A year ago today, I was evacuated from Cairo after the Egyptian Revolution ignited. I still haven't written about that experience, or some of the events leading up to it. In honor of the anniversary, I'm going to go through the rest of my journal entries and post excerpts from them.
What I remember most vividly from that time was how conflicted I felt about wanting to remain in Egypt with my family but also wanting to respect that this was the Egyptians' revolution and feeling like I should get out of the way, while also feeling terribly guilty for having to pull the US citizen card to get out of the country with my American peers, when thousands of other people would be stranded in the Cairo Airport for God knows how long...
I arrived in Paris feeling more torn and confused than I ever have in my life. Mom coming to live with me for the month helped me keep my sanity. Having the chance to march through Paris with other Arabs in opposition of Mubarak - and then again to celebrate Mubarak's ouster - was also a tremendous boost. But it wasn't until I finally came back to Chicago in March, and had three weeks to digest everything with my parents, that I felt centered again.
Since then, I've been trying to remain connected to events in Egypt by following the news and discussing the updates we receive from our family in Egypt - and wishing that I could be there myself to absorb the developments as they unfold.
When I return to Egypt - this summer, if all goes well - I will have to relearn the ropes. It will be wonderful to understand first hand how the mentality of Egyptians has changed so radically since I was there last. Part of me fears that I will feel alienated again from that part of my heritage. But I am comforted to know that the Egyptian culture, which I really started to internalize during my month in Cairo last January, will never change. And I know that the strong sense of identity among Egyptians - that unity that I was so struck by, even before the revolution began - will be more palpable than ever.
What I remember most vividly from that time was how conflicted I felt about wanting to remain in Egypt with my family but also wanting to respect that this was the Egyptians' revolution and feeling like I should get out of the way, while also feeling terribly guilty for having to pull the US citizen card to get out of the country with my American peers, when thousands of other people would be stranded in the Cairo Airport for God knows how long...
I arrived in Paris feeling more torn and confused than I ever have in my life. Mom coming to live with me for the month helped me keep my sanity. Having the chance to march through Paris with other Arabs in opposition of Mubarak - and then again to celebrate Mubarak's ouster - was also a tremendous boost. But it wasn't until I finally came back to Chicago in March, and had three weeks to digest everything with my parents, that I felt centered again.
Since then, I've been trying to remain connected to events in Egypt by following the news and discussing the updates we receive from our family in Egypt - and wishing that I could be there myself to absorb the developments as they unfold.
When I return to Egypt - this summer, if all goes well - I will have to relearn the ropes. It will be wonderful to understand first hand how the mentality of Egyptians has changed so radically since I was there last. Part of me fears that I will feel alienated again from that part of my heritage. But I am comforted to know that the Egyptian culture, which I really started to internalize during my month in Cairo last January, will never change. And I know that the strong sense of identity among Egyptians - that unity that I was so struck by, even before the revolution began - will be more palpable than ever.
