Originally Posted By DVC_dad I just am popping in to share something ... The bottom line is: I went to Egypt. I had never been outside of the US until just over two weeks ago. I have never seen the world like I see it now and I realize that I was wrong about so many things. I'm not the same person anymore. The details are: I went with a tour group of 32 people, me and my 14 yr old son among them, to Egypt. We had the most incredible time, really the trip of a lifetime. Suffice to say when you are on the outside looking in at the US things are one hell of a lot different. Now, I get it. I understand why there were so many things I didn't care to truly understand, so many things I was wrong about, and so many things I was just stupid about. Don't get me wrong. Going outside of the US doesn't make you better or more enlightened about anything. It's not that I now know something someone else doesn't know or that I am suddenly the keeper of all things good, but for ME (and possibly only me) going to Egypt sort of removed a blindfold I had been wearing for a number of years. I'm not sure (for me) a trip to Europe would have had the same effect though. But suffice to say now, after all these years, I get it. I don't know if it was the mother with a small baby that came up to me begging with tears for something from my McDonald's carry out bag for her baby, or if it was the filthy 6 year old boy that paddles his way around Elephantine Island, coming alongside the sail boats and singing for small tips, or maybe the 5 year old boy who sits all day on the side of the busy street in Giza selling tissues to have money to eat, or maybe the lack of things to even have. No Walmart, no grocery stores, I had a very hard time even finding anything to buy for my kids to bring home and that only was found at the market where all the tourists go in Cairo. It's a hard life there and we have so so so very very much to be thankful for here. I could talk for hours but until you go and see it, smell it, taste it, feel it for yourself... What is "it" you ask? I really can't put one single label on what "it" is. But it is very real, whatever it is, LOL. Well it makes sense to me. If you get the chance to go somewhere like that, where MANY MANY people truly struggle for their next meal, or live with dirty water, or wait months for emergency heart surgery, or have no car and no way to get anywhere TO work... anyway the list goes on...you should go. I guess I should mention some "cool" things I saw. The Pyramids, the Sphinx, 4 days on the Nile, Luxor, Karnak, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan, Valley of the Kings, Egyptian Museum, Tut, Memphis, Temple of Hetchepsut, and so much more... and believe me I'm not boasting in any fashion. It's just that in spite of these wonderful things I really came home with a deeper understanding of humanity, an appreciation for the people of Egypt, a tolerance for those who believe differently than me, a respect and appreciation for our government and legal systems here, and most of all... I return with jealousy. Of what? Real happiness and contenment. What? Around day 5, we were on the small "floatel" or floating hotel. They only have about 25 cabins...the Nile is only 15 feet deep on averge. Anyway, we were "steaming" up the Nile (yeah not a steamboat but they still call it that) from Luxor to Edfu. I was still trying to get over the unimaginable culture shock and jet lag, changes in food...etc... and I was watching the clam shore lined with palms pass by. The water was beautiful blue and so calm. Along the shore I saw a woman washing clothes and laying them out to dry on the grass near the river bank. Her two young boys were playing in the water. She paused and called them down. They settled down for a few seconds and then went busily back to their splashing and horseplay. The mother was smiling at them and paying no attention to our boat whatsoever. (I guess dozens of boats cruise past daily). Anyway, I could see the father behind their mud brick, hand made house, working the small patch that had maybe 8 or 10 different types of things growing in it. There was a cow just standing next to the "house" chewing something. The snapshot was incredible, almost scripted it seemed. And the thought came to me that I could have seen this same exact thing at any given time over the past several thousand years in that same spot. And what stayed with me from that observation was how truly HAPPY this family was. It was at that point that I started to re-think... (as trite as it sounds) my life. Yeah the sites were cool, the pyramids were huge and awe inspiring. But the people, the country, their way of life both in the cities and in the rural areas, it changed me. If you ever get the chance to go, anywhere, don't skip out on putting yourself out there, plugging in with the people and their way of life. That is where the real experience is. The last day we were there, I spent 4 hours (it was the only "free time" we had all trip) one day walking totally alone on the streets of Giza. Giza is sort of a suburb of Cairo and you know, well how do you say in a PC way, it's not the wealthy side of town. Egypt is mostly Muslim, Arab people, raised so differently, so very different ways of life, and so beautiful and wonderful. There is a real and genuine sense of team and community there. If a guy falls down on the street, anyone close by is quick to help him up. The mechanic shop I walked past, the owner of the car, the shop owner, and a few other guys where busy making a part to repair the car. There are very very few new cars, most of them 15, 20, 30 years old on those streets. Anyway...I truly believe that people are just people (almost) no matter where you go. We all want to be loved, and to love, and to care for those we love. It took me going thousands of miles from home, into the deepest reaches of the country way up the Nile, but I got it, and I'm so much the better now for it. Sorry for those in WE I've offended. I'm not that guy anymore; I left him in Egypt somewhere between Kom Ombo and Elephantine Island, and honestly I'm glad to be rid of him. Thanks for your time, and sorry for the drive-by post. Now I'll click "Post" before I chicken out again.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Thank you so much for posting that, DVC dad. It sounds like a truly profound experience into a place most of us will never see.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I enjoyed your post, DVC_dad. I understand what you are saying, and I think many people have said it before: money doesn't buy happiness. We are blessed in America with the comforts of modern life, but those trappings don't make anyone truly happy.
