It looks like a fist.

But it's not.

For the past week or so, I haven't been counting days--I've been counting classes.  The advantage is that on Mondays and Wednesdays, I'm able to count down two instead of just one.
The disadvantage, of course, is that I spent five days staring at three fingers.
But no longer!  That fist is one of victory, and also indicates I don't have any more classes.  I fly home early Friday morning (6:00 early), and I'm not planning on going to bed at all Thursday night.  Consider it a preemptive strike against jet lag.

Things I will miss about Istanbul
-The baklava.  Both walnut and pistachio.
-Having a few hours free and going to see the Archeology Museum, or something equally cool.
-The Ayasofya.
-People watching.
-The fruit.
-Çai.
-Nargele.
-The cats in the garden.
-Pilaf.
-Public transportation.
-Sultanahmet Camii.
-Reading a placard that says "1750" and thinking "that's not old."
-The call to prayer.
-Simit.
-FETA.
-Stained glass windows.
-Seeing Istiklal lit up at night.
-The domes and minarets.
-Painted tiles.
-Three-story Starbucks.
-Mosaics.
-Seeing the Theodosian walls on my way to school.
-The architecture in general.

Things I will not miss about Istanbul
-Spending an hour one way to get to school.
-Not being able to differentiate between 5 and 10 kuruş coins.
-The lack of English bookstores.
-Having a window that looks out on the street...when the street is at the level of my shoulders.
-The notorious lack of answered email.
-Public transportation.
-10-hour time difference.
-Unreliable water pressure, water heat, and water.
-Not having to struggle to understand basic signs.
-Creepy come-ons in the Grand Bazaar.
-Red tape.
-The ants in the kitchen.  No matter what I do, they keep coming back.


I've also been doing a lot of last-minute sightseeing, since that gets put on the back shelf when you think you're going to be in the same place for a year.  I'll put the photos up soon.  There are lots (surprise).

m.

Someday, I will say, "going back."

It's August 31 at 6:26pm (at this precise moment), which means in ten days, almost to the minute, I will be boarding a plane that, God (and weather and air traffic and international borders) willing, will be the first leg to Istanbul.

Things are coming together, it seems, all of a sudden. I got my student visa a couple of days ago, which means they'll let me into the country. When I get there, I'll need to get a resident visa, but that's there and not here. My plane tickets are purchased.

When I arrive, I have a place to stay. It was iffy there for a while. I managed to secure one half of a double room in the girl's dorm, but that did subject me to dorm food--something I'm not a huge fan of (after two years of watery broccoli and gristle stir-fry, I'd like the chance to cook). G., the other student going (from Coe, my school), told me--almost in passing--that he'll be living in the International house. And I managed to secure the last room there. I don't have a balcony or a garden...neither of which I was expecting, so it's really not the end of the world.

So now, I get to wait. I don't have my schedule yet, but they're still confirming when classes will be, so I'm not behind. The only thing left I need to to is practice packing. Yes, practice.

The plan is: one large checked bag with a duffel stuffed inside. For rather obvious reasons, it needs to be under fifty pounds. And clothes get heavy fast. So "practice" is an appropriate word.

My days seem to be attached to a pendulum. One moment, I'm giddy with excitement, the next, I'm utterly terrified.

Although I have traveled extensively, I've never done it on my own. I've always had the option to point to the adult nearby and say "they're the one with the visa. Ask them!" There's always been someone else to keep me from being arrested (okay, there's never been any reason to, but at times like that I go into "worst situation" mode, even if there isn't a reason). In addition, I'll be going to a place where English is not the official language. Most people there speak it, but I need to learn Turkish. Much, much faster than I have been. Without looking at anything, I can say "hello," "yes," and "I am reading."

In other travel news, Chelsey Scheffe, one of my friends from high school, has spent the past month in China, working at New Day Creations. When we were seniors, we had the chance to go to New Day and help out. Her blog (besides being well written with great photos), here, has photos of the guest house where we stayed. There's a picture of a photo of us (us: the entire group, plus some of the Chinese students), and it brings back a wave of memories. We used to have sliding competitions down the long, heated hallway, and pile on the couches for evening meetings, and playing feather sack (hacky sack, but a bunch of tin disks attached to feathers so it jingled every time you kicked it) in the courtyard.

Someday, I'll have memories like that from Turkey.

m.

compiling

I've begun compiling a list--at least in my head--of things I need to take to Turkey.

