All about the benjamins

Good news: I made my budget, including the air travel that I had to purchase unexpectedly and last-minute! Which means that without it, I would've been pretty well under. Darn it.

I don't normally talk about money, but I'm sure some of you following this would be interested in how much this all costs. My budget for 3 and 1/2 weeks of Western European travel was $1500. This didn't include the railpass, which was purchased and paid for before. So what this did include was:

- accommodation
- food
- souvenirs
- transportation within cities
- air travel for last 2 weeks
- ATM fees

Perhaps that sounds like a lot of money. Of course, I could definitely have lived cheaper, like less eating out and cheaper hostels and no souvenirs. In other words, I definitely could've made a budget of $1000. But I didn't want to be a down and dirty backpacker. For example, when I was alone, such as in Switzerland and Portugal, I definitely paid more for the hostel that I normally would have if I was with other people, for security and safety and weirdo hostel people reasons. For food, cooking or eating out alone is still lonely, but at least by eating out, I could try local dishes that I couldn't otherwise make. The last week in Nice I did actually cook in the hostel, but I was with a friend I knew previously and two new friends from our room. And souvenirs? Well, I didn't actually buy that many to begin with.

The morale of the story is that you could definitely make it under that, especially if you're a bit more adventurous with things like hitchhiking or couchsurfing, but you could definitely spend way more, so I think my number was pretty reasonable.

Anyway, now begins my marathon of picture uploading. Stay tuned!

The Mediterranean Blues

I am now on the last day of my trip, although it hasnt been much of a day at all. I leave tomorrow morning at 6am for Bratislava, then hop a bus to Vienna, then I can sleep my life away. Im looking so forward to it.

Dont get me wrong, my trip was absolutely wonderful, but I am just tired. I am not the Australian backpacker that goes for a year or more at a time and around the world (seriously, they all do). I dont know how they do it. Ive gone 3 and 1/2 weeks now and frankly Im exhausted. But it was worth it.

I got a little bit of everything- cities, beaches, partying, relaxing. Food, sun, wine, dance. Friends, alone-time, family, strangers.

Barcelona and Nice were both really great cities. Barcelona was rather better than Madrid. I got to see some old friends and some new ones from Vienna. I listened to some of the best street bands I had ever heard, and spent an afternoon in Gaudis fantasy world. Nice was nice in a different way, not something that can really compared to Paris. The water on the beach was almost 5 different shades of blue and the rock beach, although uncomfortable, had its own beauty. I explored the Cote d Azur through Antibes and Monaco, both amazing places. Monaco with its sheer wealth- streets lined with Lambourginis and Ferraris and harbors filled with yachts. Antibes with its sandy beach and cobblestone streets. I am even surprised to find I am coming back with a tan. =)

Now, I end my trip with a lovely stay in the airport. See you in Vienna!

Ola

These past few days have been of some needed relaxation. I've caught up on all the sleep I've missed out on, and I've leisurely wandered around the city. I have even read a few books since I've been here (I'm currently on book 3, which is not so great yet. However, I highly recommend The Reader and Crow Lake.) Perhaps the small size of the city itself has lent itself to this laziness, or simply the closeness to the water. Whatever it is, I think it has done me some good and I won't be dead tired by the end of my trip.

I've been traveling for 15 days now. That sounds both long and short. I've only been homesick the day my parents left, when I was very tempted to follow them home, and this morning, when the people in my hostel were loudly talking about being in a new country and getting used to a bed that wasn't your own while I was sleeping. I thought about how I haven't been in my own bed, the one that means real home to me, in 3 months now. Then the people left, and I fell back asleep. So, just a minor missing of home. But I think it's healthy.

Like I said, I haven't done much these past few days. I went to Faro beach, where I was the only one on the beautiful white sand, except for a father and son taking a stroll. And I went to Lagos, to take a boat trip amongst the caves and cliffs formed by the literally crystal-clear ocean. The sun wasn't out for that, like I had planned for it to be, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful (and I still got a light burn). And I met a lovely German couple from Berlin who were patient with my German. The train ride itself to Lagos was lovely- with alternating fields of orange trees full of the bright fruit and fields of yellow and purple wildflowers. Today, I hope to take a boat trip on the natural reserve that sits off most of the coast of Algarve. If the weather cooperates.

