Day 115: The Long Trip Home

Day 115: July 19, 2020
Global Cases: 14, 635, 552 ; Deaths: 608, 569
Egypt Cases: 87, 775 ; Deaths: 4, 302

Nour Zaki 
Integrated Marketing Communication Sophomore 

There is nothing worse than being forced to stay at home. I find that all days are the same with no difference except the assignments that are due. For me, staying at home was so hard. I got bored from the house. I even thought of going to my grandmother’s house for a change; at least my baby cousin is there and I would have some fun. But eventually there was a lockdown, so I couldn’t go.

Everything was closed, from cafes to airports. I could not even take a walk or go and see my friends, since I am new in Egypt and I don’t really know the places. I always said I want to see new people.

However, the vibe changed the day I learned that airports were opening soon. I started looking for flights to Abu Dhabi since my parents and my younger sister live there and they could not come to Egypt due to residency issues.

We booked a flight and I started packing my bag. I ordered everything I would need such as my hair products and some games that would help us break our boredom. Two days before the flight, I woke up to a phone call from my dad saying that all flights were cancelled. I panicked so hard and obsessed about the thought of flight resumption and absence of any readiness to travel.

Suddenly, the flights resumed and we were madly running around the house in preparation for tomorrows trip back home. On the day of our flight, I set an alarm but it did not ring, so we overslept and we woke up from a phone call from my grandmother.

I was frantic that we might miss our flight and go through all of this again; at the same time, I was scared because of the coronavirus measures being taken.

When we reached the airport in Cairo, they were not as strict as I thought; spacing between people at the airport was limited to the luggage cart length and not the two-metre distance as mentioned. All the people were wearing masks but some of them pulled down the mask below their nose or mouth.

When we entered the plane, it was not fully reserved. So, my sister and I moved to another place to sit. I could not sleep for the whole duration, I kept wondering if I had forgotten something due to our hurry, and of course I forgot several things like my watch and a shirt that I loved.

For The Caravan‘s previous diary entries in Arabic and English go to our COVID-19 Special Coverage page.

When we reached the airport in Abu Dhabi, the restrictions were more stringent: everyone followed the two-meter social distancing measure. We did the required PCR test, and signed a confirmation letter that we will be quarantined for 14 days at home. 

But … we were finally home.

When I saw my parents, I hugged them as if there wasn’t a virus that might be threatening us. The smell in the air brought back many childhood memories. I realized that I had missed our late-night talks, and the view from the window overlooking the sea and the cars moving around. 

There’s no place like home.