You would think that our world is immune to certain things by now. Then some events happen where you see the bad guys unapologetically, shamelessly, & loudly challenge what we thought to have morally agreed upon regardless of our multitude of differences. What is more puzzling is how some previously loud voices suddenly turn silent, in a display of moral incoherence, which to me is immoral. Like the German national football team (and many supporters) taking a stance against the World Cup in Qatar contesting about human rights while remaining forever silent when it comes to the Gaza-issue. Most of us are morally naked. This is somehow my answer to the question “Why are you going to the United States, while Trump is the president?”
A 10-day trip, mainly to attend my friend Amr’s wedding in Boston. Amr is a bright Egyptian doctor that went to the States to get his PhD and recently finished his medical residency and training as an epileptologist, which is a few things we have in common. I thought I would combine the trip with a short visit to Miami, which would be my second time after my lovely visit in 2022.
Landing in Boston and crossing the border was a breeze. I took the public transportation to my Couchsurfing host, Steve, a 67-year-old gentleman. It has been a while since I couchsurfed, having only hosted travelers in the last few years. I was looking forward to refreshing my “traveler’s nomadic soul” and stretching my arms wide to the serendipity of the universe. As I approached Steve’s house, I found the Ukrainian and Palestinian flags hanging outside. I now knew we were up to some good conversations. Steve welcomed me into his home where he lives with his foster child and two cats. He has been fostering children for a couple of years, giving them a roof and providing for them in his retirement. Steve insisted that I use his bedroom while he slept on the couch. A remarkable generosity.
During our conversation over his prepared breakfast and our long walk in the Arboretum that belongs to Harvard University, I got an unexpected glimpse into Steve’s life. His inspiring resistance to the government in different periods, joining protests and refusing to pay taxes to object to how the money is used by the government. He would declare his tax money and put it in an escrow account and tell the government “Here is the money that I don’t want to pay to support you.” He is not even keeping the money for himself. Counting the consequences that followed, I was more inspired to know that he started doing the same thing last year to object against the Gaza genocide. I bet Steve looks in the mirror and feels true to himself.
After our walk, Steve had to leave for some appointments, among them his piano lesson. I prepared myself for Amr’s wedding, picked up the rental car, picked up Anna, one of Amr’s friends, and we drove to the wedding at a venue on the lake.
Amr’s bride is American, the wedding had a majority of American guests and some Egyptians from Amr’s side. The ceremony started in joyous and classy fashion. My heart melted to the words of their vows and I truly wish them a prosperous life with never-ending love. I mingled with other invitees and introduced myself randomly. “The world is too small,” I said when I met Sayed, another Egyptian doctor who used to live in the same building as my late grandmother!
I was seated at a table with other epileptologists from Amr’s department in Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Eating, socialising, and dancing to Western and Egyptian songs concluded the beautiful event.
The next day Steve had to leave early for a sewing lesson. It is impressive how many things this man is still learning. I had my breakfast in a nearby café, then decided to visit the Museum of Science. A big building full of creative scientific experiences that would delight the most apathetic child. I roamed around avoiding stepping on the thousands of children that filled the museum with their accompanying adults and felt slightly overwhelmed with inspiration. Ideas for art projects that include scientific principles always excite me, knowing that I will only manage to realise a few of them in my lifetime 🙁
I grabbed a bite and decided spontaneously to attend an improv theatre show. Improv theatre is one of my favourite hobbies from many years ago and is again a place that never disappoints for some laughs and creativity. During the show, the actors asked which guest thought he came from the furthest. Egypt (or even Switzerland) was obviously further than New Jersey. They asked me a few questions about Egypt and I shared with them that Victoria’s Secret has many branches in Cairo since a few decades ago. They used my answer to generate a hilariously improvised show including King Tut wearing lingerie and an actress who had a bra branded “King Tit” hehehehe.
After the show, Steve and I went to a free jazz concert in a nearby local church. It featured a mix of Black and white artists. Steve mentioned that this is not very common, and that the music scene in Boston is unfortunately often segregated. Steve offered to host me for two extra nights since we got along very well. I was thankful for his generosity and company.
I had no plans for Sunday. So I joined Steve and his friend Linda at an estate sale — which is practically when a family is leaving a house and selling everything: furniture, books, etc. Everything has a price tag, and you roam around and buy what you want. I went to the book section and bought a couple of books from the intriguing collection of what seemed to me to be a remarkable family. “The Lost Art of Healing” was written by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Bernard Lown, the man who invented the cardiac defibrillator.
Steve and Linda dropped me near Harvard Square where I visited the Harvard Art Museums and roamed around different Harvard buildings. It felt somehow surreal to be there, where some of the greatest minds on the planet existed/exist. I wondered how it is to live here. What kind of interactions do you have with people in the bakery or in the canteen? What kind of conversations do you start or overhear in a bar? A kind of self-sufficient and auto-stimulating environment?
I went for the famous lobster sandwich and oysters for lunch, then took my newly acquired book and went to a Harvard common area, sat among students and scientists, and hungrily devoured the pages; learning, being inspired, and thinking about the chain of events that led me to this moment. The butterfly effect. Was it deciding to Couchsurf? Or contacting Steve? Or deciding to join the estate sale? Has another sequence of events, in a parallel universe, led to an even more enriching experience?
Steve went to donate platelets (would he please stop making me feel useless to society??) and afterward we met at an Egyptian restaurant where I introduced him to Koshari, Mahshi, Hawawshi and other typical Egyptian dishes. We split again so he could go with a friend to another jazz concert, while I intended to go to a bachata party — only to be overpowered by the sweet tiredness of jet lag.
On Monday morning I put on my suit and went to Brigham Hospital to spend the morning in the Epileptology Department. I had agreed with Barbara, the head of the department, to shadow there and see how things are done. I wanted to get a feeling of how things are done in a Harvard hospital. I attended a consultation with a patient with her, a meeting about functional neurological disorders (she is the president of the International Society of Functional Neurological Disorders), and exchanged a few questions about how epilepsy is diagnosed and our corresponding institutions. Another interesting episode in my Boston chronicle, and I have to say — how we do things in Zürich is not bad, it is not bad at all.
Probably one thing that caught my attention was a wall with “Best Teacher of the Month,” where some doctor was awarded this title for his teaching activities. This reminded me of that rewarding American work culture that is almost absent in German-speaking countries. In Germany and Switzerland you only get letters of warning and lists of shame, listing doctors who are late in delivering patient reports, while good doctors (or other workers, for that matter) never get any recognition.
So this is a shout-out to anyone who managed to read until this line: please use positive feedback at least as often as you use negative feedback, whether in work or in a relationship. We need a stronger positive-feedback culture.
I grabbed a quick lunch, went to Steve’s place, picked up my stuff, and headed to the airport where I would fly to Miami. I’m done with this Boston cold weather.
In Miami, I won’t be Couchsurfing. Instead, I will try HomeExchange.com for the first time. I learned about it at the end of last year, and another encounter a couple of weeks ago refreshed this knowledge. So I decided to let some people stay at my place during my trip. This gave me some “points” that I can use to stay at other people’s places around the world. I used these points to book an apartment in Miami for five nights. This has already saved me a few hundred dollars (if you wonder how I can travel so often 🙂 ).
I will be joined in Miami by Mohamed, a Syrian epileptologist who, after finishing his training in Germany, decided to go to the United States and re-do his training, currently living in Texas. He saw my posts on Instagram and happened to have holidays he was undecided about. He decided to fly to Miami to join me. Sweet serendipity.
