And to be clear, I disagreed with her decision, but I understand why she made it.
All I did was bring up the irony given the way she explained it, especially in light of her having troubles (surprise, surprise) in certain countries.
I love the little gal, and I truly hope and pray she never comes to any real trouble. And I love her experiences with real locals (95% of whom are just good people trying to survive). It's the same reason I love "Overland" magazine, Elspeth Beard's "Lone Rider" (an amazingly honest book!), Richard and Mopsa English's "Full Circle," etc..
We had a similar experience in France way back. "The French hate Americans!" everyone said. Yeah, in Paris they didn't like us much, but it didn't take much observation to realize they didn't like anyone in Paris. I don't think they liked the Parisians! But out in the countryside, with the average man and woman... What a fantastic time! We were frequently mistaken for Britts (I guess someone from France can't tell the difference between a British accent and an American accent anymore than I can tel the difference between a Parisian accent and a Québécoi accent), and they were always surprised to find Americans way out in the countryside.
There was even one elderly lady in Normandy who said, "you came all the way from America just to see our little town??"
I'd love to take my wife back to the ME (she's been to Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt, but with her MS and her job...
For that matter, I'd love to go back to Europe. Switzerland is on my bucket list. Southern France would be nice. Germany sounds good. But Europe really isn't very handicapped accessable, especially when you factor in just getting there (when we fly domestically, we fly first class so she only has to go a short way to board, use the bathroom, or disembark). That's a financial "ouch" as it is—I don't want to think about first class tickets to Switzerland!
Anyway, it was just a comment on the irony. Sorry it stuck in your craw.
