One Lucky Soul: Things I Couldn’t Quite Understand After Being On The Road For Seven Months [with Photos]

Things I Couldn’t Quite Understand After Being On The Road For Seven Months [with Photos] by Omar Cherif, One Lucky Soul

“To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.”
― Aldous Huxley

After leaving Toronto in December 2013 I went back to Egypt for a visit. I had not seen my family and friends for more than three years and it was amazing reconnecting with them. Afterwards, I decided to roam around the U.S for while while working on my writings and the book.   

Throughout this seven-month journey I shared homes with cousins, friends, friends of friends, people I met through Facebook, and total strangers. Not knowing what to expect, to step out of one’s comfort zone sure was a whole new endeavour. Other than flowing with whatever life offers, one reason I’m doing so is to look for the novelty and inspiration needed to help this raconteur keep writing. As some of you may know, that would be what I have been religiously doing those last 14 months of my life. Because, as always, Onward Forward we must go.

The thing with  writing about dreams, the sub‘freakin’conscious mind, and the paradoxical theo-psychophilosophical, metaphysical trivialities about the nature of reality and humanity, along with our basic understanding of life and death could, sometimes, seems too overwhelming. So, I believe it’s a good idea to occasionally lighten up and indulge in a tad bit of a distraction; it’s an even better idea if we can have some chuckles while at it.   

  Another reason for embarking on this trip is to discover the America I never knew. Not the privileged summer courses of UCLA or the winter trips to N.Y. You know, the other FOURTY EIGHT states with the many distinct cities, counties, towns, and people that are waiting to be explored, documented, and photographed. From the snowy charming towns of Illinois to the ‘420’ Denver, Colorado, to the famous Venice Beach in California and many places in between.

Being constantly on the go meant sleeping in trains, on couches, and in people’s bedrooms. Hotels were not really an option. After all, I was gratefully destined to grow up living in five-star hotels for 21 years of my life and worked in them for seven. I do love to occasionally visit for short stays and I sure do love to reminisce. But for now, homes and kitchens and new people to meet and the act of being on the road are the essential thrill in the experience. It is also cheaper, which is obviously a key element for a wanderer. With that being said, I did eventually reside in a small hotel as a long-stayer — because it was cheaper — and you can read about it on Hotel Living: Then and Now.

Travelling and meeting new people teaches a lot about human nature, let alone living with them for some time. It teaches us what sharing is. It teaches us about genuine kindness, empathy, compassion, humility as well as about virtues like tolerance and patience. Mostly, it shows us that we are One of many billions of other Earthlings — that we are all in this together. Also, the very act of leaving the comfort zone and all the “known” catalyses growth and rejuvenation. In reality, the whole experience naturally and healthily forces you to become less prejudiced and less limited-minded. Hands down, I hold that travelling opens up the mind like nothing else. Well, perhaps along with psychedelics.

So apart from all the obvious lessons this adventure has enriched me with, there are other things that have baffled me, which, out of courtesy, I had kept to myself… until now. The following are some of those not-so-punctilious observation.

  1. Using milk or cheese or butter or juice then leaving it outside the fridge until maybe a few hours later.

2. Leaving used tea bags or egg shells in the sink like they will disappear by themselves.

 3. Leaving some lights on for the whole day. EVERYDAY.

4. Finishing the toilet paper and not replacing it even though the new roll is right there. Or, sharing a house with one bathroom with someone who would not share toilet paper, as in they take theirs in and out every time. Uhu. The Girl Who Wouldn’t Share Toilet Paper followed came a year after this article.

5. Using a dishwasher when you live by yourself.

6. Leaving the clothes you take off on the floor. It’s really the same idea with all the kitchen stuff and pretty much everything else. And I now feel compelled to ask: Isn’t it easier to put the clothes or anything else where they belong on the spot, or is there an advantage in procrastinating such little efforts? Understandably, that’s not in case you have one or more femme(s) de chambre.

7. Not knowing when it’s time to throw out — or wash — the kitchen sponge.

8. Closing the toilet’s lid after every usage. I have heard all sorts of theories and perceptions about this one. But the belief that the negatives energies, or the microscopic bacteria, or the smell, won’t go through that tiny area between the toilet and the actual lid isn’t too deep, nor is it convincing, for me. And that is why it made the list.

