Istanbul

So this is more of a reflective post since I couldn't possibly sum up the last 2 weeks in Turkey and Maastricht. I promise I will lighten up and just tell you what I'm up to next time. But for now, here it is. I warned ya.

So, Istanbul.

Turkey was beautiful in ways I was not expecting. It was layered and gritty, with the old and new mixed right in together. I could see it in the people and in the buildings everywhere we went. With the lights of Taksim square right beside the old 6th century walls in the city, I found Istanbul's history woven right in with the buzz of the crowded city. Driving faster and eating slower than we do, the people presented an interesting dichotomy of their own.

Everything about Istanbul was strikingly vertical. Because it's such a crowded city, even the wealthiest families live in apartments. Everything is stacked high, with parts of old and new buildings all melted together. As we traveled and went sightseeing, I found that I spent most of the time looking up. The city, the mosques and the palaces all drew so much of our attention toward the skies, and their beauty was rich and and nuanced in an unfamiliar kind of way.

I am learning so much about people--both through conversations I've had with friends on the trip and through the different cultures I've gotten a taste of. Here, I am getting the opportunity to start over a little bit. Friends on the trip are starting with the me I am right now, and I am getting to learn about their lives here and at home quickly. It's been incredible to see and experience these things with friends who were strangers only a week ago, and mostly to see the way our paths are crossing in more ways than one. I'm fascinated with the way people work, and getting to see so much more of humanity as I travel has begun to quench that thirst in me. 

The most striking part of travel so far has been the common threads I've found. I think maybe the point of traveling is to find the differences and to appreciate them, but for some reason, I've found a lot of  peace in knowing that children and their parents show affection in all the same ways on the other side of the world. That coffee and dessert sound good no matter where you are, and most of all, that smiles are universal  Our hearts were created with all the same capacities, which is such a testament to the God we serve. 

With the culture and language being so far from ours, Istanbul was challenging in ways I don't think we'll encounter for rest of our trip, but it was the perfect start to an adventure like this. As a group, we had lots of time to bond as we scavenged for restaurants and braved the bazaars in groups of at least 4. I consumed lots of baklava, apple tea and kebabs over the course of the week and got very close to buying some genie pants. I decided our first week felt a lot like freshman year would have if we all got to do it over again. It's been great to begin feeling a sense of community when I'm so far from home.

Now that we're finally settled in Maastricht, Turkey feels a million miles away. Getting to unpack and explore the city has brought a little calm to such a crazy week and a half. Oh and school started this week...

More to come on Maastricht. I luv it hereeee.