Last day in Istanbul...

Trip Start Jun 19, 2008

Trip End Sep 04, 2008

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Where I stayed

Overnight train (Istanbul-Plovdiv)

(Istanbul hotels)

Flag of Turkey Istanbul, Turkey
Thursday, August 14, 2008

A couple of us had a suitcase party on the roof on our last night together. We played great American songs like "American Pie" and "Graduation" by Vitamin C, as we looked at a slideshow of endearing photos from this trip. I wanted to cry. Then of course, we found ourselves disheveled and hung over in Christoff's class this morning- a huge waste of time. It seems that he realizes what a POS his class was. Just wait until I fill out the program evaluation form. We made ballots for superlatives, like Best Dressed, Best Turkish, et cetera. It seems that I won a sweeping number of them: some good (Best Turkish and Most Turkish Friends) and many notorious (Most Likely to Date Professor Ayhan, Most Likely to Steal, and more).

After 3 agonizing days of trying to figure out what to do with my stuff, I finally shipped off a 10kg box. It cost 101ytl (~84 USD) via PTT, the Turkish postal office. The worker said that they are not responsible for anything that breaks, so I am slightly worried now... but it's done! It's gone! Yay! Yay!
It is near 3:00pm and I am leaving the dorm at 9:00pm. What to do in between? I am going to nap, pack, dinner, and take off. Nothing extravagant. No grand finale. I shall, however, write a long reflection essay about my experience in Turkey, especially regarding intercultural interactions. My relationship with Turks have been marked by miscommunication galore. I feel compelled to record it because I never want to forget my experience here! I will miss this place and more importantly the people so, so, so much.