Let’s be honest here; Egypt has its drawbacks. Every day, many of us face situations that make us seriously consider dropping our Egyptian citizenship. On the other hand, there is always a bright side for being born and raised here.
Living in Egypt also has its advantages; from time to time something positive happens and makes you feel how blessed you are to be here. Below are some of them:
1. Multifunctional Friends
Dear friends and precious friendships are one of the most important reasons that make life worth living, and from a personal experience, friends here in Egypt are irreplaceable. They are a whole new level of loyalty and commitment (of course bastards will always be bastards but we’re trying to be positive here). Now, think now of a situation that might happen to you in life: your car breaks down, you get involved in a fight, you need a costume for Halloween, you need a tuxedo, you want to buy a car, you need to play football right now, you’re sick, you’re lost, even if you need to make a life changing decision or choose a wife,… whatever you need and whenever you need it, you will ALWAYS have a friend who can help. Besides, you could’ve known a friend only for few months and both of you would take a bullet for each other.
2. Family is Family
Family is the first and the strongest backbone you will ever have. Your first friends and even sometimes your first crush, always have a special place in your heart but family bonds are different. The word “Family” itself has a whole different definition. “Family” is anyone who’s ANYONE’s relative; this includes your cousins, your cousins’ cousins, your father’s cousins’ cousins, the grandsons of your father’s and mother’s uncles… Anyone who is related to anyone that is related to anyone you are related to is family. You love and care for them as much, they care for you as much and will stand up for you at all times.
3. Egyptian Streets
Well, Egyptian streets are one of the worst things that happened to the history of mankind. The fact that we spend most of our lives being stuck in traffic has made us develop new skills to allow us to survive under these inhumane conditions. We now easily make friends on 6th of October bridge and no one finds it weird. I once saw a row of cars on the bridge dancing and singing to the same radio station; I promise you that you will never find this warmth in any traffic jam elsewhere.
4. Cozy Places
We’re not referring to beautiful beaches and great scenery here; we’re talking about places that move something in you, starting from Zamalek and Ma’adi in Cairo, Bahary in Alexandria, to Sinai including Dahab, Taba, Nueiba, and many other places around Egypt. These places don’t need to have the best beaches or the greatest weather; you just go there and instantly feel that you belong and always have. These places will always have a special place in your heart, no matter where you go.
5. Food
The food culture has become a huge thing in Egypt lately and it’s getting even better. People are no longer satisfied with average food so everyone is trying to improve their quality since the competition is very fierce. This is a great thing for us, food lovers; we now have huge varieties and better quality (and a lot of overweight citizens of course).
6. Music
Music is also getting better and better every day in Egypt. If you’re a music enthusiast, you probably had the chance to witness the birth of many ‘friends’ bands whose records eventually topped the charts. Due to the fact that there are a lot of musicians lately, chances of finding someone who serves your taste are much higher.
7. El Herafeyyeen
I am not just referring to the “Herafeyyeen” area in Egypt, but to the culture of “Herafeyyeen” as a whole. One of the best things about being Egyptian is that you will ALWAYS find someone who can fix your broken things for an extremely low fee. Whatever accident happens to your car, anyone in “El Herafeyeen” can bring it back to life in no time. Whatever happens to your mobile, your TV, your personal computer, whether your house is falling apart, or there is a hole in your new shoe… Anything that needs fixing, you will always find someone who can fix it in the blink of an eye.
As we discussed earlier, Egypt may not be one of the best places to live in the world, but throughout your life, you will have to learn to find the best in every situation, the light in the dark. Concerning Egypt, there is light and you will always find it; you just have to look in the right places.
