mindsay 
As I continue walking I dodge kids left and right. There is a school under our apartment. Wait; maybe it is a tutoring service? I don’t know what exactly it is. There are a lot of kids coming out of the building this time of day though.
A young boy runs outside to a small orange pickup truck that just beeped its horn. The tenor of the horn sounds hollow and worn out, but it makes me smile. The sound reminds me of my dad. Dad had a Chevy Luv pickup that had a horn with the same sound. Dad even picked me up from school in it sometimes, and I am quite sure he beeped the horn for me to hurry; much like this dad did for his boy. Yes the memories started to flow.
I was on a bit of a reminiscing crusade you might reckon. Then, all at once I asked myself the question and made the decision. I am leaving Cyprus. Well sort of. Actually, I am leaving Cyprus early. Yes, indeed. While you read this, I am somewhere in Europe traveling. We will be visiting eight new countries in the next three weeks. But after that, I will be in Cyprus for just two days, and then fly to New York, with a crooked smile on my face. I cannot say it will be anything as beautiful as the Mona Lisa’s smile, but Lisa and I will have the same happiness, but crossness about ourselves.
Yes, just after I heard the sound of that horn, I went to visit the ladies at the British Airways office in Nicosia. After some intense wrangling-on their part, and mine, naturally-I had a flight back to New York.
There comes a time in every young traveler's life when they have to make a critical decision. Mine was, “Do I stay in Cyprus after the big tour, or fly back to New York early?” Well, I chose the latter.
I will be missing out on quite a bit here in Cyprus. There were more adventures planned on the island, an escapade to a beach town for a party, a graduation ceremony, and some other events too. I was also going to try to swing a trip to Jordan, Israel, or maybe Dubai. Well, as a good friend of mine said, “You have to save something for next time.”
There will be a next time also. There is just a part of me who wants to be back in New York. If nothing more to think, but I am sure there will be more. I have told you many times, “do what you want, don’t let anything get in your way, be crazy,” I preach. So I am doing something a lot of travelers would think would be crazy. I am going home.
Heck, 30 countries in two years, I think it is about time. Don’t you?
So, as I travel around Europe I am looking forward to setting foot in my apartment, peering up at the Empire State Building in wonder, and walking down Broadway at the pace of a basset hound. I plan New York just to be a bit of a pit stop though.
Oh I cannot sit still for long. I will be out and about somewhere about the world, you can bet your boots. Just where am I going? Oh that is just the fun of it, I don’t quite know yet. I have to see how much money is in the kitty before I decide. With that said, it is for sure that I will be jumping with the kangaroos again soon, if that gives you a hint. Also it is my dream to go to Antarctica.
So stay tuned for the latest. It will continue to be one heck of a ride.
http://www.BlogAbroad.com/GunnarVideos.html
Originally posted on my site GunnarLarson.com on 2/20/2006 11:10:51 AM
The doorman came running to the passenger side of the car. “Welcome sir,” he said. “Thank you very much,” I said. I probably looked and acted a bit out of place for the four star Le Bristol Hotel in Beirut. I was expecting something, well… different. >
Beirut is the capital city of Lebanon. US Citizens are strictly discouraged to visit the country. The US Department of State Travel Warning: “The Department of State urges U.S. citizens to carefully weigh the necessity of their travel to Lebanon…Americans have been the targets of numerous terrorist attacks in Lebanon in the past.” Lebanon is smack dab in the Middle East with roughly 250 miles separating it from Iraq.
Lebanon has been seething with violence since 1500BC. Religion has been the most recent source of violence in Lebanon, mostly between Christians and Muslims. We saw buildings, most notably to me the old Holiday Inn, with gaping holes in the side due to warfare. There are visible signs of gunshots all over buildings in Beirut. With all that, Beirut is considered the Paris of the Middle East and it lives up to its title.
I have not stayed in many “fancy” hotels before, so while we were checking in and a butler greeted us with a tray of orange juice and the candles were burning on the table next to the kali lilies, I just had a smile on my face, knowing that our $40.00 US dollars a night was very well spent.
