My Last Days in Turkey

This is my last week of work in Izmir, but somehow it seems like I still just got here. I have finished everything they asked of me at work, so this week I will just be doing some editing of their English tourist advertisements. They are currently putting together a new marketing plan to bring more tourism to Izmir.

I am the next person to leave, but I am going to stay four days longer than I originally planned so I can spend more time with Omar in Istanbul (I lived with him here my first two weeks). Then I will be going to Poland, Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and Germany before heading back to the United States in time for school.

In every city I go, I will be meeting friends I've met along the way or friends of friends. Without the internship opportunity through AIESEC I would not be traveling in Europe, and I definitely wouldn't have connections around Europe during my travels. So I am real happy with the opportunities AIESEC has presented me on this internship.

As for the past few days in Izmir, there hasn’t been a lot new. It’s turned into more of a countdown to my last day of work than a countdown until my travels around Europe begin in about 10 days. This weekend there is a very big trip with an estimated 100 people from around the world attending, again all AIESEC members. I will be able to tell more about that in my next post after the trip.

The biggest thing I’ve learned this week was from a 60 year old man at the outdoor exercise playground I go to. He actually welcomed me to the playground and told me "very good/impressive" after doing a few exercises. Even though it was the smallest of gestures, I learned that little things can make or break a person’s day (especially a foreigner) and everyone has the ability to make or ruin someone's day. This held true when a man charged me double for a boat trip claiming my student card was no good there and I had to pay full price. Even though it was a small fee, it was the gesture that made me very angry. A lesson was learned both ways.