Bassant

One of my regrets from my trip to Cairo is that I didn't get to meet more Egyptians. Besides the various staff at my parents' house, I didn't have a lot opportunities to interact with Egyptians on a real meaningful level. So when one of the security guards asked if his daughter could come over and meet me, I was thrilled! More like, can I meet her?

And that's how I got my first Egyptian friend. Bassant came over for drinks and we talked about what it's like to be young and female in Egypt. About school and dating and arranged marriages, you know- normal girl talk. She was very curious about my life back in America. I think she was hoping to meet an EMPOWERED American women and I'm afraid I didn't quite meet her expectations...

"But how are you a mother of TWO children at such a young age?"

"But surely you must work outside of your home?"

"But of course you went to college, right?"

And with that, I assured her that yes I have my degree and she shouldn't let anything stop her from getting hers. She's a student at Cairo University studying Spanish and she also works as a female guard at the embassy. So that's the story of how I met an Egyptian women who is more liberated than me! I hope she'll come visit me in Tucson and put some use to her Spanish. She promised to take me shopping next time I'm in Cairo. And thanks to the ubiquity of Facebook, we can keep in touch until then.