Adventures

After spending what felt like forever traveling, I was happy to finally be in Turkey but at the same time I was overwhelmed. For the first time it hit me that I was in a completely unfamiliar place, where they spoke a language that I didn’t really understand and I was traveling with a large group of students that I didn’t really know (yet). I started to worry about how I would possibly 5 weeks feeling totally lost. Soon enough I started to realize that even though my Turkish language skills were minimal, I was picking up on enough to get by. As a group, we started to bond and become friends. After about a day or so I realized that all of my worrying was unnecessary and everything was going to be just fine!

This last adventure of our trip made me feel prepared to travel just about anywhere in the world.

One of my favorite places that we visited in Turkey was the area of Cappadocia. The volcanic rock had uniquely formed little “fairy chimneys” in which people carved houses, churches and tunnels. As we had the opportunity to explore the houses and secret passageways, I felt like I was in a completely different world. There was no one else around except for our group and at times I even forgot that what we were experiencing was real. My dislike of small dark spaces and fear of heights seemed to disappear and I just had a great time exploring.

After traveling and seeing sights non-stop for about a week I was starting to feel a little exhausted. I think that the week on the boat could not have come at a better time. I found a relaxed pace and the beautiful scenery to be just what I needed to reenergize myself for the rest of the trip. The views from the boat were fantastic and I have never seen such beautiful, clear water. Although I had never kayaked before, I found out that it was something that I loved to do. In a kayak, you are able to get up close to the waters edge and explore coves that the yacht cannot go. I especially liked kayaking over the underwater city remains and being able to look through the crystal clear water and see the walls and stairs of the sunken city.  I really enjoyed the hikes that we took up into the mountains to see ruins. I liked that these sites were not touristy at all so we were able to explore and discuss the history of the site without feeling rushed at all. Although the hikes were a little rough at times, when we made it to our destination there was this feeling of satisfaction and the views were breathtaking. Although I tried to capture these views in my pictures, looking back now I realize that nothing compares to actually being there and seeing it with your own eyes.

            After constantly moving from hotel to hotel I was ready for a place to call “home” and I was looking forward to staying in the same hotel for close to 2 weeks. It was nice to finally feel like I knew my way around town a little bit. It seemed like the local store owners started to recognize us and would say hello whenever we stopped in. By the end of our visit, the girl who worked at the nearby bakery knew that every time I came in I was going to get a big piece of baklava. I was surprised how friendly everyone in general was. Practically everywhere I went I felt like I was greeted with a smile and a sense of hospitality that is not common in the United States.

            On our way home we had a 9 hour layover in Munich, Germany. A group of us decided that we couldn’t miss this opportunity to go explore the city. After figuring out the train ticket machines, we were on our way. We didn’t have any city maps and most of us didn’t know any German, but we were excited to just see what we could find. I will never forget the how surprised I was to climb out on the subway station and find myself looking directly at a square with churches, monuments and other beautiful buildings. As a group we felt alone in the city, considering everyone else was still in bed at 7 o’clock on a Sunday morning. We had a great time just wandering around the city. I wished we could have spent longer in Munich, but soon enough it was time to head back to the airport. When we made it back, I was left with a great feeling of accomplishment. I realized how much I had grown over the course of the past 5 weeks. At the start of the trip I felt afraid of having 30 minutes of free time to explore on my own. By the end I was happy to be given such freedom. This last adventure of our trip made me feel prepared to travel just about anywhere in the world.