You're not jealous of me yet

So...it appears I got on the wrong plane and ended up in Denver. Yes, I'm technically in Isparta, Turkey, which you can see in the map to the left if you squint really hard (look just to the left of Turkey--you can also click on it and make it bigger). It's about a 1.5 hour drive by car from Antalya, an incredibly beautiful tourist destination on the Mediterranean coastline. I, however, am surrounded by evergreens and low, scrubby mountains (and a patch of corn outside the front of my temporary guesthouse). It looks, much to my slight disappointment, quite a bit like a city in Colorado (no offense, Colorado, I just like a bit more lush greenery). I'm operating on five hours of real sleep in the last 48 hours. My room smells a bit like cigarettes, especially in the evening. No one who works here speaks English (which is a bit fun, actually, you should have seen the conversation the guesthouse clerk and I had when my internet wasn't working. Somehow we managed to change my room and figure out the problem all while talking in our own languages, which neither of us understood).

(I love parentheses.)

But hey, maybe you are jealous of me. You probably should be. I'm in Turkey, for pete's sake, and I'm on an adventure. I get to actually have a blog-worthy life again, which actually makes me super happy, because I love to share other cultures with people. I flew into Istanbul yesterday, which looked incredible, and I can't wait to visit. Plus, there are some incredible spots to visit within a half hour to two hours, and even more within three to four. I am really in the heart of European and Middle Eastern history and culture here--I mean, the site of ancient Troy is in Turkey! Such a great return to my classical education roots. I have great colleagues, both the local and American ones in my program. I get to learn a new, super relevant language (okay, slight exaggeration there...). Finally, I feel much more grounded about this experience than I did about the Philippines, partly because my time will be structured with teaching, learning Turkish, and writing, (oh, and travel), and partly because I'm older and I've done this before.

That said, if you're reading this, I probably already miss you.