It's A Small World

As you know, my family and I are are planning to temporarily move to Libya for my husband's job. We are very much looking forward to the adventure and the chance to immerse ourselves in a rich and ancient culture! When I told my family of our plans, I found out a fascinating bit of information that proves just how small a world we live in.

Allow me to introduce my Great Aunt Carrie. This is my Grandmother's sister and she has an incredible story I'd like to share with you. She went to Libya in 1960! I was shocked. What are the chances someone in my family would have gone on a similar journey 50 years before?

Over a series of emails Aunt Carrie shared her journey with me and agreed to let me share it with you! She even mailed me photos she took (on her Brownie Hawkeye) while in Libya. My scanner is currently out of commission so these are just photos of her photos, and not as clear as the ones she sent (sorry!). Over the next three days I would like to share her experience and photos with you.

So without further ado, a Libyan adventure in the words of my Aunt Carrie...

(Aunt Carrie with a herd of camels, which she did not try to ride)

Perhaps the most significant day in my journey was the day I left the U.S. on the USS Constitution. It was on this ship that I met and subsequently married the love of my life. The memory of that five day ship board romance still warms my heart.

I was in the United States Foreign Service. My job was a cryptographer. Never in a million years did I picture myself as one who broke code and encrypted code. I was trained in Washington DC U.S. Dept. of State. I went to Tripoli in 1960 and was there one year. This was a real culture shock to say the least. It felt and looked like 2000 B.C. when I landed in Libya. In addition to the donkey carts, they did have cars and horrible drivers.

(A group of friends sharing cantaloupe on a desert excursion)

Starting from day one, I knew Libya was different from anywhere I'd ever been. At 24, I was quite adventurous and afraid of nothing. Not speaking one word of Arabic drove the point home that I was the foreigner, not the Libyans.

The American Embassy provided housing for me. Because I was single, a three bedroom-two bath furnished apartment was provided. The married couples were put in proper furnished houses complete with fenced yard. In both instances, all utilities were furnished. We had no telephones.

The first big adjustment was the time change. It took about a week to get back on schedule - so bleary-eyes and fuzzy thinking were pretty noticeable.

(Local travelers. I think the donkey in the front may be carrying a covered woman)

It didn't take long to realize there were no corner Walgreens, Hinky Dinky, or Dillards. Fortunately, all mail came APO because of Wheelus Air Base. Otherwise, if anything came by boat or local service, count on two-months to receive it. I was advised to bring a year supply of personal needs. After six weeks, my trunk of personal belongings which left DC in a moving van arrived on a jack-ass drawn cart. I still have a hearty laugh at that one. It appeared that even though it was 1961, nothing in Libya had changed much since the time of Christ.

Another little difference was their calendar. If my memory serves me right, the first day of the week on a Libyan calendar was Friday - the Arab equivalent of our Sunday. This meant all business were closed. Saturday was Jewish and Sunday was Christian holy days. Businesses were closed then too. So, if you had any errands to run or needed to shop, better do it Monday through Thursday. Oh yes, everything closed at 2:00 PM because of the heat and reopened at 7:00 P.M.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for part two when Aunt Carrie shares some scary run-ins with the locals!