With the rise of globalization, the increasing popularity of foreign language programs, and more opportunities to participate in international study abroad, education has far surpassed merely attending lectures and studying reference materials. “There’s only so much you can get out of a book,” Mary Quinlan tells Egyptian Streets. Quinlan is a student of the Arabic Studies MA with a concentration in Arabic Language and Literature at the American University in Cairo (AUC). She has made the trans-atlantic journey from New York to study Arabic in Egypt. That being said, not all students choose Egypt only to study its national language. “I made a very good friend from Iran. He taught me about Arab culture, and that’s why I was interested in Middle Eastern countries,” says Yuko Iriguchi, a student from Japan. For Sara Alansari from Saudi Arabia, the move was dictated by family circumstances: “[My dad] got a promotion in Egypt, so all of us, as a family, moved here.” Unlike Quinlan, Iriguchi and Alansari are undergraduate seniors majoring in Business. While Alansari studied at the German University in Cairo (GUC) concentrating in Strategic Management and Marketing, Iriguchi participated in…
