I am moving to Cairo in September to spend a year studying Arabic. I want to avoid at all costs falling into the trap of hanging out with Americans and other expats all the time.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how to immerse myself in Egyptian culture? I would like to find a Muslim Egyptian host family to spend the year with. Does anyone have any experience with this? How would I go about finding one?

My study abroad program has not been much help. Are there organizations I can talk to - such as religious organizations or NGOs? Would I need to pay a host family? Any help would be appreciated

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Matthew Bowlby
bowl0031@umn.edu