...is what Jim and I say at the end of each vacation as we exit the plane on our last leg home. This trip to the Middle East was more than I hoped for. We were lucky to be mostly out of the tourist bubble. In Beirut, first my hotel "family" of new friends with whom I waited out the eerily quiet days of the election, and then the riveting and exciting, though exhausting, Beirut Exchange experiences with such an impressive and dynamic group of international students made that time so special. I'm talking about all of you, and still carrying on conversations with you in my head.
Then, Egypt, where my new and newer friends, AbdulMawgoud and his family, Mustafa and Ahmad Mustafa, Sondos, Ahmed, and Sondo's whole family just folded us into their lives with their warmth and joyful hospitality. I loved meeting my Soliya partner Somaia, and visiting the Soliya office in Cairo to meet those I knew online, in person.
I got tired of traveling, of living out of a suitcase, but I never once felt too "foreign", or without roots. In fact, I was so rooted to the enjoyment of the people, that there are many, many sights that we simply didn't visit in Cairo or Luxor. Two hours in Khan al Khalili is pathetic! But between the heat, and needing to get back to meet someone for something -- the sightseeing had to go. It was worth the tradeoff.
Thank you everyone, all of you who read this blog, and cheered us on. You were with us too. I can report to you that we are one with Middle Easterners. They aren't "them" to our "us". We are all one.
With peace and love,
Ginney
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