Where I've Been and Where I'm Going: A 2022 Recap

looking back at six months on Substack + looking forward to 2023

Happy New Year, friends! I hope you all had a restful holiday—or more restful than mine, at least.

I had counted on having a burst of energy after my sabbatical, but the truth is I’m still fighting my way back from a case of mega burnout. Nick and I just wrapped up our first long trip to the U.S. together since moving to Egypt, and what we thought would be a quiet holiday season with friends and family turned into a chore- and sickness-filled schlep. However, I am on the road and re-filling my proverbial cup as we speak. I have content planned that I’m excited to share with you when I get back.

Because we’re only a few days into 2023 and The Cairo Dispatch is now six months old, it feels like the right moment to take stock of where this newsletter has been and where it’s going. Despite having no preexisting audience and my lame efforts at promoting it—i.e. silently slipping the URL into my Instagram bio and tweeting about it to all 20 of my followers—250 of you have somehow found me, and I’d like to re-introduce myself to those of you that haven’t been here from the beginning (if this is you, welcome! I am so happy to have you).

So: hello! I’m Sam. 2022 was a big year for me. I took a one-year leave of absence from my job, moved from Washington, D.C. to Cairo, and became a caregiver for my dad, who died of brain cancer in April.

That’s a lot of life crammed into one year, right? I felt I aged a decade in the course of a few months. I had no idea which way was up. To prevent myself from spiraling, I started this newsletter, kicking it off with an essay about learning to navigate Cairo’s unique brand of insanity. I’ve now been in Egypt for a little over a year; I reflected on my experiences as an expat here.

I write an essay each week about living and traveling abroad, and the inner journeys those experiences take me on—not just what they reveal about this weird, wonderful universe, but what they force me to confront within myself. Every week, I strive to inject something genuine back into our increasingly shouty, AI-dominated internet.

With that, here’s a closer look at the last six months of The Cairo Dispatch and a bit about where I’d like to take it in 2023. I’d also love to hear how you’re doing—it’s been a few weeks now, and I’ve missed you. So, reader, tell me: How are you feeling heading into 2023? Do you have specific goals? Desires? A mantra or intention?

Have a wonderful first week of 2023,
Sam

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Looking back on 2022

Lessons learned

As I hinted earlier, calling 2022 a “mixed bag” would be the understatement of the century. It was the greatest of the great and the crappiest of the crappy. On one hand, I lost one of my very favorite people, had to adjust to a foreign megalopolis while simultaneously figuring out who I wanted to be outside of work, and ended up battling the depression monster more often than I like to admit. On the other hand, I can barely believe my luck at getting to take a year off work to jet around the world and cross off more than my fair share of bucket list items. As Wynnona Judd so beautifully put it just after losing her mother—which happened within days of my own dad’s death—“it’s a very strange dynamic to be this broken and this blessed.” When we are forced to navigate the strangeness of those extreme highs and lows, it tends to reveal what we’re really made of. So for me, this past year was all about self-discovery and figuring out how to be my most authentic self regardless of circumstance.

In terms of this newsletter, I started out not entirely sure where I was going with it. I knew I wanted to write. I just didn’t have a well-defined idea of what I would write, or how, or why. But in a momentary deviation from the pathological perfectionism that usually keeps me from sharing creative projects until they’re just right (which is usually never), I figured done was better than perfect, and I launched The Cairo Dispatch anyway.

I’m glad I did. This newsletter most definitely isn’t perfect, but existing imperfectly is better than not existing at all. I've found support and friendship in fellow Substackers——

Jolene Handy

!

Trilety Wade

!

Rachel Phipps

!

Vicki Smith

!

Edward Rooster

!—and I'm sharing my feelings more openly with each passing week. In my mind, those are huge wins.

Most popular posts

Interestingly, my most-read pieces of 2022 were not the fun, fluffy travel pieces I expected to be popular. My most popular posts were the ones that rolled around in the messiness of self-reflection like a pig in a steaming mud pit. I think that is a very good thing, because those are the pieces I most want to write. Their popularity tells me you all are here for the right reasons, and that my mission statement—exploring inner journeys—speaks to you. You’re in the right place!

1. Why I Refuse to Scuba Dive. This is the piece I’m most proud of. It was also by far the most unpleasant to put on paper—you’ll understand why when you read it—but I believe deeply that it’s the writer’s job to share the good, the bad, and the ugly in their own experience so that readers feel less alone. This one is about pulling beauty from the wreckage of grief and loss.

