Half Way There!

OK loyal fans (whoever you are), I've reached New York and am hard at work in orientation!! Hard at work basically means having fun with the other scholarship recipients while we're not in safety and language briefings. I'm the baby of this group; most of the other students are going into college next year, and good ones at that (Yale, Dartmouth, you get the idea). Though most of the people here are older (and far smarter),  its really been nothing but fun! We're staying at Long Island University, which has a huge and beautiful campus for a place I've never heard of. When not staying in a dorm room (a first for me), we're eating long meals and learning are rudimentary Turkish. After the language lesson I learned just how little Turkish I actually know (hello and goodbye, before the lesson). Nevertheless, if I can learn as fast as I did in that hour during my six week stay, I think I'll be fine. We've also been learning a lot about Turkish culture, for instance regional variations and the basic do's and don't's. Do use the independent buses (Dramas) that swarm around Turkish cities because they are reliable and easy! Don't make the OK symbol with your fingers, or you'll publicly question someone's sexuality!
The flight from Phoenix to New York was pretty bad, so yesterday (my first day here) was mostly spent trying to stay awake; my flight left Phoenix at midnight. Today has been a little more exciting: playing games, taking pictures, and, of course, eating even more food while talking about funny YouTube videos. The highlight of today was a visit from a Foreign Service officer who showcased all the other scholarships/internships you can do after today, which was pretty exciting.  We'll finish today with a few more briefings, and then we take off tomorrow. First we fly from Istanbul, then to Ankara to spend a few nights, and finally to my (new) home, Izmir. I'll update the blog next hopefully when I arrive in Ankara. Sorry I don't go into more detail we don't have a lot of internet time here! So I'll end for today here and finish by saying see you in Turkey!!