Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Long Way Home

I left the hostel this morning around 8, same time as I checked in three days ago. I took a seat outside and had a cup of tea before I headed towards the airport shuttle station. It’s a tradition around this part of the world to have tea before a long journey, a good way to collect ones thoughts. I can’t say that my feeling for Istanbul was too overwhelming at first but now that I’m leaving I do feel a bit melancholy like one would feel at the end of a good book.

Turkey has been great and I’m grateful for my stay here. Two weeks is not a long time but it’s what most people get from a year of work. I’m obliged for having the luxury to explore the city on my own pace and ventured out to Troy and Ephesus. In a short time I’ve learned a bit more about history and another culture. In a country with more Roman ruins and minarets than American cars I’ve learned a little bit more about myself. A quote on the Sky magazine said something like “Wander if for distraction; travel is for fulfillment.”

The ride to the airport was pleasant. I saw lots of tulips on the side of the roads and countless ship liners on the Marmara. I came to the airport more than 3 hours in advance just to be on the super safe side only to find out that my flight is delayed for 6 hours! Now I’ve got a good 9 hours to kill in the airport….thank Ali for wifi.


I contacted Delta and it turns out that by the time I get to JFK I would have missed the last connecting flight to Rochester for the day, which means I’ll have to stay overnight in JFK to catch the next flight out at 9:35am. This way I won’t get back home until almost noon tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll at least get a decent hotel room tonight for a hot shower. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

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