   Why I Refuse to Scuba Dive

2. Not All Who Wander Are Lost But I Sure As Hell Am. I wrote this essay in a deep fog, a moment where I’d lost my way and thought I would never find it again. That resonated with many of you, and prompted some excellent conversation in the comments section.

   Not All Who Wander Are Lost But I Sure As Hell Am

3. When History’s Narrators are Unreliable. I put this piece about a visit to an ancient Egyptian temple at #3 rather than higher up, because the other two had slightly more engagement (which is the most important measure of success to me, as I love interacting with you all!). But it was actually my most read, and it produced the biggest jump in subscriptions I've seen yet. I believe the traffic was largely thanks to a shoutout from the wonderful

   Mike Sowden
   of
   Everything Is Amazing
   —thanks, Mike!

   When History's Narrators Are Unreliable: Luxor Part I

Where I went (not counting Egypt or the U.S.)

• Maldives. This was the most restful trip I’ve taken in years. The Maldives was the 25th country I’ve visited, and while it wasn’t the sort of cultural experience I typically go for, it did not disappoint—I regularly close my eyes and try to will myself back to one of the mind-blowingly gorgeous beaches. Read about it here.

• Greece. Greece was the first country I visited for pure tourism post-pandemic. We spent a few days on Hydra and a few in Athens, and I loved every second. I wrote about it here.

• Germany. Nick and I met up with friends in Munich for Oktoberfest. I had so much more fun than I expected, because it was nothing like the glorified frat party I had wrongfully assumed it would be. It was also an absolute blast to write about—read my newsletter about Oktoberfest here.

• Austria. You may be noticing a pattern, here—I’m taking advantage of my current proximity to Europe! Vienna’s Christmas markets were downright magical. I wrote about this trip for

  Time Travel Kitchen
  , and you can read the post here.

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Looking forward to 2023

If 2022 was about authenticity and sharing openly, I’d like 2023 to be about self-trust. I’ve worked hard at listening to my inner voice over the past year, and it’s time to take that to its logical conclusion by putting my inner voice’s words into action (within reason, of course; I will not be wolfing chocolate babka and washing it down with cappuccinos every day while watching reruns of 30 Rock and Jersey Shore, no matter how much my inner voice tells me I should).

I know at this point that I want to cultivate a sustainable writing practice, even if it’s not my full-time job. What does that mean in practical terms? To me, a sustainable writing practice is one that fosters growth, in terms of both my skill and my reach as a writer. I’d love to double my Substack readership from 250 to 500.

But frankly, I’d really like to produce more content off Substack. It’s time for me to start submitting to more established publications so I can build a portfolio that isn’t solely self-published, with the ultimate goal of writing a book that combines travel writing and memoir. I’m not sure it’s reasonable to think I will accomplish all that in 2023, but I’d like to be well on my way by the end of the year! 

Travel goals

I intend to say “yes” to any travel opportunities that come my way this year. But recognizing that there are too many amazing places and not enough days in a lifetime to see them all, these are my priority destinations for 2023.

• At least one country outside Europe or the Middle East. After a year of staying mostly in two regions, I’d like to diversify. I am currently eyeing Guatemala, as my wonderful sister-in-law lives there and I haven’t yet visited.

• At least one country that is new for both me and Nick. This one is tricky, because before we started dating, I had traveled extensively in Europe while he had traveled extensively in the Middle East. Many places one of us wants to go are somewhere the other has already been. Still, there’s more than enough world out there for us to discover together. (I have technically already checked this box as you read this newsletter!! I can’t wait to tell you all about our trip to Portugal.)

• More off-the-beaten-path places in Egypt. I was able to knock out most of Egypt’s major tourist sites in the last year, but the country is enormous, and I want to see as much as possible before moving away. At the top of my list? Siwa Oasis, the White Desert, and El-Alamein.

Personal goals

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. Instead, at the start of each year, I like to think about what I want more of in my life. This year, I want to take more photos with people in them. To listen to more strangers’ stories. To call my friends more often. And, of course, to share more with you, reader, and to connect with you more deeply. Let’s make 2023 amazing.

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Elsewhere

• 2022 felt like the first year of normal travel in a post-pandemic world. Here’s what our return to travel looked like by the numbers. [Travel + Leisure]

• I can’t wait to work through these fifteen personal essays from a Substack publication that consistently offers up heartfelt writing. [Memoir Monday]

• Do you enjoy solo travel? I’ve only traveled alone once, and found it incredibly freeing. This list of destinations better enjoyed solo is tantalizing. [CN Traveler]

Photo of the Week: Pontresina, 2017