|
Updates, logs, and reflections
|
|
Jennifer |
Simone |
Collette |
Sierra |
Jay |
Kelly |
Stephen |
Luke |
Chi-su
|
April 23
Yesterday I was really tired but I had a lot of fun. As I came into Antalya I saw so many new things. For example I saw a palm tree for the first time. Antalya is very beautiful and the people are very nice. They will respond every time I say something to them. I actually had a meaningful conversation with a Turk for the first time. Usually I would just say Merhaba which means hello and then the Turk would respond back Merhaba, but today I went to a restaurant and told the waiter that the food was really good and he said thank you, I then said “my complements to the chef” in Turkish and he said thank you so much and I said your welcome. This meant so much to me because being able to talk to someone from a different country and a different culture makes me feel like we made a meaningful connection. This was a new experience.
April 25
Today we went to Kumlaca and ate tomatoes and cucumbers. We saw beautiful mountains and socialized with students and exchanged email addresses with them. I am hoping they will email me so that we can stay friends. As I was in the school, I felt like the students really got to know me because any time we would go to a school, we would visit an English class so that the students could speak to us just a little bit. After that we went to another school and had really good food. The school that we went to was a really big school. It had great facilities and really friendly students. This school had two students from the States who were there to learn Turkish. They were really nice. Later on in my life, I hope my children get the opportunity to experience what I did.
April 26
As I look back at everything I have gone through, I have noticed a slight increase in ability to communicate with the other Turks. Today we went shopping and it was a totally new experience. It was so much fun because I learned to communicate and cooperate with the other Turks. I bought some shoes, a wallet and a tea cup for my mom. If they would tell me a price for an item, I could come to an agreement with them. Later that night we went to a restaurant. The food was fantastic. I absolutely loved the food. It's nothing like American food. It is a lot healthier. I thank God for everything that he has given me and for the opportunity to go on this trip.
April 27
My time in Turkey has been such a great experience for me. Today we went and saw the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. Both of these buildings were the highlight of my day just because the architecture was incredible. They were both really big and had a lot of history to them. Later on that night we went to supper and watched folk dancers and belly dancers. It was a lot of fun. The entire night was full of excitement. There was a folk dance up on the stage and then a dance competition. It was so fun. As I reflect on my day I find that Turks are just like Americans. They just want to live their lives in peace and harmony. So I will never forget the fact that most Turks are just like me. This is something that really opened my eyes because I can relate to foreign people which opens up the world to me.
April 28
Today was our last day. It was also our longest. We first went to a really big cemetery. This allowed me to reflect on my experiences and thoughts. We then went to a really big castle. It was so beautiful. It was very tiring though. All of the steps were super steep and went up a long way. My mom loves castles so she envied me when she saw the pictures. We then went shopping at this really big mall. Everything was so expensive. When it was time to leave I was actually late so Jennifer waited for me. We then ran out really quickly and hailed a cab. We jumped in and rushed to the docks. We got stuck in traffic so we just got out and ran the rest of the way. We made it with about 5 minutes left. If you ask me it was a lot of fun. But it wouldn't have been fun if we would have missed the boat. The boat ride was really nice. It was kind of cold but a lot of fun. We got back to the hotel and just relaxed the rest of the night.
|
|
| Webmaster: Chelsea Germeyan |
|
|
