It was a bit tough to go back to work after the two week break! But it was great to see all my coworkers after the break; I really missed them! I think everyone felt pretty refreshed because we were all in good spirits. It was back to business as usual, as myself and the other VLAs proceeded with client screenings. Although, of course, I still have areas to improve in when it comes to screening and interviewing clients, I am feeling more comfortable with what types of questions to ask. Also, in other news, one exciting development is that a client I gave interview preparation to recently got recognized as a refugee. It’s moments like these where I’m really able to see the impact that AAT has on our clients, and this was a huge highlight of the week.

We also had an AAT New Year celebration, which was another great way to kick off the first work week after the holidays. We did karaoke, white elephant gift exchange, and played games. We even FaceTimed in a coworker who is still back home and working remotely for now. Also, the New Year celebration was another chance to spend time with a coworker who is resettling to the US soon. Although this line of work can feel draining, particularly if one isn’t able to take the necessary time to rest and recharge, I feel really lucky to have met such incredible people. My coworkers are a great support system, and we all really look out for one another.

Aside from getting back into the work routine, I’ve also been catching up with friends here in Bangkok since I got back from my travels. Over the weekend, we went to River City Bangkok, which is a center for art along the banks of the Chao Phraya River. Here, art lovers can explore galleries, see international exhibitions, and learn more about Thailand’s contemporary art scene. A few of my favorite exhibitions were Tuagomstudio’s “On Cloud Nine” and “Come Rain or Shine,” which features the stories of nine artists. The latter exhibit poses questions about the success that we’ve woven and also distant dreams and unachieved endeavors. This was an interesting exhibit to see early in the 2024 year, as it led me to ponder about the previous year and my journey. Lastly, Stray Cat Tarot Studio was having a pop-up event at River City. It’s been really fun to explore the local artist scene here, and I hope to continue doing so when I’m back in NYC as well.

That’s all from me for now, talk soon!

 

Hello Blog!

I have had a pretty tame two weeks as the day before Coptic Christmas I actually came down with a cold. I spent the next 11 days trying to fight off a cold that just wouldn’t go away and as a result I didn’t really celebrate much. This is of course with the exception of my extended family taking me to a roller coaster park in celebration of the holiday. We spent the time ice skating, riding the merry go round, and trying to see who was the bravest on the rides. It was extremely memorable and while I did get sick from this experience it was still worth having.

I am really into coffee lately, and have been challenging myself to go try new coffee from local shops in my area just to explore more of the city. I got to try the one pictured below before I got sick, but hopefully now that I am starting to feel better I can retry this challenge.

In other news, I have planned a small dubai weekend trip for the end of the month with my cousins who were also going and let me tag along, I am really looking forward too it. I’ve never been to dubai but I am excited to explore the country and since its a short 3 hour plane ride it felt very manageable. I am excited to share how that experience will be with you all as well!

I have discovered that being sick is very boring and so I took up poetry writing again in order to pass the time and I thought I’d share my writing with you all, important context is that I really hate how hard dust is to clean:

Incessant dust clings to every building on my street, staining every architectural structure unsightly yellow. 

The dust greets me in the morning with my first breathe and hides in every imaginable crevice irregardless of the attempts to rid it from my 4th story home. 

Daily, I walk in this Sahara turned city and marvel at the cars that carve out their own path, squeezing through the gaps in the traffic, loudly claiming their place via a honking system still indecipherable to a mere tourist, but admittedly effective. 

The sounds of horns blaring fades to a dull background replaced by the loud merchants rhythmic chants, announcing their product of the day, hoping to score today. The urgency apparent in their boldness,quickly looking away you pray they don’t notice you. 

Continuing my walk I rehearse the phrase over and over again, moving my tongue in foreign patterns in hopes I could cox out the authentic accent, and successfully play the part my looks help sell. 

I stand firmly in line, actively try to hide the annoyance of being cut in line again and again by more eager customers who push past me money in hand. Carefully I pull out a crisp 100 and make eye contact with the cashier, though acknowledging my presence she looks past me at the father whose yelling his order over my shoulder, his arm outstretched and his breath heavy on my neck. 

