Well, the impossible happened. I’m going to Egypt this
summer. I’m still in shock, it hasn’t really processed yet. This last week has
been a bit of a whirlwind. Here is the whole story (minus the boring and
unimportant details):
I absolutely love my job as a ballet teacher. It is
extremely rewarding, never boring, and I’m pretty sure I learn more about
teaching than I teach about ballet. However, keeping that position means my
study abroad opportunities are limited to the non-school year. Keeping that in
mind, I started applying for summer study programs back in November (namely the
Critical Language Scholarship which I am still hoping for in the future). Nothing
came of those early scholarships so I decided to fill out the application for
the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship and also applied for funding
from the Middle East Studies (MEST) Department at my home school, the
University of Arkansas.
The program that I originally applied for was an Intensive
Arabic study in Amman, Jordan. Well, the program filled before the deadline (of
course I procrastinated until the last possible minute) so I needed to choose
another program. Cue entrance of Rahma who will probably get a whole post at a
future date. Anyways, she was a student from Cairo spending a full academic
year studying at the UofA last year and we became good friends. After getting
to know her and hearing her stories about home I started shifting my interest
into some of the Egypt programs that AMIDEAST offered. The Intensive Arabic
programs started before I would be done with my teaching year so I stumbled
across a program called “Learn and Serve in Egypt.” I will talk more about the program in another
post.
Fast forward through finals season.
I became informed that the MEST department has generously offered
to pay for my travel expenses and then some. My heart did a somersault because
this was the first indication that this crazy idea could possibly become a
reality. This scholarship was extremely exciting but I needed the Gilman if
this were to all work out. On April 25th I received an email stating
that I had been listed as an alternate for the award. More waiting. On May 9th
I received an email stating that the alternates had been chosen and that my application
had not been chosen at this time. At this point I considered it a done deal. I
started making other summer plans, signing up for 5Ks, filling out volunteer
applications, enrolling in a summer French course, and booking non-refundable
flights to California to visit friends. I was 100% positive that I would be in
Fayetteville this summer.
On May 23rd I get an email looking for travel
bloggers. The email started, “Dear Gilman Scholarship Recipients,” which,
needless to say, made me curious. I logged into my Gilman account and saw
something along the lines of, “Congratulations on your selection for the Gilman
Scholarship!” More curiosity. I emailed the Gilman office about it, crossed it
off in my brain as a mistake, and forgot about it. The next day, the Friday before
Memorial Day weekend, I get a call informing me that I did in fact receive the
scholarship. Talk about a curveball. I thought this opportunity had surely
passed over since I had already told my program that I wasn’t able to attend
and turned down the MEST scholarship. Well, a few hours and multiple phone
calls and emails later it turns out this is a real possibility. But, in order
to make sure everything could be confirmed, I had to wait until the following
Tuesday to know for sure. Well, I’m sure you know how this story ends. Tuesday
night I started freaking out, talking to Rahma about concerns and excitements,
and spreading the word among family and friends. As of right now, my flight is
booked, my deposit is down, and this is a real deal.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me and encouraged me
throughout these past few days. I’m beyond excited for this opportunity. I’ll
keep you updated!
