Final Thoughts

Summary: It’s now Monday, and school has begun its cycle again, and most of us have come well adjusted to the jet lag and the daylight savings. If there is one thing this trip has taught me it is that I am now passionate to support those who want to impact the world around them here and abroad, and I’m passionate to keep my friendships going with my new friends overseas. The general consensus before I left for this journey was fear; fear of the unknown culture and its people. Let’s not kid ourselves, when 9-11 happened and we saw those planes hit our homeland, we were all filled with fear and some form of hatred towards a region and their people who we knew nothing about, except the belief that they had targeted us like a deer in the forest. Going over there into a Muslim world and the Middle Eastern region really opened my eyes. Sure what we might have experienced was a mild case wrapped up in the time of a week, but we interacted with the people and saw their spirit and their hearts. And what we saw wasn’t hatred towards us, but a misunderstanding on both sides. It was like we were two players in a game of chess, and we had forgotten the rules of the game and decided to just move pieces wherever we wanted. Rooks, pawns, and bishops just danced all over the board, smashing into each other and fighting over territory and space. That’s how I see our nation and the region across the world. We’ve lost our focus and our respect for one another. When my friend spoke about 9-11 and I heard the sincerity echoing from his heart it really got me thinking about everything going on around me. Not just on the war in Iraq. It has nothing to do with that. In my mind I kept thinking about the homes and lives of my friends. This has nothing to do with our worldly war, but a war on a much higher level in our souls. Am I rioting for peace in the world? No. I’m just trying to let my passion ring through that not everyone in that part of the world is an extremist with the sole intent of putting harm on our doorstep. People kept telling us how amazed they are that Americans were there on the island, because they had all just stopped coming. We don’t need to live in fear. On of the men from Jordan told us how at his home they all keep doors unlocked and they are unafraid, while we here at home lock our doors and fear intruders of all kinds. I’m not saying they have it made there, nor am I saying we should take note from the ways of those we came in contact with. I’m saying we need to forget our fear of those we don’t know and remember that there is huge world around us that needs to be outreached in the emotions of love and friendship as we tried to do on this journey, and it was met, I believe, with great success. It was an amazing time that I will never forget, and will never try to. Continue to support those like us who travel the world locally and abroad to take a similar message to the unknown peoples of this world.

Day 8: Home, Sweet Home!

5:45 p.m. EST and local time
Saturday, 03-10-07
Welcome home! As I rounded the corner in the corridor of the Atlanta airport, I saw a familiar face I had been longing to see since departing from Cyprus, she was my beautiful girlfriend. I ran to her with the weight of the two bags on my shoulders and hugged her. I was definitely home. As the rest of the team came towards baggage claim, we were all met with familiar faces of family, friends and loved ones. Love was now the universal language all around us, and I absolutely loved every moment of it. Our time together as 19 friends had now ended, but ended incredibly stronger. We will take with us so many new faces and unforgettable memories with us from this journey together, and we will do so wanting to tell everyone each individual detail about them. As I walked with my girlfriend to her car, I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that I had just traveled home from the complete other side of the globe. I thought about how thankful I was for the opportunity and how much I’m going to miss my time there in Turkey and Cyprus. Maybe I’ll go back, all or some of us, and maybe I’ll get to relive those memories with my new local friends or family that might tag along the next time around. But there was no maybe about it, all 19 of us were forever changed, and definitely for the better. We were home, but we will never forget our new home that formed in a week on the streets of Istanbul and the beaches of Cyprus on the other side of the world.

