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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Great information. I love travelling and the winter holidays are best to go out with family and friends. there are many places in India for the best winter holiday. here is the list 5 Best Winter Holiday Destinations In India
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Can you tell me a estimated amount required to spend 6 days in Washington including hotel price . thanks in advance .
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Hi, thanks for the huge list of good ideas! I reconnected with an old childhood memory of travelling on house boats.
Wow, that’s a great list. The Free Tours By Foot sounds amazing and such a great way to explore a city. Have you guys ever tried indoor skydiving? It’s not cheap, but it’s a great activity for the whole family. Some of the centers even offer a Virtual Reality experience. With more and more tunnels popping up it’s become quite easy to find a spot nearby. For those interested check out dropzone.com/indoor/ . They’ve got a nifty tunnel finder.
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Hi There,
Thank you for putting together a list for Fall vacation. It is so informative and exciting. We love the nature! We should be planning a trip to Aspen Mountain, Colorado soon. The infographic on emergency is so well done and very handy for travelers.
visiting california is always enjoyable. thanks for sharing your feelings about california. Have traveled any other countries? I’ve been travelling for last 2 years and I would like to share some of my great experinces with you. do you accept guest post?
Everything in this blog is nice. Fabolous infographic and presentation also. I also want to go there for these types of rides which are shown in this blog.
First of all, you need to find out what type of vacation each member of your family prefers. At lunch, dinner, or watching your favorite TV show in the evening, try discussing your upcoming vacation together. Listen to suggestions from everyone, remember where you have already visited and, taking into account the interests of the child, try to choose the right direction. It should be borne in mind all the details: the possibility of excess spending, the size of the vacation budget, the presence of health problems, interests, hobbies and hobbies. If you are organizing a trip with your child, you will have a wonderful joint vacation!
NYC is a great place to celebrate Halloween, and good opportunities for celebrity sightings too!
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Thank you for sharing … I love to do a river rafting….thankyou so much for giving details about all things
Thank you for sharing the Information and images… Its very good and I am traveling soon on this place
Great post!
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The moon landing marked the culmination of America’s Cold War human spaceflight program and positioned itself as a global leader in science and technology. Apollo 11, the mission Armstrong and Aldrin flew with colleague Michael Collins, represented the U.S. accomplishing a seemingly impossible goal on a seemingly impossible timeline. Fifty years later, the world is remembering the historic mission and its impact on society and science, thanks to all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE.
I am also a collector of space memorabilia and I run a website dedicated to Space Exploration memorabilia https://www.space-collectibles.com . In fact, I leave in Paris, France. (Yes, that does mean I drink too much wine and eat too much cheese) . Since the age of 21, I became a big fan of Space Exploration as I studied in Cap Canaveral Florida, and worked with the engineers that put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the moon. So, this is perhaps the reason why I became a pasionate Space Collectioner of photos from the space race in the 60’s from Nasa and Soviet programs. I whish I could be in all these 50 COSMIC WAYS TO CELEBRATE SPACE
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Hey thanks for such a nice article, there is nothing better than getting away with the fam or group of mates into the wilderness and just relaxing while staring into those embers. I go camping regularly and I know you stated unplugged but if you dont play an instrument I highly recommend bringing along a nice loud Bluetooth speaker to jam away with all of you friends into the late night. That and beer ofcourse.
Thanks again and keep up the good work
Hershey is such a fun town to visit with so many family-friendly activities. We loved driving up to spend the weekend when we lived in Maryland.
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Doing so saves money on your shipping costs. Most travelers are charged for gas as they are free. Tourists save money on car rentals and pay for their travels.