There are few things I’ve ever done every day without fail for 150 consecutive days. In fact, brushing my teeth is the only thing I can think of that I have done, guaranteed, for that length of time. Of all the things I could do every day for 150 days, the last I would have expected is, well, this. And I can’t think of any better way to spend this time.
Some days are filled with new stories, adventures, and learning experiences. Some are spent locked in a room on a computer looking for hotels and transportation. Some are even wasted away in airports and bus terminals. But no matter where I am, or whether it is a good day or not, I am with my beautiful, amazing, loving family—even if they make me cry sometimes.
So here we are, 150 days abroad together, with only 46 precious days remaining. We are officially in Europe, tourism capital of the world, coming up on high-season. This last chunk of our trip will be filled with popular cities and plenty of moving around. And we have some guests! One week ago, my brother’s girlfriend met up with us in Istanbul, Turkey, and is traveling through Turkey and Greece with us for two weeks. Now let me say, it is expected that out of 150 days, at least one or two have to be a complete disaster. We experienced our disastrous day this week when Alexis’ passport went missing. After having been delayed several hours by storms in Chicago on her flight in a couple days earlier, she was already off to an unfortunate start–poor girl!
It wasn’t for another three days that we found out her passport was gone as we were running out the door to get to the airport. This led to a whole commotion as our driver and hotel owner bickered loudly and incomprehensibly in the street over whether or not the driver would wait while we searched for it. I sat on the front steps watching our baggage, and trying not to giggle as the two men quarreled, while my family frantically searched the apartment. After a couple of minutes the driver picked up one of the bags and just threw it in the trunk of the car and stormed off (apparently he lost the fight). Yet as soon as my father came down and declared that it was time to leave, his demeanor changed entirely and the whole ride to the airport he was all smiles and Taylor Swift lip singing.
Why we thought the best plan was to go to the airport, I’m not sure. If I had a nickel for every hour I’ve ever spent in an airport I’d…well I’d at least have a lot more money in my bank account than I do now. In trying to work out a new plan (mostly whether or not to leave Jackson and Alexis in Turkey while my parents and I went on to the Greek islands or not) we managed to miss our flight without changing it, outlast the work shift of the man who was helping us, surpass both breakfast and lunch time, and lose Alexis’ credit card to an ATM. It’s ok though, because the in-airport convenience store had $2.00 clear coat nail polish that we had been looking for, so it was all worth it.
Luckily, they say bad things happen in groups of three, so after the credit card was eaten, our luck turned. A turning point that was marked by the purchase of our sought after nail polish. Things had to be looking up. We spent the next two or three hours sitting in an airport café using up the majority of the bandwidth provided by the free internet service. Due to an Islamic holiday hotel prices were through the roof and the majority of vacant hotels were located nearby Taskim Square. But, as we had learned the day before, the demonstrations taking place in Taskim Square seemed to effect nothing other than the square itself and a small portion of the surrounding area.
The apartment-style hotel was beautiful. We agreed that we could’ve stayed there for a week, or even a month. If it weren’t for the worst nights sleep of my life on a broken roll-away bed, it would have been the perfect place. We were able to cook our own meal in a full-sized kitchen, watch floating lanterns rise from the mosques, and drink an incredible bottle of South African wine out of real wine glasses.
The next day, in a matter of hours, Alexis was issued a new passport, and we were able to find a new, discounted airline ticket to Kusadasi, a town on the southern Turkish coast where we have spent the past few days. We were relieved that we weren’t stuck in Turkey indefinitely, and relaxed even more at the sight of a beach. We celebrated our 150th day at an Irish “pub” on a Turkish beach, eating Italian food. It was fantastic. At least until I had to take some college placements tests…but that’s beside the point.
Speaking of college, I had a bit of a melt-down the other day when I realized I have roughly 50 days until I return to the states, and roughly 75 days until I start classes at Whitman—yikes! Over the past month or two, thoughts of home have almost all but escaped me. I already have mixed feelings of returning home, but I look forward to eating my favorite foods and hearing live music and spending time with people my own age. It’s hard to say how long I could go on like this. Right now, it feels like I could move around forever, as long as I could stay in one place for at least 1-6 months. For now though, I am just happy to be so lucky to see as much of the world as we have! It feels like just yesterday that I was writing the 120th anniversary post…
