From Tbilisi to Ankara
After the Georgia trip I returned to Ankara and spent a few days with Pelin and her brother, Emre. It was the end of Ramazan so there was a 3-4 day Bayram holiday and most of the city was at a stand-still. Noel and I spent most of our time together hanging out with Pelin's friends and resting-up after our long journey.
Our last night in Ankara, I prepared dinner for Noel, Pelin, and 3 of Pelin's friends. I attempted to make lasagna, which ended up tasting nothing at all like the lasagna I've made before in the states. Probably because I couldn't find the right cheese or spices and also didn't have the right kind of pan to cook it in. Let' s just say that it tasted more Turkish than Italian, but still, it was tasty in it's own way and at least the guests ate it. Then we surprised Noel with an early birthday cake and celebration to follow which included nargile (hookah/sheesha/water-pipe) and dancing.
Istanbul, once again.
After Ankara I headed back to Istanbul where I stayed with my friend Didar's friend Ulku and her sister. Her sister had two adorable albeit very mischievous boys, Efe and Ege, pictured below wearing my sunglasses. Unfortunately, the house was in Balkıkoy which is extremely far from the city center. It was quite a challenge getting to and from the city! It's also a bit of a surbibian hell and frankly, not my style. When I did manage to get into Istanbul proper, I spent most of my time with my friend Sibel which included drinking beer on Istiklal Street, attending a Jazz Festival, and touring around Taksim Square.
Mersin
After a few days, I headed south to the Mediterranean Sea to meet up with Didar who was there visiting her family. It was wonderful to meet her family whom I'd heard so much about. Her family's apartment is right across from the sea and since it's on the 5th floor, the view is absolutely spectacular! You can see the Mediterannean for miles and miles as well as the very nice boardwalk full of cafes, fishermen, street vendors and locals .
It was really nice to see Didar. After being apart from my close friends for a week or so. She was super stressed out, since she was a week away from her wedding party and was in the midst of preparations.
We spent our time in Mersin mostly with her family. Our first night we went to "I See" Bar to see her brother Baraş sing and play guitar. It was entertaining and a good chance to get to know her sister, Muziyen, and her niece, Didem. The next day, I accompanied Didar to downtown Mersin as she did wedding errands. We ate tantuni for lunch which is one of the famous local Mersin eats. It's like doner kebap or shawarma, (marinated meat wrapped in a pita) accompanied by solgum (a fermented beet-juice kinda like V8 but more sour). Then we went to eat delicious cezariye, a carrot desert which is kinda of like fruit-leather topped with nuts and coconut.
We headed to the beach that night with Muziyen and her ther daughter, Başak. It was my first swim in the Mediterranean since I was in Morocco 5 years ago; absolutely divine! We floated in the water, enjoying the almost-full moon and then ate fresh pistachios (locally grown) and drank Efes beer in the sand.
The next day we escaped the heat by heading to Didar's family's cabin outside of Mersin in the Toros mountains to the north of Mersin. Calling it a cabin is not really accurate I suppose, as the house is 3 stories and can sleep well over 20 people! It was surrounded by a beautiful garden with fruit trees, flowers, and herbs. A good 10 degrees cooler, Didar, her brother Ragip, her mother, her niece Ipek and I spent hours on the porch late into the night listening to music, eating the usual combo of nuts and Efes.
The next morning Didar and I went for a walk. First we visited her grandmother's grave, where we placed some beautiful roses from their garden. I listened to Didar reminisce about her childhood memories as we walked around the village visiting the old haunts of her childhood. After a delicious breakfast of fresh-baked bread with home-made jams, fresh cheese and herbs from the garden, we headed (sadly) back to Mersin.
While I was in Mersin, I desperately tried to contact a variety of outlets to volunteer on an organic farm. I had tried contacting the Ta-Tu-Ta organization through the WWOOF website, as well as a farm that Didar's brother had suggested to me that is run by a French woman outside of Isparta. Having not heard from either, Didar thought to ask her friend from high school, Ahmet, to come meet with me. He works at his family-owned business, EKOTAR, which certifies organic farms in Turkey. He was very knowledgable about organic farming in Turkey and I learned a lot from sitting with him only 30 min. I ended up having dinner at his family's home (right on the beach!) and spending the next 3 days with them, eating fish, swimming and discussing organic living in Turkey. Then is was back to Istanbul for Didar's wedding!
