Now that I’m back in the USA and have settled back into my normal routine I thought I’d write something to sum up my whole experience.  In some ways I feel a lot different but in other ways I feel like I never left.  I often find myself reminiscing about the places that I visited such as London, Rome, Amsterdam, and Paris and missing the energy.  In these places, although I was a foreigner, I somehow felt at one with the energy levels.  Here in Seattle, things are really laid back and culture is really lacking compared to other places that I’ve been to.  I’ve realized even more so the need to be somewhere different, somewhere that I can truly unleash myself, my talents, and let my ambition run wild.  I am definitely going to give it a shot and see where I land.

Things that I have learned

• I have learned that although people say English is the universal language there is an abundance of people outside of the USA, Canada, and the UK that don’t speak fluent English
• That driving on the streets of Cairo is true chaos and crossing the street there requires a lot of courage
• That I have the ability to blend in amongst the natives in many parts of the world and the street intelligence to survive in all of them
• That being black in this world is a gift and a curse.  A gift because you have an unspoken camaraderie with other minorities and are deemed as very strong so you don’t have a target on your back for perpetrators of crime; but a curse because you share in the same discrimination amongst all people deemed as lower class simply because of their skin color.
• That there is beauty as well as repulsive things amongst all cultures
• That people are people no matter where you go.  For every type of person in America you will surely find their counterpart in Europe
• That the food in Europe is not a life changing experience.  The same food you get there you can get here in America.  I think some people just get jaded by the fact that they are having a meal in a different country in my opinion.
• That you truly need to look both ways before you cross the street in London.  Forgetting that cars drive on the opposite side of the street and looking for oncoming traffic could be perilous as they will not stop and WILL run you over!
• That many more people travel alone than you might think.
• That the world is not such a dangerous place as many think.  Just get out and explore and you may surprise yourself.

Overall, I have to say that my maiden voyage abroad will live within my heart for the rest of my days.  I know that this will not be the last trip but as one of my favorite musicians Sade says, “It’s never as good as the first time.”  I collected some great souvenirs, met some great friends who I hope to stay in contact with, and now have memories that will last forever.  Many have asked me would I do it again and I say I WOULDN’T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING.  Like I said in previous entries, traveling alone is something that everyone should do at least once in their lives.  Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone makes you grow as a person and inspires you to do things that you never thought that you could.  With that said, I’m also glad to be back in America.  As much as I love to travel there is nothing like coming back home.  I am truly an American in my heart and soul.  No, we are not perfect, but in my opinion this is the best country in the world!

Stay tuned for other entries.  I still have much more material, videos, and thoughts to post.  This blog will continue to be updated.

Here are some pictures that I took from my last day in London. Can you believe I’m still trying to recover from my trip? Wow, 5 weeks really takes a toll on you. I’m almost there tho.

Here is a video that I made at Buckingham Palace in London in what looks like the changing of the guards.  Don’t forget to click on the HD button on the bottom right of the video window to watch it in full HD.

I am finally back in America.  Well I’ve been here for about a week but it’s been hectic.  I went straight back to work and I’m still kind of suffering from jet lag.  Just trying to put things back together after being away for 5 weeks so I haven’t had much time, nor the motivation to post.  But as soon as I recover I plan on writing something to sum up my great adventure.  Stay tuned…

So I get to the Heathrow Airport in London and go to check in at one of those self-service things but for some reason it will not process my booking. Immediately I’m thinking “Oh No! Not another experience like the one I had in Cairo!” I prepare for the bad news and head up to the ticket window. The ticket lady says to me in a beautiful British accent “Today is your lucky day!”. Hmmmm. I’m wondering what she means and I ask her but she doesn’t tell me. All she says is “you’ll find out”. LOL, okay. So I head through security and go to this Club Gallery place that she tells me to go to. I get in there and OMG! I’ve been bumped up to British Airways Club World class!

