My flight to JFK, then SFO is confirmed…
I am really going homeeeee!!!
Wahh… I lost some money and a day (no… I gained a day!) but gained a friend from Iraq who is a PhD student in England- she even invited me to visit her sometime in the next year- and she even said that, as it’s her only day and first time in Turkey, that she was hoping she would find a girl to explore Istanbul a bit with, and that when she saw me at the airport she had really hoped that I was going to the same hotel- hehe. When she told me that I immediately became much happier about my situation- God answered her prayer : ) and mine too- as I was praying and expecting there’s something good from this situation.
It really was a memorable day- though it was so rainy and windy, in Istanbul-
and even though I was running on just 1 hour of sleep! Haha- definitely was falling asleep randomly and unexpectedly at various places (tram, tour bus…).
Wahh so relieved right now T_T…
“çok teşekkurler!!! Kolay gelsin!!”. (정말 감사합니다, 수고하십니다!!)
I don’t think I could have been more genuine saying these words to the flight agent when I finished checking in my bag all the way to SFO. Wahh T_T…
One of my favorite things from yesterday was the tram ride from our hotel (which was really nice, and I got a discount from Turkish Airlines when I wasn’t supposed to- heh). The view I had during the 30 minute ride to Sultanahmet was the rainy, but still busy streets of Istanbul- I was enjoying the “Arabic version” of a certain chocolate from the UK, while listening to (and trying to hear the differences in accents) the conversation in Arabic between my new friend and a stranger who was from Lebanon- he spoke nearly perfect English because he went to an American university in Lebanon (which made me realize that I don’t know much about Lebanon…). A number of people actually recognized my friend as Arabic throughout the day and struck a conversation with us (I mean, with her- I wish I could speak Arabic!!). It was very interesting : ). And I got to see various reasons why the Arabic-speakers lived and visited Turkey, in person.
It was pretty hilarious when she thought she was recording a video on her iPhone on the tram, of me explaining how we met- then realized that it wasn’t recorded. Hahaha… In the video I said something about how, 10 hours ago or so, I would have thought I would be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean by now, half way to Amerika. But instead, I was still in Turkey because I missed my flight. But managed to meet the right person and am exploring Istanbul a bit with an Arabic speaker, after the kindness of strangers and even having a nice hotel to stay at and rest. Yes- there is so much good that still came out from my… Unexpected turn of events.
There was a period of time on the bus where I was so exhausted and cold, but after some çorba I felt much better.
Then- on the tram ride back to our hotel from Sultanahmet- I was sitting facing the opposite direction from the direction that the tram was heading… And it felt as if I was ‘zooming out’ from Turkey- from everything I experienced the past semester abroad- And on the last day, (which I didn’t see coming… Haha sigh) zooming out from the fascinating scene of a myriad of cultures interacting at Istanbul.
I definitely gained a day.
Thank you Istanbul, for an adventurous, cold, wet, but lovely last day in Turkey. And for letting me meet a wonderful friend!