Tomorrow, I leave for Sevilla, my transit stop to Barcelona. Which officially marks my return trip to Vienna!

Bom dia!

I love Portugal.

I am now in South Portugal, or Algarve. I arrived in the capital city, Faro, this afternoon, but I have been killing time because the hostel check-in starts at 5pm(ridiculous!). I could have gone to the beach, but I think I will let my sunburned skin rest a day before I do that. And because it is Easter, everything is closed, so sightseeing isnt really an option today.

Lisbon was wonderful; I liked it much much better than Madrid. It has a very small town feel but it is big enough that there is plenty to do. It has one of the prettiest castles I have seen in Europe (and that is a lot of castles), and the water is that beautiful turquoise aqua color. There is a beautiful little district called Alfama that you would never mind being lost in, with hidden stairways connecting the streets that are picture-perfect frames of the flowers hanging off the balconies and the ocean. The food was delicious- cod(bacahlau) in every way you can imagine, shellfish, shrimp, and lots of sweets. And, most importantly, I found the people to be very friendly, which makes a huge difference on your impression of a city. Just this morning, I ended up at the wrong bus stop and when I asked a bus driver about it, he took me to the next stop for free. Nevermind that the Portuguese guy working at the hostel left me breakfast for the morning, since I would be leaving before breakfast officially started. I definitely got that "I could live here" feeling about Lisbon.

Traveling alone isnt so bad. In fact, its kind of nice. Sure, the eating alone isnt always fun, but Ive learned to carry reading material with me and I forget about it. I never thought I would chat up a random person at dinner, but I did one night and made a dinner partner for the rest of my stay. She was a French engineer on a break from work in Lisbon, and as we were the only two solo people in the tiny Portuguese restaurant, we started talking and ended up making some plans for the next few days. We met again for dinner the next night, which was nice, because apparently arroz com mariscos is much too big for one person.

In our discussions we made an interesting observation- girls seem to travel solo more often than men. Funny because you would think the opposite to be true, but sure enough when I looked around at my hostel that night, all but one of the solo travelers were female. Tiffany also told me of a 2-week walking adventure tour she did in Bali (can you guess what I am looking into next?) where ALL the solo travelers were girls. Just thought some of you might also find that surprising. =)

Vale

I wish I could do a tour of dancing around the world.

Last night my parents and I saw a Flamenco show. It was absolutely amazing. I took some pictures but I was so stunned and impressed by the performance that I took a lot less than I usually would. It was a great way to end our last night in Madrid.

Which means, I suppose, that I should bring you up to speed. My parents and I spent the last 6 days together. I met them in Paris, then we traveled to Madrid. It was a short time together but it was really really great to see and spend time with them. We saw all the highlights in each city, which I won´t detail since I´m sure you know what those are (well, except maybe Madrid, cause we didn´t even know what there was to see and were pleasantly surprised. But anyway, you´ll see pictures when I post them at the end of the month).

Comparing those two cities, I was surprised to find that I like Paris better. I´ve heard so many differing opinions on Paris that I was almost sure I wouldn´t like it. People seemed to fall into two camps- those that fell in love with the city of love and those that despise it. I didnt spend enough time there to say I fell in love, but I could see that possibility. Madrid is nice of course, but I just didn´t get the "I could live here" feeling that I always do when I really like a city. I could live in Paris.

Now, on to the misadventures. First, I was temporarily out of contact with the world for a while. Why you ask? A.) The hotel in Paris had no internet and the one in Madrid was really expensive and B.) Not only did I run out of credits on my phone the first day out on my trip, but it turned off on the plane ride from Paris to Madrid, and I didn´t know my PIN code. So I tried 3 times and it locked me out. I have now purchased a new Spanish SIM card, which will be trashed upon my return to Vienna. So, problem solved for now.

