The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us into isolation and seclusion, but one man’s rush across the world to propose to his girlfriend and hunker down with her proves no virus can interfere with love.
In an essay for CNN, the love struck man, Eihab Boraie, said he caught the last flight out of Cairo to Canada before the airport in Egypt shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Boraie, a Canadian-Egyptian, said he was staying with family in Egypt, but wanted to get to his Italian-American girlfriend who was studying in Quebec City.
Boraie said he put his name on a waiting list for an EgyptAir direct flight to Toronto “hoping for a miracle” after he watched ticket costs soar from about $700 to over $3,000. On March 19, the day Egypt said its airports would cut off departing flights, Boraie got a call confirming his seat on the last flight to Canada and quickly made his way to the airport — but not before taking care of some important business.
“As I ran out the door, a jewelry store nearby caught my eye. It was ridiculous that this non-essential store stayed open, but it was as if the universe knew I needed one at that moment,” he wrote, adding that when he finally arrived in Quebec City he snuck up behind his girlfriend and got down on one knee: “She was completely caught off guard as less than 48 hours before she didn’t know when and if she would ever see me again, let alone predict that I would ask her to marry me. She accepted my proposal, we removed our masks and made it official with a long kiss.”
Boraie detailed his journey through multiple airports, tensely boarding a plane, and noted the lack of health checks as he got closer and closer to getting to Canada.
“Every decision made on this trip seemed magnified into a matter of life and death, and sitting by the bathroom on a fully booked flight could have arguably increased the chances of being infected,” he wrote. “Throughout the flight, I was on edge as every cough was a reminder that I was potentially traveling with the invisible enemy sitting next to me.”
Ultimately, Boraie added that he was “relieved she said yes as it reaffirmed that although the journey was risky it was worth it.”
Now, he said he and his fiancé, “will get to enjoy each other beyond the next two weeks,” before hoping to eventually plan a wedding on the Italian island of Giglio.
“Until that day the only couple goals we set in stone is to stay isolated and survive the quarantine,” he said.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced many of us into isolation and seclusion, but one man’s rush across the world to propose to his girlfriend and hunker down with her proves no virus can interfere with love.
In an essay for CNN, the love struck man, Eihab Boraie, said he caught the last flight out of Cairo to Canada before the airport in Egypt shut down amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Boraie, a Canadian-Egyptian, said he was staying with family in Egypt, but wanted to get to his Italian-American girlfriend who was studying in Quebec City.
Boraie said he put his name on a waiting list for an EgyptAir direct flight to Toronto “hoping for a miracle” after he watched ticket costs soar from about $700 to over $3,000. On March 19, the day Egypt said its airports would cut off departing flights, Boraie got a call confirming his seat on the last flight to Canada and quickly made his way to the airport — but not before taking care of some important business.
“As I ran out the door, a jewelry store nearby caught my eye. It was ridiculous that this non-essential store stayed open, but it was as if the universe knew I needed one at that moment,” he wrote, adding that when he finally arrived in Quebec City he snuck up behind his girlfriend and got down on one knee: “She was completely caught off guard as less than 48 hours before she didn’t know when and if she would ever see me again, let alone predict that I would ask her to marry me. She accepted my proposal, we removed our masks and made it official with a long kiss.”
Boraie detailed his journey through multiple airports, tensely boarding a plane, and noted the lack of health checks as he got closer and closer to getting to Canada.
“Every decision made on this trip seemed magnified into a matter of life and death, and sitting by the bathroom on a fully booked flight could have arguably increased the chances of being infected,” he wrote. “Throughout the flight, I was on edge as every cough was a reminder that I was potentially traveling with the invisible enemy sitting next to me.”
Ultimately, Boraie added that he was “relieved she said yes as it reaffirmed that although the journey was risky it was worth it.”
Now, he said he and his fiancé, “will get to enjoy each other beyond the next two weeks,” before hoping to eventually plan a wedding on the Italian island of Giglio.
“Until that day the only couple goals we set in stone is to stay isolated and survive the quarantine,” he said.
