(guest)friendly

I have heard that friendliness in general Arab countries is now particularly friendly as well, said a traveler in the hostel.

I always think of the nice people in South America or even in Central America. This might often apply to women too. Yesterday, while trying to buy vegetables, I got really annoyed. I had made my selection, went to the cashier, and then another woman who finished after me tried to pay; the change wasn't right. Then the next one was up, who directly chose something in front of the cashier. Then a boy pushed past me, about the same height as my shame, and I said in English, 'Hey, I’m in line too.' He responded with an expression that means something like 'whatever' in Egyptian. I imitated him, and he became more aggressive in tone, and then I spoke up again, and he looked at the ground and was quiet.
Next, the cashier took his bag. That's when I lost my patience and said, 'Okay, goodbye,' leaving my things behind. I noticed that this caused murmurs and astonishment. I then went to a stand a few blocks away where I had recently bought fruit. The people there are very friendly and served me immediately, and the tomatoes I bought were so delicious..

In a vegetarian restaurant, I had to wait in line until a table became free. After me, a family came, and when a table was free, the man tried to push past me rudely but was kindly stopped by the waiter, and I was allowed to take my seat.

In the subway, when I wanted to get off, they just didn’t move further, and it started to get crowded from the front, so I had to push my way out, which they didn’t appreciate. But when I said 'I would like to get off, please,' in English, no one responded - in the women’s section.

When I came out of a supermarket, a man greeted me warmly with 'welcome,' then another, and another. I was pleased and then encountered an older man in a cafe, with almost no teeth, who wanted to drink coffee with me. When I declined, he was a bit offended and asked accusingly, 'why?'
I am sure that Egyptian hospitality can be different. The first time I was introduced as such, the first shop I entered reserved tea for me..
My younger colleague, for instance, is very attentive. We service a dining table together, and she always looks to make sure I have cutlery, etc., that I get water, and I try to be quicker. She also wanted me to take her chair since it is a bit larger than the one for the kids and she's also much smaller than I am.

On my way home, I received a freshly baked crispy sesame stick from the baker around the corner as a gift. I had checked out their items and thought they looked so delicious that I should buy something soon. They smiled at me kindly, so that exists too.

Or when I took a photo on the way there, a man noticed me and took a detour around a car to not disturb me while I was photographing; I thanked him kindly, and he just smiled at me friendly. A man near the Egyptian Museum was very impressed that I wanted to cross this busy multi-lane road.

But that was no problem at all; when they saw that I was starting to walk, they slowed down or took a small detour. Today, I also received a particularly friendly welcome from a very kindly smiling old man who was sitting on the sidewalk, hands raised up, and just smiled at me simply without anything more.