Wow, has it only been a week? We’re back in Cairo after a relaxing five-day cruise on the Nile river! Last Tuesday we flew from Cairo to Aswan, a city in the far south of Egypt, just north of the massive Aswan dam and Lake Nasser. There, we boarded a cruise ship called the Nile Admiral and spent the next five days relaxing on board as the ship sailed slowly down the Nile northward to Luxor.
On the way we stopped at various ports to look at tombs, temples, monuments, and local bazaars. It was quite a fascinating time! We particularly enjoyed the Valley of the Kings, where we looked at the tombs of Rameses IV, Rameses III, and Tutmoses III.
We also got to meet several really interesting people on the cruise, and we made some new friends in great places to visit in the future - we were especially blessed to meet a fascinating couple from Chile, Andrea and Casey, who have invited us to visit and sample the amazing ski areas there!
We got back to Cairo late yesterday and later this week we’re going on a tour of the pyramids and Cairo museum. Fun times!
One of the things we’re experiencing is the effect of traveling through such a multitude of cultural contexts. Frequently we run into conversations that wander toward cultural reflections - observations people make about what they perceive to be American culture, and differences we notice between the way we are used to relating to people in America versus how people relate to each other in the various cultures we find ourselves in.
Sometimes we wish we had the luxury of never running into another culture, the luxury of thinking that our culture’s way of doing things is the only logical way of doing things.
Being cultural travelers, then, makes us feel somewhat uncomfortably adrift in a sea of cultures - and gives us a different perspective on our own “home culture”. It’s hard having the faults and failings of our “home culture” pointed out to us, either directly and bluntly by someone, or indirectly by our own inward reflections. It’s hard to realize that some of the ways we’ve always thought of relating to people are actually unhealthy ways.
On the flip side, sometimes it feels cool to learn that some things we do automatically because of the influence of our “home culture” are actually wonderful things that are much appreciated and admired by other cultures 
The hard thing is many of these various observations all blend into each other, so it’s hard to address or explain any one of them in isolation - it’s so frustrating to my Western-trained analytical mind to try and piece these out and list them in cleanly separated categories of “here are the things that are bad about American culture and here are the things that are great about American culture”. I’m learning that cultures and cultural influences are fluid, dynamic, and evolve rapidly over a few years.
In the meantime, we are learning to enjoy being adrift in this wide sea of cultures, learning, perhaps, what it’s like to be a citizen of God’s Kingdom culture while traveling through the various cultures of this world.
Perhaps “adrift” doesn’t quite capture what it feels like… it’s actually more like “whitewater rafting”
It reminds me of the caption photo above for this “field notes” category, which as this story behind it: ahead!
Much adventure with Jesus!