Attempting to reclaim the space I take a step forward and recite my order, the whole ordeal a bigger struggle than it ought be, but a sense of pride swells in me nonetheless, 

I had conquered the basics. 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s all for now blog,

Until Next Time,

Nardien Sadik,

Cairo, Egypt

Hi Blog!

I hope everyone had a good christmas! I know I sure did, I had the best time celebrating in Egypt with my friends, and getting closer to my coworkers through a fun secret santa!

In work news, I can finally say I feel like I have done meaningful work because I was assigned to write a letter on behalf of the Coptic church for a conference we were invited too that the Pope will speak at. To be asked to write this is an honor, and I am thankful for the opportunity.  The work has been challenging but is starting to feel fulfilling which I am thankful for.

In life news, I got into Law School with a full ride so that’s really exciting and something to look forward too when I get back to the States. In other news, the electricity has been spotty the last fews days which makes it hard to cook and sometimes the water also goes out which is slightly annoying, but nothing not manageable.

I have plans to travel over the long weekend after Coptic Christmas to Alexandria which is a few hours away from Cairo. I wanted to wait and write my blog after the new years as I had some really excited plans to celebrate with some friends and family and my fiance (virtually). The group I hung out with is pictured below and we went to a place called Maryland which was really nice.

Some highlights over the last few weeks have been the christmas celebrations in the streets, going to the cinema with some friends I have made here, and going shopping for my secret santa. Also pictured below is a trip I took to Bor Said to a church that has a picture of saint mary which is considered Holy and a blessing to visit on a day trip.

As much as I am loving the new experiences, I am also missing my friends and family at home and have felt it especially during the holidays a little extra. I am used to the constant buzz of people around me and with ilaria gone and my family an ocean away it has been a little more quiet than usual. I have taken it upon myself to go out more after work so I don’t feel quite as isolated but it’s definitely been the hardest time yet in Egypt .

My parting thoughts are that I am going to challenge myself for the new year to be more adventurous in Egypt, and to make the most of the remaining 3 months that I have here. I want to make sure that I get a well rounded experience of all of Egypt not just Cairo and my work and hopefully that will be reflected in the next blog post!

Sorry for the late post, had the intention of posting on the 2nd of January, but unfortunately ran into some electricity outage issues.

 

Until Next Time

Nardien Sadik

Cairo Egypt

Merry Christmas and happy New Year from Southeast Asia! I celebrated with friends on Christmas day, then departed for my travels to Taiwan, Cambodia, and Laos shortly after. Although it’s a lot of traveling to fit into a short period of time, I wanted to make the most of my time off work and experience different countries/cultures while I have the chance to. So, it’s definitely been a whirlwind trip and not the most restful, but I will relax some when I’m back in Bangkok.

Taiwan

My first stop was Taipei, and I took day trips to Sun Moon Lake and Jiufen Village / Cat Village.

Cat Village Houtong was one of the highlights from Taiwan because I adore cats. The mountain city of Houtong used to be a mining village, and Cat Village was developed, along with a mining museum, to reinvigorate this village. Houtong is about an hour or so from Taipei. Volunteer groups were established to create a friendly environment for cats and turned Houtong into a cat village for cat lovers.

I wandered around the hillside walkways and laneways that make up Cat Village, and even though it was rainy, I discovered cats in all the nooks and crannies. Some cats were happy for treats or pets, but others wanted to be left alone. I was content just to look at them from afar, and they were all so adorable. There’s also several cat themed cafes and shops.

Since Jiufen Village is very close to Cat Village, this was our next stop at the end of the day. Jiufen is a historic gold mining village located northeast of Taipei, Ruifang district. The village’s gold rush peaked during Japanese colonization and closed in 1971. Turquoise seas and magnificent mountains surround Jiufen.

Although many think the movie, Spirited Away, was inspired by Jiufen Village, Miyazaki has denied this. However, there are definitely coincidental similarities, with Jiufen’s cliffside teahouses, steep streets with vendors selling hot food, and red lanterns.