Day 7: Naps on a Plane

7:45 p.m. EST
If only we had more time. That seemed to be the common belief among all of us as we tiredly loaded the bus with our luggage and exhausted bodies and headed out to the airport, 45 minutes away. Pulling away from the terminal at the airport filled me with excitement to see those I love back at home and also with sorrow knowing that I may not see my new friends again. The mixed emotions ran high today, and stayed with me long after our jet engines woke the steel wings North to Istanbul again. The whirring sound of the engines steadily rocked me to sleep the entire flight to Turkey. Once we landed in Istanbul around 5:45 a.m. our time and 10:45 p.m. back home, we had to say goodbye to our trip leader who was headed home to his family in a different direction. I had the honor of meeting him last year on a similar trip, and now after two weeks of him in my life, both last year and this trip now, I consider him one of my best friends and one of the best men I’m lucky enough to know. I hope to see him again. Two flights to go now, and I can almost smell the American air. We depart towards Paris at 9:05 a.m. Saturday, and 2:05 a.m. at home. This flight was also spent being rocked to sleep, and chasing jet lag in my hazy dreams. The 10-hour flight to Atlanta from Paris at 1:50 p.m. local time and 7:50 a.m. EST was a neverending one. We were fortunate enough to have our own miniature screens for movie-viewing pleasure again at our seats like we did coming over here, and we all spent our time between the land of dreams and the land of the movie Dreamgirls playing in front of us. The only thing I can recall between my thoughts of coming home and the images on the screen in front of me, was just how uncomfortable it made me feel to watch the wings out my window bend so easily in the wind over the Atlantic. So I shut my window blind faster than a Mockingbird could flitter its wings, and continued to lean on the pillow next to me, trying to speed up time to when I was safely on the ground and in the arms of those I love back home. Unfortunately, I seemed to not have packed the remote control that speeds or slows time, so I was stuck in my Air France seat that had little leg room for my tall, skinny figure, and that made me wonder if a strongly worded letter was needed to the FAA.

Day 7: Turkish Coffee-Making, Gracious Bus Driver

6:30 a.m. EST
It’s now 1:30 p.m. as we’re pulling out of the school and headed to our next destination. We were originally going to a resort area and then shopping before calling it a day early so we could pack for home, but instead our Turkish bus driver invited us to his home up in the hills to teach us all how to make Turkish coffee and tea, two drinks our team became obsessed with by the end of day 2. His family was so welcoming and adorable. I think the girls couldn’t stop their amazement of his precious little daughter and her shyness. One of them gave her a Nutter Butter cookie, and she was, I must admit, entirely adorable, as she would only eat the peanut buttery center, and throw the two cookie halves on the concrete ground outside. But it was time for the main event, Turkish coffee and all its glory. We watched with our bodies leaning forward with childish delight like a kid in the Macy’s window at Christmas time watching every detail of the polar express train gliding around the 4 x 6 ft frosted wonderland. A scoop of coffee, then another, and we would watch her swirl the silver spoon in the pot that created a whirlpool of foaming coffee, emitting a strong aroma of a scent all too familiar to our group since Istanbul. Some of the guys had already become coffee addicts, and just wanted to knock back the coffee cup like it was a shot of espresso. Our bus drivers wife had also crocheted a few scarves for the family, but gave a few of them to two girls in our group, who were overcome with gratitude of such a gift. The whole time I sat there on the couch in their home and looked at the happiness that filled the room, I couldn’t stop thinking about new found respect for this family and the love they had for each other, and for us. It was probably the highest honor we had on this trip to be invited into their home and treated exactly like extended family. But we had to leave and pack up our suitcases for home, a place we were all beginning to miss. With our things together for the night with a little more packing to go, we went to dinner at the Ambiance restaurant which sits right on the beach. It was a very fancy place and a perfect way to end our time together as a team. The food was amazing with endless bread, lamb, chicken, etc. One kebob after another, and slowly each notch in our belts were getting looser and looser to make room for the rapidly expanding stomachs we all shared. I thought it easily could’ve accompanied one of the contests at a state fair back home, measuring the biggest expanded stomach at the table. I would’ve given the biggest person a run for their money. Our bus driver and his family graciously agreed to come with us for dinner there, and it was such a warmhearted blessing to watch them at the end of the table eating together as a family, with their new found family of 19. As we left the restaurant and back to the hotel, those same mixed emotions from earlier knocked me in my gut and remained there while I walked up the stairs to finish loading all of my memories and clothes into my suitcases. Almost all of us in the group decided to have an all-nighter since we had to leave for the airport at 2:45 a.m. Saturday, or 7:45 p.m. EST Friday.

Day 7: Beginning the Long Last Day, Girne American University

Friday, March 9, 2007
2:30 a.m. EST
Our last morning of the trip is met with both happiness and sadness at the same time. It’s not your typical mixed emotions, but while all of us are happy for another day of island living and mingling with locals, we’re also happy that we get to go home very soon but sad the trip is coming to a fast and untimely end. We left our hotel and headed to our third and final university of the trip, Girne American University. They are located in the same city we were staying in right on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. When we arrived, some of us went out and met more students, and even found some of the students we had met in the city earlier, while our leader and some other students met with some of the head administrators to talk about our two schools, in hopes of one day forming a partnership between us and being able to exchange students between campuses for the summer or regular school year semesters. They were very hospitable giving us free information on their school and even a free lunch in their cafeteria, which was surprisingly very good to see a cafeteria that actually serves food. The school has about 5,000 students with the hopes of educating 10,000 students by the year 2010. It went very well on that campus, exchanging information with high interest of joining together one day. It is the same school two of my friends attend, but we called them when we were there and they didn’t have classes today. We left the university with high anticipation with the thoughts of what might become of our two schools future together, and the future of so many friends we met on that campus. The e-mail conversations when we get home are going to be great!

