A Girl Named Tennessee: Merhaba from Istanbul

Or Hello from Istanbul. Praise be to God, we made it to Istanbul safely! We are sorry for not posting in a few days. Internet connection is difficult to find at times. For those of you who do not know, we tried to get a Visa for Turkey before we left (all visitors to Turkey must have a Visa before going through customs in the Turkish airport), and we were denied. The Visa company in the United States said we needed to appear before the Turkish embassy in Texas! Needless to say, we did not do that! So, upon arrival in Istanbul we were a little nervous that we would be denied entry. However, the only question I got was how to properly pronounce my name!

Rewind to our flight from Munich to Istanbul… First of all, it was snowing when we left Munich and about 30 degrees! So, I wore Nate’s wool socks (don’t judge me, they are comfortable, and he never knew they were gone) and my boots and was still cold. We got up at 4:30, which was really 3:30 because Munich had Spring Forward. While Mary and I were drinking coffee in the airport café, two asian men came up to our table, never said a word, and each took their picture with us. I can not make this stuff up people! We are pretty sure they thought we were models (I mean who wouldn’t?). Regardless, it was incredibly awkward. Then, our flight was delayed about 30 minutes, because they had to get the ice off of our plane. (No big deal right?) But everything went smoothly!

When we arrived in Istanbul, it was about 80-85 degrees. Wool socks and boots equals hot mess Brooke. So the three Istanbul pharmacy students who picked us up at the airport brought us to our hotel to change into cooler clothes and then took us to a lake outside of Istanbul to meet friends. We were lost for a while, but we got to see some really pretty countryside! They grilled for us and made a salad of fresh vegetables and had homemade bread. Then, they served us Turkish coffee, which was unbelievably good (I am a fan of all things coffee). We have been met with such amazing hospitality, and it is only the first week! We are excited to see what is in store for us throughout the month.

One interesting thing happened at the dinner, though. One of the guys is a professional photographer, so he was taking pictures of everyone, including Mary Margaret and me. So, we should have some really awesome model shots of us holding flowers and doing poses in a field (I have this problem where I can not say “no” to people, especially people I just met who are feeding me dinner on my first night in Istanbul). I have no words to describe what happened. So, I’ll just move on.

Random observance: Turkish people do not wear seat belts if they sit in the back of the car. They thought it was very strange that Mary Margaret and I put ours on. We are still going to wear them though. Safety first my friends. Click it or ticket.

Our first day at Marmara University, we were able to speak with a lot of the students in the pharmacy department. We got a tour of their university, which was built in the late 1800s and is really incredible. We also attended a birthday party where we ate cake for lunch (this trip is mostly about eating if you have not figured that out). We are given tea from everyone. Fact: I do not like tea. I’ve never liked tea. Neither does Mary Margaret. But there is something about hot Turkish tea. Its really tasty, which I am glad, because we can not avoid drinking it!

Today, we are taking a sea ferry to the European side of Istanbul and are going to tour the old part of town (where all of the tourist attractions are). Our new friend Aysu is going to be our tour guide. She has been extremely kind and is helping us get adjusted to this BIG city living. Mary Margaret and I are trying to figure out the mini bus (it looks like a shuttle bus) system. They do not seem to have a bus route that we can find. So, you either look and see where the mini bus goes (painted on the window of the mini bus) or you ask the driver, in Turkish of course.

Finally, Happy 50^th Anniversary to my Nana and Popa (a few days late due to lack of internet connection)! Nathaniel and I have accepted the challenge to try to beat your record. We love you both so much!

I might not post every day while I am in Turkey but I will try to post regularly. I can not express my appreciation enough for our sweet family and friends that are praying for us and thinking about us.

Here are some pictures from Istanbul... (Oh and we are sitting in a cafe to get internet and the owners started playing 50 Cent for us - hospitality at its finest)