This week has been a string of exciting and overwhelming events!
First and of course most importantly, the day I've been counting down to has finally come! Actually, it came a few days ago. My mom finally got here! I went to the Mytilene airport on Tuesday to pick her up with Orestis. She LOVES it here and has been getting along with everyone in the group so wonderfully! I am so excited she decided to come...having her here has been nothing but fabulous!
I just got home from Turkey about 20 minutes ago (so I'm not REALLY writing from Ayvalik...) As soon as we got there, we dropped off all our baggage and headed to an outdoor bazaar. It was INSANE! Everyone wants you to shop in their shops and buy their stuff. And everyone just falls over you because you're from America. Actually, we weren't allowed to tell people we were from America, we had to tell them we were from Canada. Everyone in Turkey sees Americans as people who live in Manhattan. Not exactly a correct assumption. I found a lot of really cool things in the bazaar, including Lacoste polos for $7! Yeah, I may have bought a few...
We ate traditional Turkish food and listened to a bunch of Turkish men talk about how the Greeks hate them but they don't hate the Greeks. It was sort of awkward.
We visited the Bergamon acropolis and a site of an ancient hospital. All of the ancient architecture was so well preserved! I was really surprised. Turkey was very agricultural and plain. Honestly, it was kind of what I was expecting.
Our group stayed in this amazing resort-like hotel, which I was NOT expecting! Our rooms were spotlessly clean and we had clean showers and SHOWER CURTAINS! The food, which was prepaid, was always served buffet-style. I think I gained about 15 pounds per meal.
Overall, my Turkey experience was a good one! I want to come back someday and spend a lot more time. Everything was really fun, just VERY crammed into a very small time frame...I think we were in the country for just about 24 hours!
Tomorrow I am going back to Eressos with my mom. It's SO hard to believe that this weekend is my last in Greece. I'm preparing to say a very sad goodbye to all my study abroad friends, but I'm also excited to experience so many more countries and cultures for the next 3 weeks!
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