Day 6: Busting Stereotypes, Departing Our Home away from Home

Day 6 Thursday 03-08-07
2:30 a.m. EST
Its another 9:30 a.m. morning for us here in Cyprus. This morning we're going to see some more sights up in the mountains. Our first stop was St. Hilarion Castle high on the peaks overlooking the city of Girne. We were told not to take pictures until we got up there, because we passed a military base halfway up and if the soldiers saw us with our cameras, they would aim their weapons at us and possibly fire and ask questions later. The photographer/journalist inside me wanted to risk it for the sake of a good story with a picture, but my conscience put extreme weight in my arm and I was unable to get out my camera. We arrived at the castle and were able to have an English-speaking guide give us a complete tour. The tour had amazing views and information, including that some people say Walt Disney was inspired by the castle and used it in Snow White. Many of us in the group were determined to climb the 300 and some stone stairs all the way up to the highest watch tower and to the highest peak, which rests high over the island at 732 meters, or about 2,200 feet. We made it with aching bodies and sore legs, and with our monthly workout checked off our list … for the next 3 months. Once we left the castle, our next stop was at another ancient ruin that used to be somewhat of a base for Crusaders in the 12th century. We only saw it from the outside and left to go towards the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia, and to Near East University. We ate lunch in their cafeteria, mixing in groups with some of the students as we have tried to do all week here. Three girls in our group and I met one man from Jordan who is studying Civil Engineering and he was incredibly nice the entire time. We spoke about our homes and school as well as family. He is one of 12 siblings, with 3 brothers and 8 sisters! I thought being one of five myself is big. He also brought up 9-11 and wanted us to sincerely know that his country wept with us on that day, and I could hear his heart almost beating for us on that issue there at that table. We were able to speak of the different stereotypes about Americans and Middle Easterners and how what we see on the news of both cultures doesn't speak for the entire region of how each of us act. It was a very wonderful talk with my new friend, and I look forward to speaking with all of my new friends soon from home.
 
6:00 a.m. EST
After the university we spent our afternoon in downtown Nicosia and were able to see the UN-controlled border, as well as play with some kids on the playground. It was a very surreal moment to see this country so divided, and yet so open and friendly. We're all very saddened that tomorrow will be our final day on this island. It has most definitely become a home away from home, if only for a little time. I will be posting more information and photos when I get back to the USA.

Day 5: Eastern Mediterranean University, Beach Time

Day 5 Wednesday 03-07-07
2:30 a.m.
These long days are beginning to take their toll on us as we get up early in the morning for another day on the island of Cyprus. But we can't complain, and haven't yet, because we all feel so fortunate and extremely thankful to be here and learn and exchange so many things about our cultures. Today we went to the city of Famagusta and visited Eastern Mediterranean University, the largest university on the island with about 20,000 students. We split up into groups around the campus to mingle with other students. There are many students from all over the world studying here. Some from Nigeria, Turkey, Sweden, China and America and probably many other cultures on this campus. Almost everyone we met was surprised that we chose to come to Cyprus, and even more so for the purpose of just meeting people. One of the girls from our group and I met three girls who were from Turkey. They barely spoke English, and it took us probably 10 minutes for us to grasp that their vacation to go home is in April. But despite the calendar hurdle, we were able to share some laughs about us, our families and our studies. We were able to exchange e-mails with the three girls and some photos before going to lunch for some pizza and chicken across campus.
 
