Lunch and So Much More

Today we stopped for lunch in the town of Didim, site of the ancient ruins of Didyma. The meal was a wonderful buffet of fried sea bass, chicken stew, rice, fresh salads, and cooked vegetables.

Ruins of Didyma

After we'd eaten our fill, the owner's wife went from table to table to collect the 10 Turkish Lira (about $6.75) from each one in the group. She was clearly agitated as she did so, and when she finished she declared—rather angrily—that 9 people had not paid.

So, after much discussion (with our guide translating) I paid the final amount she claimed she was short: 60 lira. I hated losing 60 lira, especially since I knew all of us had paid, but such things happen in every country. But I hated even more that the students had come away from this delicious meal with negative feelings. The sun was shining on the ancient ruins across the street, the restaurant windows were open, two friendly cats roamed the dining room, and the sea bass was perfect!  But all this magic was gone in a flash with her harsh accusations.

About 10 minutes after leaving the restaurant, a student held out a hat, and inside the hat was 57 lira that the group had collected. They had actually “passed the hat" for me.  They really are quite marvelous, these Austin College students. And I really am happy I get to travel with them.

On the Road Again

Well, it seems like only seven weeks ago that I last blogged. Oh yeah, it was. My, how time flies once Halloween arrives. Before you know it you are putting away the Christmas ornaments and saying how dreary the house looks without all the hoopla. And it does.

Our holidays were fantastic--and fast.  And now Hunt and I sit at Washington Dulles Airport waiting for out flight to MUNICH!  I love Munich. Schnitzel, yodeling, men wearing leather shorts. What's not to like? The bad news is that we're only in Munich for a layover. The good news is that from Munich we head to TURKEY! Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus! 

The blog begins...again

This trip, which is three weeks long, will be a little different from our last one. This time we are traveling with 28 of Austin College's finest. There are 12 men and 16 women, mostly seniors and juniors. Our son, Harris, is among the mix. The students are taking the trip for course credit, so there won't be an option to sleep in one day and see the museum the next. We have a schedule to keep and little room for spontaneity. I guess that is the biggest difference. Well, that and counting 28 heads again and again.

Getting to Turkey is never easy for us, and this time is no different. We have 3 flights and hope to land sometime tomorrow in the capital city of Ankara. During the first flight the students were so happy and upbeat. They had a lively discussion about plane crashes and chances of survival. And that brings up the...

QUOTE OF THE DAY

If your father dies in a plane crash, and the people sitting in the exit aisle get out safely, you can sue the people who were seated in the aisle.

I found this discussion inspiring, and I have vowed never again to sit by an exit.  It also made me happy to be here—and not smoldering in some rubble with my family getting ready to sue.

This past June Hunt and I took a rather unsettling flight from NYC to Istanbul. After an hour the pilot announced that we had to return to New York because our two altimeters didn't agree (a bad thing) but first we'd have to dump our fuel into the Atlantic (a bad thing) so the plane wouldn't burst into flames (a really bad thing) when we landed. The pilot didn't actually say we might explode, but we did dump the fuel, and this added another hour to our flight back. The landing at JFK was pretty hard but extremely exciting since the runway was lined with emergency vehicles. I have only seen such a thing in action movies. Of course we were in the wrong city (a bad thing) but we were extremely happy to be alive (a very good thing!)

And I am happy to be alive today and eager to help introduce this group of students to a country I love so dearly. Turkey. Just typing the word makes me smile.