It was really nice to see Didar. After being apart from my close friends for a week or so. She was super stressed out, since she was a week away from her wedding party and was in the midst of preparations.
We spent our time in Mersin mostly with her family. Our first night we went to "I See" Bar to see her brother Baraş sing and play guitar. It was entertaining and a good chance to get to know her sister, Muziyen, and her niece, Didem. The next day, I accompanied Didar to downtown Mersin as she did wedding errands. We ate tantuni for lunch which is one of the famous local Mersin eats. It's like doner kebap or shawarma, (marinated meat wrapped in a pita) accompanied by solgum (a fermented beet-juice kinda like V8 but more sour). Then we went to eat delicious cezariye, a carrot desert which is kinda of like fruit-leather topped with nuts and coconut.
We headed to the beach that night with Muziyen and her ther daughter, Başak. It was my first swim in the Mediterranean since I was in Morocco 5 years ago; absolutely divine! We floated in the water, enjoying the almost-full moon and then ate fresh pistachios (locally grown) and drank Efes beer in the sand.
The next day we escaped the heat by heading to Didar's family's cabin outside of Mersin in the Toros mountains to the north of Mersin. Calling it a cabin is not really accurate I suppose, as the house is 3 stories and can sleep well over 20 people! It was surrounded by a beautiful garden with fruit trees, flowers, and herbs. A good 10 degrees cooler, Didar, her brother Ragip, her mother, her niece Ipek and I spent hours on the porch late into the night listening to music, eating the usual combo of nuts and Efes.
The next morning Didar and I went for a walk. First we visited her grandmother's grave, where we placed some beautiful roses from their garden. I listened to Didar reminisce about her childhood memories as we walked around the village visiting the old haunts of her childhood. After a delicious breakfast of fresh-baked bread with home-made jams, fresh cheese and herbs from the garden, we headed (sadly) back to Mersin.
While I was in Mersin, I desperately tried to contact a variety of outlets to volunteer on an organic farm. I had tried contacting the Ta-Tu-Ta organization through the WWOOF website, as well as a farm that Didar's brother had suggested to me that is run by a French woman outside of Isparta. Having not heard from either, Didar thought to ask her friend from high school, Ahmet, to come meet with me. He works at his family-owned business, EKOTAR, which certifies organic farms in Turkey. He was very knowledgable about organic farming in Turkey and I learned a lot from sitting with him only 30 min. I ended up having dinner at his family's home (right on the beach!) and spending the next 3 days with them, eating fish, swimming and discussing organic living in Turkey. Then is was back to Istanbul for Didar's wedding!
Didar & Serkan’s Wedding
The wedding was a total blast! It was held at Ipek Palace Hotel in the historic Golden Horne peninsula of Istanbul. Didar and Serkan dressed very chic, not too formal, but very classy. It was wonderful to see her husband, Serkan's family again, as they had hosted me my first few days in Turkey. And of course it was great to see Didar's family again too! We ate a delicious mezze (appetizers) spread to start and then danced, listened to the band, ate more, drank more, danced more, etc.
I spent the next couple of days in Istanbul researching different opportunities in Turkey both with organic farming and permaculture as well as graduate school opportunities. I discovered that there is an NGO called Permaculture Research Istitute of Turkey that is holding a week-long seminar in Istanbul (Nov. 21 - Dec. 4) on sustainable living. Boy was I excited - that is until I read the cost of the program: $1,500 USD. Albeit the cost is cheaper for Turks, it still urks me that the dissemination of knowledge on sustainable living is at such a high cost! This isn't the first time that I've found a really awesome permaculture training/conference/ workshop that I couldn't afford to attend. If there is going to be a real change in the world, after all, doesn't it need to come from the majority of the people? And the majority of the people cannot afford this kind of knowledge/ services/ products. This is something that really needs to be addressed by the "green community".