6:15 a.m.
Our next stop was the ruins of Salamis where Paul and Barnabas landed on the first missionary journey from the book of Acts chapters 12 and 13. The ruins were beautiful with the high columns in the courtyard and the original tiling on the floors at our feet. We gathered in the ancient theater coliseum and had time together as a group. Before we boarded back on the bus, we were able to walk along the sandy beaches, jump in the Mediterranean, play frisbee on the shore and view the amazing horizon across the clear blue sea, glistening and shining from the hot sun above. We loaded back on the bus towards our hotel with a short stop at St. Barnabas Church where the tomb of Barnabas is. The sun was setting smoothly and bright behind the bell tower of the church, emitting pastel colors across the Western Cyprus sky. Tomorrow will be spent in Nicosia, which is the capital of Cyprus that is now split to separate Greeks to the south and Turks to the north with a UN-controlled wall to guard the two sides, which stretches the entire island. Sure to be a long day that will be met with more amazement and thankfulness without a hint of a tired and drowsy complaint.

Day 4: Castle-Rock Climbing, Hanging with the Locals

Day 4 Tuesday 03-06-07
3:30 a.m. EST
How beautiful is Cyprus now that we see it for the first time in daylight! Absolutely stunning! Istanbul was beautiful in the sense of the magnificent manmade structures, while North Cyprus combines that with the glorious natural creations around us. Our plan for the entire day was to stay around the city of Girne, where we're staying, and to get to know some people and the area. We left Anadol Hotel and headed down a few short blocks to the coast. The Mediterranean Sea is as clear blue as I could've imagined. As we strolled the encompassing boardwalk, the sea water would occasionally smash again the rock wall and the salty cool mist of the ocean would sprinkle on our sun-burnt faces. We decided to walk to the castle nearby and as we went, the girls in our group were able to interact with three local girls of the group's average age. A strong girlish bond was formed and they decided to accompany us to Kyrenia Castle. The castle was built in the 12th century and sits right on the coast. We can vaguely see Turkey on the horizon, and are just a 30-minute boat ride from Israel and Lebanon and an hour flight from Baghdad. We were able to stroll around the castle to view the area from the tower, go down to the castle dungeon or just sit on a high wall and breathe in a peaceful moment of our surrounding 4-day home. Some of us boys decided to embark on rock climbing excursions all over the castle instead of using the traditional staircase. As we left Kyrenia Castle, we said goodbye to the girls, with plans to meet them later, and ate lunch on the patio along the water of the harbor. All day after lunch was spent chatting with locals at internet cafes and on the streets, forming relationships and making plans for later that evening.
 
12:00 p.m. EST
Dinner time now for us here as the sun sets on Cyprus, but rests high in the sky back home. The chilly air of the spring begins to stream itself along the streets of Girne. Dinner tonight wasn't going to be as a team, but broken up in separate groups and with those locals we had met earlier. Most of the girls and our trip leader met with those three girls from earlier. A few ate dinner in a sandwich shop with two Palestinians. A few more guys ate in the same shop with other locals, while my group of four hung out with a guy we met at the internet cafe and his four friends. We also ate at the sandwich shop. The conversation began with small talk about why we're here, what we study in school, our plans for after graduation, etc. To my surprise there wasn't a serious language barrier problem. We all seemed to steadily understand one another. They were all students at a university. One guy kept me and one of the girls on the team occupied by teaching us how to strike a match on just the tabletop and also taught us various Turkish words and phrases, while the main guy from the internet cafe continued chatting with the other two team members. We decided to stroll outside because of the noise and also had to say goodbye to our friend who taught us Turkish. We made our way to a cafe right next to where we had lunch and drank hot chocolate and cappuccino under the clear night sky. While we were learning as much as we could about the religious customs of their beliefs, we also continued to make more progressive small talk. One guy mentioned how he wanted to visit America and asked us to pack him in our suitcase. I was able to relate with the local girl in the group because she is learning graphics design and her dad is a journalist in Turkey, a profession I'm hoping to enter after I graduate. She and her luggage-pleading boyfriend invited us to their college campus tomorrow to attend their lectures and help with her designs on the computer, or she said I could teach. I told them we were planning on visiting different campuses, but was unsure if it was one of theirs or not. We parted ways with the other two members of our team and the internet cafe local, and were accompanied back to the hotel by the welcoming students. I was able to exchange e-mails with my two new friends, and I told them I hope to see them again soon. The humbling thing I'm reminded of is how different people can be and yet just about exactly the same. Here we are students from the U.S. halfway around the world forming relationships with local students on levels so familiar to our own way of living. Not a lot of money, boring classes, away from families. Cheap college students seems to be a universal language. We're teaching and learning a lot about the lives of our new friends and locals on this cultural exchange trip. I thought we were supposed to be out of school on Spring Break? … only kidding. What an amazing day!

