Now I know why everybody raves about Cappadocia, or Kapadokya, if you like the Turkish way of spelling everything phonetically. It really is a beautiful and very unique place. I have never seen anything like it. The mix of ancient cave dwellings, historic cave churches, modern tourist infrastructure and incredible landscape all make it a lot of fun. My parents and I flew to Kayseri and rented a car to drive to Göreme, where we were staying for the first two nights. I booked us rooms in a cave hotel, which is a very touristy thing that I just couldn’t pass up. It seems like most of the population of Göreme is turning their old family home into a hotel. Lots of work goes into converting a normal residential cave into a modern hotel and this ... read more

I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco from 2005-2007. There are old blogs you can read about my experience, but if you want to really learn about Peace Corps check out the website. www.peacecorps.gov This short history of Peace Corps was written by Mike Philley, who was a volunteer in Malaysia 1969-1972. He wrote it for the exhibit "Idaho Celebrates 50 Years of Peace Corps Service," which ran from March 1 to May 1, 2011 at the Idaho State Historical Museum. "The Peace Corps traces its roots and mission to October 14, 1960, when Senator and presidential candidate John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. Ten thousand students at the University had been waiting well past ... read more

Istanbul is a fascinating city and so is its transportation. It didn’t take me too long to figure out how to get around the area I live in, but I honestly think it would take a lifetime to learn the entire transportation system here. For this blog, I’m going to stick to what I know. To get from where I live to the ferry landings in Kadıköy I can take a taxi, which is expensive, a dolmuş, which is always so crowded there’s only standing room, or the 8A bus. Since I’m at the end of the line I always get a seat on the 8A. Even better is that I can use my Istanbulkart. The Istanbulkart works for all city transportation and gives you a reduction on each leg of a journey after the first ... read more

London is an amazing city. I wasn’t sure what to expect, since it was more of a social visit than a touristic one. I have two weeks of vacation for the end of first semester and decided to do a London-France trip, even though January isn’t really the best time to be a tourist in London. At least the plane tickets were cheap. I really didn’t have any agenda or list of sites I wanted to see. I was more excited to see my friends and taste the cuisine of all the cultures that make London such an international and cosmopolitan city. This was my first time in London, despite twelve years of telling my friend Catherine, who I met in France in 1999, that I would visit her. At least she came to see me ... read more

Traveling and living abroad is a lot about firsts. For my first New Years in Turkey I decided to also make it my first time snowboarding in Turkey. There are several resorts in the country, although the ones that sound really good are in the east, near the town of Van. I asked around at work to see where the other teachers and students go skiing. They almost unanimously voted for Uludağ. (Note on Turkish: the ğ is a silent letter that draws out the preceding vowel.) It’s one of the closest to Istanbul and my students agreed that if I want a place that has more than just easy beginner slopes, then Uludağ is it. They were right about it being close to Istanbul. It was a fun trip although it took longer than I ... read more