Nexites abroad: Choosing Cairo

What makes studying abroad worth it?

This is the question I kept turning over in my head while deciding if I wanted to go to Sydney, Australia or Cairo, Egypt, two places that couldn’t be more different than each other.

On one hand, the beautiful beaches, perfect weather and world-class surf of Sydney seemed like my perfect match. I imagined it would be something like Isla Vista on steroids.

Compared to that, Cairo appeared as a far less enticing choice for my California blood. A city of over 10 million in the heart of the Arab world at first seemed like it would be too much of a culture shock. 

But the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that the reasons I was hesitant to choose Cairo was exactly why I had to go.

To answer my own question, what makes studying abroad worth it, at least to me, is the opportunity to go somewhere drastically different from anywhere else you’ve ever lived; to hear perspectives you might only be able to get in that one place; to try immersing yourself in a culture unlike any you’ve ever experienced before. 

To put it another way, I see studying abroad as a chance to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and expand your understanding of the world, both on a human level and academically. While studying at a university in Sydney would have been an amazing time, I think it would also have been quite similar to UC Santa Barbara. 

Now at The American University in Cairo, I’ve been able to take courses like “Histories of Palestine” and “Is America Still a Superpower,” which cover content likely difficult to find in American universities. I’ve met people from across the globe and experienced hospitality from Egyptians that I couldn’t dream of back home. And, oh my god, the food is amazing.

So I call on anyone considering studying abroad, ask yourself, what will make it worth it for you and where can you go that will change how you see the world.

Levi Kauffman has nothing against Australia and students that choose to study there.

A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the Oct. 1 print edition of the Daily Nexus.