Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Back in the US of A!
We made it back safe and sound! Our flight got into Greensboro at 4:00 this afternoon, mom and dad picked me and Brian up and we came on home! Brian and I had a good, but brief, time in London last night, but we did have an unfortunate run in with some bed bugs :( So now we are in the process of decontaminating and not infesting our own houses with bed bugs :) But we are both happy and healthy and glad to be home :)
Sunday, June 29, 2008
I'm Coming Home!!!
That's right! In just a few hours I will be hopping on a plane and flying to London and tomorrow, Tuesday July 1, I will arrive home via the Greensboro airport at 4:00!!! This trip has been great, but I am ready to get back home!!! I will post as soon as I arrive home!
<3 A
<3 A
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Oh Euro Cup
So some of you may have heard that Turkey lost the Euro Cup Semi-Final match last night to Germany, 3-2. It was a very sad night for us, and all of the entire rest of the country. We were really hoping that Turkey would make it to the final because it will be played on Sunday, our last night here. So now it looks like we will have to choose between Germany and Spain in Sunday's Final.
Anyway, enough about soccer! We have had two more fun and productive days here in Istanbul! Yesterday was "mosque day" for me and Brian. We started out at the Hagia Sophia, a massive chuch that was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. It is really big and beautiful and the history of the place is really cool. We then went to the "Blue" Mosque which is still a functioning mosque. That was the first active mosque I have ever been in! We then had some time to kill in the afternoon and decided to tackle the original shopping mall....
The Covered Bazaar! The covered bazaar is just as it sounds, a huge covered shopping area with over 4000 vendors sellings everything from carpets to knock off designer bags and more! Brian and I sucessfully struck some pretty sweet deals (we got the tag team system down pat!) and now I can't wait to go back and do the rest of my shopping! I was kind of intimidated at first because all of the dealers are calling out to you and trying to strike deals with you, but once I got some good deals I felt better about the whole situation!
Then last night was the big game so we all put on our red shirts and headed out. It was a great great game, just the final score wasn't so great - Germany scored in the last minutes breaking the tie, and then the game was over, just like that. bummer.
Today Brian had a meeting with a Professor at Bougazici University (Bosphorus University) in the afternoon, so we spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to get there, and convincing Brian that it really was necessary for him to at least trim the beard he has been growing the entire 5 weeks of this trip! (don't worry, he trimmed it and looked very presentable!) Then we wrangled with public transportation and sucessfully made it out to the university an hour early! So we ate lunch, then Brian headed over to his meetng and I stayed at the lunch place and read and journaled, waiting for Brian to get back. It was actually very nice to get out of the crowded, touristy Istanbul we have come to know, and see that there really are people here leading 'normal' lives.
We made it back to the hotel and went to dinner with Janice (our program director) and Art (our resident videographer and documentarian...did I tell y'all they are making a documentary about our trip?). Now we are back watching yet another soccer game (I love it!) and are pulling for Spain. Right now they are up 3-0 so I feel confident saying that the final will be Spain and Germany!
Tomorrow is still up for grabs....maybe a cruise up the Bosphorus, maybe back to the Bazaar, maybe some more mosques...you just never know what we'll find to do in Istanbul! Until then! love love! Allison
Anyway, enough about soccer! We have had two more fun and productive days here in Istanbul! Yesterday was "mosque day" for me and Brian. We started out at the Hagia Sophia, a massive chuch that was converted into a mosque when the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. It is really big and beautiful and the history of the place is really cool. We then went to the "Blue" Mosque which is still a functioning mosque. That was the first active mosque I have ever been in! We then had some time to kill in the afternoon and decided to tackle the original shopping mall....
The Covered Bazaar! The covered bazaar is just as it sounds, a huge covered shopping area with over 4000 vendors sellings everything from carpets to knock off designer bags and more! Brian and I sucessfully struck some pretty sweet deals (we got the tag team system down pat!) and now I can't wait to go back and do the rest of my shopping! I was kind of intimidated at first because all of the dealers are calling out to you and trying to strike deals with you, but once I got some good deals I felt better about the whole situation!
