Home, with Turkish interjections that no one understands

So I am writing this throughout my trip home, which has turned out to be a loooong journey. In total, from start to finish it will span 4 days and will in total be 57 hours long. I spent my last week abroad travelling with Devin, another exchange student. We left the night after my birthday party to Plovdiv, Bulgaria after a tearful farewell to our close girlfriends here. We got to Plovdiv at 5:30 am and planned to catch a night train to Belgrade, so we dropped our stuff off at a hostel, tried to sleep on benches but were rudely awoken by a woman with a broom (aparantly we look like vagrants). So we made our way to the center of town and spent the day enjoying the extreme cheapness of Bulgaria. Cappucinno? 1 dollar. Giant slices of pizza? less than 1 dollar. Pints of beer (that isn't Efes, the singular brand in Turkey)? 1 dollar. Ice cream in all sorts of delicious flavors? 1 dollar. Our friend Max and his girlfriend are also travelling the Balkans and we got to meet up with them for half the day to see the sights (really, there isn't much but cheap things in Plovdiv), and then my first night train to Belgrade.

The train was alot more comfortable than the bus, so that was nice, but there was a time change so we got to Belgrade at a reasonable 7 am... but it was actually 6 am.... so we sat in a closed down pizza place next to the tourist office until 9. But we were able to find a really amazing hostel in this really cute neighborhood in Belgrade. The city was not really what you'd imagine from a place that was so recently in deep political unrest. All the streets were beautiful and treelined, there was a huge park/castle area where the Danube and the Sava met, and about every 20 feet you could stop at a little cafe to get coffee and relax. So this is pretty much what we did. Two other exchange students met us there and Devin left with them to continue their trip to Croatia and farther. I stayed, met up with Max and the girlfriend again, and then left via train at 9 on Tuesday night. The compartment was for 6 people and I had it to myself, which was nice, but kind of lonely after spending my time surrounded by so many people. In Sofia I found a day bus that got me to Istanbul by 7 and I was able to meet up with the girl who had my luggage by 8. We went to this Austrian man's apartment/secret bar that has free dinners on Tuesdays. Ive spent a fair amount of time here (did you hear? FREE dinner!) so it was the perfect thing to do on my last night. It's on the top floor of a building that looks over the city, so I got to enjoy one last sunset over the minarets and one last call to prayer.

And now, on to Frankfurt, then Chicago, then Grand Rapids. Its funny because I remember very clearly when I checked in at Grand Rapids. "Istanbul, huh?" said the woman at the counter with raised eyebrows. The woman at the desk here, I'm sure, has no clue what Grand Rapids is. It's going to be so different to leave this city to go back to the Midwest! Not that I think it's going to be bad, just a huge change. I am excited to see everyone, get a job again, start making more and spending less. I just can't believe this is the end of it all.

When I got back into Turkey from Bulgaria, I was like "ahh, now I can communicate!" I'm definitely nowhere near fluent, but I have conversations! I can get my point across. I can ask where things are. And when we pulled back into Istanbul, I saw the minarets in the skyline and I was seriously on the edge of my seat, trying to pick out the signts I knew...

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And now… I’m back. My computer died in the airport and I’ve just gotten around to making some final comments before I post this. Being home has been an overwhelming experience. I can’t explain my life in Istanbul really, partly because I can’t put it into words and partly because I don’t want to start believing it’s all over. But life goes on, I’m starting to get unpacked and organized. I start serving at Thirsty Perch tomorrow and start at Palisades on Monday. Until I get busy I’m occupying my time with the beach and books (I’m reading “Istanbul”, Orhan Pamuk’s memoir of my favorite city). I can communicate now, so that is cool too. But a part of me will always remain in Istanbul. I found this quote in the book that is so true.

"Life can’t be all that bad…. Whatever happens, I can always take a walk along the Bosphorus.”

My walks along the Bosphorus were taken frequently, alone and with friends, but always one of my favorite past times. One day I'll be back for one more.

And that is all. Life in South Haven can’t be half as interesting for you to read about :)