Globe
trotter
“In China, you are never really alone,” says Dana. “But we didn’t She also learned the importance of brushing up on your bartering skills.
want to see the touristy part of the Wall. We wanted something more After seeing the astonishing terracotta army at Xi’an, she was impressed with
authentic. We were the only ones on the wall the whole time.” the price of a souvenir set of replica miniatures for 150 rmb, or about $20 USD.
She found herself amazed at the site of the Wall stretching as far as
The further she walked from the landmark, the cheaper the same set of sou-
the eye could see in both directions. “The way it follows the natural
venirs got—from 150 rmb all the way down to 5 rmb. “I thought they were a
line of the mountains is just beautiful—breathtaking from a distance.
good deal at 25 rmb!” Dana laughs. “Then I realized I could have gotten them
They followed the natural landscapes instead of building it straight.
for less than $1.”
Standing on the Great Wall was one of my favorite experiences ever. It On another trip, the couple decided to take a Mediterranean cruise. “We have
was so intensely personal,” she says. always done our own thing, rather than taking planned tours,” Dana says. “I’m
Dana was also impressed with the shopping, which was unlike
kind of a travel nerd. I like to see things on my time, on my schedule, in my own
anything she has ever experienced in the United States. “I went to a
way.” But the cruise, which took them to Rhodes, Mykonos, Athens, and Croatia,
fabric market with four stories of tailors, all willing to make a custom
proved to be a pleasant experience. “If you want to see a lot in a little time I rec-
suit from the most gorgeous cashmere, wool, and silk. They measure
ommend a cruise,” Dana says. “Essentially, they do the “driving” for you. In the
you from top to bottom and make you a custom tailored outfit for a
evenings, you can relax and enjoy a show. You feel like you are little kids again.
fraction of what you would pay here for something off the rack,” she
You never have to worry about how you will get from one country to the next,
says. “You can be your own fashion designer—you choose the sleeve
or whether the trains are running. They take care of the details.”
length, the collar style, the button size, everything! It’s a whole new Dana, a California native, credits her parents with instilling the travel bug in
experience. If I could go back and shop for a week, I would.” her when she was young and the family traveled across the country in a motor
home. “I learned that you can find wonderful people wherever you go. I love
learning about new cultures and new people. Sometimes in America we think
we have it all, but when you travel you realize that there are wonderful people
and ideas—there’s goodness all over the world.”
Her study abroad experience in 1991 in Jerusalem was a dream come true for
Dana. It was shortly after the first Gulf War, and the usually popular BYU Jerusa-
lem Center program had a last minute opening. Dana jumped on it.

“sometimes in america we think we have it all,
but when you travel you realize that there are
wonderful people and ideas—there’s goodness all
over the world.”—Dana Biberston, world traveler
“That was a wonderful experience,” she says. “You are really in the middle of
three cultures—Christian, Jewish, and Muslim. We had a Jewish teacher one
day, and an Arab teacher the next. It was interesting to get two perspectives
on the same land. I developed compassion for both sides. It’s not so much that
one side is right or wrong—they both have valid points.”
She spent a week in Egypt, where she got to see the Pyramids. “In fifth grade I
remember my teacher talking about the Nile River, and I knew I wanted to see
it someday,” Dana says. “It’s exactly the way she described it—literally a line in
the sand between fertile ground and desert. When I saw the pyramids, I was
dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe I was there. You see pictures everywhere, but
it doesn’t prepare you for the experience of seeing it in real life.”
Everywhere she has traveled, Dana has been impressed by the kindness
of the locals. In Cairo, a woman who spoke some English helped Dana and a
friend navigate the complicated Cairo shopping district to purchase a leather
coat. “She was so generous to me,” Dana said.
She always tries to find ways to connect with locals when she travels. In Italy,
she took the train between cities, a great way to get exposed to the local cul-
ture. “You can learn so much about a place by mingling with the locals, which is
another reason I love doing my own thing as opposed to being stuck on a tour
bus,” Dana says. “I learned that in Italy, they say ‘ciao ciao ciao’ to say goodbye,
and that they say ‘it is not possible’ when they mean ‘it is not permitted.’”
26 l www.eaglemagazine.com
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