Then last night was the big game so we all put on our red shirts and headed out. It was a great great game, just the final score wasn't so great - Germany scored in the last minutes breaking the tie, and then the game was over, just like that. bummer.
Today Brian had a meeting with a Professor at Bougazici University (Bosphorus University) in the afternoon, so we spent most of the morning trying to figure out how to get there, and convincing Brian that it really was necessary for him to at least trim the beard he has been growing the entire 5 weeks of this trip! (don't worry, he trimmed it and looked very presentable!) Then we wrangled with public transportation and sucessfully made it out to the university an hour early! So we ate lunch, then Brian headed over to his meetng and I stayed at the lunch place and read and journaled, waiting for Brian to get back. It was actually very nice to get out of the crowded, touristy Istanbul we have come to know, and see that there really are people here leading 'normal' lives.
We made it back to the hotel and went to dinner with Janice (our program director) and Art (our resident videographer and documentarian...did I tell y'all they are making a documentary about our trip?). Now we are back watching yet another soccer game (I love it!) and are pulling for Spain. Right now they are up 3-0 so I feel confident saying that the final will be Spain and Germany!
Tomorrow is still up for grabs....maybe a cruise up the Bosphorus, maybe back to the Bazaar, maybe some more mosques...you just never know what we'll find to do in Istanbul! Until then! love love! Allison
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Istanbul not Constantinople!
And the award for worst blogger of the year goes to....Allison!!! :) So here I am, having not blogged in a very, very long time, and I've been in this new city for 3 days :( oops!
Istanbul is way fun and cool and there is so much to do! There are many many differences between Sarajevo and Istanbul, not the least of which is the heat! We are hot hot hot and sweaty and gross all day every day :) I know that I haven't even updated you guys on what we did in Sarajevo, so here's the brief version...
We had two great meetings in Sarajevo, one of which with the center for Research and Documentation which has been given the task of finding the most accurate number of Bosnians killed during the war. As depressing as that sounds, the entire process was really quite interesting and detailed and complicated. We then had a discussion with professors in Sarajevo in all different fields who presented on the current state of Bosnia in their respective fields, including economics, religion, architecture, etc. They were both really great meetings and were a good way to wrap up our time and our studies of Bosnia.
Now on to Istanbul! We flew here safely on Sunday, got here mid-afternoon and took naps because we were all pretty exhausted :) We were all a little diappointed to find that, while staying in the historic, old town, Sultanahmet region of Istanbul is nice in that it is close to all of the great landmarks, it is *expensive*. :) So we are all skimping on meals a little bit, but at the same time, realizing that we're here now, so we might as well live it up :)
Yesterday Brian and I and several others spent the day touring the Topkapi Palace which was interesting. I had no idea that they had some really great relics there! Knowing that we should take it all with a grain of salt, I can now say that I have seen Moses' Staff (oh yes, that one that turns into a snake and parts the read sea...the movie got the staff all wrong though, it's much smaller in real life), the right hand of John the Baptist (forearm to fingers in a gold cast but with a little door open on top of the hand to show that there were real bones inside), and we also saw John the Baptists skull (poor guy, his bones must be scattered all over the place) and much much more. Little did we know when we went in that we would see all of these things!
Last night we had the opportunity to go see Whirling Dervishes, who spin around and around with their arms out in a religious ceremony. Google them to see pictures. It was a really really interested experience to watch - we were able to go to a real ceremony rather than a touristy performance.
Today, we had our final group meeting of the trip, which was with the American Consulate General, who briefed us on the current state of Turkey and their relations with America. It was really nice to get some good, basic information, and I honestly had no idea how important Turkey is!
Then we went to lunch, listen up Mark Clapp, at the Pizza Hut Buffet :) We found one here and ate it and it was good :) It was and is SO hot, so Brian and I decided it was the perfect afternoon to go to the underground cistern where they stored water a long long time ago. Man can build some really amazing things - even forever long ago! It was nice and cool! Now we are back at the hotel chilling out and updating blogs finally :)
We have 5 days left in Istanbul before getting back home on 2 July!!! Love and miss you all! <3 Hot and not sunburned Allison
Istanbul is way fun and cool and there is so much to do! There are many many differences between Sarajevo and Istanbul, not the least of which is the heat! We are hot hot hot and sweaty and gross all day every day :) I know that I haven't even updated you guys on what we did in Sarajevo, so here's the brief version...
