People ask me the same questions over and over, so here is a list of the usuals with the answer. If it's not here, feel free to ask.

• Who are you?

I am Danielle, a twenty-something, American, not-so-wild gypsy child.

• Where do you live?

I am currently living in Cairo, Egypt, and I will be here for at least the next two years, although it will probably end up being much longer.

• What do you do?

I attend the American University in Cairo where I am majoring in Arabic Studies, having adventures, and generally making an ass of myself.

• Are you studying abroad?

This is my least favorite question. Ever. No, I am not studying abroad. I transferred to the American University in Cairo after two years at the University of Alabama. I will be graduating from AUC in two years [give or take]; I am not at any time going to be a student at the University of Alabama again.

• Are you a Muslim?

I am honestly not much of anything, Muslim or otherwise. Like so many hippie-douches before me, I consider myself spiritual but not religious. I believe in God, but I try not to get too specific with it. Creation is all the proof of a higher power that I need- look around! God, whoever He may be, is incredible!

• What made you want to move to the Middle East?

I love travel, and I have an insatiable thirst for adventure. If it's off the beaten path, I want to go there. If it's beyond the realm of mediocrity, I want to do it. Add to that the fact that I grew up in a transient household, living outside the contiguous United States for approximately half of my life before college, and you have a natural-born gypsy.

• Why do you have this blog?

I started this blog in the summer of 2008, when I hopped on a plane and moved to Morocco for a few months in order to study Arabic in Meknes. It is an easy way for family and friends to keep up with my day to day life abroad. I started it up again in summer 2009 in preparation for my long-term move to Egypt.

• What do you want to do once you graduate from AUC?

First I want to do a little bit of gallavanting. I would love to join the Peace Corps; avoid marriage; live in a teepee in the forest of a third-world country until a parasite of some sort leaves me incapacitated and I must be airlifted to the best bariatric specialist my insurance [or lack thereof] can afford; work in a baby elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka; and then after all of that I suppose I'll put my expensive education to good use and work in an embassy in the Middle East.

• What languages do you speak?

I am fluent in English, Spanish, and Arabic, and have an understanding of Gaelic, Japanese, Hebrew, and Turkish.