12/16/2009
I have traveled all over the US visiting many of the states but I had never been outside the US before Egypt. Going to Egypt was going to be my first time outside the US. At first I didn't know what to expect. I knew things were going to be different and I was going to be a foreigner. I was going to go with an open mind as our code of conduct stated, have an open mind about different cultures and respect them. Going to Egypt and even Germany was very different from the US. Everything wasn't written in English so it was a little more difficult to read signs and maps. The way people traveled was different too. In Germany there were more bikes and scooters and in Egypt the cars were smaller and more people walked. I was surprised at how many people spoke English. I figure it was going to be difficult to communicate with people but it wasn't to bad. Sometimes it was hard to communicate with them but it wasn't as bad as what I was expecting. Shopping was a little hard sometimes because they would not know what you meant so you had to use hand signals. Another thing I noticed different there then the US was there were more kids running around and playing in the streets or just walking around on their own. When we took our carriage ride, our driver was a 10 year old boy and it was 10 at night on a school night. I was somewhat surprised that he was still up that late. My experience for never being outside the United States went really well and better then I expected. I think since Egypt is so much different from the US it was a good choice to travel there for my first time. Now I have some experience and knowledge of traveling.
Posted at 6:18 PM by Jim Varner