We had two great meetings in Sarajevo, one of which with the center for Research and Documentation which has been given the task of finding the most accurate number of Bosnians killed during the war. As depressing as that sounds, the entire process was really quite interesting and detailed and complicated. We then had a discussion with professors in Sarajevo in all different fields who presented on the current state of Bosnia in their respective fields, including economics, religion, architecture, etc. They were both really great meetings and were a good way to wrap up our time and our studies of Bosnia.
Now on to Istanbul! We flew here safely on Sunday, got here mid-afternoon and took naps because we were all pretty exhausted :) We were all a little diappointed to find that, while staying in the historic, old town, Sultanahmet region of Istanbul is nice in that it is close to all of the great landmarks, it is *expensive*. :) So we are all skimping on meals a little bit, but at the same time, realizing that we're here now, so we might as well live it up :)
Yesterday Brian and I and several others spent the day touring the Topkapi Palace which was interesting. I had no idea that they had some really great relics there! Knowing that we should take it all with a grain of salt, I can now say that I have seen Moses' Staff (oh yes, that one that turns into a snake and parts the read sea...the movie got the staff all wrong though, it's much smaller in real life), the right hand of John the Baptist (forearm to fingers in a gold cast but with a little door open on top of the hand to show that there were real bones inside), and we also saw John the Baptists skull (poor guy, his bones must be scattered all over the place) and much much more. Little did we know when we went in that we would see all of these things!
Last night we had the opportunity to go see Whirling Dervishes, who spin around and around with their arms out in a religious ceremony. Google them to see pictures. It was a really really interested experience to watch - we were able to go to a real ceremony rather than a touristy performance.
Today, we had our final group meeting of the trip, which was with the American Consulate General, who briefed us on the current state of Turkey and their relations with America. It was really nice to get some good, basic information, and I honestly had no idea how important Turkey is!
Then we went to lunch, listen up Mark Clapp, at the Pizza Hut Buffet :) We found one here and ate it and it was good :) It was and is SO hot, so Brian and I decided it was the perfect afternoon to go to the underground cistern where they stored water a long long time ago. Man can build some really amazing things - even forever long ago! It was nice and cool! Now we are back at the hotel chilling out and updating blogs finally :)
We have 5 days left in Istanbul before getting back home on 2 July!!! Love and miss you all! <3 Hot and not sunburned Allison
Friday, June 20, 2008
Bumps!
So some of you may have heard that I have some strange bumps on my arms, plus a few on my back and legs. They dont itch or hurt and they dont really appear to be moving towards coming to a head or anything. They do appear to have spread (which has helped me rule out bug bites). Anyway, here are some pics...if anyone can come up with a diagnosis let me know! They arent really bothering me, they are just there :)
Thursday, June 19, 2008
On the Road Again!
Ok, here we are back in Sarajevo! We arrived yesterday afternoon after 5 long hours on a hot bus with no ac :) There were lots of mixed emotions as we left Livno - happiness to be continuing our journey, some people happy to be getting out of Livno, and lots of sadness for the friends we made that we had to leave behind.
We will go backwards just a bit to talk about our last day in Livno. I spent most of the morning at the school helping the other service team finish up their painting project. I know I havent talked much about that, but they were repainting the entryway overhang to the school. Then it was time to go to Koraci. We knew the moms were going to have some light food there for us, but of course they had prepared a buffet that could rival Golden Corral in amount of food :) There were only six of us so we quickly ran to get some back up eaters from our group. We had a great last day, reviewing everything we learned, eating a lot...too much probably!, and, of course, dancing a lot! When it was time to leave, things got emotional. The kids were crying and some of our group was crying (ok, we all know I was one of the cryers)and it was really hard. They all crowded at the door and waved and cried as we walked away :(
The whole day, and probably all of our time spent in Livno, was very emotionally and mentally draining and I was so exhausted when I got home it was all I could do to fall on my bed :) But I couldnt stay there long because we had to go to the going away party that was being thrown by the service organization that was hosting us. It was fun but we were pretty boring because everyone was exhausted....I wish you could have seen us all in our zombie-esque states :)
The next morning we hopped up, ran over to the school to say our goodbyes there and see the finished painting project one last time, and got on a bus for Sarajevo at 9 am.
