Bittersweet is the feeling.

Today is the day that I depart from this beautiful country. The country that I loved and taught me much this summer. I realized last night as I was walking down a kalıbalık (crowded) Istiklal Street in Taksim with Jess and Chelsea and our new Turkish friend, Saba---that I am not exactly "prepared" to leave yet. Now, I have surely been longing to see my family and friends and to taste the comfort of familiar food, but for some reason I am still emotionally residing in Turkey. I think there will definitely be a piece of Anneliese left behind in Istanbul...I just loved it so much here.

So, I am leaving on a jet plane. In three hours, in fact. I want to think that I will be back again to Turkey soon.

Thank you to all--for your prayers and love that you have constantly showered me with. It's been a consistent encouragement throughout this challenging, but fruitful summer. I await the day when I can see your faces, for it has been too long. It will be soon.

with love from Istanbul,
Anneliese

One Week

That's it, that's all that remains of our time here. This time next week I will be suspended somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, passing through hours that don't exist in the normal day.

I wouldn't say that I'm home sick, but I do miss my home a lot. I'm a bit tired of everything being new and different and... foreign. I'm ready for familiar faces and some regularity. I'm ready to shop at Fry's again (believe it or not). I'm ready for wide, level sidewalks. I'm ready to do my own laundry in my own washer and dryer. I'm ready to hug you.

There are two more days of class, in which we will mostly review. I hope to discipline myself enough to study on my own outside of class too. It's sooo hard, though. I can't believe I've gone through four years of college and still don't know how to study. I need to study pretty bad though. This course is pass/fail, so I'll either take 12 credits home with me or zero. And after all the work put in, I really want those credits more now than before. Anyway, I'd love your prayers this week. Prayers for perseverance and confidence and credit would be nice, I think. Also, ask Jesus to give us the language in some miraculous way. Because we're so ready for him to do that.

I like the people here a lot. I wonder what saying goodbye to them will be like. I don't really want to say goodbye to some of them.

Love you.

You are painfully true.