I just returned from a 6 country tour overseas. I know, WHAT?!, your about to go overseas for 11 months?!?My sister and i have been planning a trip across many different lands for the past two years now; She has been in the peace corps in Albania for the last two years, so i would go accompany her on her way back to the US of A. When i decided i wanted… needed, to do the World Race we tried to plan around it, i was originally planning on leaving for the race in July but i would have missed training camp so i pushed my route back to September so i could spend the month of May and a little bit of June with her.
We started in Albania, spent 15 days touring, basically the whole country, visiting her friends and contacts. (Albania is one of the countries im going to on the race, so now when i go back i will have some experience!) Albania was strange because everyone we were with has been living there for the past two years, or they are native Albanians, so it didn’t really feel to estranged from being in America. IT WAS TOTALLY DIFFERENT, don’t get me wrong, but the feeling of being familiar with your surrounding, being able to speak the language, being comfortable getting from place to place was all the same. it just didn’t feel like i was a stranger in a strange land, if that makes sense.
Then we went to Greece. Greece is a connecting country with Albania. So it was only a very long bus ride there. We spent a few days in Greece where i got to meet up with my friend who had been there the last year, and we went with some of my sisters fellow peace corp friends. Again, a lot of Albanians live in Greece, so at restaurants we would find ourselves in conversation with several very shocked Albanians, who would proceed to give us free things because three of the girls spoke practically fluent Albanian. It was comfortable, we saw all the major sites, but we also went to a few “local” hangs and tried to blend in.
Next was Egypt. Egypt was remarkable. we had a tour guide for the week (Amy) who took us to several historical places, including the pyramids and the sphinx and some amazing historical churches and mosques. Egypt was the first place that was totally different from anywhere the peace corp girls had been. i have previously been to Morocco, so i had a little experience with the culture, but it was a shock for them, and me to experience a culture so different from anything we could ever experience in America. A very male dominated society, and a constant pursue of tips and money, for everything, the kind that is expected though, not earned. it was a little difficult to be constantly harassed also, just for being a female, the was a constant flow of words, actions, the most belittled i have ever felt. and it is much more publicly accepted and expected. but the history was astounding, and unbelievable. at times it felt like they were just making up how old and ancient things were because they were so well preserved. Amazing.
After Egypt came Amsterdam. Amsterdam, honestly, was probably the most shock. Because it was the most developed place that we had seen in a month, for Geena and the other Girls, the most advanced they’d seen in years. There was order and stability, sustainability, and courtesy. it was an amazing city. But after a couple days we had kinda been relieved of the glimmer, and it was just a normal place, beautiful, but normal. also it was a little strange to feel like we didn’t know what we could or could not do. everywhere else we could do whatever we wanted, without thinking we would get a ticket or yelled at for not crossing the street at a crosswalk for instance. haha we were a little hesitant in Amsterdam to break the law, cause we thought we would actually get in trouble for it.
After Amsterdam came Iceland. Iceland was by far the most Beautiful place i have ever laid eyes upon. It was so fresh. If you can imagine what the world looked like while it was forming, that is what Iceland is like. Hardly any pollution; one because no one lives there, and two because it is cleaned naturally so often, with volcanoes and glaciers. the ground was spongy and soft, there were no trees really because they haven’t had time to grow yet, there are the greenest greens and bluest sky you will have ever seen naturally. and the people were kind and beautiful. It was very expensive, the food at least, because they have to import it all, but anything natural is free to see (which is how it should be) and it was sad to see that it is growing in popularity for tourism, because i dont want the rest of the world to pollute it.
That was the end. we headed back to america. and it was very sad when we got back. America is an amazing place! it has so much opportunity and freedom, but our culture has become so lost in not having one, that our vast uniqueness has created a lack of unity. we don’t have a unified thing to be noted for, or to be proud of. besides our pride in not having just one thing. I also noticed that in all the places and different cultures and different ways of life. i didnt alter who i was. God has instilled and encouraged me to live a godly way of life, and that doesnt change depending on what continent i am on. so all the countries i went to and all the countries i will go to, wont seem like i am “away from home” or “away from the familiar” because my familiar is God, and God travels with me. So the only differences i hope to see in my actions will be the language i am speaking, the people that surround me, and the different ways god will use me depending on what the people i am surrounded by need. The world is all one place, we live in one planet, the only difference we should see in the people across the world is the distance that they live away from us.
