Let the Excitement Ensue

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 25^th I received an email stating that I had been listed as an alternate for the award. More waiting. On May 9^th 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 23^rd 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!