What day is this?

This is my life since Thursday 6pm...

At six o'clock on thursday, my phone rings. It is a strange number, but I pick it up anyway. A cheery automated voice told me that my flight 12 hours later will be canceled and that I will be taking a flight at the same time on Saturday from Norfolk, to Cincinnati to JFK airport, which does not help. I would have rather had a cheery human voice instead that I could negotiate with! Jackie (my friend and travel buddy in this story) and I were unable to get the flight rearranged since we could not get a hold of anyone. At 10 o'clock, we realized that our only hope is the Chinatown bus that goes from Virginia to New York. So we end up going, braving the snow storm and hoping for the best. We make it in to New York with little trouble and little sleep, and then creatively navigate the subway system to make it to our flight in time.

Everything became a bit more calm after that as we met up with a few members of our group. The flight was a bit more comfortable than the train...okay, a lot more comfortable since we could watch movies and I had a three seat row all to myself! Ten hours later, we arrived at Turkey.

It did not take me long to figure out that I was in a different world when we were in Istanbul. As we stood between the hulking Blue Mosque and the timeless Hagia Sophia, we heard singing thundering from the towers of the three mosques (I am not sure what the third was) calling to worshipers to pray. This is when I began to know that this was not Christian territory anymore. We were completely safe, but it hit me... these are about as normal as church bells are to us.

There were many differences I noticed as well. As I looked at the writing to trying and find a similarity to a familiar language, it is evident that it is a completely different language, but it is written in a form that looks like our own. As we drove through the city, there remains of the mammoth walls that once protected the Byzantine Empire. There is a brick road that is still in use that is believed to be one that Paul had walked on. Massive mosques are perched on the hilltops, with their Minorets that seemingly reach into the clouds.
In contrast to this rich history, there are multi-colored buildings that house the diverse citizens of Istanbul. Brightly colored signs hang over the doorways of time ravaged buildings and scream of a westernizing influence that is shaping this unique society. This collision of modern and ancient made for an amazing experience, one that I wish was a little longer than a few hours.

I found one similarity between our cultures... we both eat chicken. Americans have a reputation for it, but during a 24 hour period, I had 4 different chicken meals! Between chicken breast, chicken steak, chicken kabob, chicken salad, I found that if I ate the scrambled eggs for breakfast, it would have been five times! The chicken was good, but I do not think I am going to have it anytime soon.

We arrived in Israel today. It was too dark but I am definitely looking forward to tomorrow! Now I need to find a way to recharge my camera battery. But my lesson for today is that just because it looks like a toilet handle, it could be a lever to a hose that sprays you in the leg. Just be careful of that when you are overseas! Good night, and talk to you soon!

JC