Walk like an Egyptian
And an Afghan and a Rwandan
While I was vermouth’ing in Spain over the new year, my son and his dad were on their own adventure… in Egypt! After debriefing you on my time in Barcelona and Seville, I realized I should share the podium with my kid since he’s not got his own intel to share. So this week, my child has the floor (for a little bit. I get it back after a quick interview because…he’s 7.) Without further ado, we learn what inspired their trip, what he loved, what boring thing he says you can skip, and where he and I are apparently going next.
After his Q&A, I’m sharing one of the most inspiring, beautiful stories I’ve ever heard. I was lucky enough to be invited to a discussion recently with Shabana Basij-Rasikh who founded SOLA, “an Afghan-led boarding school for Afghan girls, the first and only of its kind.” Listening to her personal story and then to those of these girls and their families… there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
On Egypt, with Finn
Question: Why did you want to go to Egypt?
Answer: I’m learning a lot about ancient Egypt in school and I really like it. So I thought it would be cool to go see the stuff I’m learning about in person.
Q: Were you right?
A: Ummm, yeah.
Q: What were some of the things you were most excited to see in Egypt?
A: King Tut’s mask, King Tut’s tomb, and the temple of King Ramses II.
Q: Where exactly did you go?
A: Cairo, Abu Simbel, Aswan, Luxor, and we sailed on the Nile. I think that’s it.
Q: You guys took a lot of different types of vehicles, can you list them all?
A: Busses, cars, a horse-drawn wagon, planes, and a boat! Whoa!
Q: What was the best thing you ate in Egypt?
A: Oh my god, this one’s super hard. It was lots of chicken and rice and pita bread, and it was all good. Also, I had this strawberry juice that was not like anything else.
Q: If someone was planning their first trip to Egypt, what’s something they have to do? And what’s something you did that they could skip?
A: They would have to go see King Tut’s mask, at a bright pink museum in Cairo I think. And the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza, those are really close to each other. They could definitely skip seeing the High Dam in Aswan. It was so boring.
Q: What’s your favorite thing that you brought back?
A: A King Tut t-shirt.
Q: Do you want to go back to Egypt?
A: Yes, to do a couple of things, like go see the unfinished obelisk and take a hot air balloon ride. We didn’t do the hot air balloon ride this time because I wasn’t tall enough to see over the sides yet.
Q: Where in the world do you want to go next?
A: The next big trip I want to take is to Tokyo, because I love sushi and Mario.
You need to know about SOLA
Shabana Basij-Rasikh’s story is wildly inspirational. Growing up in Afghanistan, Shabana and her sister’s parents took the immense risk of sending them to a secret school, as girls’ access to education was forbidden. At 15, Shabana received a place on a one-year exchange program to the US, where she saw firsthand the difference between having to fight for your education and taking it for granted (in a good way).
In 2008, while studying at Middlebury College, Shabana founded SOLA, a first-of-its-kind boarding school for Afghan girls. Her goal was to enroll girls from all 34 of Afghanistan’s provinces. As of 2021 they had students from 26 of the provinces; girls from across the country now with safe access to a high quality education.
But in August 2021, the Taliban’s return to power directly threatened their safety, so Shabana made the incredible decision to launch an ongoing study abroad program. That month, nearly 250 members of their community made their way to Kigali, Rwanda. Because of her dedication to these girls and their education, they’re boarding and studying, and their families can breathe more easily knowing their daughters are safe. This isn’t even to mention how she’s committed to their healing and mental health, aware as she is of what they may be going through in leaving home for school when many of their own mothers are unable to read or write.
Should you want to donate, please do. The work she’s doing is absolutely vital.
Lastly, five cool things
If you’re in LA, run don’t walk to Layla Bagels on Ocean Park Blvd. It’s the kind of thing that I want to gate-keep, but can’t because these bagels are happiness…
Can we all agree that the 90s were a golden era of music? (I will not be entertaining other opinions at this time.) I invite you to picture tiny 7 year old Nicole very sincerely rocking out to the “November Rain” music video on MTV. Followed not insignificantly by 12 year old Nicole dancing to “Honey” like she knew what any of it meant, feeling hardcore watching “Du Hast,” and learning every word to every En Vogue song. Give me back my Carson Daly and TRL! (via A Thing or Two)
What I wouldn’t give to have a situation perfectly teed up so I could say this.
20,000 reviews can’t be wrong, right? Adding to cart after searching for the best shampoo and conditioner for wavy and sometimes color-treated hair: Olaplex No. 4 and No. 5
Signing off to slay my in-car performances of Mariah Carey’s “Heartbreaker” and Toni Braxton’s “Un-Break My Heart”.
xoxo,
Nicole
Best interview ever….aaand Nintendo switch won! Always love your rec’s. Going to order the olaplex asap. Shabana’s story is incredible, what a force she is.
Have you tried the K18 hair treatment?! It’s expensive but the bottle lasts a long time and it’s so so good.