The small, flat building they called an airport reeked of African spices. “Welcome to Asmara,” a man in a vomit green colored jumpsuit spoke coldly. I laughed at the way his heavy accent prevented him from appropriately pronouncing the word “welcome.” I was on my way to finding out who I truly was.
For most of my existence, I considered myself to be an American whose parents originated outside of the United States. I tried relentlessly to make this distinction clear to anyone I came across. The way I dressed, acted, talked, and even ate was my way of asserting that I was an American.
â–º QUARTER FINALIST 2012 TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP
Hence, I was a young girl, struggling to come to grips with my cultural identity. My moral mistake, however, was not that I had lied about my identity. Legally, I was an U.S. born citizen. Instead, my wrongdoing came from my unintentional need to separate myself from a country I felt was lesser than what I desired to claim. For all my life prior to my trip to Eritrea, a small developing country located in eastern Africa, I tried strongly to disconnect myself from my cultural roots. When asked about my ethnicity, I would claim Eritrea only because I have all the typical physical characteristics of an Eritrean girl. Even if I tried, my huge forehead, gigantically round and dark pronounced eyes, and colored skin, the shade of slightly-burnt caramel, would have given me away.
Thus, when I finally arrived in the place I referred to as “my mother’s country”, I spent a whole week trying to declare the superiority of America to anyone who would listen. When my cousin would blast traditional Eritrean music through the house on her little battery operated radio, I would go get my mp3 player, in which I stored only songs by English speaking artists. When my aunts and uncles would ask me which country I preferred, expecting me to reply with Eritrea, I would shamelessly and without a doubt answer, “America.” When my whole family ate traditional foods together on one large platter, I went through the trouble of making my own dinner to eat by myself, on my own plate.
It wasn’t until the third day of my second week in Eritrea did I came to an important realization. While sitting at one of the tables of an American style restaurant waiting for my burger to arrive, my uncle revealed to me an honest concern. He asserted that he understood my admiration for the United States and he knew it was the first time I’ve traveled out of the country. He also said that he appreciated how well off the U.S. is economically and their large role in the world. “What I don’t understand,” he said thoughtfully, “is your need to ignore your origins in Eritrea. We may not be as rich and may not live the same way you do, but at the end of the day, the blood that runs through you is from Eritrea.”
It was at that point in my life that I realized who I was and who I wanted to be. I ignored my Eritrean heritage for seventeen years of my life because to some extent, I was ashamed of it. I didn’t want to be associated with the “uncivilized” people of Africa. I was ignorant and uninformed. However, my trip to Eritrea served as a revelation. I learned that in order to understand who I am today, I must understand past. It is only after one accepts their personal history that they are able to live an honest and fulfilled life.
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Grt place to visit.. This place is located after entering the Ranthambore National Park.. However, to visit this place u can evn get your own vehicle…
John, glad you liked the story. This park is in Ohio where the weather can be unpredictable! It’s warmest between late April and November, but even April has the risk of some snow. If you’re camping with kids, the safest bet is June to August, because it’s warmer and there’s little rain. Enjoy your trip.
Hey Maggie, I really appreciate your innovative traveling ideas. You have covered so many adventurous places. Waiting for some new destinations. Please keep posting.
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Game Lover
It’s truly magical being there. I love the art this country offers. Their wall arts and crafts are just lovely.
Hi Maggie,
You always share to the world with something new and different destinations. Thank you so much for sharing.
The history of Cuhahoga valley national park seems interesting and must be a new experience when we observe scenes of National park from their scenic campgrounds.
which season do you think is the best time to visit this national park?
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Wow, what a nice article. Makes you feel like you should pack up and go immediately. It seems Linblad runs a good operation and trips are kid friendly. Is there a list of particular dates that are family friendly or are there kid activities year round on board the boats. Any other advice on travling with kids to Ecuador and Galapagos would be really welcome.
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Hello Michael, glad to hear your family is interested in a dude ranch holiday.
