Right now I'm sitting in the IC CC office in Warsaw (one of them anyways).  Arriving here I'm getting quite excited to start working for the Congress Committee for the largest annual AIESEC conference.  Right now, besides the core CC and the IS Team Leader, there is only one other Team Leader here - Caroline from the UK who will be responsible for HR & Agenda.

I took the overnight train to Warsaw from Budapest making it a 15 hour journey.  Stupid me, I just assumed that since it was a night train I would automatically have a bed.  That's not true.  Also I found out when trying to reserve a bed a couple hours before departure that bed reservations must be made at least 6 hours before leaving.  But luckily I could purchase a bed on the train from the conductor so I didn't have to sleep sitting up all night.  It was pretty nice too.  I had a 6 person room all to myself.  I guess most people just sleep upright.

Budapest

Budapest is an amazingly beautiful city.  Out of the cities I've seen, this one impressed me the most in terms of architecture and upkeep.  She has some very amazing buildings such as the parliament, the citadel, the basilica and the castle.  What's more, they are kept up quite well especially compared to the other places that I have visited.

Saki and I were grateful enough to have Gabor and Inez provide us with personal tours of the city.  Its still wonderful for me to just see how much local people know about the places that they live.  Not only in Budapest, but other places in this region, I find that the locals will be able to tell you everything about their city from the complete history stretching back hundreds and hundreds of years to interesting little details that you would otherwise never find out.  Its something that is rare to see in Canada.

Hospitality

Another thing that greatly differs from Canada is the level of hospitality that people show you.  I think Canadians would generally consider themselves quite hospitable people.  But once you start traveling you find that to be erroneous.  The hospitality I have witnessed throughout my trip has been stunning and I am grateful for everyone who has made me feel welcome.

In every place people have been generous enough to host me for my time there but that's just the starting point.  In Mostar, since the AIESECers were having exams and couldn't find someone with space to host me, they booked and paid for a private room where I could stay.  In Bosnia in general, it is common for one person to pay for everyone else in the group if you are having a meal.  Sebi allowed me to make use of his bed so that I could feel welcome and his mother made excellent food to feed me.

When I think back to my time in Nairobi, there these situations were also common.  Two brothers I stayed with rotated taking turns sleeping on the couch so I could have a bed.  Families would make sure I always had enough to eat even though it might have been expensive for them to feed another person.  There is a saying that even if a family had empty cupboards they would find a way to provide meals for their guest.

While reading Malcolm X's autobiography he tells tales of similar pleasant surprises during his pilgramage to Mecca.  Someone who had only heard of him gave up his suite for Mr. X to stay in while traveling through.  People went out of their way for him in ways that are not usually seen in North American culture.  He was invited as a special guest to visit many country leaders.  These situations led to an incredibly fast and amazing change in the mindset of Mr. X who was brought up in Harlem where everyone is out for number one.  Upon returning he said "While in Mecca, for the first time in my life, I could call a man with blond hair and blue eyes my brother"

Its incredible how the hospitality of people can dramatically alter the way a person sees the world.

Its an amazing place, this world.