Ms. Terry's Blog: January 2022

Happy New Year! It is officially 2022 and the entire Terry family has officially returned from their Egyptian expedition (plus Jordan).

It was a wonderful trip, and a wonderful way to ring in the New Year. 2021 was a difficult year for the Terry family, and so being able to go on such an adventure was a way to focus on the future and the good we hope it brings.

Plus, it was really fun and incredibly educational. Now, most people don’t go on vacation to learn, but we’re kind of a nerdy family, so it worked for us. Our guides could be university professors and they offered such a breadth and depth of knowledge about Egypt past and present. I was in awe.

But, anyway, a few thoughts from my voyage to countries number 31 and 32.

1. This tour was a Viking tour, which is a higher end cruise company. And we did cruise the Nile for several nights in a lovely ship that had a 2 to 1 ratio of staff to guests. We were incredibly well taken care of, from the excellent food, to the attentive staff, to the amazing rooms. That being said, it was unlike any group tour I have taken before. The group tours I have done before have been for the 18 to 30-something crowd, and were cheaper, rougher, and featured more free time, spontaneity, and wild adventures. Think bungee jumping as a “free time add on,” compared to Viking’s tour of Cairo’s Coptic (Christian) Quarter. I have enjoyed myself immensely on both kinds of tours, and met super cool people on both kinds as well. I like hanging out in the bars of Rio until midnight (occasionally), and I also like taking in-depth tours of 4000 year old Egyptian temples (occasionally). You can like both (shocker), and just need to find what works best for where you want to go, what you want to do, and your budget and availability.

2. Y’all, I think the COVID travel regulations are here to stay, at least for another year or so. And while I am grateful that tourism companies are taking so many measures to keep people safe, I do also think it is creating a further divide between those who can travel and those who can’t. PCR tests are expensive, and you have to have one to renter the US under the current regulations. Not to mention it has made arranging and organizing travel even more complicated. I have always viewed travel partly as a way to learn, and I think everyone should have the chance to learn. However, just like with quality, public education, travel (at least for travel and learning) is becoming something fewer and fewer people have access to. I am only grateful that I can have these experiences.

3. Ramses II (aka Ramses the Great) thought really highly of himself. I mean, who needs like 20 statues of himself in one temple?

4. In Egypt, it was “damn the French/British/German” because they took a lot of the stuff and put it in their own museums. In Jordan, it was “damn the earthquakes” because, well, they destroyed a lot of the stuff. At least earthquakes are natural?

5. Hot air balloons are cool.

Well, anyway, Egypt and Jordan were interesting, exciting places to visit. I think I will take a break from traveling over spring break and part of summer just to see how Omicron plays out. Also to save money. Also to rest. Being out of the country for 2 and 1/2 weeks and they coming back to switch schools is tiring. And my new classroom isn’t even fully set up yet! But I digress, I had a great time on the trip and the classroom will get there eventually.

Again, happy new year and please enjoy these pictures.