So, it was back to the farming ideas. I got a positive reply from the Yunus Emre Yogic Ecological Farm in Isparta, saying they'd be happy to have me. I also heard from Ahmet that EKOTAR might be able to connect me with a farm in Adana. He invited me to come back to Mersin to learn more about their organic business and perhaps also start volunteering.
I spent the next couple of days in Istanbul researching different opportunities in Turkey both with organic farming and permaculture as well as graduate school opportunities. I discovered that there is an NGO called Permaculture Research Istitute of Turkey that is holding a week-long seminar in Istanbul (Nov. 21 - Dec. 4) on sustainable living. Boy was I excited - that is until I read the cost of the program: $1,500 USD. Albeit the cost is cheaper for Turks, it still urks me that the dissemination of knowledge on sustainable living is at such a high cost! This isn't the first time that I've found a really awesome permaculture training/conference/ workshop that I couldn't afford to attend. If there is going to be a real change in the world, after all, doesn't it need to come from the majority of the people? And the majority of the people cannot afford this kind of knowledge/ services/ products. This is something that really needs to be addressed by the "green community".
So, it was back to the farming ideas. I got a positive reply from the Yunus Emre Yogic Ecological Farm in Isparta, saying they'd be happy to have me. I also heard from Ahmet that EKOTAR might be able to connect me with a farm in Adana. He invited me to come back to Mersin to learn more about their organic business and perhaps also start volunteering.
Mersin²
Back to Mersin I went, on September 30th, a 13 hour bus-ride, all my luggage in tow. Again, I was greeted by the warm, humid climate of the Mediterranean and the wonderful Eryılmaz (EKOTAR) family.
I spent some time at the house, EKOTAR, site-seeing in nearby Akkum which is littered with Roman ruins, caves and other interesting geological features, as well as a beautiful castle floating in the sea. My days passed by quickly, as I struggled to learn Turkish from the mother of the family, Remziye. She is a wonderfully patient and kind woman who I felt very connected to. She is one of a kind: she's an avid environmentalist and has an obsession with organic foods, composting, bicycle-riding, green-living, and so on. She is the president of the local organization for consumer's rights and keeps herself busy by writing, attending meetings with other activists, making art, baking her own delicious whole-wheat organic bread, etc.
The organic farming gig never worked out, however. The farm in Adana said that because it was the off-season there was no work to do. I had arranged to go to Yunus Emre for a couple of weeks (although it's more of a yoga retreat center at this point rather than a farm) but then got sick and couldn't travel. Although the initial plan fell through, I enjoyed my time in Mersin very much and met many of wonderful people. Not only the Eryilmaz family and Didar's family, but all their friends and associates as well. I got to volunteer in the office a bit, translating and helping with office work before the annual government inspection in mid-October. Although my Turkish improved a lot (going from zero to anywhere is an improvement, no?), it's still extremely limited. The only way I was able to do so much is because the two Eryılmaz sons, Ahmet and Mehmet, speak English very well. (Both of them studied in the U.K.). All in all, I kept myself plenty busy (without a farm).
As the expiration date of my Syrian visa drew nearer, I prepared to leave Turkey. My plan was to first head to Aleppo in Northern Syria to visit my friend and fellow water-enthusiast, Maite, who I know from the University of Arizona. Then, I wanted to head on to Damascus to visit some more UofA friends who are there studying Arabic.
I spent some time at the house, EKOTAR, site-seeing in nearby Akkum which is littered with Roman ruins, caves and other interesting geological features, as well as a beautiful castle floating in the sea. My days passed by quickly, as I struggled to learn Turkish from the mother of the family, Remziye. She is a wonderfully patient and kind woman who I felt very connected to. She is one of a kind: she's an avid environmentalist and has an obsession with organic foods, composting, bicycle-riding, green-living, and so on. She is the president of the local organization for consumer's rights and keeps herself busy by writing, attending meetings with other activists, making art, baking her own delicious whole-wheat organic bread, etc.
