Many questions…

It seems like its been two weeks of “tonight’s events will be telling…let’s wait and see” or “lets wait another 24 hours and make a decision” or “I’ll call you in the morning if we can actually meet today…” Unstable or flexible, depends on your attitude.

To evacuate or not to evacuate, that was the first major question. The majority of my classmates evacuated. Of the 340 study abroad AUC students, 320 evacuated. UNHCR evacuated. Many foreign staff of non-governmental organizations evacuated. Many other countries evacuated their citizens (even for free and all the way back to the homeland—unlike the US!).

The first weekend, I had to entertain the question. Emotions changed by the hour but kept returning to waiting it out. Most of the phone calls circled around discussions of who was leaving and who would wait it out and where. I am in a unique situation in that I am in a safe neighborhood, with an Egyptian family and a number of close, male, Egyptian friends. Similarly, I am no longer here just for school but in fact have made a regular life. My work, my friends, my school, my home is currently in Egypt. Fleeing just felt wrong. Also, it definitely crossed my mind that all my refugee friends and many of my Egyptian friends cannot leave- if they can do it, so can I. It may sound a bit irrational but it was a real feeling. Another major factor is that my career path is focusing more towards disaster relief and humanitarian aid—this is the perfect training! If I can’t handle this then I need to reconsider my career goals. And of course, the patience and understanding of my Mom played a significant role in our decision. I do not wish to put my family under unmanageable distress and from our first phone call she expressed her understanding and respect of why I am here and my goals. I never desired to leave, she supported my decision making process and fortunately I’ve played my cards right and now I’m here until the end!