Turkey Baby

Lauren Ashley here: Well, India was an amazing first stop, I am not sure we could have asked for a better start to our trip. We all were able to jump right in and make connection with many people here both in Greater Noida and Jaipur. Each of us had our own unique experiences in this great land. Loren marveled at the lack of stability in the infrastructure while, Melanie was enamored by the colourful clothing and vibrant music and I was taken by the people and their unique way of life. India is nothing like I have ever experienced before, I absolutely love it here. Never in a million years did I think I would love India so much; its crowded, loud, smoggy and nothing like what I typically am drawn to yet I am. India seems to be harder to leave then New Zealand and even home almost. I don’t know how to describe the feelings I have towards this land and its people. I hope to have the chance to come back and spend an extended amount of time here.
Turkey has been quite the experience thus far. We have seemed to be going non-stop since we arrived just over a week ago. We go back and forth from Asia to Europe on a near daily basis, which is just odd to think about. Our team has gone to the Blue Mosque, the Aya Sofya (a church, turned mosque, turned museum), the Archeological Museum and countless other places. We have been able to meet up and work with roughly half a dozen long time workers which has been a new learning experience every time. My favorite thing we have done so far was work with a bakery and a catering event they were doing. We helped make the food and better yet eat the food. Sadly, when we went out to lunch I had an allergic reaction to something and was unable to help serve due to my Benadryl induced sleep. Everyone else seemed to have a good time though.
I am hoping that this next week we will be able to increase our effectiveness, not be moving constantly and stay healthy since this week I was knocked out twice; first with my vertigo returning with a vengeance and then my freak allergic reaction.