Because I Believed in Me (My Egyptian Fantasy Came True)

INTRODUCTION Reflections Before I Begin My Love Story of Egypt How and where do I begin to tell the story of my brief life in Egypt, the ancient land of pharaohs and incredible pyramids---called Misr by Egyptians, meaning Mother of the World? Since my first visit to Egypt in July 1996, I have always had a hidden passion for Egypt and for its amazing ancient treasures and antiquities but also for the spirit of the Egyptian people. I have been fortunate to have traveled to a total of forty-nine countries so far, but my first love after my own wonderful home of the United States has become Egypt. In the early spring of 2011 I met a Facebook friend who informed me about an English training center called SYE (Spread Your English) that he was organizing, and he invited me to come to teach at his school. I had retired from teaching high school English in Georgia in May 2008 and missed teaching very much so the thought of teaching again and in a country I admired so much became extremely appealing to me. At first it was just a passing thought, but then it became a dream and finally in November of 2011, a reality. On November 3, I boarded my first flight to Cairo, and the grandest and most spectacular adventure of my life began. I really had no idea what was ahead of me. I just knew in my heart that I was meant to do this. Despite the serious and sometimes unpleasant concerns of family and friends about going to a country that was still not completely stable because of a recent revolution and no permanent government in place yet, I felt as if this teaching experience was something God also wanted me to do. It was my greatest desire to do something to help Egyptian students in some small way to become more fluent in English and possibly to help them find international jobs. Little did I know at this time that my expectations and hopes would far exceed my wildest imaginations and that I would achieve this during a second revolution that would begin shortly after my arrival. The next three months of my life would not be easy, would be very busy, often very tiring and sometimes upsetting and sad, but never boring or dull. The exciting and interesting things I experienced and the people with whom I would meet and share my life and time will be implanted in my heart and memories forever. This American woman would have to learn to become an Egyptian woman in order to survive in a country where she did not speak Arabic and did not always understand the culture of its people, but somehow I knew I would find a way. My favorite word in the English language is BELIEVE. I have always BELIEVED that if I wanted something badly enough and worked hard to achieve it, I could do whatever I wanted. This important lesson was instilled into my mind and heart by my beloved mother all of my life. I hope you the reader will enjoy and share my unique experiences and life in my beloved Egypt through my thoughts, my feelings, my adventures, my joy and sadness, but most importantly through my love for this amazing land called Egypt. It is also my prayer that after seeing Muslims and Arabs through the eyes of an ordinary American citizen, that hopefully you will begin to question many of the government and media propaganda and indoctrination we are exposed to every day on television, movies, newspapers, and magazines. I want my readers, especially my fellow Americans, to open your eyes and your hearts and to become more open-minded to a culture, to a people, and to a faith that many of us Americans and other non-Muslim/non-Arabs do not truly understand. I was able to do this, and what I have learned has truly changed my life and viewpoints forever. El hamdullah (Thank God)