When most people think of Egypt, the first image that comes to mind is the pyramids.
But there’s a lot more to this Middle Eastern country than meets most Westerners’ eyes, said Centreville’s Hannah Beswick, who is returning to Cairo for five months in January to study Arabic.
“Cairo is kind of like this melting pot where East meets West,” she said.
On one hand, there are flocks of well-sunscreened tourists clad in cargo shorts and bound for the pyramids, she said, while on the other hand there are traditional Arabic women dressed in full length body covers with veils.
Cairo has a vibrant culture and one of the things that struck Beswick most when she studied abroad there last year was the role religion plays in this Muslim country.
Friday is prayer day in Islamic cultures, she explained, and a vivid memory that sticks out in her mind was walking down a near deserted street on a Friday, turning a corner and seeing hundreds of people sitting outside a mosque on prayer mats.
“Religion really creates community for these people and they really cherish it,” she said. “People were so close to one another.”
That may come as a surprise to Americans who are skeptical of Islam, but another thing few realize about the Arab world is that it’s famous for its hospitality, Beswick said.
Perfect strangers invite people in from the street for a cup of tea and the Arab people she met expressed a genuine interest in her own life and culture, she said.
She wasn’t nervous to be an American in an Islamic country and said it only takes a little bit of effort to successfully assimilate.
“You don’t have to agree with their customs, but you have to accept them for the time you’re there,” she said.
For example, it’s frowned upon for women to travel outside without a male companion, she said, and remembering that small custom shows respect for the Egyptian culture. Arabs also take honor very seriously, Beswick said, and she learned very quickly to never lightly call someone a liar.
One of the biggest misconceptions Westerners tend to have about the Middle East is that everyone acts the same, she said, but there are huge differences between the dozens of ethnic groups that call the region home.
It’s that interest in other cultures that led Beswick abroad in the first place and it has inspired her to join the Peace Corps – she’s bound for Morocco in July to teach English.
She’s hoping to become fluent in Arabic and eventually pursue a master’s degree in Arab Islamic studies, possibly looking for work in the U.S. Foreign Service or U.S. Aid.
Her experiences abroad have helped make her a more tolerant person, she said, and taught her volumes about the beauty and uniqueness of the Arab culture.
“It’s been an eye-opening, life-changing experience,” she said.
