AIESEC Damietta

[aiesec-damietta]

Check Reka's video about her experience here in damietta.

[aiesec-damietta]

Come to Egypt and experience the Egyptian culture with AIESEC Damietta.

[aiesec-damietta]

Why does the prayer at 3am have to be that loud?

This is the story about a girl. A girl who is usually quite shy and insecure, but one day decided that she wanted to broaden her horizon. She wanted to escape her safe and comfortable home and explore that part of the world that she could least understand, that she was even a bit afraid of; the Arabic world. You might think that it is silly to be fearful of Arabs, but it wasn’t really her fault. It was the media and her society who had been showing her images of repression, extremism and war whenever they talked about this region for her entire life. Some people told her not to go; they tried to convince her that it wasn’t safe, that the people weren’t nice, that she couldn’t do it. Honestly, she couldn’t care less.

That is why, for one summer, she went from the country of bikes to the country of microbusses. From one of the most individualistic societies on earth, to a society where family is central. From a country where prostitution is legal, to a country where unmarried couples cannot share a hotel room. From a country where 42% of the people are nonreligious, to a country where religion forms an important part of daily life. That is how the story started.

Overexcited she got out of the airplane, ready for the adventure. But that excitement soon changed into fear when she was standing in the arrival hall all alone, no clue what she should do next. Terrified she stared at the world, curiously the world stared back at her. One of the most vulnerable moments in her life.

The first days were a concatenation of culture-shocking and extremely-out-of-your-comfort-zone experiences for her. As someone who usually prefers to stay on the background and hates being the centre of attention, all the attention and staring eyes when she just walked through the streets, made her feel extremely awkward. The first party made her realize that her dancing skills were way below African level. And then there were these cultural differences, she tried to understand, but basically just irritated her: Why can’t we kiss? Why are there hardly any women on the streets during the evening? Why does everyone plan everything so last minute here? How can women ever voluntary decide to wear a niqab? And why can’t we just wear shorts in this hot weather? Why does nobody ever seem to have change? Why does the prayer at 3am have to be that loud? Does anyone care here about safety at all?! But most of all, the first few days were filled with amazement. It was the best honey moon experience she had ever encountered.

Until the demonstrations interrupted her carefree existence, and throw her back to reality. Messages from the news, the embassy, AIESEC The Netherlands, family and friends basically all had the same alarming content: Go home, it’s not safe, you’re not supposed to be there anymore. All of them wanted to stay in touch and receive regular updates, as if she was living in a war situation and could be shot at any moment. She asked herself many times whether she could have seen this coming, whether it was irresponsible of her to come to Egypt in the first place. Should she have taken those people who told her not to go more seriously? Despite all the pressure, she was resolute that she had to stay. Call it brave, call it reckless, it probably was both. It was too late to leave, she had already fallen in love with the country. Two factors played an extremely important role in this decision. First of all, she had people around her who she loved, who cared for her day and night, and who made her feel safe in these turbulent times. Second of all, she hated the unfair image the media gave of Egypt, as if it was a country full of violence and hatred and she wanted to prove to herself and the world that it was still a wonderful place to stay.

Then she finally wrote her first blog. Why it took her so long? Because she had no idea what to write. She did not even know what to take pictures of. Egypt gave her too many impressions, too much input, good and bad, and she had no idea how she could ever put that into worlds. How could she write a happy and positive blog while Egypt was on fire? How could she post a critical blog without having people misinterpreting her words to confirm the negative image the media gave of Egypt? She was overwhelmed by the huge amount of positive feedback she received after finally publishing her first blog, and it surprised her that the majority of the reactions came from Egyptians, although the blog originally was aimed at Europeans. They seemed to be relieved to finally read an honest and cheerful description of Egypt, after all the horror stories the media had been spreading. They almost seemed to have forgotten how beautiful their country and their people are. That’s when she realized how confused the country was.

When the holy month of Ramadan started, the country transformed again for the second time under her eyes. A month of religion, a month of fasting and a month of celebration. To the extent it still existed, this completely ruined her whole sleeping and eating pattern. It gave her a new view on the role of religion in a country that is very religious, but at the same time very liberal. Experiencing the openness and warmness of the people during this month was a valuable experience she would not have wanted to miss.

And then, all of a sudden, everything wasn’t that scary anymore. And that was probably the point at which she realized that Egypt had become her home. The people, the traditions, the products, the houses, everything. She felt like she had been living here for years. She realized that really understanding a culture is probably not about being able to explain every aspect of it to a foreigner, but about feeling comfortable being part of it and enjoying living in it. In the beginning, she only respected the culture, now she could truly enjoy it.

That was also the point at which she realized that what this experience had taught her about Egypt, was nothing compared to what it had taught her about herself. Back then, when she felt uncomfortable about the staring eyes and the dancing, she could never have guessed how many more out-of-her-comfort zone experiences there still were to come. She could never have known how this country and its people would change her, without her noticing it. And she could never have predicted how much she would regret having to leave this country eventually.

So, what is the point of the story, you might ask? How did it change her? Why are you telling it? I honestly have no idea, but I wanted to share it with you.

