THAILAND!

Sitting in my cold apartment, it is hard to believe that just a few weeks ago I was laying out in a bathing suit on the beaches of Thailand. Oh well. Here are a few pictures from my fantasy trip. It was awesome and I am so glad I went. It was worth every penny. It was great to be with Haley and meet some of her new friends. We spent a lot of time laying out, drinking fruit shakes, reading on the beach, eating awesome Thai food, and just hanging out. It was truly a vacation - no agendas, no alarm clocks, and as much as I love it NO SIGHTSEEING!!
One of the most fun things I did in Thailand was learn how to play "flamingo football" Essentially it is a game of girls vs. boys in tackle football. But the catch is that the boys' legs are wrapped together in towels and then duck taped. So they have to hop around the whole game. It definitely levels the playing field, but doesn't make it as easy as you may think. They are still hard to push over, and can somehow get around pretty quick. Every time they would throw it off (obviously they can't kick-off) I would just start laughing. It was like something out of a movie, watching all the boys start madly hoping towards us!

Checklist

I love lists.

I have lists all over the place. Shopping lists, checklists, packing list, expense list, student list, etc. I live off of lists and sometimes wonder if I would know what needs to be done, if it were not for my lists. My favorite kind of list is a checklist! Every weekend, I make a list of things that need to be done at home - laundry, grocery store, cleaning; changing sheets, school work, BS, MR, ER (don't you love all the acronyms!) And often times I will add something to the list, after I have completed it, just to check it off! I love the feeling of completing a list, and tonight I checked off something that has been on my list for over a month now. MY UPDATED RESUME! It has been lingering over me for far too long and it feels wonderful to finally have it complete and ready to send to people. Whew...it feels like a great accomplishment. And accomplishment my friends is a nice feeling!

What about you? No matter how big or small, what have you accomplished this week?


And just because a blog isn't much fun without pictures, here is one from a few weeks ago. Some girlfriends and I went out dancing and to sing karaoke! YAHOO!

December Update

I completely neglected this blog in December...whoops! I was too busy enjoying life to stop and blog about it :) Anyways here area a few highlights from the month of December...

Stayed with the Wards

One of the families I am close to here asked my roommate and I to keep their 2 boys (age 7 and 10) while they were out of town. It was fun (and exhausting) to play mom for a week, especially after spending all day at school with kids. Definitely gave me a new respect for mothers that work outside of the home. We had a good time with the boys and actually had it pretty easy. The mom had cooked all the meals before hand and put them in the freezer!

Visit from Friends

Some friends of mine from Raleigh that live in Turkey now came up to Istanbul to visit one weekend. The Saturday they were here was the coldest and wettest day ever! Seriously, it was so miserable. It was fun to see them and have them stay with me for a night.

Natalie's Birthday Party

A dear friend from school had a birthday in December. To celebrate, she cooked dinner for us and then we went to see The Tourist. I am thankful for my group of friends here.

School Christmas Party

We had our class Christmas party that last day of school before break. We dressed up, watched a movie, played games, decorated ornaments, ate yummy food, and exchanged gifts. It was a very fun day.

LB, Elizabeth, Shelly, and Katherine visit

The day after the Christmas party LB, Elizabeth, and Shelly arrived....5 days later Katherine arrived! These 2 weeks with the girls was out of control. I so loved having them here with me, at times it was more than I could handle. I was just so excited for my 2 worlds (Raleigh and Istanbul) to meet. It was awesome to spend Christmas Day together. (Check out facebook for more pictures...we took at least 1000 pictures!)

Trip to Madrid

After LB headed back to the states, the rest of us headed to Madrid for New Years. We had a great time there, although the trip started off a little rough - our bags were lost for 2 days, I got a stomach virus, Katherine was also not feeling well, and Elizabeth hurt her foot. But we still managed to have a good time, honestly all I cared about was being with these girls! New Year's Eve we celebrated in true Spainish style heading down to the center of town, eating 12 grapes at midnight, and going out dancing afterwards.

