Reverse Culture Shock

So, Dan and I have arrived back home, in our hometown of Kelowna.

It’s funny (not actually funny),  we were discussing with a fellow traveler only days ago, the effects of reverse culture shock.  Dan and I had mentioned that we both experience it, but I really thought this time would be different.  I mean really, we were only gone for three weeks, the Egyptian culture isn’t exactly shocking for us anymore, and one would think we should know what to expect.  Unfortunately, the only difference was the efficiency in which it hit, fast and hard.

Upon our arrival home, to our actual house, it really hit me.  As I began to unpack my things, hang them up in my closet or throw them in the laundry bin, I couldn’t ignore that empty feeling- I felt nothing.  There was no “Ahhhh“ moment, you know the one, when you lie down in your own bed, have a shower in your own shower or make a cup of coffee in your own kitchen.  Those little moments that you miss while you’re away, regardless of the fun you’re having – well, this time, I didn’t feel those small but important connections to home.  Dan and I felt it as we settled into our room in Red Deer with his Mom, or when I sat on the couch with my parents in my family’s home, but as for our home, well, it doesn’t feel like one. 

It’s interesting, when you travel your hotel or hostel room becomes a kind of safe haven, where you can turn off the challenging and exhilarating experience of daily life on the road, and just be in the comfort and normalcy of your own space.  Now, my comfort space is the opposite, and I long for the certain excitement that only travelling can bring.  So, as I get ready for another day in Kelowna, I glance at  one of my tattoos that I got a few years back, and right now it seems to have grown with me and is asking the question;  am I really close to home?

Egypt 2009 - Our first taste of overseas adventure - when everything changed... 

Bucket List – 2013 is the best time to visit the Great Pyramids

 

Dan and I have been lucky enough to have visited Egypt 3 times now, and each time it is different.  This time in particular was quite shocking, and the changes at the Giza Pyramid Plateau was no exception.  With tourism accounting for around 12% of Egypt's workforce, the lack of actual tourists is crippling for a massive amount of the population.  Where once we would have been hassled by touts constantly, now these same people have been forced to find income elsewhere, and the ones that remain are desperate and defeated.

When Dan and I decided to make the trip out to the Giza Plateau, we anticipated that foreigners would be sparse.  It was worse than we expected, they weren’t sparse, but closer to non existent. Abdul (pictured above) was a young camel driver that begged us to open his day off with just 5 pounds.  Now, this kinda thing happens all the time, but now it is different.  We exchanged 5 pounds for a picture with him and his camel in hopes that he would bring home a little money that day. 

Never did I think I would have the opportunity to take a picture of The Pyramids without people in it.  Completely bizarre. 

 

People were so shocked to see us that it was like being in India again.  We had many people ask us to take pictures with them.  It was quite strange actually.  We literally had people following, taking pictures while we looked at the site.

Dan and I finally took the time to checkout the Solar Boat Museum at the Giza Plateau and it was totally worthy.
(Link to a Wiki for more information on this crazy archaeological find!)

Dan, sitting in one of my favourite spots in the world.   I could sit here for hours, contemplating the origins of the Pyramids and Sphinx, imagining the desert thousands of years ago, and watching the people of today.  I love this spot.

Epic.