Lights out in McDonalds

Exiting one of the greatest temples of history--the Luxor temple, which over the years has served many gods, religions (including a church and currently a mosque which was built in the middle of it) and other purposes--the 19 of us Americans did the most blatantly American thing possible.

It wasn't my choice, but once I saw where we were headed, I set aside my angst/disgust/embarrassment, and was determined to enjoy ourselves. McDonald's was the dinner place picked out by our leaders, but once we got there the entire city block was blacked-out. Not sure of what to do, we crammed into the upstairs seating area and waited in the dark till we were rescued by the light.

Laughing at the irony of being in a McDonalds, in Egypt, in the dark, on SST, we were overjoyed when lights came up and we could order our food. Disclaimer: I've never in my life ordered an entire MEAL at McDonalds. But, perhaps due to the wild influence of Egypt, or the aire of escapism that was surging through all of us as we realized how much we did in fact miss the food in America, I ordered the full McRoyale meal deal along with my table.

Just to really gorge out, the four at my table made a pact to get  McFlurries, which I joined in with, fully aware I would regret all of this later.

And yet.
It's only in travelling for more than a month outside of your homeland that you realize what you miss. What luxuries you float in each day of living in the U.S.

The contradiction of where I come from being transported via a burger and fries to a culture so different than the U.S. was sharp in my face. Walking back to the hotel--albeit one with a broken toilet and no soap--I felt a mixture of guilt and guilty-pleasure.

In many ways, I'm more similar to the stone-faced queens and kings I've seen in the temples than the woman selling tissues amidst the refuse of the streets.