Final Days

Last weekend my friend Danielle came and visited. It was SO great seeing her. We hung out and walked around Taksim and Istiklal and did some shopping. Saturday night was my friend's birthday so we all hung on the roof of her house and grilled and danced and had a lot of fun. It was great to have everyone together and it was a fun way to celebrate my last full weekend.

With Danielle

Everyone at the birthday party

the aftermath of dinner

This week has been pretty uneventful. On Monday I hung out with two of my friends from Samsun for the last time. On Wednesday we had people over and I said good bye to my roommate and her friends. They are away this weekend so we had to say goodbye early. I finally started to pack last night, but I have really been resting. It has been good to rest, but I have been doing a lot of that. Work is very relaxing because they don't give me too much work, so it is good. Tonight I am going to meet up with some of my friends after dinner so I'll probably pack before then. Today is my last day of work and I leave for the US on Sunday!!

When I left Samsun it was really sad to leave everyone, but I kind of knew I would be back soon. This time it is sad to leave my friends because I really don't know when I will be back. I absolutely love Istanbul and Turkey and my friends and the culture and the language and the food, but Turkey isn't the place for me right now in my life. I am so glad I came this summer because I learned a lot, but I have realized that I am not meant to be here right now. I haven't been home since march so I am truly excited to be with my parents in Maine. I'm not really looking forward to the sitting-on-a-plane-for-a-really-long-time part, but I am excited to be back in my home country.