Some street food that I tried includes taro balls and Taiwanese sausage on skewers. We ended the day by having a tea tasting at at teahouse overlooking the water, such a magical experience!

Once I was back in Taipei, I visited Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Zhongshan, which is a trendy area for shopping, Ximending, and Elephant Mountain, to name a few.

Cambodia

Although I was absolutely loving the weather in Taiwan (cool, misty, and no sunglasses needed), it was back to hot, humid weather once I arrived in Cambodia.  Like many countries in Southeast Asia, Cambodia is also warm to hot year round.

In Cambodia, I ended the year by doing a sunset tour at Angkor Wat and began the first day of 2024 by doing a sunrise tour here. I’ve wanted to travel here ever since I saw pictures from my sister’s trip to Siem Reap when she was in college, and it’s pretty cool that we now have pictures at some of the same places and temples.

However, one downside of Cambodia is that after the sunset tour of Angkor Wat, I noticed that my lower legs and ankles were covered in hives. I was certain they were bug bites, but when I went to the pharmacy, they said it was an allergic reaction to the air, dust, etc., and they gave me medicine.

Laos 

I absolutely fell in love with Laos; the nature is so beautiful. Views of the amazing scenery began from the plane, where we could see the mountains and water. Although Laos was sunny, it wasn’t as humid as Cambodia.

My days in Laos were filled with temple hopping, viewpoint hikes, gorgeous waterfalls and lagoons, reading at cafes alongside the Mekong, and buying handicrafts. The French colonial influence is heavily present in Luang Prabang, particularly through French pastries and European architecture.

I began my first full day in Laos by getting breakfast at a bakery. I sat at a window spot overlooking an elementary school, and it was a really pure way to start my morning, by seeing all the children playing. After that, I shopped in the many boutiques and went to the night market later that night. The night market in Luang Prabang was more relaxed than night markets that I’ve gone to in other countries, which was nice.

Also, the handicrafts for sale represent Lao’s various ethnic groups, as Laos is the most ethnically diverse country in mainland southeast Asia, with at least 49 ethnic groups and 240 subgroups. For example, many shops sold hemp fabric or conducted workshops about this process; hemp is cultivated by the Hmong people of Laos. This was particularly powerful to see, as many of our clients at AAT are Hmong. The Hmong have a distinctive history in China, and over the centuries, they migrated to the mountainous areas of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Another informative shop, Her Works, showcases the handicrafts, textile materials, and symbols of minority ethnic women while empowering them through providing livelihood. Their products also encourage ethical living with the use of sustainable, environmental-friendly, and natural materials and processes. I could really feel the life and traditions that the skilled artisans were breathing into every bag, shoe, and textile.

I also hiked up Phousi Hill, a Buddhist temple and summit, which has sweeping views of the mountains and water below. It was a perfect place to watch the sunset.

And, I enjoyed several sunset dinners with views of the glistening Mekong River.

As a UNESCO world heritage site, Luang Prabang is a town with a thriving art community and culture, mesmerizing textiles and pottery. I wish I’d had time to see museums such as the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Center (TAEC), which highlights various ethnic groups in Laos, and the UXO Laos Visitor Center, which details the devastation Laos suffered from the American War in Indochina and the long-lasting effects of unexploded ordnance (UXO).

I am also curious to look more into Luang Prabang’s spiritual heritage and history, in addition to Cambodia and Taiwan. Lots of research to do.

My time in Laos was a great way to end my trip, as I felt that I could really enjoy a slower pace of life here, with no set itinerary. I am beyond blessed and grateful for these experiences that I am able to have. 2024 is off to a wonderful start, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the year has in store for me.

 

Hi blog!

The past couple of weeks haven’t been the easiest, but we got through them, and that’s all that matters!

Volunteering:

I’ve been inching a little towards burnout due to a compilation of factors. Winter weather and early sunsets are already a recipe for exhaustion, and my brain is still making a considerable amount of effort to translate everything I come across. Plus, something I hadn’t anticipated is the office-volunteering aspect of it all; when volunteering, most of the time, you interact with the people you’re helping and witness the impact of your work firsthand. However, when volunteering in an office setting, I’m only seeing the data behind the people, so it’s easy to forget that what I’m doing is also making a difference.

