(A few pictures from the day we left (before the crying)
I remember telling people before we left what we were doing and where we would be living for awhile and them giving me kind of that "Your crazy, but I'm trying to smile and be nice" look. And yes part of me thought we were crazy too, especially as we slowly began our departure into Istanbul and had that feeling of "there's no turning back".
As Tim and I reflect over the past year we are grateful for so many things that Turkey has taught us. We have learned to become more patient, as we are foreigners living in a country, stumbling through language and culture. We have learned how to live in a huge city, and are pretty proud that we are able to get around. We have learned hospitality like we have never seen. Turkish hospitality blows America out of the water. We have learned endurance, not only physically (with a lot of walking) but emotionally. Saying goodbye to friends and family was not easy and definitely being so far away is even harder. We have learned to depend on each other and learned even more how blessed we are to be each other's best friend in a context that is so unfamiliar. We have learned so much more about service to each other and to all of our wonderful friends who have taken care of us here. We have learned a lot more about communication both in Turkish, and our own language.
Yes, living in a foreign country is difficult sometimes, and I'm not going to lie, more than a few times this year I have said, "I want to go home." But slowly without even realizing it, Turkey found a place in our hearts and became more like "home" than we ever could have imagined.
Thank you Turkey for teaching us so much about the world and ourselves. For being such a wonderful host for the past year, for being the place our first baby was born, and for being a place we will never, ever forget.
Our favorite souvenir from Turkey :)
2 comments:
great post anna! it is so crazy that you have already been there a year. i loved reading about all the things you have learned. i can relate to most of them-even though we havent been here as long! im proud of you all and am blessed to have you as family! btw...way to go on updating your blog :) love you
wow i cant believe it has already been a whole year! I am glad that you have been able to experience everything that you have there too! cant wait for you to come back to wake forest though.. not going to lie :)
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