Originally Posted By Sara Tonin It's interesting how insulated we are in the US. We have such a strong sense of 'us and them'. Thank you for this enlightening and touching post. It's good to remember they are us and we are them. Mankind.
Originally Posted By RockyMtnMinnie Thanks DVC_dad. I completely understand. Each time we get out, it gives me a new perspective on what it is I truely "need" in my life. I enjoyed seeing Machu Picchu in Peru, but meeting the Quechua people in the high Andes as we backpacked through their villages left a greater impression on me. Watch out. Seeing the world is addictive. Plus you're going to have to take each kid out now. Better make your list of places you want to visit!
Originally Posted By MomluvsDisney I have to agree...the more I travel, the more I want to travel. And I am now eagerly planning my DD first trip abroad when she is a bit older. It is extraordinarily enlightening to experience cultures and countries outside your own.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney What a wonderful experience. Thank you for sharing it. Sometimes (often) I think money, and the lust of money, is what makes us in American truely UNhappy.
Originally Posted By RockyMtnMinnie >>>Sometimes (often) I think money, and the lust of money, is what makes us in American truely UNhappy.<<< I can not agree with you more. It distracts us from living in the now and appreciating what should really be important; family, good friends and ourselves.
Originally Posted By WestWind I truly enjoyed reading your post and thank you for sharing. I think you expressed your experience and feelings very well. Your words give us all something to think about.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I think it's worth sharing a link to a thread WorldDisney started in the WE section, and also the news story: <a href="http://mb.laughingplace.com/MsgBoard-T-104612-P-3.asp" target="_blank">http://mb.laughingplace.com/Ms...-P-3.asp</a> <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5945856.ece" target="_blank">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/t...5856.ece</a> That woman's life must be pretty empty is she thinks she needs $100 million-plus in order to be happy.
Originally Posted By disney pete hey great to see ya back here man enjoyed ya pics of egypt hope you stay around here.
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove >>I truly believe that people are just people (almost) no matter where you go. We all want to be loved, and to love, and to care for those we love.<< Amen. There's a song that Neil Sedaka sang years ago that addresses the same feeling, but applied to a marriage. But, it can be applied to a life, as well. (The Hungry Years) When it comes right down to it, our love for each other is one of the few things we can take with us when we leave this earth. That family you saw living along the Nile...surely they must be as content and fulfilled as any one of us...perhaps much more so. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avTD_-wK0jw" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...D_-wK0jw</a>
Originally Posted By Mary Poppins Good to read your report, DVC dad. Travel opens our minds to new adventures. Sounds like you had a real adventure in Egypt. Glad you had an awesome experience.
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Originally Posted By Inspector 57 <<Thanks for your time, and sorry for the drive-by post. Now I'll click "Post" before I chicken out again.>> What?! "sorry"?! Are you kidding?! I'm so glad you hit "Post" instead of "Delete"!!! Thank you for a WONDERFUL post/thread, DVC_dad! What a terrific read! I'm so glad to know you had this incredible experience! And I'm so grateful that you shared it with us! <<Going outside of the US doesn't make you better or more enlightened about anything.>> Ummmmm... I disagree. No, it doesn't make one "better." But it definitely makes one more enlightened. <<don't skip out on putting yourself out there, plugging in with the people and their way of life. That is where the real experience is.>> Absolutely. When I landed in St. Maarten, I avoided the cruise line's recommended pre-programmed activities and tours. Instead, I found the "locals" bus that shuttled native workers from one side of the island to another. The bus to St. Martin was crowded. I was the only tourist and the only white person on it. I stuck out like a sore thumb. And it was SO fun! The natives chattered good-naturedly with each other -- and included me in their conversations in a totally welcoming, comfortable, people-are-people way. It was a wonderful experience. That night on the cruise ship, a lot of the [white] passengers who had not ventured off the "recommended" tourist trails were talking about how scary it was to be out and about in a place where the natives were all black. **Sigh** HOW COOL that you got to go to Egypt, DVC_dad! Thank you again for sharing your experience with us!
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Wow!!! Thank you Inspector! I tried to sell the leader on Russia and Ukraine for next year but he said it's way too cold and too expensive. He chose Costa Rica, but I can't afford to go next year anyway, he I'd leaning toward Peru the next year.