Spontaneity

I just did the most spontaneous thing I have done in a LONG time.

I bought a plane ticket to go to Thailand.

I found out yesterday that my really good friend Haley is going to be vacationing there. Haley and I met the summer of 2005 while we were both living in Santa Cruz, CA. I was a sophomore at NCSU and she was a junior at UK. As a result, we learned to be really good long-distance friends - talking on the phone and seeing each other every 5 or 6 months. I've been to Kentucky and Tennessee several times to see her, and she has come to the good ole state of North Carolina. Due to both living overseas now, we haven't seen each other in over 2 years. So when the opportunity came up for me to get to see her...and go to Thailand. I thought "Why not?" I am out of school that week. I am single and since I live in Turkey, I am already halfway there! So I did it. I leave in less than 3 weeks and am so very excited. Excited to see Hayes, excited to go to Thailand, excited to travel, excited to sit on a beach for a week...

Picture 1: Haley and I the summer we met!

Pictures 2: Last picture I have with Haley a week before moving here.

January 8th, 2009

I know I have done an awful job updating this blog recently. I plan to fix that problem soon, and do a bunch of updates. But for now here are some pictures from a couple years ago. On January 8th, 2009 my parents and I got in the surburban and drove to RDU airport. I checked my 3 bags all the way to Istanbul, Turkiye and enjoyed Chick-fila for the last time in a while. I then started the process of saying good bye to my dear family and close friends. I'll never forget that day in the airport and the overwhelming peace I experienced as I stepped onto the plane. I wonder about who I was back then and the ways I have changed (for the better) since being here. It is home to me now, and the thought of only have 6 more months here is sad. I know I will miss it very much. I cannot believe it has already been 2 years!!

Holiday Week.

The week BEFORE Thanksgiving, I was out of school for an entire week! It was a big holiday week for Mslms around the world and I enjoyed the week off from school. I was hoping to take a trip with some friends, but everything was either booked or too expensive. I was disappointed, because I was really wanting/needing to get out of the city! A few teacher friends and I decided to have our own vacation right here. It was lovely. We slept in, ate out, did some shopping, watched movies, had sleepovers, visited museums and the zoo, read books, and just enjoyed the beautiful fall weather. Every day it was sunny with temperatures in the high 60's - so nice!

One of the most interesting things I did was walk down to the Bosphorus with a friend to see if we could find any sacrifices on the day of the holiday. It was so bizarre to watch, but I am really glad I did it. For the 2 weeks leading up to the holiday there were tents like this set up all over the city selling goats, sheep, and cows. Who knew Turkey had such an awesome zoo, with such cute animals?!?The Body Worlds Exhibit has been here for about 5 months and I haven't had a chance to go yet, so I took advantage of my week off and went with a friend. It was a little difficult to find. We were told it was beside Istanbul Modern and that we couldn't miss the Istanbul Modern sign because it was HUGE. Well we did miss it and walked around for about 30 minutes up and down this street. No worries, we finally found it. If you ever get the chance to see the Body Worlds Exhibit, DO IT! It is so interesting. The entire time I was in there I kept think, "How can people not believe in a creator?"

Bridge Walk

My favorite thing about the city I live in is the Bosphorus Strait. It is a strait of water that connects the Black Sea (up north) to the Marmara Sea (down south). In order to get from Asia to Europe you have to cross the Bosphorus either by boat, or by car on 1 of the 2 bridges. The main bridge is about a kilometer long and you are not allowed to walk or ride a bike across it. But every year they open up the bridge to pedestrians for a marathon. The same weekend they also allow you to participate in a fun run or a walk. Since I am not a runner and the thought of running long distance brings back painful memories of playing basketball in 9th grade with Coach Wiggans, I decided to do the leisurely walk. It was a beautiful day, especially after weeks of clouds and rain!
There were so many people that came out for the race - remember I live in a city of 17 million. At times you could feel the bridge swaying. It was a fun day, and I so enjoyed the view!