Sarah Garfinkel ’11 Blogs from Study Abroad in Egypt

01/03/2011 11:06 AM

Embarking on an Egyptian Adventure

By Sarah Garfinkel ’11

As I write this I am getting ready to embark on the trip of a lifetime as a member of the History 336 study abroad course in Jordan and Egypt. When I told my parents I wanted to take my nonwestern civilization requirement in Egypt they were a little nervous, but not altogether surprised since this will be my third interim study abroad course. I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to travel to Jordan and Egypt because this is a trip I would probably never take on my own.

My history class is taught by Dr. Greg Guzman, a retired Bradley professor. Dr. Kerrie Schattler and her civil engineering students (CE 591 Sustainable Transportation Systems) are also part of our contingent, along with Dr. Khaled Nassar of the University of Cairo and Bradley students taking CON 491 Computer Applications in Construction. Accompanying the three classes as our facilitator and guide is Dr. Amir Al-Khafaji.

I’m looking forward to learning a lot and experiencing new things during our time in Jordan and Egypt. For starters, we will be spending New Year’s Eve in a Jordanian desert, sleeping under the stars. Some of the sightseeing will include trips to the Dead Sea and Red Sea, the pyramids, Luxor, with the bulk of our time spent in Cairo. While we’ll spend our mornings in the classroom, we will spend our afternoons and evenings exploring.

We land in Jordan around 9:30 am CST (5:30 pm for those of us on the other side of the world) on December 30th.  Be sure to check this blog often for pictures and stories throughout the trip!  Follow Sarah and the other students at:  

http://explore.bradley.edu/journalsfromtheroad/2011/01/embarking-on-an-egyptian-adventure