T Minus 10 hours
2:15 AM
In less than 10 hours, I will begin what is sure to be an epic journey one third of the way across the world to Istanbul, Turkey. Hmm scary stuff.
As of 2:15 a.m. the night before my departure, here is a list of my preparations I have completed:
I will be flying out of RDU at 12:45pm tomorrow on my way to Newark, NJ. Ahh New Jersey - quite possibly my least favorite state. I hope my hubcap has found a nice home there. Then from Newark, I fly to Dusseldorf, Germany and then from Dusseldorf to Istanbul, Turkey!
I am going to Turkey with Professor Omid Safi (my RELI 181: Islamic Modern Civilizations prof) and several other students/peeps in order to explore Turkey and study its history and Islam. We will be spending about half our time in Istanbul (the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires) visiting various mosques, churches, synagogues, palaces, and museums. Also, using Omid's extensive network of contacts, we will get to meet with various scholars, writers, religious leaders, and artists. Sooo pumped about that.
We will also be travelling outside of Turkey to Bursa (the first Ottoman capital), Ankara (the capital of the Turkish Republic), Konya (the burial place of the famed poet/saint Rumi), and Cappadocia (a very scenic and beautiful region).
As of 2:15 a.m. the night before my departure, here is a list of my preparations I have completed:
- Started a load of laundry
- Googled the weather in Istanbul
Hmmm. So packing. Yes. That should commence shortly. But hey, I still have time. Ish. And clearly writing this first post takes precedence. Hopefully this blog shall keep you, my (hopefully) faithful reader entertained and up to speed on Part One of Ellen's Worldly Adventures: Summer 2010. Feel free (or rather please do) comment on any and all of these posts. I will feel loved :)
Okay, first things first: TRIP OVERVIEW
I will be flying out of RDU at 12:45pm tomorrow on my way to Newark, NJ. Ahh New Jersey - quite possibly my least favorite state. I hope my hubcap has found a nice home there. Then from Newark, I fly to Dusseldorf, Germany and then from Dusseldorf to Istanbul, Turkey!
I am going to Turkey with Professor Omid Safi (my RELI 181: Islamic Modern Civilizations prof) and several other students/peeps in order to explore Turkey and study its history and Islam. We will be spending about half our time in Istanbul (the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires) visiting various mosques, churches, synagogues, palaces, and museums. Also, using Omid's extensive network of contacts, we will get to meet with various scholars, writers, religious leaders, and artists. Sooo pumped about that.
We will also be travelling outside of Turkey to Bursa (the first Ottoman capital), Ankara (the capital of the Turkish Republic), Konya (the burial place of the famed poet/saint Rumi), and Cappadocia (a very scenic and beautiful region).
PREPARATIONS
So leading up to departure, I've run into several minor snafus. [Fun fact! The term snafu originated as a military acronym for 'Situation Normal: All Fucked Up']. However, what is life without a few speed bumps? You know, like not having a ticket.
- SNAFU NUMBER ONE: I went by my bank about a week ago to let them know I was going to be out of the country. A few hours later, I receive a call. Apparently, Turkey is on their 'permanent no go' list. AKA I will not be able to use my debit card/access my money abroad. Hmmm might be a bit of an issue. Went to my second bank. Same issue. However, SECU came through and finally opened up my cards. Hooray! Naturally, it came with a whole list of strings attached that reminded me vaguely of a car commercial's disclaimer shpeel.
- SNAFU NUMBER TWO: Tuesday night. Three days til departure. Glancing over credit card statement. Hmmm, what's this? I didn't get charged for the plane ticket? Let me check that real quick. Wait...what? The ticket has been cancelled? But I checked it like 2 days ago. Why didn't I kn--oh they said they sent me a cancellation email on May 10th? [cue rising panic] No, no, no they didn't send me an email! Why is the ticket cancelled?? [outrage ensues and much profanity is used] Let me check with the airline. ARG! Still no ticket. [cue frenzy online search] *muttering* Sh*tsh*tsh*tsh*tsh*t.... Aha! New ticket! *wallet winces* [cue resigned and defeated acceptance of new ticket purchase at increased cost]
- SNAFU NUMBER THREE: Last semester, my camera had a rather unfortunate encounter with a tiled floor. He put up a good fight, but alas the floor came out the victor. Wednesday - I attempt to see if it can be repaired. The guy looks at me like I am in idiot, while informing me it would be more cost effective to buy a new one. My wallet begins to writhe in pain. Luckily, Anthony comes to the rescue! He lends me his, so now I might be able to grace you all with beautiful pictures of my adventures. [Big shout-out to Anthony here]
So yes. Minor issues, but ♫we shall overcomeeee♫. But for now, I am off to start packing. I hope to keep you all updated daily and while you're at it, please comment :). Tomorrow should be interesting as I will be most likely sprinting across airports to catch connections. [Note: this qualifies as fulfilling my monthly exercise goal]
Ta-ta!
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