Second, a bird pooped on me. Which in some cultures is good luck right?! (please!) Anyway, it ruined a good nap in el Parque de Buen Retiro in Madrid. I was sad. And a little grossed out.

Anyway, since my railpass, a few minor details have changed in my schedule. Here´s the new info:

April 9-12: Lisbon
April 12-15: Faro/Lagos
April 16-20: Barcelona
April 20-24: Nice
April 24-26: Milan
April 26: Return to Vienna

Not much as changed, but the fact that I´m coming back to Vienna a couple days earlier.

Tonight I leave for Lisbon on a hotel train, which should be an interesting experience. Until next time, ciao!

Cruising Through Switzerland

My luck, like me, has decided to take a vacation.

My tewrip started like any other ordinary trip- I was running late to get to the station, ran to get my ticket validated, and caught the train about a minute before it left. So, you know, hectic. BUT I made the train, so my luck must be changing right (you know, new month and all that...)?

Of course not.

Shortly after the train conductor came by and I, in my uncomfortably sweaty from running with an extremely large backpack glory, handed him my nifty Eurail pass, I realized something was horribly wrong. I bought. the wrong. pass. Oh yes. Since January I had been thinking I had a 15-day in 2 month pass, which meant I could travel any 15 days in the span of 2 months, which would've covered my whole trip and then some. Turns out, I purchased a 15-day CONSECUTIVE pass, which meant my travel now ends April 15. When I am in Southern Portugal. On the other side of Europe. I won't explain all the implications of that, but it generally sucks.

Since then, my trip has been OK (knocks on wood). I made three friends my first day out- this man from Kosovo who was going to Switzerland for an interview. Apparently Kosov..ians(?) love Americans (you know, war and all), so he not only offered me food his wife prepared (2 sandwiches, an apple, some chocolate and some Fanta! I only took the Fanta since I saw him open it.), but he invited me to anywhere he and his family live to visit (he has 7 brothers and sisters). My second friend was this older Swiss lady in Zurich who I asked directions from. She ended up walking me right up to my hostel, and we spoke in German the whole way. I was proud of myself. Lastly, a French girl in my room in my hostel. We had dinner together, which was nice since I got to skip the whole eating alone thing.

This morning I woke up before the sun did and took my scenic route train from Lucerne to Interlaken to Montroux. The ride was, well, scenic. And beautiful. =) I arrived in Geneva, bought my seat to Paris tomorrow, and took a walk around. Although I didn't see much, I really like Geneva. It's centered around Lake Geneva, and anyone who knows me knows I only need a body of water to fall in love with a city.

Tomorrow: the City of Love!! Bonsoir!

Off to see the wizard

So, it's definitely been a long while since I've written here. Nothing too exciting has happened, it's mostly just been settling in to a new life in Vienna. I've done some weekend trips- Bratislava, Prague, Slovenia- but I start my big trip tomorrow! This is the one I had been planning pretty much since the moment I was accepted to Vienna!

I suppose I am a little nervous about it. While I will be meeting my parents and some friends along the way, I will be spending about half of it alone. Funny that my last post was about how I enjoy my own company, which I do, I'm just not sure how good a conversationalist I am with myself. There will probably some long, lonely train rides, but I think I will be fine once I get to each place. I guess I'm also nervous because it's the longest length of time of straight traveling for me. A learning experience all around.

Anyway, the reason I'm starting up again with this is that it's an efficient way to let everyone know my whereabouts. It makes more sense to write about my arrival, stay and feelings about a place all at once instead of in several individual emails. So, that's what I'm going to do. I figured I will have to do something with all the time that would normally be spent making decisions with other people and fighting/arguing about those decisions. =)

So, ready to follow my adventures? Here's where I"ll be:

April 1-3: Switzerland- 1 night in Zurich, 1 night in Geneva
April 3-6: Paris with the parents (Happy anniversary!!)
April 6-8: Madrid with the parents
April 9-12: Lisbon
April 12-14: Algarve- Faro and Lagos
April 15-16: Sevilla
April 16-20: Barcelona
April 21-24: Nice/Riviera
April 24-27: Northern Italy, maybe Cinque Terra or Milan
April 27: Vienna

So, it's going to be a whirlwind tour of Western Europe. I am not talking my laptop with me, so, and here's the bad news, I will not be posting any pictures until I get back. Then, you should expect a barrage of pictures in your mailboxes that I expect you to look at and comment on. You know, I might just be desperate for interaction at that point (Ok, Ok, I'm not going to a deserted island, I know). =D

So, bon voyage!

