Bridging the cultural gap between the Egypt and the United States was an easy step for the 34 students participating in the Egyptian-American Dialogue tonight. The group was split between 16 Egyptians and 18 TWC students, who varied in nationality and in backgrounds.

We started the dialogue off with a more than 40 minute discussion on “The Gaza War and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” It was an interesting talk as you can imagine when people are giving their opinions on war. The Egyptian students were very much againt Israel’s actions thus far in blockading the borders and firing back on Gaza Strip. One Egyptian student was so prepared- he had this huge map to point out the different countries.It was, however, interesting to note that while he was quick to have the exact number of Palestinians that died in the 6-day war, he did not remember the 13 Israelis that died as well. While this number is not as high as the near 1,300 Palestinians, it is still important because there would have been more if the weapons being fired out of the Gaza Strip were of a better quality.

It was hard to switch topics, but we did manage to discuss “The Obama Administration and U.S. Relations with the Arab and Muslim World,” as well as “Correcting Negative Stereotypes between Americans and Arabs and Muslims. The Egyptians were basically together in that they felt that Obama and the United States should be involved in correcting the problems in the Middle East and my roommate, Ever, gave by far my favorite answer on the topic. Ever said, that while the U.S. President should try to help correct the situation as much as possible, his real duty is to his constituency and to doing what is best for them. She reminded us all that at the end of the day-he has to take care of his country’s needs first.

The topic was a great opener into our last topic, which was negative stereotypes. The TWC students started the discussion by saying one of the main stereotypes was that citizens of the Middle East hated the West, especially the United States. It was comforting to know that while the Egyptians were initially afraid to find mean and cold Americans upon their arrival, this did not happen. They said the welcome was great, and everyone friendly-they loved it.

I followed another TWC intern in expressing how to correct the negative sterotypes (and yes, I did speak up earlier in the debate when discussing the Israel/Palestinian Conflict). I said that each country should take a pro-active stance in helping other countries understand their customs and lifestyle, such as Arkansas State’s endowment by the Saudi Government for students/faculty wanting to study and/or research in the Middle East.

It is funny now to think of how difficult it was after the dialogue for the moderator and program advisers to get all of us students out of The Washington Center and on our way to dinner. After the dialogue was over, the Egyptian and TWC students took a picture together and then started talking more indepth about our view-something we were not able to do during the dialogue.

The 16 Egyptians, who are all college students at etiher Cairo University or Alexandria University, are currently in D.C. through a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and touring/interning through the American Council of Young Political Leaders. They found out where they would be interning at for the next 6 days at dinner. My other roommate Caylah and I ate dinner with a one girl interning with John Kerry. To say she was excited is an understatement. She is studying American government, and has portrayed Kerry’s role in government in class mock exercises.

It was also fascinating to listen to the girls speak about shopping. One girl said all she wanted to do was shop, which they have not had time for. Apparently, Egypt only has select jean sizes which are all too large for her. While in D.C., she was determined to buy a lot of jeans to bring home with her. It was an odd experience-I never thought to hear that a country did not carry select sizes and that she was too tiny for them. I mean, she was about a size 3-6.Another great thing at dinner was the fact that I finally handed out some of my new businesses cards! Yay.

In all, the Egyptian-American dialogue was a worthwhile experience that I am glad I participated in. I did learn more about the Egyptian students and their culture during our walk to the restaurant and dinner. We have more in common than I thought and I definitely would love to go to Egypt now. The dialogue was also helpful in that it helped me work toward my personal goal of being able to announce my opinions to people and being able to defend them. I spoke twice before the crowd, and was treated with common courtesy and interest.

The dialogue was great in the fact that while we all did not agree at times, we were able to share our opinions calmly and rationally and we treated each other with respect. I would definitly not mind attending a dialogue like this again.

I have signed up to participate in the third annual Egyptian-American Dialogue on “Critical Issues Facing the U.S. and the Arab World.” It will feature 20 Egyptian students in D.C. for an month-long exchange program and around 2o TWC students varying in majors and where they are from. I am more than a little nervous on this dialogue. The three main issues we are discussing will be 1. the Arab-Israeli conflict, 2. the foreign policy challenges for the Obama Administration in the Mideast and 3. Correcting negative stereotypes Americans and Arabs have about each other. I guess I am most nervous in the fact that I am not the most coherent person in the world, I mean that is why I chose writing as my profession. I am also horrible at talking in front of groups that I do not know. However, both of these reasons are why I chose to be in this program, other than the fact that I find it an interesting topic. One of my goals for this semester with the TWC and the internship is to brush up on my public speaking and knowledge of world events and history, which I have slacked on in recent years. A mandatory briefing on the Middle East was held today for over two hours for all of us TWC students participating. I have two of my roommates participating as well. It was a long meeting as we covered as much as possible on the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and more. However, one good thing did come from this, well I did learn a lot as well, but I now know of one topic now that I can speak out about-the correcting negative stereotypes Americans and Arabs have about each other. I have Arkansas State to thank for that! I now have until 4 p.m. Thursday to brush up on my Middle East knowledge and to prepare. The dialogue is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the TWC with dinner following to allow all the students to mingle.

It was my first weekend in Washington, D.C., and all TWC interns were free to do whatever they like. I chose to spend the time getting to know my roommates. Our fourth roommate, and the girl I would be sharing a room with, finally came back to the apartment after spending the week with her mother and grandmother. Her name is Ever, as in forever and ever (that is how she described her name to us). She is from Mexico and pretty nice. Anyways, Saturday started off with a nice and free pancake breakfast followed by a free Georgetown Walking Tour. I got to visit The Old Stone House, home to the historical Adams’ family, the Potamic River, the steps featured in The Exercist and also Georgetown University. The group consisted of a variety of TWC interns and it was fun getting to know everyone. Here’s some pictures from it.

Sunday was the best part of the weekend. Sheila’s friend Johnny is stationed here in D.C. with the Army and offered to take us on a tour. We obviously were not going to to say no to an offer like that, especially since he had a car. It was a laid back day while we toured D.C., looking at the White House, the memorials and fed the birds and squirrels at a refreshment stand near the Lincoln Memorial. Johnny teased us, especially Ever, by picking us up with Starbucks in hand and we could not find a Starbucks anywhere for us girls to get one until near the end of the tour. We finally ended up at Johnny’s coworker’s girlfriend’s apartment for the Superbowl. We missed the kick-off due to the Puppy Bowl. It was annoying, but the puppies were so cute! Here’s some photos of Sunday.

Tomorrow is the big day- I attend my first day at the office. I will be in meetings all day, so I am nervous. It will be a different environment from the newspapers I have worked at and school. I did a test run to my work bright and early today. Ugh. It took me two hours to get there. So I will be up pretty darn early if anyone needs a wake up call within the next four months. Well-wish me luck!