On the bright side, as we’re approaching the new year, they are currently ironing out some last-minute fine details of their new 2024-2027 phase, so I’ve been sitting in on a few meetings and getting to see the inner workings/ the administrative side and how decisions are made in an NGO. It’s been a valuable experience, and I even got to share my input from a pure data/statistical perspective and get feedback about my ideas.

The office has been playing a game of Secret Santa, and the way they’re doing it is that each person is supposed to give multiple little gifts leading up to New Years, and then on January 2nd, they’ll give each other a bigger gift. Since I won’t be at the office on the 2nd, because I won’t have time to land and make it in time, I’ve been helping everyone deliver gifts to each other, and some of my colleagues even told me that they wanted certain things, and I’ve been sneakily delivering these requests along to their Secret Santa. Even though I am technically not a part of the game, I feel like I hold so much power because everyone trusts me enough to reveal who their person is.

Cool Experiences/ General Updates:

This is very insignificant, but worth noting: I recently went to get a haircut, and unfortunately, it did not come out how I wanted it at all. In fact, it is comically awful and too short for me to even put up. I have been scouring the internet for tips and tricks on how to deal with it; hopefully, I find a solution soon.

I went to a concert at the opera last week, and I had the absolute best time.  The concert covered much of Fairuz’s, an extraordinary Lebanese singer, discography. There was a live orchestra, and different singers would come out on stage to sing different songs. It was such a magical, music-filled night.

I am so excited to see my sister soon!! It will be a nice, much-needed break to get me back in the groove.

Since this is my last blog post before the 25th, merry Christmas!! I hope you’re surrounded by family and friends, and that your year is ending on a high note!

Ilaria Youssef

Hello again!

For the past two weeks, as winter and early sunsets have set in, I’ve been intentional about forcing myself to go out a little bit more, even if it’s just for a one-hour stroll in the street. I’ve found myself stuck in a routine, and this helped give me a small push out of it.

Cool experiences:

I went to a park that had this little small festival where people with startup small businesses come and advertise their products. It was so inspiring seeing how these talented people decided to turn their hobbies into businesses, whether it’s woodwork, crocheting, pottery, baking, jewelry making, or anything else in between. One thing I’ve noticed since coming to Cairo is people’s overall work ethic and hustle. So many people in the street find some kind of small thing they can do, and they go out on the street and sell it. For example, there’s a lady that stands by the metro station every day selling homemade sandwiches for people who haven’t eaten breakfast and are on their way to work. There are also “coffee cars,” which are basically people with small cars that makeshift their trunk into a coffee station. It’s honestly incredibly creative and admirable.

I got to go to this museum-like building in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo. They had wax figures of the past two patriarchs in the Coptic Orthodox Church and some artifacts/belongings of people who have greatly impacted the Coptic Orthodox church. I loved seeing a glimpse of the church’s history.

I’ve also discovered the beauty of Egyptian bakeries. They sell fresh bread and all kinds of cookies with different fillings. I’ve been indulging and buying different types every time I go so that I can taste all of them. My favorite so far is this bread-like textured cookie filled with cinnamon and honey.

Volunteering:

The partner meeting on Monday was very interesting and information-filled. I got to welcome the partners and sign them in, as well as ask them a few questions on video for BLESS’ documentation team. It was extremely cool to talk to these partners, most of whom are from European countries but have been living in Egypt for a few years. I got to bond with some of them as our experiences were somewhat similar: coming from a foreign country and dealing with the small culture shocks that come with living in Egypt.

After the meeting, BLESS had arranged a dinner for the partners, and I was lucky enough to be invited. The dinner was outdoors, so naturally, there were cats, which made for a fun conversation starter. We were also invited on a private tour of some of the ancient churches in the area, and naturally, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so I tagged along.

Things have been a little slow in the office ever since, so I’ve been trying to refresh my memory in some coding languages by doing online courses.

Small Updates:

I am so excited to see my sister and go to Germany! But I’m even more excited because my brother also booked tickets to come to Egypt in January, which means that my siblings and I are celebrating Coptic Orthodox Christmas together!

