Homesick Egyptians, We Get It
By Lojain El Shawaf
There’s no doubt that Egypt is unique in every way, and if you’re Egyptian you get used to different kinds of elements that do not really exist abroad. Here’s a list of things that you sure won’t find anywhere else but in our beloved home country.
Restaurants and shops that are available 24/7
If you want a meal after 10, book your first flight back to Egypt. Numerous restaurants in the area never even close and have their doors open all night. No matter where and when you’re starving, your food will be served.
Antibiotic on shelf with no perscription
As Egyptians, we can be our own doctors, we often don’t need a prescription as we can use antibiotics every time a fever strikes. However, when you’re living abroad, some might say that finding the right medication for a silly cold can be even hard to achieve. Another perk that you may have forgotten about, is that pharmacies in Egypt deliver your medications to your doorstep. Talk about luxury living.
Kiosks everywhere
Little canteens and kiosks are invading Egyptian streets, nobody can resist a little snack or a good cold drink during summertime with a bit of a heatwave, but Egyptians tend to love the idea of kiosks and are now used to finding them everywhere.
This one certainly falls under the ”perks of being an Egyptian” connotations and we can’t deny the fact that we freak out a little when there isn’t a kiosk around.
Your mother tongue
You can’t help but fall in love with the Egyptian language. Living abroad sometimes makes you forget how distinctive it is, you communicate with people without the need of actually saying much because one word can replace a whole sentence, and let’s be honest, some expressions are better said in arabic.
Same classes and classmates all year
If you’re still a student in school then you will relate to this point in particular. You probably miss seeing the same faces all year round, because when you’re abroad you can have a variety of classes and in each class, you meet new people, however, it doesn’t work this way here. In Egypt, you get assigned one class, and one class only, with the same classmates the whole year. You’re now obliged to work on your social skills or you’ll be stuck with the same people for god knows how long.
What change? You only get gum
Back to kiosks or any supermarket really in Egypt, canteens don’t believe in the term ”one pound” they replace it with a chewing-gum scale, for example, if your change is one pound, you better kiss that dream of yours away, instead, you can get two gums in return even though you haven’t asked for it. That in fact is an Egyptian thing, as I said, we sure are different.
No one will understand your slang
As an Egyptian, you for sure grew up watching movies and the punch lines just never left your head since then, we store these lines and use them whenever it feels right, they work on different occasions and never fail to draw a smile on the faces of not only the one saying it but the people who are around too.
The exotic and beautiful Egyptian food
No words will do justice to how Molokhya is truly food for the soul. We are known for our appetizing cuisine, and you probably can’t compare Egyptian stuffed Hammam or Mombar to any other food in the world. People of New York you can now rejoice as Zooba just made it to the Big Apple!!
