Nardien Sadik | Lumos Student Travel Award Program - Belmont University

Hello blog!

I am so happy to share that I safely arrived in Cairo, Egypt on the 11th at 1 am. Although it hasn’t been that many days on paper, it feels like a lifetime has passed since I was packing for Egypt. So far I have had the first few days to unpack and settle in before the volunteer work starts, and have taken the opportunity to explore the city and learn how to get around the streets near the place i’ll be sleeping for the next 6 months.

The area that I am in is very lively, and as it turns out there is always something going on. The car horns beep constantly as they drive through the relatively narrow street next to the apartment, and its taken some adjusting but I really love how alive the city feels. I tried a new shawarma place the 2nd night as I didn’t yet have groceries and it was fantastic. Something kind of shocking was the power went out while I was eating with Ilaria and although it wasn’t scary it was just unexpected as it turns out this happens regularly by the government in order to cut down on energy bills. I found it sad that this was happening to these small business owners but was quickly cheered up by their contagious positivity. In addition to eating I was able to take a walk around the neighborhood and saw that many of the nearby streets functioned as a sort of farmers market/ street vendor hub with each blanket or small store selling one type of thing. I was again really struck by how different it was, but also excited that the culture I was looking forward to being immersed in is already proving to be extremely accessible.

I am happy to say that I was also able to check seeing the pyramids and riding a camel off of the bucket list on the first night. It was an entirely unique experience to Egypt and definitely something every visitor of Cairo needs to experience at least once. It was interesting to me seeing how the vendors reacted to my attempted arabic while still very much looking like a native, it was as if they were confused if I was a tourist or simply didn’t speak very fluent Arabic but lived in Egypt. As it turns out, they were trying to decipher my country of origin to determine if I was to be given the Egyptian native pricing or the tourist price. It was definitely fun trying to blend in and relieving to get to settle into the country before starting all of the amazing volunteer work after the weekend ends! I am most excited to finally get to work on the service project I designed and see it through. It is starting to feel very real that I am no longer in Nashville, and I am ready to embrace it full heartedly.

I’ve attached 2 pictures, 1 with my name on a store sign which was just really neat to find and unexpected, and the other from my Pyramids visit that just really screamed, “Welcome to Egypt” to me so I felt compelled to include it.

That’s all for now blog,

Until next time

Nardien Sadik 🙂

Cairo, Egypt

Hello Blog!

This is my pre-departure post and I cannot be more excited for Egypt! I am currently about 2 weeks away from departure and i’m feeling a lot of things such as excitement, curiosity, and definitely some uncertainty of what to expect. Out of excitement I have made a list of restaurants that I want to visit in the 6 months while in Cairo as well as followed a few instagram accounts that offer advice on how best to integrate better with the locals. My goals for the trip are to walk away with a strong understanding of the Egyptian culture and to truly be a part of their community in a helpful way while abroad. I cannot wait for the challenges and for the growth that I hope will be apparent when looking back at these blogs as well.

In terms of preparation I feel like I have done all I can and yet that I could not possibly be ready, all at once. I’ve been speaking only Arabic at home in order to get used to the language, and every once in a while I realize how truly crazy it is that I will soon be in Africa working with a nonprofit on a volunteer trip that I meticulously planned for months. Its surreal truly and in all honesty a tad overwhelming but nonetheless bound to be an experience I will never forget.

The non-profit organization has been really helpful in communicating that they will teach us what is needed along the way which is a relief because it takes away the stress of trying to figure it all out alone. I also think it’s really great that I’ve had the chance to apply to law school during the few months after graduation before embarking on this journey so that I can be fully committed to this experience for the next 6 months. Finding out decisions while abroad will be interesting and potentially a little lonely at times but having something to focus all my attention on rather than anxiously waiting for decisions to come out every day will be a blessing.

Speaking of blessings, another thing that has given me some comfort is getting to go with Ilaria on this trip as I know we can look out for one another and that it’ll be easier to feel safe and secure with a little part of home always around. I couldn’t be more thankful for this opportunity to grow as a person and work within the human rights field before law school, and I am so grateful to Belmont and to Lumos for offering this once in a lifetime opportunity to their students because I don’t think I would have ever had the chance to do this in life if not for them.

Send your prayers that the flight there is safe and painless, and that the layover provides an opportunity to explore london for a few hours before arriving haha.

Until next time blog,

Respectfully,

Nardien Sadik

Cairo, Egypt

Lumos Student Travel Award Program – Belmont University

First Update of the Month!

Excited about the Journey Ahead