Even with its history of violence, Beirut is very westernized. There are Land Rovers, roving about, along with Cadillacs and Porsches. Sure there are traditional Lebanese restaurants, but they sit next to Applebee’s, TGI Fridays, and let’s not forget Dunkin Doughnuts. The nightlife is very robust with clubs, bars, and hukka bars that are very stylish. After the civil war the former Prime Minister Rafi Harrari’s mission was the rebuild Lebanon. He did quite well. All the buildings downtown are new, mostly hiding scabs of the civil war. Now, the city is very clean and well put together. It all looks like it will continue to progress too, sadly not under Harrrari’s guidance; he was assassinated just over a year ago, allegedly by Syrian forces.
We commissioned a tour guide and car and drove two hours outside of Beirut to visit Baalbeck, the largest Roman temple in the world. Baalbeck is described as “one of the wonders of the world.” Just the immensity of the temple is miraculous. Because it was first started before the birth of Christ, Baalbeck is now ruins.
The intricacies and the time it must have taken to build this massive structure is nothing less than phenomenal. As I write this, I still cannot get past my amazement on how they actually acquired sandstone from Egypt, carving statues by hand, carved designs on the roof, hauled fifteen-ton full pieces of limestone, and it was all done by hand. Thousands of slaves built the temple to honor Venus. I cannot fathom how hard and exciting it must have been.
It was very awkward for me to be in Lebanon and feel so welcomed and safe. I really believed that we would be in a rough area ravaged by civil war and desperately hanging on. It was not that at all. Now instead of violence, Lebanon is seething with prosperity and hope that they can retain their title of being the Paris of the Middle East.
I have interviewed a prostitute in Vietnam, off the coast of South Africa I interviewed a woman who has sailed around the world nineteen times, I interviewed a Masai Warrior while on safari in Kenya, I reported from a castle in North Cyprus, and the list goes on, and will continue throughout Europe.
When someone says “Salvador, Brazil” my mind swirls with the feeling, smells, and memories. Cape Town, Sydney, it all comes back to me. I try to talk about my experiences with my friends, but they roll their eyes. “Yeah well it must be nice,” “Yeah you sure do get around,” “Man you are so lucky.”
I have not been on a pleasure cruise, even though it has sure been phenomenal. I have set out to travel to learn things and to give back to the world. Sure, you can learn about orexias in a lecture hall in the United States, but why not actually visit South America and see women wearing the color necklaces of their orexia. I heard of apartheid while studying in the United States, but actually being in South Africa and seeing the success since the abolishment of the system was amazing.
When I flew from Sydney to the Gold Coast, I had a taxi driver who wanted to talk a lot. He started asking me questions, and said, “Man, you have been around.” I knew where this was going, or so I thought. “So buddy, you probably know like I do that the world is [messed] up, right?”
The world is a bit “messed” up. I never knew the injustices of politics or how other people live. I want to tell the stories of people in the world, to help others realize what the great world has to offer.
When I get back to the United States in May, I will have visited at least 28 countries. There are so many memories, so many things I have learned that I could not have learned in the United States, so many experiences. Now, what the heck do I do with them all? That is the major question lately. I cannot just sit and stand idle now; all of this travel would be a failure if I did not do something with it.
I have been reporting about the situation in each country. Sometimes my stories are used, sometimes not. I am told that I should go work for a non-profit organization, where I would basically sit around with colleagues and complain about the world’s onslaught of problems and ask for money from foundations to try to fix it, really knowing that our efforts, even if well intentioned, are not going to make a dent in the problems the world faces. People who are important believe that my travels have put me into a class of a liberal worldly academic who is perceived as a stick in the mud because of his experiences. Maybe it is my crazy youth, but the more I travel, the more energized I get, and sitting and complaining about the world’s problems just won’t do for me.
I am because you are. We are all interrelated. This world is a small place, and no matter if you are in Caldwell, Idaho, or Paris, France, there are amazing people, and astonishing stories. How will this help with the world’s problems?
When people learn about one another, they realize that they are not so much different. Their stereotypes diminish. Education is the key. Learning about one another and knowing what we have in common is the start to helping ease problems in my opinion.
In May I will be in New York again. I hope my plans work out so that I can begin giving back.
Until then, I continue to travel and learn more.