All I can say about this place is WOW. You walk in and there is someone there to take your luggage. Then you have self service for all kinds of food, wine, and all the alcohol you can drink. And it’s all complimentary. Not only that but they have showers, free-wifi, newspapers, comfortable sofas, chairs, etc. My flight leaves in about a half hour and honestly I don’t even want to leave the lounge. LOL. I cannot say enough about this place. If you have the money (the tickets are in the $3,000 - $4,000 range) I say definitely to get this class.

To read more about Club World click here.

Here are some pics I took in Amsterdam the second time around.

July 4, 2009 – 12:32pm (France Time)

First and foremost, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY everyone! I hope everyone has a great holiday and I wish I could be in America right now celebrating with you all. I’m currently on the Eurostar train traveling from Paris to London. This train is supposed to be really cool because it travels underwater for about 30 minutes as it transports you from France to the UK. This is the tail end of my trip and I’m truly beginning to wind down. The past few days I haven’t really done much but veg out in my hotel rooms from Amsterdam to Paris. My body is telling me that it’s time to relax. LOL. I have been to 7 different countries and 9 different cities within the last 5 weeks. London, Leeds, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Paris, Rome, Porto Cervo, and Cairo….I came, I saw, I conquered and did my dirt all by my lonely, LOL. At this moment I’m just taking it all in. My inspirations, my emotions, and my thoughts are vying for their prospective places and I’m waiting for them to settle. I don’t think I will truly realize the significance of what I’ve done until I’m in my room in America, lying alone in my bed looking up at the ceiling. It is in those secluded moments that I do the most reflecting. And oh, what I have to reflect on now! I should be reaching London within the next couple of hours. I’m not sure if I’m going to party it up this last weekend abroad or just chill out. I guess it depends on what my body feels like. I think that one thing that I’ve learned on this trip is patience. I started this journey as a giddy boy itching to see and do everything and ending it as a confident man who believes what shall be will be. This is a trip that I will reflect on for the rest of my life and I am now positive that when I die the words ‘regret’ and ‘impossible’ shall not exist within me.

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Here I am back in Paris!  Tomorrow I leave for London for the weekend and then my flight back to America.

Last night I decide to cruise through the Red Light District here in Amsterdam and check it out.  For those of you that don’t know, prositution is legal in Amsterdam and there is an area where women advertise themselves in these windows lit by a red light.  So I’m walking and I’m noticing something.  Some of the girls are beckoning me to come to them while some as they see me just look away or turn around completely.  This made me wonder and I, being the curious person I am, decide to investigate.  I decide to approach one that won’t even look at me.  I go up to the window of this really attractive, tall, young, blonde and she just starts shaking her head as to say no and waves me away with her hand.  WOW.  I then decide to ask one of the other girls what’s going on.   I go up to the window of one that seems more welcoming and ask her why the other girl down there rejected me.  She tells me that alot of the girls won’t take black men.  She says that there have been some problems in the past with black men being too aggressive with them or not wanting to pay.  At this point I’m thinking “hmmm, so u mean to tell me that there haven’t been any incidents with white men doing the same thing?  Not even, one?.”  I really find that hard to believe as I believe that there are aggressive, abusive, and cheap men amongst all ethnicities.  Why is it that black men are automatically attached these stigmas when one of us do these things?

As I’m walking back to my hotel room there are a lot things going through my mind.  Why is it in a city that seems to be very ethnic-friendly as there are tons of different nationalities here that there is still this racism?  It’s shameful that some people still pass judgement on entire races simply because of the actions of a few.  I’ve had problems with people of all different races but I don’t have this mentality about a particular race.  Even when I was in Egypt, where I was harassed by many Egyptians, I never passed judgement on the whole of the people.  I understand that people have their preference and women are free to chose who they want but why discriminate on the basis of skin color?  Why is my characther pre-judged because of the color of my skin?  I’m a good guy who has never abused a woman in any way, whether it be physically or emotionally.  I believe that women are precious and should be treated with respect and love.  Maybe if any one of these girls sat down and had a conversation with me they would see that.  But on the same token maybe all they have to go on are appearances and past history.  Anyway, I could write a book on this subject and probably will if I don’t stop now.  I just wanted to shed light to this subject because there is nowhere else on the internet that is discussing this, which is also a shame in my opinion.  But, then again, that is what this site is all about.  I’m here to shed light on subjects that other travel blogs tend to shy away from.  I’m here to report on a REAL travel experience, not just one with the usual tourist highlights.

