Departure

I am probably the poorest traveler you know. I fret and I worry. I pack and repack my bag with useless things that I don't need. Fortunately, my professional life requires a fair bit of performance, and so, if you're not looking, you'll just see a calm, serene person going about his business, rather than a slowly unwinding ball of string.

This morning was a day of lasts. Last sleep in my own bed (until I return). Last assertively hot shower. (I describe it this way because I have no recollection of ever getting more than a tepid shower in Egypt.) Last time to do a number of things -- feeding the cat, taking out the trash, grocery shopping. I'm at the moment of transition between the ordinary and the extraordinary. Soon, I'll leave for the airport, show my passport, and if all goes well, board a plane to Paris and then Cairo. You don't do that every day, do you?

I've been planning this trip since late summer now, though it's one I've done before, a number of times. Four times, actually. Why a fifth? Almost everyone has asked me this question, and I have a number of stock answers built up now.


Answer #1: "I'm hoping to get it right this time."

For this to make sense, I have to tell you about my first trip in 2000 with my pal, The Insider. We set out, just the two of us, to Cairo and Luxor for two and a half weeks. Neither of us had been there before, though The Insider had been to Sinai, and we had both been to Israel, so we had some inkling into the ways of the Middle East. But nothing really prepares you for the culture shock of going from Canada, where everything is easy, to Cairo, where everything is different. Not necessarily better or worse, just different. Here's an example. In downtown Toronto, if you saw a dimly lit back alley, would you go down it at 11:30 pm? Maybe, but probably not. Years of living there and hearing about people getting robbed every day make you wary. In downtown Luxor, that same back alley might be harboring mothers and their young children out grocery shopping, rather than thieves and villains. This kind of experience really makes it clear that we are tuned to the society we live in, and that if you are dropped somewhere radically different, you're just as ignorant as a 5 year old. The Insider and I had meant to stay for two and a half weeks, but we bailed and came home early, tired and punchy from the work of having to relearn what's normal, and tired of being asked to buy postcards and trinkets.


Answer #2: "I needed to give my life some structure."

I guess that's a mysterious thing to say, though it's closer to the truth than the previous answer. I'm 43 years old. I have a job which I'm reasonably good at. I am married, and together we dote on a 3 year old cat. There's nothing wrong with any of this, but when I was a teenager, that's all I aspired to. Or rather, that's all I knew I aspired to. Now I've done that, and I have to face the question: What next? What do I do with the rest of my life?

There are no easy answers. Mostly, I have no idea, though it does occur to me that I'm at a point where accumulating things is becoming less important, and that maybe it's time to start accumulating more wisdom and experience. Which sounds strange coming from a university grad. Wasn't school the place to gain wisdom? Well, no, and if you don't believe me, take a visit to your local community college or university, and eavesdrop on any conversation between two people in their late teens or early twenties. I guarantee you will come away with a heart full of sorrow for the youth of today. And if you think you weren't like that yourself at that age -- you're wrong. You were. But that's OK.

Making another trip to Egypt gave me a goal. A short term goal, to be sure, but it was enough. I took a 6 week course in Arabic -- enough to read a road sign -- and am determined to write and think more while on the road. I have seen a lot of the ancient temples and pyramids before, so maybe this time I'll be able to look at things with a different eye, one a little less frenzied with the spectacle. That's the goal, anyway.

One bit of business before I sign off: the trip I'm on is being organized by
Odyssey Adventures in Archaeology who very kindly let me join the tour at the last minute. I've been with them three times before, and if you're thinking of traveling yourself, do check them out.

That's it for now. My next post will be from Cairo.