And after we jump from the cliff, we hit the water.

I am here. O. M. G.

Flight from Nashville to New York was a dream; in the future, I shall remember to always fly Delta if possible! :) Transferring from LaGuardia to JFK, however, was an entirely different matter. Utter nightmare; I got directing to 3 wrong terminals in search of Turkish Airlines. My travel tip for the day is that if you are changing flights at JFK, ALWAYS research the location of your airline ahead of time. Otherwise, it'll be a nightmare.

Flight to Turkey was long but relatively pleasant. I was fed delicious food and was able to watch TV/listen to music all the way there. Arriving at the airport, I had a tough time trying to figure out how to purchase and use a phone card, but I got it in the end. Taxi to the apartment, go to cafe, go take a nap, and now back in cafe with one of my two lovely new roommates waiting for pizza. :)

I've noticed something interesting on this trip so far: mankind is actually quite wonderful. I've made friends everywhere who are overjoyed to help me out however they can. I met people from the flight to New York who will hook me up with people in Prague and Italy so that I can travel. The man who drove me to JFK form LaGuardia came early to make sure I made my connecting flight. At JFK, I met a nice gentleman who helped me carry my bags and take a train to the right terminal. Upon arriving at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, a nice young man helped me carry my bags outside and even got my taxi for me. My taxi driver waited for my contact to come before leaving. He waited 20 minutes and didn't charge me for it. My contact showed me around and bought me a delicious snack. My neighbors upstairs helped me and Hajera (roomie!) figure out the lock on our door and even oiled it for us. At this cafe, they got an English-speaker to explain the menu to us.

So what does this all point to? Contrary to the popular belief of many, people are wonderful! I have been helped every step of the way, and I am so grateful. I am so blessed. I can already tell that this is going to be an amazing experience. The city is beautiful and unique; it vibrates with energy. There is so much to see and enjoy. I've already seen so much, but I'll wait until later to type it all out. Gotta go eat me some pizza now! :D Margherita pizza, of course. The most delicious of pizzas.

I do miss my family, though...and James. James...I didn't realize that I could or would miss him so much. My heart aches. I wish that he were here to enjoy this with me. :/

Lovelove,

-Kate