D-Day and Daily Life...

Yesterday was Decision Day. The past couple weeks have been building up to this with much anxiety, flip-flopping, and emailing. To the surprise of many, myself included, I have chosen to attend Harvard Divinity School in the fall. From the outset of this process, I was set on Chicago, but as I began to consider myself in each of these two places, Harvard seemed like the right choice. This means turning down the most prestigious Div School in the country, as well as financial aid, the prospect of a relatively easy transition to a PhD program (Chicago keeps many of its MA students on for PhDs; Harvard does not), and a more intimate program size. On the other hand, Harvard's resources and faculty in my field are unmatched, and this is ultimately what won out. I'm also excited to live in Boston, as well as spend more time with the Mass. fam. (And not all together sad to be turning down the city of larger bus seats and smaller backpacks [Meg!].)

Making this decision from halfway around the world has been a surreal experience and I suspect that it won't feel real until I arrive back in the States. Nonetheless, I'm relieved to have it sorted out and looking forward to the future.

Despite my preoccupation with all of this, daily life in Cairo continues. Classes resumed at the beginning of the month and I am now studying both Egyptian Colloquial (amaya) and Modern Standard Arabic (fusha). The amaya is great; the fusha is difficult, but more important for me in the long run. I feel as though I'm learning a lot, but it's clear that it will take years of study to be competent. My flat has changed around this month and there is now a Brit, a Swiss, and an Italian joining my Swedish friend and me. They are all a lot of fun.

I went for my 1st run outside this week! There's a fancy sporting club nearby that draws the richest of the rich in Cairo for swimming, soccer, horseback-riding, etc.--but for about 25 cents, one can enter around the back and go for a run on the bridal path, which is about 2km around. My British flatmate runs there a lot and I joined him one morning around 7am (the early hour required because of the heat and the fact that I wanted to wear shorts and thus needed to avoid the crowds). I was heckled by some small boys, but it was otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable run.

Time for homework, but stay tuned for more on Cultural Cairo in the next post...