Wie bitte?

Here's how I spent my Valentine's day:

Slept in until about 10 in the morning. Took my time getting ready and ate breakfast.

Left my dorm at around noon. Got on U-bahn and went down to Ringstrasse, which is a street that circles around the Inner district. The OK program did a walking tour of the city, which I missed since I am not in the program. So I thought I would just do it myself. Ringstrasse has most of the important buildings in Vienna, i.e. Parliament, Rathaus (City hall), and Museums Quarter. All the buildings were big and beautiful, and there was ice skating in front of the Rathaus. I thought I would feel lonely walking around by myself on Valentine's day, but instead I learned an important thing- I enjoy my own company. I was alone but not lonely, even when I saw couples ice skating hand-in-hand. All this week, I was constantly asked why I didn't join the OK program. At the time of registration, it was because I knew I had a whole semester to do all those things myself. But as people continued to ask, I began to get worried- did I really want to do all that by myself? My stroll taught me that I don't mind it. In fact, I had fun.

I ended my walk with a visit to the Natural History Museum. For some reason, it's a must-do for me. If I'm gonna do museums and the city has a natural history museum, that's the one I almost always choose. None can quite live up to the standard that New York's Natural History museum sets, but this one was OK. Because it was Valentine's Day, I sent myself a "be mine" card in the form of a Melange coffee and Apple Strudel. It was delicious.

By then though, my feet were in dire need of rest, so I hopped the metro back to my dorm. Instead of going in though, I took the bus that gets me from the metro station to the dorm and stayed on past my stop, just to see where it went. It was useful, as I found several bigger and better supermarkets on the line. Again, because it was Valentine's day, I bought a bottle of wine and some Milka chocolate. =)

I ended my day with pizza, sharing the kitchen with some Pakistani guys who were making a traditional meal. They let me try it and I told them how we really don't all ride horses in Texas. My roommate and neighbors then finally got home, bearing gifts in the form of more wine and more chocolate. An hour later, other exchange students had joined us and we stayed up late just chatting, drinking wine, and eating chocolate.

All in all, a lovely day.

Aufwiedersehen Türkei!

A lot has happened since I last updated.

First, I left Izmir. I spent my last week mostly hanging out with my family and seeing friends. The Thursday before I left, my family had a farewell dinner for me, with all the neighbors. It was really wonderful but sad at the same time. The tears started when the serenader in our banquet room sang a Turkish song that meant "Don't forget me" and my mom told me not to forget them. Of course I wouldn't. Even some of Tugce's friends that I had met were emotional and sad that I was leaving, including guys. Turkish people are so expressive, so it made it that much sweeter and difficult to say goodbye. In any case, I promised everyone I would see them again, so I will work hard to keep that promise. I am thinking of going back for a week in summer to enjoy the beaches and see everyone.

Secondly, I spent an exhausting but fun day in Istanbul. My family took me to the airport at 6:00am(!), where we met Julia and her family. After some more sad goodbyes, we boarded our plane and arrived in Istanbul at around 8:30. It was a whirlwind tour but way worth it. We saw the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, walked in the Underground Cistern and saw the Medusa Heads, haggled with shopowners in the Grand Bazaar (we even sat down and had some tea with one of them), tried lots of Turkish Delight at the Spice Market, strolled along the Golden Horn and saw the Bosphorous Bridge from afar, and became hypnotized by the Whirling Dervishes show. Our hostel was amazing, every single person we met was nice and interesting, and the weather was perfect. I was dead tired by the end of the day but had an amazing time.

