Istanbul not Constantinople!

Sunday, October 6

We woke up at 2:30 AM to fly to Istanbul!! It was a miracle we woke up on time because our Iphones got set back an hour but I’ve been setting mine an hour ahead because my clock was off so it magically woke us up at the right time. But everyone else’s phones said we were an hour early so they were all mad about being woken up so early but I felt too unsettled to fall back asleep because my watch said it was time to get up. I was just too confused so I lay in bed for ten minutes then just got up and checked everyone’s watches and it was definitely time to get up. So then everyone was suddenly grateful for me so we didn’t miss our trip to Turkey.

The bus to the airport was an adventure! Catie was supposed to teach our bus about traveler’s diarrhea but she came up to me and told me it was too early to talk about poop for her and that she knew I would do it and love it and make it funny so she asked me to teach the bus about it. Being who I am, I had to live up to the name of Cali and write a pooem to teach them about traveler’s diarrhea. I was ecstatic to read it to the bus!

Here it is: A Pooem…By Cali Laney

Brother Nickle has warned and I didn't listen,

And now I’m on a one track mission.

I drank water from the tap and ate food someone peeled,

And now I’m going to lose my last delicious meal.

He said, “Don’t eat the lettuce or any raw meat,”

And I ate some food cooked on the side of the street.

I should have listened and listened with care,

My stomach hurts so bad I want to pull out my hair.

Food that is hot and drinks full of bubbles,

Are things I can eat without getting tummy rumbles.

But now it has happened and I need to drink more fluid,

Water, juice and salted crackers are all I’ll be chewin!

Lomotil and Imodium can help me feel better quick,

But we all know clean water helps us most when we’re sick.

This illness was spread by someone’s dirty hands,

So wash your hands and don’t eat food from a dirty stand.

Everyone loved it!

As we were driving on the bus, Nichel ran to the front yelling to stop the bus because AJ was going to throw up. At first I thought “what a bummer for him” and then I remembered the experience I had at the Judean Wilderness about being a Good Samaritan and I made a decision there that I wouldn’t let someone go by that was hurt. So I stood up even though I don’t deal well with throw up and I ran back to the stairs where he was sitting with his face in a trash can. All I did was scratch his back and put a cold water bottle on his neck as he threw up but it was a cool experience. I realized another reason I love nursing’ it’s the only time I can suppress myself – my wants and my needs and I can focus purely on others. I started gagging but I had to control it because I didn’t matter. I had to be strong and help AJ. He was grateful and said that was exactly what his mom would have done. And that’s why I love nursing! It was all worth it.

At the airport, they tried to stop us from going trhough because they were worried about our matching backpacks. Nichel was my travel buddy and we were the very first ones to go through the hundred rounds of security. She’s so cute and we had fun. We’re pretty sure the woman that did our passport checks had seizures because she kept staring off and would randomly twitch. It took forever to get through. And then it was a two hour plane ride full of nasty plane food, Dan in Real Life, laughing til we cry and then…TURKEY!!!

Turkey is BEAUTIFUL!!! I love it here!! It reminds me of everywhere I’ve traveled so far. 16 million people live here in Istanbul and it is so gorgeous and fun! 97% is in Asia and 3% is in Europe. We landed in Asia and then went to Europe to the Old City. It’s soooo cold here which is refreshing from Jerusalem. We ate a 6 course lunch. Holy cow we get fed well! Then we went to Hagia Sophia which was a giant Eastern Orthodox Christian church and then became a Mosque and is now a museum and you can see both influences. It’s beautiful and has huge and beautiful domes. It’s unreal to be here.

Hagia Sophia

Blue Mosque

Then we went to the Archaeological Museums and walked through Old Constantinople which was heaven. Crisp fall air with leaves changing colors made me incredibly homesick. There were breath-taking views with beautiful weather. Nichel and I gathered leaves and both reminisced about how much we love fall. We didn’t realize how much we missed fall while we were in Jerusalem because it’s so hot there. Fall is my favorite season: colors, leaves, crisp air, apple picking, pumpkins, mazes, jackets, scarves, boots, hats, cinnamon and apple smells, hot cocoa, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, cuddling by the fire…HEAVEN!!!

But the museums were cool too. I saw the first ever peace treaty and the walls that led to Babylon. They were colorful and gaudy which gave me better meaning of the worldly Babylon that they talk about in the scriptures. I also saw some cool mummified bodies which I thought was interesting because I could see his hair and organs. Sweet! We also saw a butt statue which I HAD to take by with Jordan because he is my poop buddy. We love swapping stories about poop and sparing no details!

I'm in love with Turkey and the Blue Mosque!!

 After that we went to the Spice market and bought Turkish Delights I understand Narnia so much more now. They were delicious. Istanbul is beautiful at night and we ate a 7 course dinner. Oh the food, so good.

Once we got home we went to our rooms. We only have one room key so I let MJ get ready for bed before I took the key to go out with Whitney and Makena. We couldn’t find a guy to go out into the city with us so we went with Brother Whitchurch and Belnap. We found some ruins on Main Street that I tried to teach the group was where Super Mario was invented because there was a stone ruin that looked like a mushroom, but they weren’t too impressed. I guess it’s not true.

When we came home I was trying to go to bed but I ended up scaring an old Chinese grandma. I felt bad about that one. I saw the elevator coming to our floor and figured it was someone from the group (Never assume…it makes an ass out of u and me…) so I hid in the stairs by the elevator door and as it opened I realized you could see me in the reflection so I pressed myself up against the wall and then jumped out and yelled once it opened all the way. Sure enough, it wasn’t someone from the group but an old Chinese grandma instead. She screamed and ran away. I tried to apologize but I was laughing to hard. I still feel bad about that.