At least once in a lifetime

“The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page”. These are the words of Saint Augustine, one of the greatest thinkers and philosophers of the early Middle Ages. His words are worth comprehending and I wouldn’t really say you understood them until you go through a similar experience as mine.

Have you ever imagined yourself in a different picture than the one already drawn for you? Playing in a different movie than in your own one? Have you ever tried to see yourself in a different mirror than the one you look into every day? Have you ever tried to step outside the circle around you? This is what I’ve experienced last summer. I had the opportunity to join the university’s German language trip to Passau, a small town in the South East of Germany. It was one of the most liberating experiences of my life.

"PASSAU"… Some students who were there last year described it as a small VILLAGE. I can't believe that this was the only way they could see it. “We didn't have fun, it was boring, we don’t recommend it”…etc. Passau - die Drei-Flüsse-Stadt - I spent there the most enriching, educating, inspiring, challenging, and unique month of my life. What I learnt during that month is worth its weight in gold. It's a completely different experience from just spending a week or two with your family or friends abroad.

I took a few days to get accustomed to the difference in life style and system of the Germans. It was tough at the beginning to have to change a lot of my habits to fit into the German system. However, this did not irritate me at all; on the contrary, it surely added something important to my personality. Punctuality was not easy to perfectly acquire. Everything is punctual; people, work, classes, buses, stores, undergrounds, trains. Everything is systematic and organized and by a little practice it was easy to get used to the order. One phenomenon I will never forget is the fact that pedestrians always have the right over cars. This is purely humanitarian, unlike what happens in our streets. Cleanliness and hygiene undoubtedly have their importance and respect everywhere. The streets are always clean, the garbage is separated to be recycled and if you don’t do the separation yourself, it actually costs the government more money to separate it afterwards. Bathrooms and toilets have their own technology to ensure sanitation. Excuse me if I won’t be able to narrate what I saw but it was overwhelming to see to what extent the Germans involved the technology into their lives.

One more important thing I really admired was that each and every human being whether a citizen or a foreigner was respected for what he or she is, no matter his/her status; rich or poor, a company’s boss or a simple acrobat in the streets. Everyone has his rights in life. Nobody is favored over anybody as long as everybody abides by the rules and laws. I also respected very much the fact that any talented person can perform in front of people in the streets to collect money. This of course is much better than the hundreds of beggars we find in our streets in search for money without any effort or fight to earn any.

During this trip I met a lot of people; people from different nations, cultures, backgrounds, religions, thoughts, beliefs, traditions, and norms. It was a big responsibility to appropriately deal with each and every one of them so as to give him/her the right image of myself and my country. The students I met in Passau all left their homes seeking the same experience as I did. We were all one big family sharing classes, trips, lunch, exchanging experiences, thoughts, knowledge and culture. At the farewell party, we felt we got so much attached to each other to the extent that we couldn’t imagine we were all parting to different countries. However, we were all left with beautiful memories to take back home with us. Dealing with people is a world of its own and going through such an experience is surely an opportunity that plays a big role in forming one's personality.

I was really thrilled because during that trip I found out I do possess so many qualities I did not know about before. This is what it takes; one has to be fully independent, responsible for everything: one's thoughts, actions, willingness, determination, steadiness, decisions, cleanliness, study, complete time management and money expenditure because one has to get round with whatever amount is there. One has to set his priorities and act accordingly. One has to be responsible to protect the ethics and principles he grew up with and defend his beliefs and take precautions to choose the right path from the many paths he'll come across to reach the goals he is targeting to achieve.

Even if I kept talking I can never draw the right picture of my experience. So I strongly advice you if you ever get the chance don't miss it for the world. Go through this experience yourself and don't stick to your own university friends, give yourself the space to discover what's beyond. You'll find out you possess a lot of capabilities and qualities hidden inside you that you would have never thought you had. They only show up when they're needed.

Another piece of advice: always strive for becoming a better person to serve yourself, the others and most of all your country. I believe that the students for whom the only description they found for Passau was “a small village” really gave the other students the wrong impression. It is a modern, civilized small town. Just because it's not a big city full of cars and night life doesn't make it a village. It is the refined conduct of the people that counts. It is the behavior, manners, civilized thinking and interaction of people that counts. So do as Mahatma Ghandi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world”. We need everybody to start with him/herself to initiate the reformation of our country and make it worth its real true value. And with everybody's contribution, we'll surely get there some day. Thank you GUC and DAAD for the opportunity.

Hala Gabr