Day 3: Ferry Boats and a Divided Country

Day 3 Monday 03-05-07
1:30 a.m. EST
 
Our morning begins as another cold and cloudy one. We depart from the hotel around 8:30 a.m. and head down towards the water on foot to catch a ferry to tour the city from the bouncing ripples of the Bosphorus. We sailed past yesterday's mosques we visited, along the castle-like walls of ancient city ruins and coming into port on the Asian side of Istanbul. We walked around the streets, with minor stops at shops and for Turkish coffee. There is even a Starbucks here for those who wanted a taste of the familiar. We watched as businessmen operated their bakeries, shoe stores, fish markets and side shops. We headed back to the ferry and rode those same ripples back to where we came from. When we got back to the hotel, we had to have everything packed to check out. We left our luggage in the hotel lobby and headed out on another crazy taxi experience towards the Grand Bazaar, a huge shopping market area in Istanbul with jewelry shops, antique carpets, pottery, clothes, candy, etc. Many people in our group spent their money here on loved ones. Each store owner would bargain with us like a form of an auctioneer, ushering in the hope of a sale. As we left the Grand Bazaar, we had to go back to the hotel to get our luggage and head towards the airport for our flight to North Cyprus, or to be technical, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Our flight left from Istanbul at 1:40 p.m. EST and got here to Nicosia at 10:15 p.m. our time here. The cool Spring winds hit us in our face as they came down off the hills of Cyprus once we got off our plane. The spring break weather we had hoped for was finally at bay. It was night, so our surroundings were unable to be seen, but we headed up the mountain towards Girne on the coast where we will be staying. The drivers on this island do so on the opposite sides of the road, much like the British, who themselves have had a strong historical influence here. The island itself is divided along right through the center of the capital, Nicosia, and the Northern side is populated by the Turks while the South holds the Greeks. Greece was wanting to add Cyprus as part of the Greek Islands back in the 70's, so the Turks decided to invade with thousands of troops, forcing the country to be divided in two. Tomorrow we will get our first look at the world around us in daylight. For now, we watch the night sky in amazement as we can vividly see every possible star in the heavens above.

Day 2: Turkish Driving School and Sea Bass

Day 2 Sunday 03-04-07
2:30 a.m. EST
It's 9:30 a.m. here, and after a morning breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Troya, we depart in our buses towards the other side of the city of Istanbul. The weather is rainy and chilly, the polar opposite of the spring break weather we were hoping for. Most of us didn't adequately prepare with a jacket or umbrella, so huddling together to use body heat seemed to be our saving grace. Our first stop was the Hagia Sophia museum, one of many mosques in the city. The interior was breathtaking with high, round ceilings and amazing tiling and stained-glass windows. On one end of the mosque was a mihrab, to serve as a reminder of the direction of Mecca. As we were upstairs, a group of school children and their teacher stopped to speak with us. They were all Turkish and seemed completely ecstatic to be meeting and speaking with Americans. Some of them were anxious to share with us their aspirations of becoming an engineer, a teacher and a doctor. After posing for a few photos and even exchanging e-mails, we proceeded to our next stop.

We went just right across the street to the Sultanahmet Camii mosque, or The Blue Mosque as it is referred to in Western culture. We each had to enter with our shoes off when we walked into the huge room of the mosque. We weren't in there for too long before discovering we'd get the honor of witnessing the call to prayer, one out of five times a day. The girls in our group had to wear head coverings while we watched, since it was the custom. When it was over, we chatted with a few gentlemen and exchanged e-mails before splitting up into five taxis back to the hotel. On a side note, the only traffic laws that Turkish drivers obey are stop lights. In our transportation travels around this city the few days we've been here, we've had a brush with death 412 times. Of course I'm not actually serious, but I do think the Turkish government could save money … and paint … by not putting dotted lines on the roads. I don't think the dotted line lesson was taught in Turkish Driving School.



1:15 p.m.
After an afternoon of napping, shopping, watching American Idol in Turkish subtitles and getting Burger King and ice cream, we head for dinner around 8:15 p.m. to a seafood restaurant. Some of us took the safer route and had chicken kebobs and fries, while the majority ate grilled sea bass. The sea bass was still complete with fins, scales, bones and the head, of which we had fun playing with and making fish faces. You're never too old to make a fish face. Dinner was delicious, and we walked back to the hotel for group time of sharing about our day … and more sleep.

