Five days in Egypt!
On 17th Oct 2019, 00:15 am, I went to bed with full excitements for my first ever Egypt trip. I woke up after 2 hours and got ready to take my journey off at 3 am from Yangon International Airport, Myanmar. Then I arrived in Thailand in the morning and it was the beginning of my blissful journey. Then I received messages from Prof Hala and Dr Aly that they mentioned their airport pick up plan. I have been travelling since I was in grad school for conferences and meetings, but I never experienced that kind of hospitality. After one more connection at Bahrain, I arrived at Cairo International Airport around 7 pm on the same day. Dr Aly and his wife welcomed me to Egypt and I was literally in the city of Cairo! Cairo was different from my expectations and I got very wrong impressions of Egypt. My expectations were something else, but the city welcomed me has some amazing vibes, once I step into the city, it touched my soul before even I met people and experienced things.
Guess what happened next, I started meeting with some cool guys Shadii and Ahmad (Demonstrators @ Faculty of PT, Delta University), they warmly welcomed me and made sure my stay at Intercontinental Semiramis was all good. The next day, 18th Oct Friday, after Zhur Salah, when I was in the Lobby of the hotel, I met a gorgeous lady with a beautiful soul indeed, Prof Hala, Dean of Faculty of Physical Therapy, Delta University of Science and Technology. We have been communicating for a while via emails, but I never thought that this in-person meetup would create such a beautiful connection. With warm hugs, she said I’m in good hands. With this sweet assurance, who doesn’t feel at home?
Then I started experiencing things in the city, we walked around the Nile river with a group of students (both Master and Undergrad). Warning!!! This meeting with students could make you emotionally attached to this country. I should have recognized this as a warning, but unfortunately, too late to know...
In the evening, there was ‘A Welcome Dinner with the President, Vice-President of Delta University of Science and Technology and Dean of the Faculty of Physical Therapy. All of the delegates from different countries (including Ireland, Sweden and Poland) attended. We had a great time meeting and greeting such high-profile people in the same place. The welcoming moment from Delta University was wonderful.
Next morning, 19th Oct, Conference day 1: I was very excited to attend the 1st International Conference of the Faculty of Physical Therapy, Delta University for Science and Technology. The welcoming and the opening ceremony of the conference was very impressive and memorable. As I never experienced attending scientific conferences in Muslim majority countries, reciting Qur’an at the beginning of the conference was just a mesmerizing experience for me, Alhamdulillah. Proceeded with scientific research oral presentations for varieties of the study area within the scope of Physical Therapy from musculoskeletal to paediatrics and also included integrating health promotion and quality management for Physical Therapy facilities.
The conference went on for two days and at the beginning of the second day, I presented part of my PhD research work entitled “Developing and Teaching the Clinical Decision Making (CDM) Guidelines for Myanmar Physical Therapists” It was a great moment to present the result of my study where the routine CDM process of Myanmar Physical Therapists was revealed and which gave us the insight to improve efficient clinical decisions. And also, it was a good opportunity to highlight that physical therapists from other countries who are taught and practised in a manner similar to that of the therapists in Myanmar may also benefit from this type of assessment and intervention. And as I expected, there were follow up discussions about the study after the conference as well. Regarding the conference activities, I am very much appreciated and honoured to be one of the chairpersons of the third scientific sessions on Day 2. I couldn’t continue writing this without mentioning one thing here, from the session I chaired, student’s oral presentations were very informative and visually very attractive. I am wishing them to have brighter futures ahead.
The organizing committee worked very hard to run all the events smoothly including city tours during and even out of the conference. The student volunteers at the conference were extremely helpful in every perspective especially in ushering, the way they (girls) carried their tasks will make you fall into them when you ask them any direction, they would grab your hand and bring you to the exact place. Yeah! Then why would I figure out myself if I wanted to know something, I just let them lead the way, that was super lovely. The refreshments and lunch were amazing, even though the timings were a big challenge for me (lunch at 6 pm and that was my dinner time).
Two-days conference closed grandly with the awards and certificates giving ceremony. The Dean of the Faculty of Physical Therapy ended the conference by sharing the recommendations from the delegates in order to get improved for the next upcoming conferences. In the evening, there was a gala dinner for all delegates during cruising down the Nile and watched the light and sound show at the Pyramid. The generosity and hospitality of Delta University was incredible and which is beyond my expectations. I would say the 1st International Conference of Faculty of Physical Therapy, Delta University Science and Technology were very successful! Ahlamdullilah!
After the conference, University arranged a city tour for us. With accompany of my good friend, Noha, I had such a memorable day exploring the Egyptian Museum, eating authentic Egyptian foods at a very nice restaurant called ‘Sobhy Kaber’, and having a short road trip to the Mall of Egypt. Before I set my journey off to Egypt, I prepared lists for what to eat, where to go and what to buy at home. And surprisingly, I have checked all done with the help of the students. I ate almost every authentic and famous Egyptian food including Kushari, kofta, Ful medammes, Mahshi, Macaroni Bechamel, Molokhia, and my fav deserts: Umm Ali, Konafa and Sahlab.
On the last day of my stay in Egypt, as visiting Pyramid should be a must thing to do before I left the country, I visited the Giza Pyramids. I went there without my Egyptian friends, so it was a good chance to be overcharged for everything literally, but it’s worth spending every buck there and I’m totally happy with that.
Afternoon, my dear friend, Dalia invited me to have lunch at her home. The love I received from her family was overwhelming and mama’s foods are the best food I have had in Egypt.
Last but not least, I’d like to mention my dear friend, Ahmad who was the happiest person to welcome me and show me the city around, without him my Egypt trip would not be that crazy as he added loads of laughs and craziness.
Overall, my Egypt trip is the best ever trip in my life, Wallahi.
I’m writing this in my office in the middle of works demanding my attention but I’m still chilling with the song ‘3daqat’ and replaying everything back to what happens in Egypt. Well, better to stop here even I have a lot more to talk about my Egypt trip. Here’s one commitment I have made out of all those enjoyments, I decided to learn to speak Arabic and keep all those connections alive InShaAllah.
