5-10-07

5/10/08 1:12 PM
I have to say that at the moment I have mixed emotions about leaving. It seems surreal… in a matter of hours I will be an ocean away from my family and friends. Going so far away for an extended amount of time is a first for me. I am going with a great group of women from Thibodeaux, LA who will become my new friends and we will be each other’s family for the duration of the trip. I’m sure we will have our ups and downs, but overall it will be a WONDERFUL trip.
Well after a somewhat hectic start we made it on the plane. ALL of our baggage was overweight, so we had to make some quick modifications to accommodate the weight limit of 50 pounds or less. When traveling with 5 women packing for 30 days that seemed to be a little tough. Check in was ok otherwise. Once we got on the plane we had the problem of getting our overstuffed carry-on in the rather small overhead compartments. Once again we had to do some rearranging and quick repacking!! Other than a little bit of confusion and stress we made it to our first stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania safe and sound. Next stop Athens, Greece 
Man that was a long flight! Our flight to Istanbul was much shorter. We had a 20 minute car ride to a restaurant named “Gardens”. It was magnificent. The floors were marble, the room had walls of windows opened to grass and ocean. The food was good (dessert was the best: kunefe). I had Turkish coffee to finish off lunch with a shot of Almond liquor.
I made it to my host family’s house after lunch. We talked and looked at family photos while drinking Turkish Tea (hot). Hasan and Zekiye and Erman and Erkan Toprak are the names of the people in my host family. They cooked us some traditional Turkish food. I cooked Red Beans and Rice with corn bread for them to taste some Louisiana food.
Its been a great first day.

Note: I am not ın Istabul I am ın Tekırdag

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