Finally, I arrived in Vienna. There were some problems with my check-in so I haven't yet settled into my flat/dorm. I'm currently staying with my Austrian buddy and her boyfriend. They have both been to Texas (the boyfriend studied at UTSA), so they didn't ask me about cowboys. ;) They're really sweet, but I feel bad that they had to take me in like this. Tomorrow though is when the German course starts, so I'll be leaving early to take an assessment test and then pick up my key. The weather today was really cold and rainy so although we ran around a bit, we didn't really do any sightseeing. But I have time. =) Also, I ordered my lunch in German. The waitress and my buddy complimented me because they say not very many people like to even try speaking the language while they're here. The Viennese transportation system already has me swooning, since the one in Turkey was so complicated, and it's nice to have a working knowledge of the language.

Çok Güzel

Fun fact: Cell phones in Turkey are really, really expensive. The cheapest you'll find is at least 300 lira.

I had a fabulous weekend. Here's what I did:
- Went to a dance club to celebrate the end of final exams with AIESECers. It was a lot of fun, and I was happy to find that I like Turkish music.
- Arrived in Pamukkale to one of the prettiest hotels I've seen.
- Swam in a thermal pool and used the mineral-enriched mud as a beautifier. =)
- Took a Turkish bath.
- Saw a bellydancing show! It was just one girl and it wasn't as authentic as I would've liked, but still, it was pretty cool.
- While the parents enjoyed their high school reunion, us kids hung out in our hotel room, drinking Efes and talking all night. The best part, though, was when around 1 am, my host mom and Julia's host mom came to our room, pulled some Efes they smuggled into the hotel (the hotel's alcohol was really expensive) out of their purses, and hung out with us. They're awesome. =)
- Walked around a huge ancient city, Hierapolis.
- Saw Pamukkale and the white travertines, which also held thermal water. It was really beautiful. And it was my host family's first time seeing it too, so that was fun. Tugce and I climbed around in them, enjoying the warm water.
- Went to a Turkish village. Everything I ate after breakfast on Sunday was grown and made by my host father's uncle. It was absolutely delicious. Later, I also got to taste freshly milked milk, warm and with sugar. It was also really good.

Ok, that was supposed to be my condensed version, but oh well. =) Sadly, I leave at the end of this week. =( But I got the week off from the schools, so I'll get to just hang out and have fun.

Numbers Rhumba All Day Long

Fun fact: The Turkish invented yogurt. They eat it with literally everything.


So, update on school #2- thumbs down. I cannot figure out why it's in this AIESEC program. Not a single person speaks English- the kids, the teacher, the principal (ok, she can say some introductory stuff). This wouldn't be a problem, except that I am bored out of my mind. For 6 hours, I sit down and try to play with kids who don't understand anything I'm saying, nor can I talk to the teachers to pass the time. They occasionally just walk out of the room to talk to each other, leaving me with kids who have no intention of listening to me, or talk on the phone. Don't get me wrong- they're nice, and if we could communicate I would probably like them, but as I am there to teach my culture and language, that's impossible to do when no one would understand me.

Rant over.

I have yet to go a day without some Turkish person talking to me in Turkish, thinking that I am Turkish. Today it was an old man. He wanted to know if I lived in Bornova and to tell me I was beautiful. It was really awkward, since when I told him I didn't know Turkish, he continued talking to me, then enlisted a translator. Apparently the words, "Turce bilmiyorum (I don't know Turkish)" don't mean anything. Like people think I'm lying. Because they keep talking. It's only when I stare at them blankly that they realize I really don't know Turkish. Anyway, all the women around me showed me sympathy with small smiles and a shake of the head. Clearly, glaring at people when I catch them staring at me and staring intently out the window isn't enough to say, "Don't talk to me."

Gobble Gobble

Fun fact: Turkey calls itself Little America. And their President, Little Bush. They are wishing for a little Obama.

