Noah and Marie in Egypt
The sun was burning, the sky was blue and the wind was completely still when we arrived in Cairo on august 18. We were picked up by a chauffeur who didn’t speak a single word of english and had to trust that he drove us to the correct building. Away we went through the busy traffic going a 100 km/h swinging in and out between cars feeling more like slalom that driving a highly trafficked road. That is how they drive in Egypt, but now we have learned enough arab to communicate with cabdrivers.
Noah and I went to Egypt two month after graduating Rysensteen and almost a year after last visiting Cairo on our GCP trip. This time we have to spend two months rather than 10 days and working at Dr. Nermien Ismail School Rysensteen’s partner school in Cairo.
We have a scheduled day, where Noah assists the societal studies teacher with teaching and grading and he himself sometimes teaches the graduating class in political sciences. I work at ”the academic dean’s” office and teach cultural understanding and dialogue. It took us some time to fit in at our new jobs, the school environment here is very different with students running in and out of the principal’s office, constant yelling in arab and it was hard to figure out who did what. Sometimes it can look more like a busy market in Khan Al-Khalili, rather that an office at a school for the upperclass of Egypt.
We spend our spare time with the young Egyptians we met on our GCP trip last year. It was a happy reunion getting together with our hosts from last year and it has evolved into strong friendships which illuminate both the cultural differences but even more the countless similarities between globalised youngsters.
Rysensteen’s GCP-program prepared us for a 10 days cultural meeting, but in our case it has given us a unique opportunity to dive into another culture with a handfull of qualifications which makes it possible to adapt to a culture, make long lasting relations and functioning in a professional environment.
Best Regards
Noah & Marie
