My Turkey Bucket List Revisited

          Before I came to Turkey, I created a bucket list of all the things I'd like to do while I was in Turkey. My year was made up of much more than these items, but these things created some very wonderful memories from this year. So here is my bucket list revisited. 

1. Become fluent in Turkish. - I wouldn't say I am fluent but I am more than conversational. I am also so proud of how far I have come in this language so I count this one as a success. 

2. Become a part of my community in Turkey. - Between volunteering at the old folks home, the preschool, going to school, and just living life, I have definetely created a spot for myself in this community. 

3. Make close friends. - I will truly miss my friends from here so much because they have become such an important part of my life. They were the ones who helped me all through this year and I count them as some of closest friends. 

4. Visit Pamukkale. - I went last weekend. A very cool experience. 

5. Go to a Turkish bath. - I've never felt so clean as I did after I went. 

6. Visit Cappadocia. - A truly amazing experience and truly incredible views. 

7. Visit Istanbul (especially the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque). - Visited the city twice and got to go to both of those places. 

8. Become close friends with the other YES Abroad and AFS students. - The other YES Abroad students are basically family now. 

9. Learn to love Turkish coffee. - I love it so much. 

10. Get homesick. - Many times. 

11. Get over it. - Just as many times. 

12. Visit a mosque. - Several times. 

13. Get used to hearing the call to prayer every day. - I actually can no longer remember what not hearing the call to prayer everyday is like. 

14. Visit the other YES Abroad students in their host cities. - I visited the others in Samsun. 

15. Cook my host family American food. - I didn't cook for my host family but I did cook American Thanksgiving and Christmas cookies so I will count this one. 

16. Try some crazy Turkish foods. - Brain, liver, stomach, intestine. I didn't like them, but I tried them. 

17. Visit the beach. - On several occasions. 

18. Visit the roman ruins at Ephesus. - Another truly amazing experience. 

19. Join some sort of extra-curricular. - Sadly, there's not much in the way of extra-curriculars here so this didn't happen. 

20. Volunteer. - As much as I could. 

21. Take lots of photos/videos. - Ive taken more than 2000 photos to date. 

22. Keep up this blog. - I think I posted pretty regularly. 

23. Send letters to family/friends and other YES Abroad students. - I always meant to do this but I just never got around to it. 

24. Drink lots of Turkish tea. - Considering I can't think of a single day these past 10 months when I didn't drink a few cups of tea, I'm going to say yes for this one. 

25. Buy some traditional Turkish clothes. - I've bought many Turkish scarves and a dress that brides to be wear for their henna nights. 

It's been a crazy 10 months and as they come to an end, it's crazy to look back on all the things I did. I did 23 out of the 25 things I had on this list and I did so many other things I had never even thought of before I came here. Thanks for reading!