I saw a "Turkish" movie today- Despero. Yes, it's American. But it was completely dubbed in Turkish, without subtitles, so I didn't understand a word. My review? It looked cute. Either way, I got to spend some time with my host mom and host little sister (Tugce was at the AIESEC office). We're slowly learning to communicate with each other.

With my mind already tired from trying to make sense of the movie, we rode the minibus home. During this, the bus driver suddenly yelled something in Turkish. Everyone around me who was also standing suddenly ducked down and kneeled on the floor. A few seconds later, I followed suit. There had been a little road rage incident immediately preceding this, so I was confused and a little nervous. I knew neither Beste (little sister) nor my host mom could explain what happened, so I remained confused. It turns out (another fun fact), minibuses aren't allowed to carry standing riders, so whenever they pass a police car, everyone standing has to duck. Apparently the Turkish aren't very keen on following laws.



Since I spent most of my day at home, I thought it fitting to post a picture of the view from this wonderful place. =)

Maşallah

Fun fact: The burkha has been banned from government places in Turkey for over 100 years.

Yesterday I fell down in the streets of Izmir.

Other fun things I did this weekend:
- Finished work at school #1. Still waiting to see what, if any, school I will be going to next.
- Accepted a car ride from Tugce's neighbors whom I hadn't met. It was pouring rain, and they saw me walking off to the bus stop. They didn't speak English, and I don't speak Turkish, but somehow we arranged for them to take me to the center of town to catch the bus. It was nice.
- Hung out with AIESEC people and attended my first meeting in a foreign country. Both fun. Except I didn't understand a single thing in the meeting.
- Went to a beautiful seaside resort area of Izmir, Cesme. Izmir is huge. I keep forgetting that. Cesme was beautiful. I won't forget that.
- Met my host grandparents. They were cute. =)

Overall it was a good weekend, except for the fall and the fact that my stomach has been really uneasy. I really don't feel very good. I'm supposed to start work at my new school tomorrow, but I will stay home and rest instead.

Blow, blow, blow the balloon

Fun fact: There were at least 21 earthquakes in Turkey today.

Of course, the day isn't over yet. But only 2 of them rated over a 3.0 on the Richter scale. Still, that's a lot of moving Earth. (Don't believe me? http://www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/scripts/lst9.asp It's in Turkish, but you'll get the gist.)


In other news, tomorrow is my last day at this particular school. I really like the school and the teacher, but I'll be glad to not have to travel an hour and a half back and forth everyday. If they find the ingredients, we'll be making Rice Krispie Treats for my "traditional" American food. If not, it'll be more singing and yelling.

One of the other trainees that got here a couple days before me has already been sick twice. I haven't gotten sick at all. That makes me feel proud of myself for some reason.

Tomorrow I will attend my first AIESEC meeting in a country other than the U.S. Already AIESEC U.S. is a sad, sad attempt at what AIESEC should be. I'm sure tomorrow will confirm that. Meetings are always followed with an activity of some sort, i.e. dinner, bar, movie, etc. I'm excited to see everyone I just met again.

Turkish words I learned today: bebeğim- baby/babe, türkçe bilmiyorum- i don't know Turkish, şerefe- cheers!, and hacı - kind of like "brother" but not in the sibling sense.

Who will you be today?

I have had nursery songs stuck in my head all day.

Tomorrow is my third day working with the kindergarten kids. I'm working at Mavi Kuere, a kindergarten that just opened two years ago. I'm not really teaching so much as singing along with whatever video/cd we are playing and letting all the little girls play with my hair while the little boys stare shyly at me. In all honesty, the kids are adorable. Except the 6 year olds. They're annoying little things. Well, the boys anyway. All they do is find new ways to torture each other. The 6 year old girls, on the other hand, find new ways to cuddle with me. They save me a seat and try really hard to get me to pronounce their names correctly.

