trip

Scene 1: Tuesday 25, 8am
just arrived at work as everyday. Enjoying last day before travelling, everything is normal. Later on , my mom sends me email saying she’ll go and get the ticket from the office.

Scene 2: around 1h45pm.
My mom calls me from the office saying I can’t travel tomorrow. My initial travel plan was Cairo – Milan – Paris – Libreville and the problem is that I don’t have Shengen visa so I cant go from Milan to Paris cos it is considered domestic flight. And they told my mom that after they issued the ticket (the reservation was done from france) so she couldn’t even return it. To cancel it; I must send the ticket to france. What to do? How will I travel? To many questions with no specific answer. All that and I leave work at 2h30pm. I try to contact people saying the problem.

Scene 3: around 6h30pm
I am told that the solution is to fly to Paris then to Libreville so no need of visa and that the flight is at 1am. I just have few hours to pack everything. At the end, I’ll take the same flight as before from Paris to Libreville, so this means that I’ll have like 17 hours transit.

Scene 4: 10h30pm
I arrive at the airport, my brother is already there, he was studying with his friends and came to say goodbye. I check in, everything is ok. My aunt, uncle and cousin came to say goodbye too.

Scene 5: Wednesday 26, 6am
I arrive at Paris. I change terminals. I have a lot of time so I take my time. I finally arrive to the place where I’m going to spend my day. As I don’t have visa, I can’t go to other place. I feel like Tom Hanks in his movie the Terminal. I check the place, there are seats, 3 shops but still everything is closed. There are people everywhere. I choose a place to sit, and decided to write a little about everything. At 8am, finally shops open. There is one with souvenirs and books, one for perfumes and drinks and a café to have things to eat. I look at the souvenir shop, to see what I can get on my way back to home and have a look around the books. I went to that shop 3 times, I bought some books to pass my time. In the middle of the day, the place was almost empty, no more flights till night. I slept a little, read a little. I have bought a book of Sudeku. It is a game, u have nine squares, each square has 9 spaces, u have to put numbers inside those spaces in a certain way and there is only one solution. Apparently this game is famous in France, it is originally from Japan.
Every now and then we hear announcements, that passenger shall keep their bags with them all the time and that the police will take anything left aside, by the way I didn’t see any policeman, maybe they were undercover…
There was a box aside the wall with donations for the UNICEF. U can see money inside it and for my surprise, I noticed a 1LE and 50pts. I was happy to see that, I felt that it doesn’t matter from where u r, the important is to share and care and that Egyptians care.
Times passes slowly, but finally the time to go on plane arrived.

Scene 6: Thursday 27, 5am
At last, I arrived at Libreville. It took more than hour to finish everything and get the bags. Procedure are really slow round here. I began to think that back in Egypt, it is very good service.

coming soon

my trip from Cairo to Libreville (left cairo tuesday 25 at 00:55 arrived at libreville thursday 27 at 4:55).

i'm leaving tomorrow.i'm going to the Gabon for work. i don't know yet when i'll return exactly. i'll try to post every now and then about this experience.
just one funny thing to say. Gabon is situated in south west africa, on the equator. to go there, i have to go to france and to go to france i'll pass by italy. it is just transit but still, i have to go round to arrive to my destination. and this is like life, sometimes we have to pass by stages away from the final destination but there is no other way to shortcut.
i don't know why i always try to say something philosophic, maybe just a habit :)
yalla... post u later (= c u later)

condoléances

yesterday one of my teachers at school, Mme Nelly, has passed away. She was my french teacher 10 years ago. i still remember her, french was one of my best subjects. i don't have much to say except praying for her and her family.

adieu

i'm leaving tomorrow or after tomorrow

going to the unknown

having maybe some sorrow

leaving my heart at home

fear lying deep inside

not having you by my side

excited by the adventure

trapped in the center

what tomorrow will bring?

what melodies will life sing?

so come and sing with me

life is great, life is free

Ramadaneyat

• 1st day of ramadan, no traffic officers early morning
• finish work early
• trip to home takes more time then on regular days
• people want to go to home as early as possible
• people don't want to work, it's a general feeling.
• tv shows one series after another, all u have to do is to change the channel from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 1 (i only watch 1 or 2 or not at all)
• children playing in the street (they do in summer and in ramadan)
• people sleep very very late
• children playing with "bomb" (not bomb as the word in english, it is an arabic word for the little small thing they throw in the street and makes a small boum)
• concerts everywhere (i go to at least one event per week)
• too much food from all kind
• lamps or "fawanis" ramadan everywhere (small or huge, poor or rich, u find it everywhere)
• before start of ramadan, people go shop for much food as if there would be a famine
• the only time i see a lot of people reading in the transportations which is not common on normal days

Lyrics: The Reason by Hoobastank

I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
Thats why i need you to hear

I've found a resaon for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is You

I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you

i have too much feelings i can't describe, maybe cos i can't determine exactly how i feel.
i'm going to travel very soon, for 3 months, to the Gabon for work. i can't say i'm excited that finally i'll work and i got my first mission or i'm sad cos i've to bear the consequences knowing what i may lose or what is lost already... it's like being caught in the middle of a storm, not knowing when it will end or where i'll be standing when everything calms down.

Smiles

usually i have something to read in the bus of the work and since it is now ramadan, the way back takes more time. yesterday, i forgot to take the book i'm currently reading so all i had to do is to watch from the window or to sleep a little. while watching, it came to my mind this topic, smiles.. i noticed that all the people in the street, especially the drivers (whatever they drive car, microbuis, taxi.. ) are not smiling and seem lost. i don't know is it cos of ramadan and fasting or it is the normal. i began to think, why we don't smile all the time? it is such a nice thing to see, the pure smile. maybe cos of life, nothing to smile about. or if someone is alone so he is taken into thoughts which are probably more concerns about life or cos we got used to that face, of no expressions.
let us fight to get back smiles into our life :)

survey

Hello
i would be very grateful if u go to this link http://endehash.manalaa.net/italian_survey and answer this survey. it is easy, just multiple choices, thanks to M.Y.
waiting for ur contribution.

sad end of september, nice beginning of october

yesterday, the hard disk decided to die... everything is gone. i was upset for a while, all my photos, things i've wrote, downloaded.. nothing is left.
but now, i see it more as a new beginning, like i had to let go the past and begin a new life, so i'm looking forward for this new start, just forget the past and think of the future.