If I am not keeping myself busy, I find myself very homesick. However, it helps when I run into people that used to know my parents or when I get to meet up with some extended family that I hadn’t seen since I was a kid. Either way, I can’t wait to explore Egypt a little more with my siblings.

December is already looking great, but keep praying for me.

Ilaria Youssef

 

PS: I wrote this two weeks ago, but unfortunately, I am not posting the blogs as fast as I am writing them. I promise I’ll get back on schedule soon!

Khao Yai:

I recently went on a weekend trip to Khao Yai, which is about 2 hours from Bangkok. The highlight of the trip was going to Khao Yai national park, Thailand’s first national park. My friend and I did a guided tour of the park where we saw all kinds of different animals: spiders, snakes, gibbons, macaques, elephants, monitor lizards, king squirrels, hornbills, and bats. We got really lucky to see so many different types of animals, especially gibbons and elephants. While we were hiking, we heard gibbons and then had to look really closely to see them up in the treetops, swinging from tree to tree! Also, at the end of the day, a park ranger informed us that there’d been an elephant spotting, and we headed to where the elephants were. At first, we didn’t see elephants, but we waited patiently, and then we saw a mom and baby elephant. They crossed the road and then made their way over to the salt lick on the other side where we watched them for about an hour or longer.

Also, at the Khao Yai national park visitor center, I was surprised to find a slice Tennessee there! It turns out that Khao Yai national park and the Great Smoky Mountains national park signed the sister park agreement in 2013, a concept developed to create international cooperation regarding exchange, research, academic study, and management of national parks.

P.S. It was so much cooler in Khao Yai (in the 70s), which I was loving!

Also, while in Khao Yai, we went to a flower park and natural spring:

Bangkok Illustration Fair 2023:

The other weekend, I went to Bangkok Illustration Fair (BKKIF) held at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. BKKIF aims to promote and boost the potential of the Thai illustration scene as well as fostering development and expanding work at both the national and international levels. The list of selected BKKIF artists comprised Thai artists and international artists from the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, China, Ukraine, and Myanmar. It was a really unique opportunity to engage in discussions with the artists and learn more about their techniques/styles and the stories behind their artwork. The artists also had products for sale, and I bought many things including stickers, keychains, cards, books, and bookmarks.

I found out about BKKIF through a friend of mine whose art was featured. I’ve always wanted to learn how to draw, so I felt really inspired here; it’s one of the most creative spaces I’ve been in in a really long time.

Christmas in Bangkok:

Work updates:

I sent in my first submission to UNHCR on behalf of a client,  an appeal submission, which meant that it was a tight deadline to request client transcripts from UNHCR, review the client’s testimony, interview the client, and format the submission, along with relevant COI. In this particular case, it was important to highlight procedural issues, as well as new information since first instance RSD interviews.

Myself and the other VLAs also conducted several intro to RSD trainings throughout November and December for Chinese, Hmong, Somali, and Urdu-speaking clients. Intro to RSD is particularly beneficial for new arrivals to learn how the RSD process works and what to expect.

Soon we’ll have two weeks off work for the winter break. Susu na!

Hey Blog,

I hope you are all well!

I finally feel like I have some updates for you guys that are exciting! The first thing is my efforts in trying to balance my time here with my applications for law school has been quite a challenge but I have finally finished and submitted! This will hopefully free up some time for me to go explore more of the city in my downtime!

I also am happy to report I have been learning some Egyptian dishes to make when guests are over and I have perfected the Nescafe drink and the classic bean and tofu combination to serve up.

In completely other news I met up with some distant relatives recently and it was a really emotional experience for me as I didn’t think I would have the chance to see them as they live quite far, but they made the effort to come all the way to Cairo when they heard that I was in the country and we shared a meal together. It was a great day filled with a lot of storytelling, picture showing, hugs and laughter. I am really thankful I got to experience being around them as I often used to feel left out when growing up away from all of my cousins and relatives in Egypt.

In more exciting news, I went wedding dress shopping for my upcoming wedding in July! While I haven’t found the dress yet, I am really excited to keep searching as the styles here are very unique to the ones found in America and I have a feeling I will fall in love with one soon!