Overall though, my workday seems short. I leave the house at about 9:30 and arrive at the first school. Mavi Kuere has two schools though, so at about 11:00am, the English teacher and I get shuttled to the lunch pick-up place and transfer shuttles to the other school. This school is about 1 1/2 hours away from my house. I'm supposed to be "teaching" until 4, but since it takes me so long to get home, they let me out at 2pm. Can't say I mind it. =)

In other news, I met some of Tugce's friends. We went to a street behind the university that is just entirely cafes. You can get Turkish coffee (which is delicious!), food, hookah, or any other number of drinks. So far it seems that hookah is more American-Turkish than Turkish-Turkish. They have it, but I didn't notice many people smoking it. It's probably different in other hookah-smoking countries, though (P.S. Can anyone explain how and when we use the word "though" at the end of a sentence? Like a rule? I can't for the life of me think of an easy way to explain it to Turkish people.)

Lastly, I got mistaken for a Turkish girl today. Some little old lady on the bus insisted on speaking to me in Turkish for quite a while, before I enlisted another Turkish girl to translate for me that I do not, in fact, speak Turkish. The lady wanted to know how I got around then, as she had been asking me the direction of the bus. She then proceeded to tell us her life story about her family in America, and ended with a warm invitation to her home, if we had time. =) Another show of Turkish hospitality. And another country in which I apparently fit in. It seems my undefinable-color hair and changing eyes work pretty well for me. Good to know. =)

Haven't taken any new pictures, so I'll just post another one that I like. =)

Turkish Delight

It seems I have some
catching up to do.

Welcome to my blog. Although I have a travbuddy.com blog, I decided to get one that you don't have to create an account to see. So, here it is. This is where I will be writing about my 6 months abroad. I'm currently in Izmir, Turkey. I will be here until February 7, when I arrive in Vienna for my studies. I can't guarantee that I will be writing here everyday, but I can guarantee that I will try to not make it boring. =D So without further ado.....


I've been in Izmir for 3 days now. My trip was....long. I left Brownsville Tuesday but didn't arrive in Turkey until Friday. So, what happened in between, say you? Well, here's my condensed version-

What went right:
- I had an entire row to myself on an overnight international flight. Oh yes, it was wonderful.
- British Airways gives you free wine. It was tasty.
- The hotel was surprisingly OK. The reviews I'd read led me to believe otherwise.
- People kept getting my heavy luggage down from the overhead compartment for me.
- I watched 2 movies and one Flight of the Conchords episode. So I wasn't bored.
- Employees everywhere were just really nice to me.

What went wrong:
- My DVD drive on my computer broke. So I brought Lost Season 1 and can now do nothing with it.
- I forgot my watch.
- I lost about 28 British pounds somewhere between the airport and hotel. Yes, GBP. Do the math. It sucks.
- My toothpaste exploded in my luggage.
- I watched 2 movies and one Flight of the Conchords episode. So I didn't sleep.

So there you go. My trip. One final good thing was that Tuğçe, my host sister, instantly recognized me at the airport. Also, she was genuinely as excited to see me as her emails implied, and the rest of the night her neighbors, friends, and family were calling to see if I'd arrived. I felt like a celebrity. =)

After eating dinner for about 3 hours, we went to sleep and prepared for the next couple days. Those days entailed a visit to Ephesus, the Virgin Mary's house and Kuşadası on Saturday and wandering around Izmir on Sunday. What I learned is this: Turkey is beautiful. And Turkish people are some of the nicest, sweetest people I've ever met. I felt like family the first night I was there. They bought me new bed covers, bought me slippers, and made me a scarf. They compete with their friends, who have a Canadian trainee in their home as well, over whose trainee learns Turkish quicker (I win. For now. =) ). They make me try every single thing in the table. Her dad took half a day from work to pick me up from the airport, and her mom took a half day to cook dinner for me. They told me they would throw a party for me when I leave. It's easy to love them, and so, I do. =) (Don't worry, mom, they aren't replacing you. =D My heart is just getting bigger.)

Anyway, I'm not sure yet what I'm doing about pictures. I'm still figuring this blog out, but I think posting 50 pictures everytime I do something would be overkill. So we'll see. In the meantime, I've posted a few of my favorites. =)