<p>My son was one of the students that were selected last year and he loved it. (thanks calmom for telling CC about it!) The program was safe and very well-run, it was cheap (it only cost us a plane ticket to NYC and spending money) and he not only had a blast but he really learned a ton of Arabic.</p>
<p>He has been asked to pass on the information for this year’s program so that they can have a good group of applicants to chose from.</p>
<p>Also – AFS has asked my son to pass this information on to as many kids as possible – so if you know any other email groups or forums, please post the information. Also – feel free to notify local schools or anyone else you can think of.</p>
<p>Sounds really interesting. I’m curious how they would react to having someone Jewish. It says you have to be prepared to share your own background with the host family.</p>
<p>bandislife – he did not know any Arabic at all. What he did do is research how he would continue Arabic once he got back and wrote about that on his application. I think it made a difference, showing that he was serious about it. High schools here don’t offer it, so he “unofficially” attended an introductory Arabic course at Colorado College.</p>
<p>vin21 – I don’t think it would be an issue and might be a good thing – they are really looking at promoting understanding. My son was really looking forward to living with a Muslim family and learning all about how families in Egypt incorporate Islam into daily life. He ended up living with a Coptic Christian family, so that was really interesting too.</p>
<p>I do know that Egypt only recognizes three religions (it is complicated, but your religion is on your ID card and passport if you are Egyptian – and it has to be an official one). The three religions are Islam, Christianity and Judaism – because Mohammed acknowledged all three and they are all Abrahamic religions.</p>
<p>Most host families would/must be well-off (by Egyption standards) and rather secular. So I don’t think they would have a problem with a Jewish kid, as it would be a chance for the family to “show off” their tolerance and open mind-ness. I wouldn’t recommend he/she let his/her Jewish ID be widely known though. </p>
<p>It’s a real risk to go to public places (markets, resturants…etc.) without the company of a REAL Egyption, AND REMEMBER: DO NOT ACT LIKE YOU HAVE ANY MONY AT ALL. and keep watching your fingers along with your wallet. not really; just an inside joke</p>
<p>melbusefi – Actually, the majority of host families were not secular at all. they were just open minded and willing to share their faith and beliefs. of the twelve kids who went, my son was the only one placed in a Christian family – and they were very observant. Coptic Christians fast often – and so did he. They attended church regularly and discussed religion frequently.</p>
<p>several of the kids were placed in very strict muslim households – and the kids were expected to follow the families rules and practices. That was really the whole point – to learn about how others live and share your culture with them.</p>
<p>As far as being Jewish – really not an issue. If you are observant and orthodox, you would need to make sure that you do not have any practices that conflict with your host family – but AFS would work with that. Keeping kosher would not be an issue since the Muslims keep Halal which is very similiar.</p>
<p>As far as safety – the kids were told where they should avoid, how to dress, etc. and were well chaperoned – but my son never felt in any danger. He went to the market and mall alone, rode the city bus to class, took taxis, etc. and never had a problem --sometimes he went with an Egyptian friend or family, but many times he did not. This was at the time of the war between Lebanon and Israel, which worried me a little – but was a non-issue in Egypt.</p>
<p>AFS did an excellent job of making sure the kids knew what was allowed and what wasn’t – all the big sightseeing (Mount Sinai, Alexandria, Pyramids) was done as a group.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting this. It’s really an interesting opportunity. Just the other day, my son (a HS senior) who will major in Polysci with a pre-law concentration was saying how valuable learning Arabic would be if he wanted to go into government service. Seems like it would be a great experience. Is the U.S. Embassy in touch with the student on a regular basis? Security would be my only concern, because I know kidnapping of foreigners in Egypt was a issue a few years back.</p>
<p>Each of the kids are “registered” with the US Embassy as soon as they get to Egypt (it is part of the orientation). AFS has an adult chaperone that stays in Egypt and is the leader and main contact point. Last year, the adult that went was not only an American who was fluent in Arabic, but she worked in Egypt for over 9 years and was very familiar with any possible problems. The kids meet together each day for class and regularly for other activities.</p>
<p>I was very comfortable with the precautions they took and they didn’t have a single incident – even though they were there for six weeks with 12 teenagers. </p>
<p>I will say that the kids are required to follow their host parents rules – everything from bedtime to whether they can meet their friends at the mall. Egyptian families tend to be stricter with girls – and this was the case with the exchange students as well. my son was allowed to ride the city bus alone, go to the mall, walk down the street to the market, etc. The girls in the program were not allowed this same amount of freedom – it was an eye opener for many.</p>
<p>I was curious to hear that girls are treated differently, but have to say that I would be a little more concerned sending a daughter. I would find it reassuring - if it’s not the norm for girls to travel alone, Americans would just stick out that much more, besides any noticeable differences in clothing, hairstyles, etc. </p>
<p>Thank you for posting this info. I’ve passed it along to others.</p>
<p>thanks for passing along the info – one of the things the kids talked about in the orientation was that many, many cultures have different standards of dress and behavior for males and females. Right or wrong, fair or unfair, that is just the way it is. I think all the kids had some eye-opening experiences during the trip, they weren’t going as “tourists” but living with an Egyptian family and expected to follow the family rules and participate as a family member.</p>