As far as the office life goes, I can say that everyone has been extremely kind and friendly and all the coworkers recently went out together to share a meal after work. While it was a casual outing it made me feel like we had finally become friends and I have been really enjoying the company.

On that note, while I would love to come on here and say it has been smooth sailing all around in reality the home sickness has started to hit a tad bit. The excitement of the newness of Egypt has worn off and now things like missing my fiance, my family, and major life events have left behind a sense of loneliness. I am thankful once more that Ilaria is here with me though as she makes me feel companionship and our support for one another makes all the difference.

One of the best things I have done thus far in Egypt, which I have chosen to save the best for last for, is serving in the local church every Monday and  Wednesday. My service consists of teaching English classes to underprivileged children and it brings me great joy as the children are kind and hilarious and truly in need.  To be a small part of the reason they get an education makes this trip feel so important to me and has made me look forward to the days I get to see them.

Until Next Time Blog,

Bye for Now,

Nardien Sadik

**I wrote this blog two weekends ago, but the site was down, and I didn’t get a chance to post it afterwards, so just pretend I posted it then;)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Egypt doesn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving, obviously, so I honestly completely forgot about it until I started receiving “Happy Thanksgiving” texts. Nonetheless, I forced a big group of my coworkers to go out to dinner after work on Thursday, so I’m counting that as my Thanksgiving dinner. The weather here is still relatively warm, which helped me forget that we’re almost in December! Although most Egyptians are walking around with sweaters and coats, the temperatures are still in the high 60’s (Fahrenheit), so basically, it’s Nashville’s nice fall weather.

Cool adventures:

A couple of weekends ago, I got to take a day trip to the Red Sea to an area called “Al-‘Ain al-Sokhna.” It was a little less than a two-hour drive, and it was absolutely worth it. The water was definitely cold, but the sun made a quick dip in the water bearable. Seeing the sea and the desert intersect was mesmerizing. On the way back, I got to pass through a road between two mountains, and, in general, seeing the contrast between the beach, the desert, and the city made me truly appreciate Egypt’s beauty that much more!

I also got to visit a church called St. MaryCoptic Orthodox Church in El-Zeitoun and hear stories about the people who witnessed St. Mary’s apparition there. Quick recap of the history/stories I heard: St. Mary started to appear, as a luminous figure at the top of the church’s domes, in 1968 and her apparitions continued for 3 years. People would come from everywhere, and they would shut down the church’s street, setting up camp all night until she appeared again. It was a great phenomenon, and some people in the crowds were even cured of their ailments whenever she would appear. Being at the church and hearing eyewitness accounts of these events was such a marvelous experience. Unfortunately, I went at night so my pictures don’t do it justice, but hopefully, I get to visit it again soon in the daylight.

Volunteering Updates:

I’ve finally fallen into the groove of things at the office. However, since the big partner meeting is coming up on Monday, they’ve also been assigning me a bunch of documents, videos with subtitles, and PowerPoint presentations to double-check the English grammar and translate anything if needed. BLESS is kind of in a transitional period between phase 2 and phase 3 of their strategic planning. So far, I’ve been working on assignments pertaining to the 2020-2023 phase, so I don’t have much of an understanding of what’ll happen after the new year. However, my team has been invited to attend the meeting, so I’m excited to learn all about the new phase and to spend an entire day hearing mostly English.

Other good news:

My sister booked plane tickets to come to Egypt for January!! She’s stopping by Germany first, so I’m gonna take a couple of extra days off and go spend Christmas and New Year’s with her in Germany! I’m so excited to see her, and I’ve been learning German on Duolingo in my free time so I’m not totally lost when I get there.

Since Egyptians don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, they’ve jumped right into the Christmas spirit. There are seasonal stores set up that are dedicated solely for Christmas shopping, and they go ALL out. I can’t wait for the weather to get cold and to wear ugly Christmas sweaters once December hits!

Hopefully, I’ll be drinking hot cocoa as I’m writing my next blog.

Until then,

Ilaria Youssef