i am the luckiest. we finished finals around here and packed up our bags to head off to turkey! i fell in love with the city, the culture, and the art. i seriously loved it. (and 1,187 pictures later..)
it all started lying to the passport security in the airport in israel. one of the security ladies walked up to me and said, "i need you two to switch passports. i want to make sure my employees are doing there job. i'll be right there watching in case anything goes wrong" (ooh so fun. how very veronica mars/mary-kate and ashley witness protection program) so my friend emilie and i switch. right before emilie is about to go up she says, "oh hey you might wanna know my birthdate too." "oo smart. okay got it." so here i am standing in line having an internal debate. am i supposed to lie? is he supposed to just know? am i supposed to be pretending like i actually am her? how am i supposed to answer questions--like myself or like her? is it still considered lying if i'm doing it for a good cause? (clearly i'm having some ethical issues with this sitch) i get to the front of the line. "what is your name?" "emilie elmont." "how do you pronounce your last name?" "el-mont." "do you have any other identification?" "no." "when did you get this passport?" "just a few months ago before i came here." she keeps flipping through the passport. my heart is racing. i feel sick. it's like a test i'm not gonna pass, but i don't know which way is passing and which way is failing. don't i wanna be caught? but then again, i'm not supposed to be. this was clearly a very stressful five minutes of my life. "when is your birthday?" score. i've got this one. "november 19th." she seemed satisfied enough. i thought i'd passed. but then..."where were you born?" oh no. i have no idea. where is she from? idaho? utah? was she born there? do i just pick a place and be wrong? "......i, uh, i. um. i don't remember." caught.
the fun began before we even got to turkey. have you ever been on a plane with 82 of your best friends? let me tell you, it's a party. and on turkish airlines where they bring you a full course meal for a two hour flight--best flight ever. i got off the plane and ran through the turkish airport like a turkey, gobbling and flapping my arms. (i tell ya, i make a dang good loud american. sometimes i'm amazed i'm 20 years old. and that my professors don't hate me.) it was such a fun experience from beginning to end.
the country is overpoweringly beautiful. i fell in love. with the history, art, and culture. there are mosques everywhere. istanbul alone has over 2,000. (and only about 300 churches and 20 synagogues) it was a fabulous week with friends and adventures and dance parties galore. i love my life. i am so grateful for all of the fabulous opportunities that are coming my way. i love traveling and exploring and seeing the world, and turkey gave me a little taste of european history that makes me ready to go and see and do more.
(more pictures and stories to come.)
1187 photos and you only post one!
ReplyDeleteYou sound more like Troy than Veronica. Almost. So close. But not quite. :)
ReplyDeleteLoud American? Hate? Maybe not, but I feel fairly confident that they roll their eyes at you all. the. time. Love you!