A Man Walked into My Bedroom and Said……

I am all tucked into the bottom bunk of the “Underground”, a youth hostel I stay at when I am in the capital. I am deep into a thriller, page turner,novel on my Kindle. I look up and there is a man about my age, standing next to my bed and he says “ I am going to sleep with you tonight, OK?” I immediately jump out of my bed, drop to my knees and thank God for answering my prayers!

 
Actually, I jump out of bed and say “Excuse me!!” From what I can understand between his broken English and heavy accent, the receptionist told him all the beds in the men’s dorm were taken, but there were two beds open in the women’s dorm and if it was OK with the women in the room to have a male sleep there, he could have bed “B”. I nodded and pointed him to bed “B”.

 
The next morning, when I opened my eyes, there he was, again, standing alongside my bed, watching me. He was in his pajama bottoms and had a towel and his shaving gear. No shirt, but a big smile! He said that he was waiting for me to wake up to ask if I would show him to the communal bathroom. I said yes, but only if I could take a photo, because no one would believe this!  We head off to the communal bathroom where there are 5 shower heads sticking out of the wall, separated by thin sheets of plastic. There is a bit of irony in the fact that the youth hostel has separate sleeping quarters, but we all shower together in the same room.

 
After we both clean up and get ourselves ready for the day I told him I knew of an inexpensive place to have breakfast. Everything on the menu is about 1,000 AriAri (0.33 cents). Coffee- 0.33 cents, a fried egg- 0.33 cent, a bowl of soupy red rice, a Malagasy favorite for breakfast- 0.33 cents. So off we went.

 
Over breakfast I learned that he is 70 years old and Egyptian. He had lived in the Netherlands most of his adult life working for the telephone company. About 8 years ago he decided to leave his job and travel the world. He has been to 90 countries, including the USA and Canada. His routine is to travel for 3 months, then go back home to his family in Egypt for 3 months, then travel for 3 and back home for 3. Madagascar was the last of the eastern African countries he had on his list to visit. He will return home in a few weeks, then in 3 months begin his west African tour.
I enjoy meeting older travelers, for obvious reasons. Neither one of us pulls out a cell phone to check messages, we are engaged in the moment of where we are and who we are with. He prefers the backpack routes where you are off the beaten path, meeting interesting people and seeing small villages that are not in the guide books. This path does introduce you to some interesting, if not strange people. I tell him about a Russian man, in his mid 40’s I met a few months ago, who travels 4 months of the year abroad. This Russian man openly admits he does not like people and said he connects with nature and therefore insist on walking everywhere he goes. He camps in fields along the way.

 
We both shake our heads and admit we have met some strange people in our travels. Then we pause and say nothing for a while as we sip our coffee. I wonder if he is thinking what I am thinking, that we are both sitting in front of someone a little “strange”. Is he thinking “What a strange women, to join Peace Corps at age 63, live in a small village with no running water, no electricity, no toilet and lives on $5.00 a day!”
We talk about our travels and philosophize a bit about life. We wonder at the poverty and injustice we see in so many parts of the world we have traveled. We each give our solutions to the world’s problems and then laugh at ourselves for what we know are not easy answers.

 
After breakfast we head back to the youth hostel and part ways. I am on my way to the training site where I have been invited to greet and meet the new group of volunteers coming in the next day. He decides to take my advice and head south for a few days. We say our good byes and wish each other safe travels.
Only after I am on a bus to the station do I realize I never got his name!!

 
The best characteristic for traveling is humor, and the best way to cultivate this is through humility.

 
People travel to exotic places, to watch in fascination the kind of people they will ignore at home.

Egyptian traveler!

Breakfast -Red Soupy Rice- with UFO’s!!

Two men in my village trying to flirt with me on market day!

Children taking care of children.

This young girl was sitting in a field, all alone, with a new born!