Sound familiar?  Check out my other post HERE

July 1, 2009 – 9:45am (Germany Time)

I’m on the train to Amsterdam after spending 2 days relaxing in Berlin. Luckily, the cold that I had developed was very mild and I’m in the recovery process. I wasn’t really worried though as I never get sick for more than 3 days. But I am disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to do and see more in Berlin. Berlin is a very vibrant city full of energy and positive young people. Another thing that struck me about Berlin and Germany in general is that things there are very efficient. I swear the city runs like a well oiled machine. It is a big difference from the chaos of Rome and Cairo. Yesterday I went to get on the escalator and it wasn’t moving so I figured that maybe it was just turned off. So I go to start walking up it and it starts moving as soon as I step on it. Later, I realize that it operates off of a sensor that determines whether it should move or not. Wow, what a concept in energy conservation! I never have seen anything like that in America. Also traveling on the train through Germany you see many wind turbines (I think that’s what they are called) that harness the power of the wind for energy. Once again, a very rare sight in America, and I have driven from coast to coast.

I did get a chance to experience the legendary Berlin night life last night though. One of the guys at the hotel desk recommended that I go to this nightclub called Sophie as it was the only one that had any kind of dancing going on that night. He said it would be best for me to just take the train a couple of stops down and it would take me right to the club district but after getting to the train station everything was in German and I couldn’t figure out which train I was supposed to take. So I hopped in a cab and I was on my way. The cab driver didn’t speak English either so I showed him on the map where I wanted to go and we agreed on a price to get me there. He dropped me off in the middle of the club district. By this time it’s about midnight, but I wasn’t worried because the parties don’t start in Berlin until about 1am anyway and go on until the sun comes up. After asking a couple of people where this club Sophie is I was able to find it. It was 3 euro to get in which isn’t bad and beers were about 2.50 euro a piece. So I’m in there chillin by myself at a table and I see a couple of German guys come in and they are looking at me. I figured I probably looked out of place being the only black person in the club, LOL. I give one of them the head nod and he comes over to me so I say to him “What’s Up?” He shakes my hand, mutters something in German and heads to the bar. As the club starts getting packed more and more people are hitting the dance floor. The DJ is playing a blend of techno, retro, and house music. Next thing I know, the same guy from before comes and sits down right next to me and starts speaking in German. I tell him that I don’t really understand what he is saying and ask him if he speaks English. He says, “a little”. He’s really drunk and continues speaking to me in German with a few English sentences thrown in. I find out that he’s not from Berlin, but a different part of Germany and he’s there with his friends to party. He then starts motioning to the dance floor and says “you like partyyyyy?” I say yes and figured he wants me to go with him to the dance floor and dance with some of the women. We hit the dance floor and I notice one other black person in the club, a young woman. She sees me and immediately gives me a smile and we do a salute with our beverages. I find out she’s there from France and is living in Berlin now, but she’s originally from the Ivory Coast in Africa. The night goes on with lots of dancing, drinking, and the guy telling me that I’m his best friend now. It was funny because every time I saw him after that he comes up to me and says “you are best friend for me, you are my cousin” and gives me a big hug and shakes my hand. After a fun-filled night I hop in another cab and head back to my hotel. Now here I am on the train on the way to Amsterdam. Amsterdam again, I wonder what it will have in store for me this time.