In the past week, I have been attempting to adjust to life in Egypt and the new campus of the American University in Cairo. There has been much running around getting logistical things taken care of such as extending my Visa, completing my housing payment, making sure I keep my stomach full so I have energy, and just trying to keep my mind clear and focused in preparation for the official beginning of the semester.
It seemed easy enough on paper, but it has been a hassle to try and get out and about in the city as well as spend time on campus dealing with the administration. Getting away from the campus is particularly difficult, not to mention expensive. The university offers bus passes for $300 US, which is quite pricey. I can do a lot with that amount and still be able to travel around the city with small groups for far cheaper, which is what I plan to do.
It has been tedious because of the fact that university just moved to this campus in New Cairo a year ago. There are also multifarious problems in communication, not limited to those of a linguistic nature. For instance: I have heard from many students that they have had all kinds of problems, whether it dealt with Residence Life being hard-nosed about refunds (or at least being transparent in their policy concerning it), getting incorrect orders from many, if not all, of the eating establishments on campus, or the like, it has just been problematic across the board. The last point might seem minute, but it speaks to the noticeable cultural divide between international students and Egyptian students, which I will explain in more detail as I make more observations of this phenomenon. This will be a recurring them throughout my blog: that is, the binary of East and West, and how that plays out on the campus and in the city.
I was told on my 3rd day here that I had to complete my payment for housing on campus because invoices were sent late to every student. For some reason, I was required to withdraw money from an ATM to pay my housing bill instead of just paying the school directly with a debit card. I was instructed to withdraw the money in LE (Egyptian Pounds), then go to the bank, exchange my money for US dollars, then get a signed invoice and pay in cash.
Wait, what? Shouldn’t this have been arranged before my arrival? Why wasn’t the process made easier? I spent needless hours back and forth on campus attempting to navigate this situation and get it sorted out. Furthermore, why is Residence Life charging exorbitant prices for outings this first week? Maybe (well, not maybe, it is) because they know students don’t have much going on the first week before classes, and they don’t know what the cost is to travel around the city, so they can jack up the prices and
Don’t get me wrong: I love the city of Cairo, and I have already met many new friends, colleagues, and fellow academics, and gone on some amazing trips, but I don’t care at all for the bureaucracy I had to deal with at AUC already in this first week. It has been a headache, and one that I feel has been draining. Hopefully this will be smoothed out before classes start and I won’t have to worry about it afterwards. I just want to focus on my studies and get the most of my experience in the Middle East.