Day 1: Taking Flight

Day 1 Saturday 03/02/07
12:05 a.m. EST
Our journey as 19 world travelers began as we departed from Atlanta roughly three hours ago. We began our travels on a pair of steel wings, soaring thousands of feet above our familiar world below and headed to unfamiliar territory to form relationships with people we don’t know and to see things we never thought we’d see.

On our primary flight from Atlanta to Paris, France, some of us watched movies, played games, read books or magazines and slept as much or as little as possible. By the time we started flapping out across the Atlantic, half of the group was asleep in an openmouthed head bob position. Sleeping and dreaming steadily through the turbulence of family and friends back home, of the rest of the semester that lies ahead of us upon our return, or, quite probably, of the events to come and the people we’re going to meet in Istanbul and Northern Cyprus. Our spirits are high with anticipation of the unknown as we all fall asleep 30,000 feet high in the direction we’ve all been led.

5:15 a.m. EST
After 8 hours aboard our Air France flight, we arrived in Paris, France at 11:15 a.m. Paris time, with just less than 45 minutes to catch our connecting flight to Istanbul, Turkey. We quickly transformed from a cultural exchange team to a University track team, sprinting from point to point to get to our departing terminal, on the other side of the Charles de Gaulle airport. The airport was under construction, which didn’t help the odds in our favor of getting to our gate. A few members of our team ran ahead of us to let the airline know we were indeed coming, as fast and as safely as we’re allowed. Luckily we made it through a security checkpoint and on to our flight with literally a few minutes to spare. We take off up into the turbulent blue skies, flying right over the city of Paris where we can clearly see the Eiffel Tower below us along the flowing waters of the Seine River. We’re 2 hours and 45 minutes from our 2-day destination. Our team leader will be waiting for us at the gate in Istanbul, Turkey. From there, our path is uncertain, but we remain anxious…and sleepy.

9:45 a.m. EST
Touchdown in Istanbul, Turkey. As we descended into the skies of Istanbul, and over such landmarks as the Bosphorus Bridge, a lot of us were taken back by how huge the city is. Not only that, but mosque after mosque were sitting alongside each other in rows around the city. They were a symbol that we had reached our destination. After receiving an Istanbul stamp in our passports, we made our way to baggage claim, where no one was missing anything. We then loaded up in two buses in the direction of our hotel, Hotel Troya. The sun was beginning to set on the city, with the moon rising out beyond a mosque. As we curved our way along the streets of Istanbul we took note of our surroundings of people passing by on foot and in a car and also advertising of shows, restaurants and businesses. We were definitely not in Tigerville and for some of the group members on this trip; it was the first time ever being overseas. Istanbul is beautiful. There is a quietness of a gentle soul in the eyes of the residents. Our bus driver, who spoke no English, would wave at everyone he knew next to us or just simply at the sound of a honk. We arrived at the hotel, met up with our team leader at last and the trip definitely sprung into motion. We all went out for a bite to eat at a genuine Turkish restaurant, and ordered many things from the menu for everyone to share plates and sample the country’s food. Our first course was a cheese ravoli (not ravioli), which tasted similar to tortellini or a mixture of hamburger helper and macaroni and cheese. We then got Turkish pancakes with spinach and ricotta cheese, followed by a colorful array of salads, delicious meat platters and a small glass of hot tea. Our first meal together as a team wound down and we made our way back to the hotel before crashing in the bed. Tomorrow will be a full day of sights in the city of Istanbul. Students exchanging culture, literally on the other side of the world.

Our NGU cultural exchange team prepares to leave

Eighteen North Greenville University students and one professor will be traveling to Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus over spring break as part of the North Greenville’s Intercultural Studies program.

The team left Friday March 2, and will return Saturday, March 10. The team is traveling with the purpose of developing a cultural exchange program with Turkish university students. We will visit Istanbul, Turkey, for a few days, learning about Turkish customs and culture, before traveling to Northern Cyprus to visit university campuses there. While in Cyprus, the North Greenville students will interact with Turkish university students, developing relationships and friendships in hopes of opening the door for future partnerships and cultural exchange programs between North Greenville University and universities in Northern Cyprus.

During the trip, I will be updating an online blog, as often as I can, informing everyone about all of our experiences. We would greatly appreciate your interest and support as we travel.