Just a three hour flight and we touched down in Istanbul, Turkey for a well-deserved Spring Break.
Not only was this a break from the daily routine in Jordan, but it was also a break from the intense language pledge and homework we have been receiving.
We [my program friends and I] chose Turkey because it was a quick escape for a little money. Istanbul is also a ‘must-see’ city with the best of European and Arab cultures. It has the best of both worlds half of Istanbul on the Asian continent and half on the European continent. Everything about this week has been so different from my time in Jordan.
There are more colors, the water and air are clearer, there is a running body of water nearby, and Istanbul—as a tourist city—is used to foreigners. In a way, I began to compare Amman to Istanbul, not wanting to leave beautiful, historic, clean Istanbul or dusty, dirty, old Amman, but then I realized there is something Amman has that Istanbul doesn’t.
I have been told by many Jordanians and fellow classmates that in order to like Amman and live here you have to experience Amman by night and make friends with locals. After one week in Istanbul I missed all my new Jordanian friends. Sometimes it’s not the place you go to, but the people you meet that makes your time worthwhile.
So as I got back on the plane today with a bittersweet feeling of sadly leaving my relaxing Spring Break destination and only ready and prepared to take on the rest of my semester abroad, I realized my time is half way through and I feel I still have so much to learn.