Mersin

I am loving my new family - they are so nice and so wonderful. Right now I am spending time with them at the seaside at Mersin, a holiday city near Adana. I believe that the past few days have been some of the most relaxing of my life.

Here is my day in a nutshell:
- Wake up around 10 or 11
- Eat a huge and delicious breakfast of bread, honey, olives, Nutella, eggs, cheese, and Turkish tea.
- Walk to the beach.
- Swim in the Mediterranean.
- Nap in the sun.
- Eat an apple.
- Walk to the pool.
- Swim in the pool.
- Back to the house for dinner - always something good!
- Go for a walk with my host sister along the "sahil" - the walkway by the sea - maybe go to the internet cafe, get some ice cream, or meet up with some of her friends.
- Back to the house around midnight
- Repeat

It hits me sometimes how strange it is that it feels so normal being here- if that makes any sense!

We will stay here for another week or so, then we will visit my mother's brother in another city, and then we will head back to Adana. I'm sure this vacation will seem like a dream once school begins, I think on the 28th of September. I can't wait to have the language classes, though - I am still pretty lost when it comes to speaking Turkish. I am learning a few words at a time, and my host sister, Irem, is helping me a lot. It's interesting having this kind of language barrier, for really no one but my "aunt" speaks any English, so most of the time we communicate with an interesting mix of a baby's English, Turkish, and strange gestures. It's working so far, though!

Will keep you all updated with a much more interesting and better written post soon...