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BY Nancy Mueller 5 Comments ON April 5, 2013

E is for Exploring Exotic Egypt

SphinxandPyramidwatchsmartflickr (450 x 338)

Photo courtesy of watchsmart – flickr

As the site of my first overseas experience, Egypt holds a special place in my heart. Long before the 2011 Arab Spring uprising, I had been a teacher at the St. Mary’s School in Shoubra, a poor Cairo neighborhood.

CairoMosqueArianZwegers (450 x 307)

Photo courtesy of  Arian Zwegers – flickr

During one kaleidoscopic summer, I traveled the road from Cairo to Alexandria under a canopy of desert stars, explored the marvels of the Sphinx and Pyramids on the Giza Plateau as well as the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Every day led to new discoveries in customs,  courtesies and culinary delights.

KhanElKhalilijuliegomollflickr (450 x 338)

Photo courtesy of juliegomoll – flickr

The trip was not without its share of challenges, however. While I avoided vendor-offered homemade-flavored drinks and always kept bottled drinking water in the refrigerator where I lived at the orphanage, I still ended up with daily gastrointestinal problems.

Then late one afternoon I entered the kitchen and spotted one of the girls standing at the sink. She looked at me over her shoulder and flashed a beatific smile. My eyes widened when I saw her holding one of my water bottles under the faucet tap, carefully filling it up to the brim. In her quiet way, she had been taking care of me, her respected teacher, by ensuring that my water bottle was always filled. Oops.

KarnakTempleeviljohniusflickr (450 x 338)

Photo courtesy of eviljohnius – flickr

Despite those pesky gastrointestinal problems, exploring the magic of Egypt set the stage for what has become my lifelong love of travel adventures around the world. 5 continents down, two more to go . . .

What about you, wanderboomers? Are you ready to explore the wonders of Egypt?

 

Filed Under: Activities, Africa, Baby Boomers and Travel, Destinations, Egypt, Travel Experiences, Travel Tips Tagged With: Alexandria, Arab Spring, bottle water, Cairo, drinking water, Egypt, gastrointestinal, Giza Plateau, Khan el-Khalili, orphanage, pyramids, Shoubra, Sphinx, St. Mary's School, uprising, Valley of the Kings

BY Nancy Mueller 8 Comments ON March 6, 2012

Making a Difference: Destination Haiti

Sarah with Group of Haitian Children

Wanderboomers love to travel for a host of reasons: to see the world, meet new people, visit far-flung places, learn about other cultures, and/or to make a difference in the lives of others.

Two years after the cataclysmic 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the work to bring medical care, food, clothing and shelter to the country’s inhabitants continues. For one Seattle woman, Sarah Pierre-Louis, and her Haitian husband Adrien, caring for the children who survived the disaster has become a personal mission with the loss of their niece who died in the quake.

Tent City in Haiti

After leaving a successful sales career in corporate America, Pierre-Louis began researching and applying for grants to support their cause. The couple founded their charity, Children, the Future of Haiti, with the purpose of helping “one orphanage at a time to make sure kids have the basics,” says Pierre-Louis. “If the children don’t get the education and healthcare they need, they’ll be slaves in their own country.” Once the children’s basic needs are met, their next goal is to build schools to keep kids off the streets and prevent kid trafficking.

View of Port-au-Prince

Although Sarah and Adrien’s mission began immediately on the heels of the earthquake, their charity received legal status as an independent non-profit organization in March 2011 thanks to the efforts of their VP, Christina Barone. Since then they have partnered with Kettelyne Polinice, the director of an orphanage located in Petionville, Haiti near their family home. The 29 children living here range from 3 to 17 years of age. In some cases, the children have no parents. Others may only have one parent or two parents, neither of whom can afford to care for the child, because even if the parents survived, their businesses did not.

So far the foundation members have delivered appliances, clothing and medical supplies to the orphanage but are in need of bed linens and towels, shoes and more clothing for the children. Additional fundraising efforts are focused on raising money for toilets, school tuition and mandatory uniforms for the children to be able to attend school.

Sarah with Haitian Children

* All photo credits courtesy of Sarah Pierre-Louis.

What about you, Wanderboomers? How are you making a difference through your travels?

Filed Under: Baby Boomers and Travel, Destinations, Haiti, Make a Difference Tagged With: 2010 earthquake in Haiti, children, Children the Future of Haiti, Clothing, corporate America, earthquake, education, food, Haiti, Haitian, kid trafficking, medical supplies, orphanage, orphans, Port-au-Prince, poverty, sales, schools, shelter, tent city, travel, tuition, uniforms

Hello fellow wanderboomers! I’m a Seattle-based travel journalist, specializing in fun travel adventures for the young at heart. My articles have been featured in Hemispheres, AAA Highroads Magazine and Northwest Travel & Life Magazine where I'm a frequent contributor. When this Wanderboomer isn’t traveling, I help global executives polish their personal and professional brand for long-term results.
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