Study abroad is typically assumed to lead to greater contact with local speakers of the target language and improved linguistic proficiency. However, research on study abroad demonstrates that both local contacts and linguistic outcomes vary widely (Freed, 2008; Kinginger, 2009). As a result, researchers have turned to examining the "process" of study abroad, in addition to the linguistic "product" (Wilkinson, 1998). The use of poststructuralist theories of identity (i.e Block, 2007; Norton, 2000) to examine qualitative and ethnographic data gathered during the study abroad sojourn has demonstrated that the negotiation of national, ethnic, and gendered identities abroad impacts students' abilities to gain local contacts as well as improve their language skills (Jackson, 2008; 2010; Kinginger, 2008; Siegal, 1996). In this paper, I use these poststructuralist theories of identity to analyze the experiences of seven Arabic heritage learners studying abroad in Egypt. I focus on the impact of their negotiation of Arab, Egyptian, foreign, religious, and gendered identities on their access to Egyptians and use of Arabic. The dataset consists of interview, questionnaire, and observational data collected over 17 months at two universities in Egypt, the American University in Cairo and Alexandria University. The participants include 63 Arabic students (including the seven heritage speakers), ten Arabic teachers, and thirteen Egyptian friends of the students. Based on the multiple and often contradictory subject positions the heritage students negotiated abroad, I demonstrate how their status as heritage speakers of Arabic could both help and hinder access to Egyptians and use of Arabic. For example, negotiating an identity as Egyptian, rather than foreign, could result in greater use of Arabic, yet also lead to alienation if students were mocked for their mistakes in Arabic or resisted identification with a particular cultural practice. I conclude with pedagogical and program recommendations to assist heritage students in the negotiation of their identities abroad such that this sojourn helps, rather than hinders, their contact with locals and linguistic development.