We just finished our first week in Turkey and it was a whirlwind of new learning and interesting experiences. I now know that I can get up at 5 am and dig in the hot sun for seven hours without too much of an problem, Turkish tea is very very good, and bread never tasted so good after you have trekked up and down a mountain for lunch. I knew nothing really about Turkey before I came here and I don’t pretend to know much now after only being here for one week, but so far I have learned that Turkish people are very friendly and are eager and willing to help you out if you need it. They love to socialize and stay up very late doing it. I am always so impressed that they can stay up for hours talking and laughing and still seem fine when they have to get up at 5 am to get to work. The Americans over here (such as myself) meanwhile, are groaning and struggling out of bed after retiring early to try and get sufficient sleep. Another thing that I have learned while in Turkey is the food is fantastic and you eagerly consume a lot of it after a hard day of work.
We spent our first week getting adjusted to the demands of our new schedule. In that time I have learned to be really thankful for the group that we have on this trip. You have to be a certain type of person to come on a trip like this. The work is intense and demanding and you depend on the people that you are around. I know that in this first week, I have worked harder that I have in a long time but I also have laughed just as hard. I am eager to see what the rest of the month has in store.
Abigail Wollam