Trading the City Life in for a Farm!

   My time in the city is quickly coming to an end, as I will be heading east to the Izmit area tomorrow to begin a new and completely different adventure here in Turkey.  It is a bittersweet goodbye for me in many different ways.  I've learned so much about the culture of Istanbul and it's people and have made some really amazing memories but I've definitely come to learn that the city life just isn't for me.  Istanbul, especially, has way too many people and just not enough space - which means traffic becomes something you must schedule into your daily routine and the words 'to relax' aren't really in anyone's vocabulary (and they happen to be pretty important ones in mine).  Raleigh is the biggest city I can say I've ever lived in, and comparing Raleigh (population: about 416,468) to Istanbul (population: about 13,483,052) is about the equivalent of comparing a minnow to a blue whale... they aren't even in the same category.  Quite the gigantic step up in terms of urban living if you ask me.  So I can't quite say that I would ever choose to live in a place like this ever again, but personal preferences aside, I would never trade my time here in this incredible city for anything.

 

   The combination of old and new that can be found in the various quarters of this place is simply magical.  You will be walking down a street that looks like it's straight out of New York City and suddenly the roads will turn into cobblestone and you will be face to face with history dating back to the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.  Sometimes it almost isn't real.  I've learned so much and seen some of the world's foremost architectural wonders, buildings that people only dream of seeing in real life, I've spent my days wondering around the port that first connected two continents, getting lost a time too many in bazaar after bazaar, and learning and experiencing the amazing food traditions of the area.  I'd say my first three weeks here have been a success in many ways - and yet I feel I have barely even scraped the surface, this city has so much more to offer.  If you ever make a trip here and expect to see everything, just go ahead and plan on staying a couple months..




   But apart from all this, what will remain in my heart and memory of Istanbul, long down the road when I look back on this journey in Turkey, won't be my time site-seeing and exploring and photographing.  What will truly stay with me are the beautiful people I've met and grown close with during my short time here.  My host family (pictured to the right) are some of the most loving, caring, good-hearted people I've ever come to know.  I have been blessed to have been given the opportunity to build a relationship with them without the use of a common language - which hasn't always been easy but but with a little patience it is amazing once you get it figured out - communication without words that is.  Semra, who isn't pictured here, is Umit's sister who I was also living with - and without her, I would've felt quite lost most of the time.  I'm so lucky to have stumbled upon Umit's listing on HelpX because without meeting him and his family, I would've never had the experience that I did.  And that is something I will be forever thankful for.




   In addition to them, the children that I have spent my time teaching will forever be with me.  They are SO amazing, it's hard to put into words how it feels to watch young people learn.  I guess I now understand why people choose teaching as a profession (Yes Mom, I said that). I would be having a bad day, and go to teach them, and their youthful spirit and joyous energy is enough to make my day the best I've had since I've arrived here in this foreign country.  I was only able to spend three short weeks with them and I'm now realizing that that is not nearly enough time.  But at least I know now that working with children is something I really enjoy, and might should seek out as my days in this life continue...
   On our last lesson together, I ended up staying for almost 3 hours longer than what had been scheduled because I don't think any of us wanted it to end.  We had lunch and continued playing games and by the time I realized I needed to start making my way home, I also realized how much I care about these kids and how incredible it is that they will have such a lifelong influence on me - just because of a couple of random weeks in Turkey.



   But it's farm work from here on out - and I'm SO excited for what's in store.  Being that it's winter here, there won't be much planting, growing, or harvesting going on.  I'm expecting to be doing lots of preparation work for the Spring - but if that means that I get to be outside with trees surrounding me and not buildings, and getting dirty from dirt and not the pollution of a city, I am SO very okay (and excited) with that.  Much more to come (if I have internet that is..)

"The inside of the tent was painted with stars.  It seemed like something city people would do, because they hadn't realized that if they just took down the tent, they could see the real stars instead."