Michael's International Charm

One thing we didn't expect in our international travels was how quickly Michael was able to make friends, charm his way into tour extras, and generally connect with anyone he met. On our trip to Egypt and Jordan it was especially evident. At first we thought maybe it was that the tour operators, drivers, hotel porters, store clerks, etc. didn't see that many blond kids cross their paths. But then we realized that they were not taking any particular notice of Jacob.

Some of the cool extra things only Michael was given the opportunity to do included:

Steering the feluca boat on the Nile River:
Using the microphone on the tour bus:
Scoring a fun ride for him and Jake with the driver of a long chain of tourist trolleys:
Borrowing hats from some Egyptian policemen to take a fun picture:

Driving the horse cart (he was gracious enough to let Jake hold the reins for the picture -- and YES, I do know that the horse's mane has been dyed orange. I have no earthly idea why).

At one perfume store we stopped in, we were given a 15 minute demonstration/talk about why Egyptian perfumes were superior to name brands - all in an attempt to get us to buy perfume, of course. We were busy trying all different scents when we realized that Michael was no longer sitting with us. After a quick scan of the store, we spotted this:

He was busy with his new friends playing games on their cell phones--where else would he be?

Seriously, all throughout the trip we were amazed at how many people knew his name. We would walk past guards / hotel staff on the way back to the cruise ship and hear calls of, "Hi Michael." "Good afternoon, Michael." "What are you up to this morning, Michael."

While on the Nile River cruise we ate most of our meals on the ship and were assigned a specific waiter and table throughout the duration of the trip. The waiter took a shine to Michael immediately and always greeted him with a big smile (I don't remember smiles for us!). The most memorable thing was that the waiter had little brain teasers for him to do during each "boring meal." I have to admit the adults enjoyed the games as much as Michael did and actively competed to see who among us could solve the puzzle first!