Let the games begin!

4:30 p.m. CST at 33,000 feet in the air and heading to Chicago to connect to our flight into Istanbul.
Today should have been the easiest day – just show up. But anxiety and excitement woke me up at dawn (and I did NOT go to bed early last night…..) and I may have hit my wall. Before going through security, the Turkey tourists were all asked to give interviews to help promote the World Affairs Council (WAC) while explaining the purpose of this trip. Sleepy, disoriented and a little claustrophobic, I failed miserably at this first task. My answers were jumbled, I said “um” an inappropriate number of times, and I think I was chewing gum. No bueno! With that said, I would like to take this opportunity to thanks the World Affairs Council of DFW, TURANT and the Turkish Cultural Foundation for this amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity. I will do my very best to soak in every ounce of this experience and I look forward to sharing it with my students this year. I am not entirely sure why you chose me (especially after that stellar interview which plays like a you-tube prank) but I am already eternally grateful.
The captain just informed us that it is 81 degrees in Chicago, yet I don’t even remember what 81 degrees feels like! The A/C in my apartment can’t even find 81. We will land in Chi-town around 6:30 and then hang out until our 10p.m. flight to Istanbul. Layovers in airports don’t generally bother me (as long as I packed my own snacksJ.) There is something about airports that just transports you (pun intended) because you get to see flights arrive from places you have also been and depart to places to would love to go. You envision the story behind why people you pass by are in the airport. Maybe it is a wedding, vacation, business trip, family reunion or even a study tour. Yeah, airports are awesome. They bring people together and they do it quickly! OK, the cart is heading my way, so there are some serious decisions to be made.
Blog playlist: Be OK by Ingrid Michelson; Long, Long Way From Home by Foreigner; Beautiful World by Carolina Liar; I’m Good, I’m Gone by Lykke Li
Factoid: Yogurt was invented in Turkey. Yum.