ilkbahar
i’m very happy to announce that yesterday was the first day of spring. now if we can just get some sunshine in this place, we’ll be all set. i forgot to check in with the groundhog on february 2nd, but i’m assuming he saw his shadow per usual. jerk.
the sun changes everything. last week, the sun came out, melted the snow away, and even stayed for a couple days. what is it about the sun that just breathes life in to us? i know it does for me. i feel lighter, happier, stronger, freer.
so Sun, it’s spring… time to come back out. please shine down on meee. ;)
this past weekend was fun. friday, Laura and I went across the golden horn and spent sometime around sultanahmet, ayasofya, and topkapi palace. the weather wasn’t awesome, but it wasn’t too bad. i’m always amazed by ayasofya. i’ve seen it countless times but i can’t help but marvel at it every time. it’s enormous and filled with history. can’t wait to go back.
the next day, I went with Yasemin and my host mom to the gym. we took a yoga class. oh how i missed my weekly yoga. it was wonderful. then, the three of us got on the treadmills before moving to the bikes. after our workout, we had some lunch, then relaxed in the sauna and the steam room. it was quite a lovely day.
later, i went to Deniz’s house and we had some dinner. the craziest, greasiest, juiciest “burger” i’d ever eaten. a kral burger.
ok, i know what you’re thinking… and yes, it’s incredibly unhealthy. but it tastes so good. the black stuff is just an olives spread. the meat… well, what animal it’s from has yet to be determined… this is something to be eaten maybe once a year. hahaha. thank you, Deniz, for introducing me to this beauty. and for possibly taking off a year or two of my life. ;)
my mom and my nana will be here on wednesday. that’s two days. i can hardly wait to squeeze them! it’s nearly impossible for me to imagine them being here… like i’m cutting them out of an old picture and pasting them in to my new one. no offense… maybe that’s not the best comparison. but it will certainly be strange. and wonderful. ah i’m excited. :) i’m glad my two families will meet. that’s really important to me. mmm how awesome is this? my mom and my nana get to see everything. all of this. i’ll be really happy when i can bring my daddy and evan, the rest of my family, and some friends here, too. this is too cool.
i’m really grateful.
i’ll probably go to a rotary club meeting tomorrow night. better study some turkish tonight and tomorrow.
getting hungry. my host mom and yasemin won’t be home for a while because there’s a lot of traffic. my houstonians, you don’t know traffic until you come to istanbul. :) i’m really excited/nervous to see how my mom reacts to the traffic, aka, the notorious istanbul driving. :D love it.
