To tell you the truth, I can barely believe that we are back in Turkey, once again. The last 6 weeks or so the girls and I have been on our own while Ozayr began the study abroad program in Rome, and I've been so focused on getting us ready to leave, getting the house ready and all those lists (and more lists!), that once I found myself careening through the streets of Istanbul in a 'taksi' from the airport, I was pretty stunned - we are back in this crazy, crazy city again.
We've spent the last 48 hours or so getting acclimatized, unpacking, and sleeping at odd times. One girl can't get off to sleep at the end of the day, and the other wakes up obscenely early (3 a.m. this morning). We've been eating too - in fact, our first night we just dropped our bags off at the apartment and went out to eat. The next morning we couldn't resist a classic Turkish breakfast on our way to the center to meet Ozayr's students. Our legs and feet are getting back into Istanbul shape, where you can break 15,000 steps on your pedometer on any given day.
This morning as I type, the children are playing and in the background I can hear all the regular Istanbul hustle and bustle outside the window - traffic, seagulls, the shout of a wandering seller, a car alarm somewhere in the distance. Oh wait, the car alarm has stopped - now there is an accordion player. My goal today is to get near the Bosphorus and spend a bit of time in the sun that is finally shining.
Meanwhile, feel free to peruse the student blog - it's really great this year. There aren't any Istanbul posts yet, but I am anticipating some fun entries, most of the students really love it here.
http://umnistanbulstudyabroad.com/
See you soon!
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