It's recommended that I only take one suitcase and stuff a duffel inside of it. I think that's what I'm going to do, although I have a sneaking suspicion I'll end up with a couple things that won't fit into the one bag.

However, Turkey is known for its textiles, so my logic is this: the less I take, the more I'll have to buy when I'm over there.

See how well it all works out?

There are, though, some things I know I need to take.

Brandon, for one. Not taking a camera to Turkey is like not taking air when you go scuba diving.

Emma and Emily, my laptop and iPod, respectively.

I'm an advocate for naming technology--I think it works better when you name it. For those of you who know me slash my technology, Ed, my former iPod, is just that: former. My mom recently got a MacBook (she was Maggie before she was out of the box), and while Emma is still mine (named after the fantastic Mrs. Peel of the original Avengers), I got the new music player. While I prefer the shape of the first generation (it's a touch), he's a bit titchy.

In my opinion, he just rebelled against his name. The full name is Edward, and although that's his name (don't ask; we've established I'm strange, and let's just leave it at that), he doesn't seem to like it.

So now there's Emily, and she's coming with me.

I also need to decide on a book. I sincerely hope one will be enough. It needs to be long, to last me the 16 hour flight to Istanbul plus two layovers, but I can't fill my bag with books.

Currently, I'm thinking that the unabridged Les Miserables will be good. I've read the abridged version and I like it, it's about 2,000 pages (should last me at least a month), and since I reread The Pillars of the Earth earlier this summer, it's out.

Some pens, my journal (maybe a second), and drawing pencils.

I'm still trying to figure out if there's something else that's vital. This is the first time I've spent this much time anywhere out of the country (although it often feels as though Iowa is). A good sense of adventure, I suppose, would be a good idea.

And excitement. Excitement would be good, although I think I already have it covered.

m.

When they talk about life experiences,

I don't think they usually count getting balsamic vinaigrette in your eye. However, it is most definitely an experience.

In other, slightly more pertinent, news:

My mom and I got back on Tuesday. I don't want to go anywhere ever again. Unless it's Turkey.

Un/fortunately, there are a few other things scheduled for this summer.

O., my cousin, is out of the hospital. (Yay!) She's doing better and better every day. There wasn't any swelling, and no more bleeding than the doctors expected. It goes without saying that she's covered in scabs--arms, legs, and face. In addition, her right eye looks like an eleven-year-old from the eighties was let loose in a makeup store.

My grandpa is also out of the hospital, although he's in rehab (no, obviously not that kind...although it is entertaining to imagine an 83-year-old there...).

I am from, and in, Tacoma. It is 9:46pm and 79 degrees. Things are not right in the world.

Tacoma has an official-ish-ish music video, Two Five Three. Two warnings: it contains language, and accurately describes the city I live in.

The new INK magazine is out here. The photography is always good, as are the featured artists. What makes this particular issue so cool are:

page 17. An article by Alex Taitague about boat shoes. Similar to Hugh Gallagher's NYU application essay. Which, incidentally, is well worth reading.

pages 182-7. Chelsey Scheffe. She can do just about anything. I should know. Not only did I sit by her at graduation, we went to China together our senior year (read: spent three weeks together in the same house).

pages 140-5. And interview with Isaiah Whitmore, a fashion student. I went to high school with him, too. He is gifted, is one of the sweetest people I know, and both come across in his interview.

About a year ago, my cousin K. (out of my three cousins, she's the coolest. Sorry. I take that back. Out of my entire family, she's the coolest) told me about The Big Bang Theory. Since I now have to wait until next summer for more Doctor Who and I'm out of school (read: not hanging around the math lounge, listening to conversations about topology, theoretical physics, stats, and computer science), my geek coefficient has been significantly reduced. Big Bang Theory has changed that. It's about Sheldon and Leonard, theoretical and applied physicists, respectively, and their troubles operating in the real world. Sadly, it's quite accurate. Even more sadly, I understand most of what they're talking about.

m.

Ruby Slippers

I'm home.

Well, home, minus my checked bag. But more of that later.

Here are some of the photos from Rororua. Although I love Brandon (my camera) dearly, the pictures don't quite do some of the colors justice.

This is Mt. Ruapehu (at least I think it is), the north island's tallest mountain. Our bus driver on the way to Rotorua stopped so we could get some pictures. I'm glad he did; it's hard to get pictures like this through the dirty window of a moving bus.

