one of my mind wanderings during the last 10 days of silence took me back to cairo.
my last night in cairo Hamed and i went back to a popular side street for tea, shisha and chatting. one of his friends joined us with his korean wife. a blind fire swallower entertained and vendors tried to sell belts, peanuts, and dvds. Hamed and the young korean woman left the table to get more tea. Hamed's friend leaned across the tiny table ... can i ask you something that has been bugging me all evening? sure, go ahead. have you ever had plastic surgery? oh no. how awful is this going to feel, what is he going to tell me needs fixing? - ah, no, why? your nose. it's perfect.
i was stunned. then i laughed. i have always thought the bridge of my nose was a bit horse-like with the diamond-shaped bump in the bone. and my nose ends in a ball at the tip.
it was very hard to leave cairo.
the few days i spent walking the streets in stockholm were good prep for the silent retreat. no eye contact, no hellos, nothing communicative at all.
today, after 9 hours by car and 20 minutes by boat, i arrived in oslo. oslo immediately felt more likeable ... dark, edgy. walking to the hostel i passed the Habibi Cafe. Habibi is arabic for 'my darling'. one of the guys standing outside said hello. he wasn't norwegian. hello i said with a big smile.
