Overseas Briefing: 12/03/09

ALEXANDRIA — We, the students of the Alexandria study abroad program, are welcomed in Egypt every day. That doesn’t mean that the Egyptians welcome us to Egypt. Rather, they prefer to welcome us in Egypt. What’s the difference, beyond a preposition?

In Arabic, the English phrase “Welcome to [country]” is translated as “Ahlan wa sahlan fii [country].” The literal translation back from Arabic is, “Welcome in [country].”  Therefore, when we receive our daily greetings from those Egyptians whose English comes from watching the widespread subtitled Hollywood action movies on satellite TV, we mostly hear the “Welcome in Egypt!” variety (instead of our grammatically accepted “Welcome to [country]”).

I say “daily greetings” because these salutations are indeed a daily occurrence, and daily of a magnitude that I did not expect. I knew before coming here that I was not going to blend in — as blondes studying in China or South America also would not blend — but I didn’t expect to be vocally reminded so much. (But hear me out, for this is more than a typical tale of a white male from homogenous New Hampshire finally having to deal with “being different”).

To our credit, I believe that this phenomenon in is trickier than in many other study abroad locations, even others in Egypt and the Middle East. Simply put, unlike Cairo or Beruit, Alexandria does not see a lot of foreigners.

I also believe that our study abroad group was foolish for not expecting attention like this. We had all listened to the lectures on female harassment in Egypt, and while shouts of “Welcome in Egypt!” do not qualify as harassment, it’s a similar product from the same environment.

And, of course, the Egyptians greet us with more than just “welcome” — we also hear “how are you?” and “hi” — but “welcome” sticks with me, because as a classmate said, “I’ve been here two months and they’re still welcoming me.” But of course the Egyptians in the street cannot know how long we have spent here. To them, we are foreigners and in Egypt — and especially Alexandria — foreigners are temporary. Foreigners are tourists, and most of the ones the Egyptians see are still in their opening — and closing — week in Egypt, still fair game for “welcoming.”

But as noteworthy as we are being foreigners, we are even more worthy of note because we speak Egyptian, at least to an extent. This makes the average Egyptian much more interested in us, but more importantly, it lets us hear something other than “welcome.” A lifeguard on the Mediterranean coast talked intense politics with me for over an hour. A group of 10 year-olds led me around the zoo. A family in a park told me that I absolutely must sing for them (because all Americans are good singers).

The fact that the calls of “Welcome in Egypt!” have become slightly annoying is testament to the fact that we have passed through the “welcoming phase.” We have had meaningful connections with people here, and thus the seemingly meaningless, Middle Eastern-accented greetings just seem silly. But if anyone looks truly silly on Egyptian turf, it’s us, and if they want to point that out, that’s okay by me. As long as they’re still welcoming us.