The organic farming gig never worked out, however. The farm in Adana said that because it was the off-season there was no work to do. I had arranged to go to Yunus Emre for a couple of weeks (although it's more of a yoga retreat center at this point rather than a farm) but then got sick and couldn't travel. Although the initial plan fell through, I enjoyed my time in Mersin very much and met many of wonderful people. Not only the Eryilmaz family and Didar's family, but all their friends and associates as well. I got to volunteer in the office a bit, translating and helping with office work before the annual government inspection in mid-October. Although my Turkish improved a lot (going from zero to anywhere is an improvement, no?), it's still extremely limited. The only way I was able to do so much is because the two Eryılmaz sons, Ahmet and Mehmet, speak English very well. (Both of them studied in the U.K.). All in all, I kept myself plenty busy (without a farm).
As the expiration date of my Syrian visa drew nearer, I prepared to leave Turkey. My plan was to first head to Aleppo in Northern Syria to visit my friend and fellow water-enthusiast, Maite, who I know from the University of Arizona. Then, I wanted to head on to Damascus to visit some more UofA friends who are there studying Arabic.
Salaam ‘Alaykum: return to the Arabic-speaking world:
After a heart-wrenching goodbye from the Eryılmaz family, I headed by bus to Aleppo (Halab) at 7:30am. The border crossing was a little rough; just a lot of hassle and going from one office to the other, needing photocopies, filling out forms, etc. I felt bad for the rest of the passengers on the bus who had to wait for 2-hours while I got the run around.
I arrived to Halab around 4pm, quickly changed some money and took a cab to meet Maite at the famous Baron Hotel downtown. It was wonderful to see her, as it had been probably 1.5 years since I last saw her!! We walked to her apartment, filling each other in on our lives and latest adventures. She lives in a spacious 3-bedroom apartment on the 5th floor above a busy shopping-street called Tilal. There is a large terrace where she's planted a variety of flowers, herbs, and even vegetables and has a composting area as well! We sat on the terrace enjoying a delicious spread of typical Arabic mezze: olives, za'atar, labne (cheese-yogurt), pomegranate, and tea. Then it was sunset and the muezzins' calls echoed all around us with a fervor I haven't experienced before, probably because there are over 1,000 mosques in Halab and Maite's apartment is very close to the old city where many of them are located. Shortly thereafter, we watched the full moon rise over the city in a bright orangey hue. A magical welcome to Syria, indeed!
Then we went off to the souk (market) to buy vegetables for dinner.We had to push our way from one seller to the next, as Maite visited the regular vendors that she liked to buy from. All of them met her with big smiles on their faces. It seems that she's made herself at home here in a very short time which is excellent.
The next day I walked around downtown Halab a bit, jumping head-first into practicing the Levantine Arabic dialect. For the most part, I didn't have trouble, except that I was using the wrong version of the verb "to change" when I was asking where to change my money. Eventually someone understood me and was kind enough to walk me to the right place. I returned to the souk, bought some bamiya (okra) to make for dinner, and went back to the apartment to cook and watch some Syrian television.
Although Syria is very different from Morocco, hearing and seeing Arabic, smelling the spices as I walked past the street shops, and hearing the tabla (drum) music playing on the radio all brought back memories of my time in the Maghreb. Also, it's great to be speaking Arabic again, especially after the trials and tribulations of learning Turkish for the previous two months!
I met Maite's Arabic tutor, Muhammed, who came for dinner that night. The next day he met me in the morning and took me to the University of Halab where I sat-in on an Arabic lecture for foreign students. At first, I had to use my brain to speak in Fusha (formal Arabic), but it was a lot of fun! The students were from all over the world: India, Ukraine, Spain, Korea, and Ethiopia. After class, I went for pizza with Muhammed and another Arabic teacher. The pizza was surprisingly better than what I'd tried in Turkey (which really wasn't very hard to beat) but of course still left much to be desired for an American's taste. They then took me around the Old City of Aleppo (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) which brought back lots of memories of the medina in Fes. I saw the oldest mosque in Syria as well as some old khans and of course lots and lots of shops. They bought me a rababa (traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument) as a welcome-gift because I was admiring them. I insisted that I didn't need it, but of course, I'd forgotten the strength of the Arab hospitality. I still don't know how I'm going to take the rababa with me, but that's a problem for another day. We walked around the outside of the massive citadel that sits on a hill in the middle of the Old City. It looked magnificent all lit-up at night. It's the first real "castle" that I've seen in my life, so I was quite impressed. Then we visited a mosque just outside the citadel where some of the Alawid dynasty's royalty are buried. The imam was a real character He gave me a tour of the mosque and tombs and then took my camera hostage and snapped a variety of photos for me. After making me photograph himself with my tour guides, I received a unsought lesson on Islam, in which he explained to me the need for men to be allowed to have 4 wives and how if everyone was Muslim there wouldn't be AIDS. I was a bit dumbfounded; I decided that it was in my best interest (and in the interest of time) to nod politely despite my desire to engage him in what I'm sure would have been a lengthy conversation.The three of us then headed to an internet cafe to try and call my sister on her 28th birthday. Alas, we didn't get ahold of her; we were prepared to sing, dance and play the rababa, too!
