Falling In Love With Egypt
Travel Pocket Notes by Piyush Barskar, a Global Volunteer
Coming out of my comfort zone was one of the most important things that made the Global Volunteer opportunity attractive. I never knew that the first day of this internship itself will prove to be such a challenge.
People in Egypt are very friendly and hospitable. The chain of events that unfurled on this day made me realize how people, everywhere, are the same at heart. I realized how AIESEC helps in bringing peace and making this world a better place.
After a tiresome 12 hours, as I came out of the Cairo international airport, I looked around, there was no one to take me to my destination which lied 300 km away, Alexandria.
However, getting out of the airport seemed to be a mammoth task. As I walked out, I heard somebody say “Piyush!” It was my senior at college, Shivani. She told me that the AIESECers who had come to receive her will drop me to the nearest bus stop.
“Ramses”, I told the driver of the micro-bus on reaching the bus stop. I sat with my 20 kg baggage on my lap and adjusted on the seat somehow. The driver said something to me. I could not understand as he spoke Arabic. Bewildered, I looked at his face and asked, “what?” only to receive a reply I could barely understand.
I heard a loud laugh. I looked back, it was a couple of guys who were looking right at me. They were probably making fun of the fact that I was so clueless and the way I looked.
I turned my head as I was feeling embarrassed. Just then i felt a hand on my shoulder, it was an old man, probably in his mid-fifties. He said in a calming tone, “Fare” and signaled 4 pounds with his fingers. I gave the money to the driver. I had a nice conversation with the old man. He spoke in the broken little English that he knew. Sensing my embarrassment, he said, “It’s okay, it happen.” I can’t tell you how relieved I was. He also helped me to get off the bus when I reached the railway station. I thanked him and went inside the station.
I got my tickets and went to the platform to wait for the train. The platform was crowded and there was absolutely no place to sit. I just stood there with my big, heavy luggage. I was starting to get weary, I had seen 21 hours of daylight in a single day by then. I looked around,there was a waving his hands towards me. He was sitting on one of the benches. As I approached him, the guy stood up and offered his seat to me. I refused at first but he genuinely wanted me to seat. The guy’s name was Mohammed and he was going to Aswan. He told me about the contents of the ticket like my seat number as the ticket too was unreadable for me.
I met another guy on the train who was travelling to Alexandria with his family, just like I was. I had long discussions with him over the Egyptian, Indian cultures and Bollywood too. The Egyptians really love Bollywood.
I was tired and hungry. I did not know how he sensed it but Tamer offered me a burger that his wife had prepared at home. It was the most delicious burger that i have ever had in my life. The 3 hour journey ended. I got off with a little help from Tamer. I thanked him and his family for the delicious food and invaluable help they gave me. I had reached my destination and now waited for my Global Citizen journey to begin.
All of this made me realize how small things like comforting words from a stranger in a bus (whose name I don’t even know, but i will surely remember him for the rest of my life) or the hospitality of Mohammed and Tamer, could give you so much relief and happiness, making you feel you are not helpless in an unknown community. They empower you with the feeling that goodness still lies in humanity, in any part of this big world, irrespective of origin, religion or societal norms. Such incidents, howsoever small, will be etched in my memories forever.
I have fallen in love with Egypt.
