Nevada, Germany, Qatar, Egypt – Foreign Street Scenes

~ Amusives

Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages.
– Dave Barry –

America has solved the problem of foreign languages. Want to see the Eiffel Tower without the inconvenience of all those foreigners in France? Just go to Las Vegas!

How about raw meat hanging in front of a shop, cabbages wilting in the heat, and dead animals floating in the canal nearby? Seems foreign to me, but this scene was relatively common in Cairo, Egypt. (Except for the dead animals floating nearby. That was only if there was a canal for them to float in.)

This street in Doha, Qatar seemed foreign when I first encountered it, but became normal after living there for some time. (Well, not right there. A few miles away.)

This is a street in Munich, Germany. The buildings, the statues, the floral window boxes – all so foreign in my part of the world but absolutely beautiful!
Do you ever ask yourself why you live where you do, and not somewhere else? I do…

27 thoughts on “Nevada, Germany, Qatar, Egypt – Foreign Street Scenes”

  1. I love the street scenes–I get the flavor of the places I will probably never go–awnings, bicycles–people’s lives. Thanks!

    Like

  2. Sometimes we forget how big our own continent is as well and how diverse our own little slice of the planet earth is. The “information highway” certainly has made the world a smaller place. Love the photos Margie.

    Like

    1. Thanks Cheryl. The world is a smaller place in so many ways, but very very big when you try to decide what bit of it you would like to travel to.

      Like

  3. Well, Disneyland will provide the same illusion as Vegas, but honestly, it is an illusion. There is nothing like traveling outside of your comfort zone to realize how different the world really is; it changes one’s perspective profoundly. And worth any price.

    Like

      1. I didn’t think you sounded harsh at all. I wish everyone could travel internationally.
        It is interesting that you should mention Disneyland. I absolutely love to spend time at Disney’s Epcot. I’ve been there twice – once before I had traveled to many of the countries represented there, and once after. Epcot captured the essence of the places very well, and brought back many happy memories of countries I may never get to again.
        I agree, there is nothing like traveling outside your comfort zone, but for those folks who may never have that opportunity, I’d highly recommend a trip to Florida to see Epcot.

        Like

  4. Lovely photos and reading…And, Yes, it really is important to travel outside your own sphere. To learn about other ways of living and to stay tolerant. You cannot love everybody, but you can always accept people as they are and be tolerant. As I´m a teacher it´s an essential thing.

    Like

  5. We went to Ireland once, and we couldn’t read the street signs because the were all in Irish. Loved visiting another country. I think I’d like to see Germany. Loved your pictures.

    Like

    1. I’ve never been to Ireland, but the place names in Wales made for interesting signage – Penmaenmawr and Ystradgynlais, for example.

      Like

  6. I have often said that the only thing that keeps me from traveling is the fact that I am a very bad traveler, which is why I have parked myself in one spot for the majority of my life. I am reading about several people who are traveling the world and envy their ability to uproot themselves and move about.
    And yes, an old friend once told me that he didn’t need to go to Europe because he could see replicas in Orlando and Las Vegas!

    Like

    1. I think it takes a special kind of person to travel the world. It sounds wonderful, but it isn’t necessarily all that easy. We found that after a few weeks of wandering in a very foreign place, we were glad to come home and rest – body and mind overload.

      Like

  7. Some Americans are disappointed that a real foreign country is not as colorful as the one replicated in Disneyland or Vegas. Sad, because the back streets and real neighborhoods and real people of the world are absolutely fascinating.

    Like

    1. Your comment makes me think about all the wonderful photos we see in magazines of far flung places – photos we would never be able to take ourselves on our vacation because we can’t stage real life.

      Like

    1. You must have a wonderfully imaginative brain. Well, of course you do. That is why your blog posts are so interesting.

      Like

  9. Excellent photos to ilustrate your ‘Foreign’ post 🙂 Anywhere can seem foreign – The Balls Pond Road just a few miles from me seems very alien. Yet sometimes I can feel very ‘at home’ in a foreign land – I was certainly comfortable in Perpignan when we visited a couple of years back. Nice post… Got me thinking 🙂

    Like

    1. You are so right – we had lunch in a local ethnic restaurant recently, and it really made us feel like we had been transported to a foreign land. We visited a cemetery in a field in France, and it felt like we were standing near a field close to our home.

      Like

  10. Great shots, Margie. Really liked that Cairo storefront, but I don’t think I’m ready to shop there yet. Or go for a swim in that canal… : (

    I don’t like the inconvenience of traveling, but I’m usually fascinated when I finally get to where I’m going– always assuming I don’t get lost, of course… : P

    Like

    1. Yes, the challenges of travel – I can remember many a ‘vacation’ that I came home from and needed some more holiday time to recover!

      Like

    1. We were in Qatar for 3 and a half years; lived in the UK (south of London) for two years prior to that. While in England, my husband worked at least one day a week in Scotland (and some of my family a few generations ago came from Scotland). Now, if you had just lived in Canada for most of your life, our lives would have an other worldly parallel!

      Like

Comments are closed.