All in all, I'm glad to be home. It's nice to not be moving every few days, and to have properly washed clothes, and to be able to flick the turn signal up on a car to indicate I'm turning right instead of left (although it's strange to sit on the driver's side as the passenger).

I think, though, in a few days, I'm going to start missing it. Three and a half weeks is more than enough time to fall in love with a place, and I most thoroughly have.

The flight home was uneventful...that is, until we got to LAX. They couldn't seem to get the hold open to get out our checked bags. So, after waiting for two hours, they let us go through customs without them, assuring us that they'd "take care of things." No one seemed to know anything, so I headed over to the Verizon counter to check in for my LAX-->SeaTac flight.

An interesting bit of information: Verizon and Quantas have no security agreement. Therefore, I absolutely had to have my bag if I didn't want it to stay in LA once they managed to get it off.

I headed back to international arrivals to get my bag that still wasn't off the plane to stand in a line that wrapped halfway back to customs. Mind you, this is after 20+ hours with no sleep whatsoever, twelve of those hours on a plane, three of them in Auckland's airport, and two of them in LAX waiting for my bag--and I still have to catch a connecting flight.

Thanks to a very kind security officer who started helping the end of the line, I was able to get my paperwork filled out. He promised another counter would book me on a different flight so I could have my bag. After a miscommunication at that counter, I was told to return to the line I'd just left, because the one I was at didn't deal in bags at all. The woman must have seen that I was about to start crying (or yelling--it probably looked like I could do either), she checked with the baggage counter. Thankfully, the form I filled out means Quantas will deliver my checked bag to my doorstep when they actually get it off the plane (along with the bags of all 356 other passengers on that particular 747), so I no longer needed to worry about it.

Needless to say, I felt much like dancing on my way back to the Verizon counter--although I could also have just fallen asleep.

A few housekeeping things:

1. A more complete collection of photos is up here. It is by no means the complete album; I took well over 2,000 pictures. Some of the files are corrupted (at least, I think that's why they're not appearing). I'll get to it...eventually. My apologies if you can't get to them. Kali (one of the girls on the trip) is working on a webpage that will have lots and lots of photos that all of us took. I'll post the link when it's up.

2. I'll be putting up my essays when I finish them. They're due tomorrow at midnight....and that's what I should be doing right now. Emphasis on should.

3. Just because I'm home doesn't mean I'm going to abandon this blog. I'll be in Turkey for all of next school year--there'll be something over there that's worth talking about, I'm sure.

m.

One more thing:

We should have planned our dates a bit differently. This is what we missed, by two days, in Wellington. Click for a larger version to read the actor's names.

(Yes, that is Waiting for Godot with Ian Makellen that we missed by three days.)

foodstuffs

We leave for Castlepoint early(ish) tomorrow morning, and it's decently late (well, 11:00, but that's late for us now), so I'll make this short. Maybe.

The last few days have contained a lot of "here & there" type things--and, unfortunately, it takes a fair amount of driving to get from "here" to "there," so I know the inside of our vans pretty well.

1. Bush tramping was spectacular. There are over 150 kinds of ferns here, and I believe it. There are some that look like palm trees. I've been trying to figure out a way to describe the bush here, but the best I can come up with is a combination of Point Defiance, the Hoh, and Hawaii (but that's still missing something). We hiked in a couple of different places, and, at the first, we had to cross a gorge to do any sort of real tramping. On a suspension bridge. Did I mention I hate heights? Yes, it was worth it, but I had a few moments of feeling like my tonsils had dropped to my hips.

2. We toured Barry Kempton's farm (he's a friend of Brian's) and got to see his dogs round up the sheep. I love the sheep. I obviously did not grow up on a farm.

3. After the farm, we went wine tasting (and I learned there's a reason New Zealand is known for its whites and not its reds) and then stopped at Schoc Chocolate. Forget Swiss chocolate. Schoc has all different kinds of really unique chocolate, from rose to smoked paprika to white lemon (the chocolate is white) to sea salt to my personal favorite, Earl Grey.

4. We got the chance to visit a Marae, which is the meeting place for the Maori. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, beyond maybe...enlightening? but that's the wrong word. It was one of those "this is a really old place" (not the Marae itself, but the culture and the country).

5. Last night, we went to a reading of two NZ authors, Charlotte Grimshaw and Paula Morris. And I, of course, bought a book. But I haven't finished it yet!

6. Tonight, we went to a one-man show called "The World's a Stage" that was a reflection (an on-stage essay, almost) of Shakespeare's works. He did it all (Hamlet, Lady M., Mercutio, Lear, Falstaff...), and he did it all very, very well.

