Not in Constantinople

9:42 AM EST
4:42 PM Local Time


After a 10 hour flight from Newark, I am now in Istanbul, Turkey! Now it feels like I’m somewhere new. A number of people here speak English, and I even heard a remix of a Maroon 5 song outside a store, but it’s definitely different from the American airports I’ve been in.  The section of this airport is not as large as I expected it to be, but more crowded. It could be because I’m fatigued (or, more likely, that I’m as clumsy as usual), but it seems like everybody is running over each other. The airport provides little shopping carts to push around your luggage, which is both a huge relief and a safety hazard for me. Although there have been a couple reckless cart-pushers, my increasingly bruised shins are from me tripping over/knocking into/accidentally kicking my own cart. Typical!



I was pretty hungry after the long flight, so I exchanged some American money into Turkish Liras and bought an avocado & chicken sandwich. It was so different. The avocado was so young that it was firm almost to the point of crispness! I’ve never thought of eating it that way...


Look what I found in one of the "DUTY FREE" shops? Nutella Weely Pack! It's a tiny mini jar of nutella for every day of the week... 



The little bit of Turkish money that I have!


I’ve been waiting out the layover for about 4.5 hours, and I still have about 4 more to go. The airport is surprisingly warm & I didn’t sleep very much through the flight, so it’s very difficult not to fall asleep! That’s all the mundane updates I have for now. I’m excited to board the plane to Bishkek!