We will be here in Sarajevo until Sunday, when we leave on an 8am flight for Istanbul. Today we have two meetings relating to our studies of war and peace in Eastern Europe. This morning we will go to the Center for Research and Documentation which has taken on the huge task of documenting the war. They have papers, audio recordings of interviews, everything. I am really excited about this meeting. Then this afternoon we have a panel discussion. Tomorrow is free day in Sarajevo and we will all speak our last Bosnian before starting all over with a new language.
So, now you are caught up and thats all I have for now! Love and miss you all so much! dovi đenja! Allison
We will go backwards just a bit to talk about our last day in Livno. I spent most of the morning at the school helping the other service team finish up their painting project. I know I havent talked much about that, but they were repainting the entryway overhang to the school. Then it was time to go to Koraci. We knew the moms were going to have some light food there for us, but of course they had prepared a buffet that could rival Golden Corral in amount of food :) There were only six of us so we quickly ran to get some back up eaters from our group. We had a great last day, reviewing everything we learned, eating a lot...too much probably!, and, of course, dancing a lot! When it was time to leave, things got emotional. The kids were crying and some of our group was crying (ok, we all know I was one of the cryers)and it was really hard. They all crowded at the door and waved and cried as we walked away :(
The whole day, and probably all of our time spent in Livno, was very emotionally and mentally draining and I was so exhausted when I got home it was all I could do to fall on my bed :) But I couldnt stay there long because we had to go to the going away party that was being thrown by the service organization that was hosting us. It was fun but we were pretty boring because everyone was exhausted....I wish you could have seen us all in our zombie-esque states :)
The next morning we hopped up, ran over to the school to say our goodbyes there and see the finished painting project one last time, and got on a bus for Sarajevo at 9 am.
We will be here in Sarajevo until Sunday, when we leave on an 8am flight for Istanbul. Today we have two meetings relating to our studies of war and peace in Eastern Europe. This morning we will go to the Center for Research and Documentation which has taken on the huge task of documenting the war. They have papers, audio recordings of interviews, everything. I am really excited about this meeting. Then this afternoon we have a panel discussion. Tomorrow is free day in Sarajevo and we will all speak our last Bosnian before starting all over with a new language.
So, now you are caught up and thats all I have for now! Love and miss you all so much! dovi đenja! Allison
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Croatia Wins Again!
So for those of you not keeping up with Euro Cup 2008, the Croatian national team won again last night, securing their spot in the tournament! Ironically enough, they will play the Turkish team on Friday night (while we will be in Sarajevo), and the final match of the tournament takes place on our last night in Istanbul! Wouldn´t it be something if Turkey was in the final and we were there!?
Everything yesterday went well - at Koraci we had animal day and we learned how to say some animals in English and we made animal masks out of paper plates :) too cute! Today is nature day and we are going to learn some more English and go on a nature walk! We are also going to talk about the importance of being kind to our environment - there are really no public trashcans here so especially at the school, there is just trash all over the ground, which is very bizarre to us Americans :)
We are all preparing for tomorrow to be our final day in Livno. The organization which organized our service here is throwing us a goodbye party tomorrow night, and so are the parents at Koraci! The sun is bright and shining today so hopefully our 5 straight days of rain are over!!!!
Love to everyone at home! A
Everything yesterday went well - at Koraci we had animal day and we learned how to say some animals in English and we made animal masks out of paper plates :) too cute! Today is nature day and we are going to learn some more English and go on a nature walk! We are also going to talk about the importance of being kind to our environment - there are really no public trashcans here so especially at the school, there is just trash all over the ground, which is very bizarre to us Americans :)
We are all preparing for tomorrow to be our final day in Livno. The organization which organized our service here is throwing us a goodbye party tomorrow night, and so are the parents at Koraci! The sun is bright and shining today so hopefully our 5 straight days of rain are over!!!!
Love to everyone at home! A
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