9. Coming into a house and not saying hello to someone sitting there, not even a single acknowledging eye-contact.

 10. This one is notoriously common. Short. Like. Attention. Span. Like. People who in the middle of a conversation would simply stop listening or happen to get distracted or even CUT YOU OFF when you’re fully immersed into a story or an explanation or some response. Yeah, like what the fuck, Pumpkin.

As mentioned, I mainly thought about sharing this list-photo-article for humorous purposes. In a way to lighten up on myself, and hopefully on you too. At the same time, it’s a fun and practical method to document the adventures throughout the majestic lands of America — and possibly the rest of the world further ahead in the future. The series Chronicling The Journey here on One Lucky Soul debuted with this piece to eventually include 20-something others. Woot Woot.

One article in the series is A Dollar & Thirty Four Cents in Me Pocket and Feeling Fine about surviving few days in L.A with almost no money.

Another list-article is Things I Wish All Dog Owners Would Understand.

There is also is a selection of some words of wisdom and insights as shared in Some Soulful Travel Quotes.

Another more thorough piece to follow both — after having lived in the U.S for some years — is Why Americans Don’t Travel Much.

With that rather jolly introduction and before we proceed to the list, I would like to take a sincere moment to express how forever grateful I am to all those lovely people who have welcomed me into their homes. It truly was, and still is, one extraordinary adventure that I’m happy to share with you.

I hope you enjoy reading as well as the photography as much as I enjoyed putting conjuring it all. Links to many more photo-articles can be found below at the end after ALSO VIEW.

The Never-ending Art Institute of Chicago

The phenomenal Getty Museum in L.A

Charming Downtown Denver

Some wise words to live by on a mural in Venice Beach

After 3 years in my self-induced exile in Canada my body has decided
not to get [too] cold again — Burmingham, Michigan

Waiting for the wife of a Facebook friend to pick me up from literally
THE middle of nowhere. I had never met Jenna before that ride — Elburn, IL

Belle Isle Casino in Detroit City, Michigan

Part of the creative juices oozing out during the trip, Venice Beach

Some wonderful vibe from a Sunday Venice Beach Drum Circle

Mastering oneself and learning how to ride the dragon is one of the main objective
of the journey towards peace of mind, Venice Beach

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere in the American Midwest — near Kishwaukee
College, Illinois

Venice Beach Mirage

The Colorado Mountains

Denver

Rocky Balboa jogging in the middle of nowhere, Sycamore

The Denver Public Library

The Arrowhead Effect

The Amazing Denver Art Museum

It feels GREAT to be lost in the right direction — The stunning mountains of Colorado

“Breathe” — Somewhere around The Town of Sycamore, Illinois

This cabin actually exists in real. Ah...Droolin' in Colorado.

Training Izzy: The Rescued Egyptian American Street Dog — Troy, Michigan

L.A Reflet
Things I Couldn’t Quite Understand After Being On The Road For Seven Months [with Photos] by Omar Cherif, One Lucky Soul

Shhhhh

“Breathe Deeper” — View From Santa Monica

Transcendental Beats: Ronald Mc Kinley (left) and Timothy 'Tim' on their djembes


The Bewitching Lake Arrowhead I. “Strangers passing in the street By chance two separate glances meet And I am you and what I see is me And do I take you by the hand And lead you through the land And help me understand the best I can” — Echoes, Pink Floyd II. ONENESS — SINGULARITY III. “Admit it. You aren’t like them. You’re not even close. You may occasionally dress yourself up as one of them, watch the same mindless television shows as they do, maybe even eat the same fast food sometimes. But it seems that the more you try to fit in, the more you feel like an outsider, watching the “normal people” as they go about their automatic existences. For every time you say club passwords like “Have a nice day” and “Weather’s awful today, eh?”, you yearn inside to say forbidden things like “Tell me something that makes you cry” or “What do you think deja vu is for?”. Face it, you even want to talk to that girl in the elevator. But what if that girl in the elevator (and the balding man who walks past your cubicle at work) are thinking the same thing? Who knows what you might learn from taking a chance on conversation with a stranger? Everyone carries a piece of the puzzle. Nobody comes into your life by mere coincidence. Trust your instincts. Do the unexpected. Find the others…” ― Timothy Leary