Where are you from?

Hello my faithful readers:

I'm back in Istanbul again and I have to say that Turkey has been a blast. It's a lot different than Greece, but overall the people I've met (in Turkey) have been just as nice (as the Greeks). Since I've been on vacation the first question that I always get asked is "Where are you from?"

It became a running joke for Oksana and myself because it almost invariably is the first question out people's mouths when they saw us. I'm exotic looking (read: I'm black) when compared to the other folks you saw walking around in Greece & Turkey. When they realize that Oksana and I were traveling together they express surprise and immediately try to figure out why an American is traveling with a Russian!

I especially love it when the pushy vendors trying to get us into their restaurants, rugs or souvenir stands try to start up conversations by speaking to me in French or Portuguese to get a reaction. I have observed that here in Turkey they are likely to start with French instead of English when addressing me. I'm sure they think that I'm either French or African (from a french-speaking country) although one guy in Greece started speaking to me in Portuguese at first.

I've even started to ask this question too because let's be honest, it's the easiest ice-breaker there is when you're meeting someone new. I've met some of the nicest people from around the world on this trip including: Australia, Canada, Greece, Germany, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, Turkey and yes even the US. Hopefully we'll keep in touch - I exchanged information with a lot of the people I've met.

I'm here in Istanbul solo for the next two days. This morning my travel buddy Oksana headed back to Belgium to attend our graduation ceremony. I won't be attending the ceremony because the scheduling didn't work out for me, but as of Monday I'll officially have my MBA. :) It's also the day I head back to NYC for an overnight layover until my morning flight home to Georgia.

This trip has been magical for me - I really have loved every single moment both here in Turkey and Greece! When I get back to the US, I will have to hit the ground looking for work. But for now, for the next two days, I'll focus on savoring the last few moments of my vacation! Enjoy the pics of some of the people I've met while along the way!

It's time to lose some weight...

Hello my faithful readers:

This morning I'm sitting here on the patio of my bungalow and realizing that my life is pretty freaking amazing. I wake up pinching myself everyday that I've the opportunity to travel and see the world when so many are suffering right now. I'm currently in Paros and I think this will be a laid-back place for us after the frenetic sightseeing in Athens and the festive party atmosphere of Mykonos.

So far Greece has treated me well - all of our accommodations have been solid. Our room in Athens wasn't as spectacular as I'd hoped, but if that's the worst thing we'll experience then it was still fine –I loved the hospitality I was given there.

I'm also starting to feel much better now that I'm kicking the cold or bug I started getting in Athens. Yesterday I got a little over heated (too much time in the sun) and I started to break out in hives again, but today I'm clinging to the shade, avoiding direct sunlight and covering up my skin so that I don't melt like the vampires in "True Blood."

I’m also learning a lot about not getting so attached to my material things on this trip – at every location I’m leaving something behind simply because I have way too much luggage for all of the moving around we’re doing. We have been lucky with our transfers from the ferries in Mykonos and Paros, because our hotels picked us up and dropped us off for free. If I had to carry all of my luggage on public transportation - it would be absolutely horrendous.

The motivation behind the shedding of my seemingly unnecessary belongings is my superstitious hope is that if I leave something behind, eventually I’ll return. I’m mostly happy that all of the things I’ve left behind have been on purpose (I’m known to leave very important things unintentionally).

Now the only thing I have to do now is make sure I don’t weigh a million pounds by the time I leave Greece. So far the food has been good and I’m making my way through all the Greek desserts as well. I'll have fun trying them all though. It's worth every pound I'll gain. :)

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach

On the road again...

Hello my faithful readers:

The past few weeks where a whirlwind of activity for me. I barely had time to think, much less update in any detail what was going on for me. My twitter feed gets a lot more updates on my life because it's only 140 characters and I don't have to spend a half hour thinking about what I want to say there. Now I before I head out for another day of adventures I figured it would be good time to share some of my current thoughts.

I've finally completed all of the requirements for my MBA program at Vlerick. This year has been one of the best years of my life and as I spent the past few days in Leuven saying goodbye to all of my new found friends from the program - it was a bittersweet moment for me. I was happy that the hard work was over, but I realized that as a result of the work ending I won't be seeing and talking my friends everyday like I did when we were in class.

I've mentioned it before, but most of my learning this past year has been through random conversations with my new friends from the program. We've shared our thoughts on topics as diverse as business (we were MBA students), politics, healthcare, travel, love and life. I'll miss these moments full of laughter, great stories and fellowship most of all.

Now that I've packed up my little life in Leuven, I'm on a whirlwind adventure through Greece. Yesterday was my first full day here and I have to thank one of my classmates Orestis for all of the great advice he's given me for my trip. The hospitality of the Greek people has been amazing. From the moment I arrived at my little hotel everyone has been more than helpful. I've NEVER had so many people on a trip offer their phone number for me to just give a call if I needed help with anything or even just wanted to meet up for a trip. I LOVE IT HERE!

Yesterday on the walk up to Acropolis I also met a few Americans who were living in Europe. One young lady is studying here in Greece until December (she's from Utah). I also met a cool young woman who used to live around the corner from me in Bedstuy and is currently living in Paris. I'll try to post a few more blogs during my 20 day odyssey as I head to Mykonos, Paros and Santorini (in Greece) and Istanbul and Cappodocia (in Turkey).

Now I'll try to figure out how I'm going to survive moving all of the luggage I brought with me. I have the feeling that a few pieces of clothing will be sacrificed for the sake of lightening my load by the end of this trip. I'll be moving around a lot with my classmate Oksana, who is joining me later tonight!

Mwuah,

Georgia Peach