7. And, lastly: everything I ate today was wonderful (hence the title). Coffee in the morning (they've got great coffee here). Lunch was sushi (tuna, salmon, and crab). Dinner was fish & chips (and the strips were massive--longer than my hand). Some kind of white fish (whatever was caught this morning) with a magical batter.

And, around 3-ish, I had gelato. Kiwi gelato. And I do believe that is all I need say on that.

m.

Path of the Dead

Some photos from the train ride:

Today, I can say for certain that I have arrived in New Zealand. Masterton isn't the middle of nowhere, but it's not a huge city (only about 8,000 people). It's all rolling country and massive, snow-capped mist-shrouded mountains and tiny trickling streams that have worn away great gorges.

Yesterday, we met Brian, a pastor who worked here about 15 years ago (he'll be with us until we go back to Wellington in a couple of weeks), and he introduced us to Colin and Jenny, a British couple who have been here for over 30 years. They are, I believe, some of the most friendly people I've ever met. They had us over for dinner last night and gave us the natural history of NZ; the high points being:

1. The only mammal here before the Europeans came was a kind of bat, so all of the birds became flightless (the kiwi, we have decided, is a feathered pear with a beak).

2. Rabbits: one of the most destructive things ever introduced here.

3. There are 4 million people here, and 75 million sheep.

4. The bush used to be so thick that the stretch called 40 Mile Bush needed lanterns along the cleared path at midday.

5. Southerlies (winds from the south) are evil: they blow off Antarctica and keep going until they hit the southern part of the North Island.

Today, we drove to the coast with Colin and Jenny to see some of the more spectacular parts of the area. On the way, we stopped to see Cook Strait. We could kind of see the South Island, but it was a bit foggy.

Then it was on to the wildlife.

New Zealand Fur Seals (of the baby variety):

They weren't afraid of us at all. A couple got so close to some people that they could have petted them. There weren't any adults in the general area, so we didn't need to worry about being mauled by a seal (although that would be quite the story).

On our way back, we stopped at Putangirua Pinnacles, which are spectacular in their own right, but also happened to be our first movie set here: it's where Jackson shot the Path of the Dead for Return of the King.

Tomorrow should be interesting: we're taking a hike through the bush. From what I've seen (which has been cleared of all of the really big trees), it's all really, really thick. Brian also told us to prepare for "cold" and "muddy." The word "wet" may have also occurred. I can't wait.

m.

& hello.

Hi there.

My name is Meagan, and this is where I shall be chronicling my ongoing questing. In less than a month, I'll be headed to New Zealand, and then, next year, I'm studying in Istanbul.

This is...well, let's just say that it's amazing; for multiple reasons:

1. I have a wicked travel bug. I've been plenty of places already (Kenya, China, France, Switzerland, and Italy), but there are just so many places in the world I haven't seen yet.
2. I love learning about different cultures. And I believe the best way you learn about them is to be dropped smakdab into the middle.
3. I want to be an architect, and Turkey has history. The kind that goes back to when Athens ruled the world (parts of what is now Turkey were once a part of Greece), so their architecture history is some of the most rich you'll find anywhere.
4. New Zealand is actually a writing course (yes, I'm getting credit for going to Middle Earth), which is, I think, one of the most powerful mediums in the world. And I really like it.
5. I grew up on The Chronicles of Narnia, and the films (which were primarily filmed in NZ) matched the Narnia in my head almost perfectly.
6. I love photography. I'm not saying I'm any good, but with New Zealand, the Hagia Sophia, the Grand Bazaar, and just Turkish life in general, I'm thinking I'd have to try to take bad photos. I've had some practice with my previous travels. For example:

And my favorite:

So, just in case you couldn't tell, I'm a bit excited. I still need to get through finals before this happens, but they're both for sure things now. Originally, I was supposed to do a London/Florence thing, but that didn't happen, so then it became Belfast. For one reason or another, the program didn't take anyone (that's never happened before), so I switched again to Istanbul. After almost a month of waiting--and two weeks after all the other programs had heard, to boot--I received an email this morning, informing me that I will be a student at Istanbul Kültür Üniversitesi next year.

On a different note, here are some things I adore:

1. architecture & stained glass windows
2. interesting rocks & mugs
3. travel & writing
4. C.S. Lewis & Butch Walker
5. coffee & Earl Gray Tea
6. math & stories
7. ampersands & parenthesis

m.