local sensitivities and have been able to implement healthcare and youth programs in a positive and effective manner.
That's all for now, and my next update will probably come from Cairo!
Best,
Liz
Hi again -
I was finally given my flight information, and I'll be in Cairo starting August 16th. I'm very excited to finally be there and working on my project, an idea that began over a year ago! As promised, here is more information about my Fulbright project.
First, I am taking Arabic language classes at the American University in Cairo's Arabic Language Institute. Even though I spent 4 years as an Arabic major during my undergrad time at Georgetown, there is still alot I can learn about the Arabic language. Arabic is different from English because, for example, there are two main types, a formal Arabic (Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) or foosha) and dialect Arabic (ameeya). I'm not positive how many different dialects there are in the Arab world, but the language varies by country and region. Taybat, a woman I work with at Barnes-Jewish Hospital's Refugee Health Services, speaks over 20 different dialects! I have spent most of my time studying MSA, which is used in the news and for formal documents, and so I'll be adding more Egyptian dialect study to my experience during my previous summer abroad. Egyptian Arabic is a great dialect to know; a large number of Arabic-speakers understand it because many movies are filmed in this dialect.
Second (and the part I'm most excited about!), I am working for Save the Children (STC). It will be both an intensive language experience (except for the country director, who is American, the entire office speaks Arabic, and the documents I'm required to review are also in Arabic!) and a great program development opportunity. I will be working in the Information and Communication Unit, which is responsible for documenting and evaluating programs, designing public relations materials in Arabic and English, and supporting correspondence with STC's sponsors. STC's main impact area is in the villages of the Minya Governate, a few hours outside of Cairo, so I'll be spending some time there in addition to STC's office and youth programs in downtown Cairo. If you're curious about STC's mission and programs in Egypt, follow the link on the side of the page to their website. I'm particularly excited to be working with STC because their programs have been very successful in so many different countries and political, economic, and humanitarian circumstances. They have a keen sense of local sensitivities and have been able to implement healthcare and youth programs in a positive and effective manner.
That's all for now, and my next update will probably come from Cairo!
Best,
Liz
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Up and running
Saint Louis, Missouri
Hi all -
I don't leave for Cairo for another month, but I wanted to get this up and running before then. I've set up this blog to use for the next year both to keep in touch with everyone back home and my friends around the world, and also to give you all a better idea of what I'm doing.
The Fulbright commission encourages us grantees to serve as cultural ambassadors for the United States. I've taken this to mean that I need to educate the people I meet in Egypt about the US, but more importantly I need to educate Americans about what I learn in Egypt. I think increasing knowledge and understanding of the Middle East region is the most important - and the easiest - step in solving the problems facing the US and the global community today, and I hope you'll spend some time on my blog reading my posts and visiting my links.
I will be updating throughout the week with more information about my plan of work and study in Cairo.
Best,
Liz
Hi all -
I don't leave for Cairo for another month, but I wanted to get this up and running before then. I've set up this blog to use for the next year both to keep in touch with everyone back home and my friends around the world, and also to give you all a better idea of what I'm doing.
The Fulbright commission encourages us grantees to serve as cultural ambassadors for the United States. I've taken this to mean that I need to educate the people I meet in Egypt about the US, but more importantly I need to educate Americans about what I learn in Egypt. I think increasing knowledge and understanding of the Middle East region is the most important - and the easiest - step in solving the problems facing the US and the global community today, and I hope you'll spend some time on my blog reading my posts and visiting my links.
I will be updating throughout the week with more information about my plan of work and study in Cairo.
Best,
Liz
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