Since your kids are older and, hopefully, everyone in the family rides, you have lots of options. The Dude Ranchers Association is a really helpful resource in sorting through the many types of ranch vacations. For example, you can go here: https://duderanch.org/by-activity-amenity and search for ‘Advanced Rides’ and “Cattle Drives’ and that would get you some real working ranches that would have more of the lifestyle you seem to be looking for. One of our authors recommends the Hideout in Shell, Wyoming for this type of trip.
Looking for a real ranch experience with horseback riding (lots of it) and time in the open air with my son (15) and daughter (12) and my wife (49). I am 62. We live in NJ, my children have been sheltered but I grew up in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania. I want my children to see another side of life.
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Great destinations for First Night and New Year’s Eve! Check out our favourite ones in Europe: https://tapsy.blog/?s=new+year%27s+eve
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Of course, you can do travel freely and easily through these two countries yourself, but I enjoyed having the trip curated for me, including well-chosen local guides, comfortable transportation on call and some superb private tours, such as a Khmer cooking class or historic walking tour of Saigon, with flexibility in the itinerary for our group of five to follow their own paths, such as making an emotional detour to the moving Genocide Museum housed in the old S-21 jail in Phnom Penh.
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I enjoyed reading your Italian family vacation story, and thank you so much for these tips. This surely gonna help us achieve a stress-free vacation in Italy. Great blog!
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For Richard re: dual citizenship US-Nicaragua… can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Hi Richard, In our travel experience, this type of document should work well for your travels, but if your wife is available, it can’t hurt to download the sample forms we have online and also have her fill out and notarize one for your trip with your child. The agency responsible in your case will be the carrier — we assume an airline — and if they can make a note in your travel record that they have approved the Nicaraguan documents you should be fine on both departing and entering.
Safe Travels!
Wow, great!!! it could be a great fun out there.
very informative article Travel forums provide first hand experience and advice to travelers and are a great source of information and travel tips.
As a signal parent, your life, world, actions are based on your childs well fair. Not your happiness or anything that has to do with you.
It should list where they are going, the dates that they are allowed to go and grant your permission for that trip. You want to include your address and phone number and probably the contact info for the adult traveling as well.
The grand archways and the paintings of Lord Krishna and his cows are a visual treat. Wander through areas opened for tourists and you shall witness the impressive aura and architecture of the Royal state of Rajasthan.
Thanks for Sharing
Hello guys my wife and I have dual citizenship US-Nicaragua, I’m planning to travel to the US with our son also dual citizenship for 3 weeks, with a Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) from Nicaragua, can I use the same to travel back to Nicaragua with the same Power of Attorney (Specific to Minors) since wife is staying back in Nicaragua to keep eyes on the house.
Congratulations to the winners! A question to all the professional travelers here, how are you planning the route ant the places to see while visiting a new country? As for me I just google the most touristic and popular places. It works mostly, but there were a few times when I realized that I have seen only some the places this country or city is famous for, and that’s sad. On my last trip to Armenia, I decided to take a tour and it was quite productive. It’s much more informative when somebody is telling you history and some interesting facts. If someone wants to save their time – make sure to ask them to help if you’ll ever be there.
Curitiba é uma lugar lindo, além de ser considerada uma das melhores cidades para se morar em Brasil.
Realmente a muito o que conhecer por lá, como também diversas outras belezas do nosso brasil.
Principalmente as praias do Brasil que são muito procurada por inúmeros turistas internacionais e nacionais.
As Praias do Litoral Paulista, divididos entre Praias do Litoral Norte e Litoral Sul.
As mais conhecidas são as Praias de Ubatuba com mais de 100 belas praias no litoral norte paulista.
Já no litoral sul, a região mais procurada são as Praias de Guarujá, a região conta com 23 praias de pura beleza e preservação ambiental.
nice article, i also read about Celebrate Christmas Eve 2018
Aloha!
I would like to add my baby equipment company, Nana’s Baby Equipment. I serve the entire island of Kauai with aloha!
Mahalo,
Sharon Hackleman
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Was an honour and pleasure to host you both in the Maori Whakata/Welcome to Wanaka. Welcome back anytime to this wonderful part of the world.
Kia Kaha/Stay strong
[http://www.wanahaka.co.nz]