Twenty-something Aviva moved to Cairo shortly after graduating from college with a degree in elementary education. She became a teacher not because she cared passionately about educating the young, but for the traveling opportunities the career provided. Aviva's best friend, Aisha, has visited her mother's family in Cairo on several occasions. When she's twenty-four, she decides to move to Egypt to live with them for a year or two. But there are problems from the beginning. When Aviva's roommate abandons her, the two friends become roommates, setting them up for some unforgettable exploits.
Aviva and Aisha's worldly adventures range from hilarious to traumatic, taking them from Egypt to its neighbors and even farther east. Together, they suffer from culture shock that is worse the second year than the first. It comes from realizing that they've been desensitized to things that once stunned or saddened them-and causes them to question their own sanity. They get into and out of trouble, both at work and on vacation; learn new languages; and make friends and enemies along the way.
One important lesson is reiterated everywhere they go-if they don't try to apply American logic, everything makes more sense!
Instigating Profligacy: Aviva and Aisha's Adventures in the World is based on author E. G. Barbuto's experiences living, working, and vacationing in the Middle East and Asia.