[aiesec-damietta]

[aiesec-damietta]

Hello, my name is Pong Sheng Kai and I am from Malaysia! I am currently reading biological sciences in University College London, in the UK.

So, my internship work is affiliated with AIESEC Damietta and also the biggest non-governmental organization in Egypt - Resala. The project is named ‘Think Green’. The purpose of the project is to raise the environmental awareness of residents in the city Damietta. My internship lasted for 42 days, from early June to late July this year (2013).

So, let’s start with Damietta, the very beautiful city that I spent the first half of my summer. The memory is still fresh in my mind; the moment when I was standing on the bridge crossing the Nile, I was utterly spellbound by the scenery set in front of me. Having the Nile as the local river in the city is simply magical. Even though there are some aspects that should be improved, it is a livable city. The people there are extremely friendly; sometimes they will even approach us (the interns) and greet us warm-heartedly. This is also a city where you can taste the authentic Egyptian culture; not only the food but also how they dress, act and live.

When I was in Damietta, even though the situation in Cairo had gone really bad, this city does not seem to be affected. Only a few non-aggressive demonstrations were seen in the city centre, nothing else happened, just try not to get near to where the demonstrations and clashes are happening (for example, cities like Cairo and Alexandria or even Mansoura), and you can definitely avoid that. The AIESEC members had also told us not to step out of our apartment after certain hours, to ensure our safety. I always had kept in mind that I have the AIESEC members alongside with me so that I did not have to worry too much; they did their best to keep us safe.

Back to the internship, in this project, we are working with the largest NGO in Egypt, which means that they have the financial power and the influence to implement it in a very large scale. Therefore, what we (the interns) did was that we had meeting everyday and write proposals outlining what we wanted to do and proposed it to the NGO. We must definitely request for the approval before implementing it, and it all depended on how the NGO works and stuffs like that. Several skills can be developed while working on the project, skills like writing proposal, making presentation, negotiating with the people in the NGO and so on. Efforts need to be put in in order to make the impact as prominent as possible, therefore, diligence and perseverance are essential.

And last but not least, I am going to talk about how much I changed after attending this internship. I feel like I have become more adaptable, not only to harsh weather (which you can definitely find in Egypt) but also cultural differences. I am become more independent as well, I have to wash my own clothes and make my own meal every day, but thanks to the other interns, it all worked out really well. My views have also been broadened significantly as I knew so much more about modern Egypt and its complicated political situation, and also learnt to be more compassionate after witnessing the hardship experienced by the people there. 

I would say I am really grateful that I had once-in-a-lifetime experience in this city, Damietta, and also the friends I met there, thank you very much for everything that you have done for us.

 Best wishes,

[aiesec-damietta]

I write this testimonial with a lot of nostalgia for the country that changed my life forever, for the people that will be in my heart forever, for the memories that will remain in my mind forever. I have to thank to whom picked me up from the airport: Shokran Ahmed Sanad (Boxy)! I have to thank to who introduced me Resala and the other interns: Shokran Saleh El-Harawy. I have to thank to those who took me to my NGO: Shokran Ahmed El-Feel (Feelo) and Mahmoud Kasem. I have to thank to whom pushed me to face my culture shocks and express myself out: Shokran Abdullah Egeez. I want to thank to whom was there when you called him to help you: Shokran Hesham Wally. I want to thank to whom was my VP when I just came: Shokran Summer Hamed. I want to thank to those who like practicing Arabic with me: Shokran Muhammad Asal and Eslam El-Sewedy. Thanks to Mazen Ahmed, Muhammad El-Zalabany, and Mahmoud el-shehaby for all those unforgatable moments we shared. Thank you all, you made this experience worth living.

Traditionally, Colombians feel like going abroad to improve their lives in many of the "developed" countries. I wanted to be different. I wanted to visit a country that apparently had no more to offer than pyramids and desert; the worst stereotypes I could rely on. I wanted to prove other Colombians that there is more apart from those countries we sometimes worship too much. When I arrived in Egypt I found wonders that equaled its famous monuments. Those wonders are in Egypt's hospital people, always charming and welcoming. Egypt was at first glance a place I was hardly to forget.

I am happy that I could undertake the project I applied for: Teaching Spanish. Though my classroom was way smaller than I thought and the target population changed from children to adults, I felt I did the job I had been assigned. I showed my culture, food, music, landscapes, and language. I just hope I had given a good impression about my country. It would be nice if some of the people I met feel like coming to Colombia soon.

This exchange programs are not only to show and impact others, but it is also about being shown and being impacted by the host culture. I can tell this is another accomplished goal. Fortunately I could stay during those 7 weeks in Damietta. I think that Damietta is one of the best pure Egyptian experiences you can have. Nobody rips you off with the prices, they do not offer you fake Egyptian objects, and they do not pretend they are not in Egypt. When you live in Damietta, being an Egyptian is more important than "walking like an Egyptian."

For the future interns, I would be happy to give as many pieces of advice as possible if someone wants to travel around Egypt. I know the local committee has just started, and I wish a lot of luck to its new president.