Today was a class day so there was not much going on. During pre-port we got a lot of information about Istanbul. Istanbul is going to mark a transition in our voyage away from the stereotypical European ports. Istanbul itself is actually built both in Europe and Asia so it is the only city in the world to be on 2 continents. It was originally called Byzantium, then Constantinople, and now Istanbul. Dean Zoll gave us a long talk about safety in Turkey, talking about covering ourselves since this is the first predominately Muslim country of many on our trip. We are advised to wear long sleeves, pants, and to cover our heads. Shoulders and knees should always be covered but in the mosques, clothing should go to the wrists and ankles for woman as well as a head covering. We were lectured avout public intoxication and the prevalence of date rape drugs. All in all, preport left us all pretty nervous about exploring Turkey. However, I’ve spoken to people who have visited frequently and who have lived there and only heard positive things. I’m excited to watch the sun rise over the Istanbul skyline tomorrow.
+ + +
Dia got flustered again tonight…here is why. (Please excuse the expletives, they were just too vital to leave out)
“Some students have gotten drugged, woken up naked in an alley, scared as shit.”- Nurse Stephanie
“And we all know how scary shit is.” – Dean Michael Smith
It took 10 minutes to get everyone to stop laughing, Dia was so flustered she couldn’t go on with her presentation then Dean Smith got out his handkerchief and she started laughing again because, really, who has a handkerchief?
- - -
I had a test today and it was hard.
No comments:
Post a Comment