After a heart-wrenching goodbye from the Eryılmaz family, I headed by bus to Aleppo (Halab) at 7:30am. The border crossing was a little rough; just a lot of hassle and going from one office to the other, needing photocopies, filling out forms, etc. I felt bad for the rest of the passengers on the bus who had to wait for 2-hours while I got the run around.
I arrived to Halab around 4pm, quickly changed some money and took a cab to meet Maite at the famous Baron Hotel downtown. It was wonderful to see her, as it had been probably 1.5 years since I last saw her!! We walked to her apartment, filling each other in on our lives and latest adventures. She lives in a spacious 3-bedroom apartment on the 5th floor above a busy shopping-street called Tilal. There is a large terrace where she's planted a variety of flowers, herbs, and even vegetables and has a composting area as well! We sat on the terrace enjoying a delicious spread of typical Arabic mezze: olives, za'atar, labne (cheese-yogurt), pomegranate, and tea. Then it was sunset and the muezzins' calls echoed all around us with a fervor I haven't experienced before, probably because there are over 1,000 mosques in Halab and Maite's apartment is very close to the old city where many of them are located. Shortly thereafter, we watched the full moon rise over the city in a bright orangey hue. A magical welcome to Syria, indeed!
Then we went off to the souk (market) to buy vegetables for dinner.We had to push our way from one seller to the next, as Maite visited the regular vendors that she liked to buy from. All of them met her with big smiles on their faces. It seems that she's made herself at home here in a very short time which is excellent.
The next day I walked around downtown Halab a bit, jumping head-first into practicing the Levantine Arabic dialect. For the most part, I didn't have trouble, except that I was using the wrong version of the verb "to change" when I was asking where to change my money. Eventually someone understood me and was kind enough to walk me to the right place. I returned to the souk, bought some bamiya (okra) to make for dinner, and went back to the apartment to cook and watch some Syrian television.
Although Syria is very different from Morocco, hearing and seeing Arabic, smelling the spices as I walked past the street shops, and hearing the tabla (drum) music playing on the radio all brought back memories of my time in the Maghreb. Also, it's great to be speaking Arabic again, especially after the trials and tribulations of learning Turkish for the previous two months!
I met Maite's Arabic tutor, Muhammed, who came for dinner that night. The next day he met me in the morning and took me to the University of Halab where I sat-in on an Arabic lecture for foreign students. At first, I had to use my brain to speak in Fusha (formal Arabic), but it was a lot of fun! The students were from all over the world: India, Ukraine, Spain, Korea, and Ethiopia. After class, I went for pizza with Muhammed and another Arabic teacher. The pizza was surprisingly better than what I'd tried in Turkey (which really wasn't very hard to beat) but of course still left much to be desired for an American's taste. They then took me around the Old City of Aleppo (A UNESCO World Heritage Site) which brought back lots of memories of the medina in Fes. I saw the oldest mosque in Syria as well as some old khans and of course lots and lots of shops. They bought me a rababa (traditional Middle Eastern stringed instrument) as a welcome-gift because I was admiring them. I insisted that I didn't need it, but of course, I'd forgotten the strength of the Arab hospitality. I still don't know how I'm going to take the rababa with me, but that's a problem for another day. We walked around the outside of the massive citadel that sits on a hill in the middle of the Old City. It looked magnificent all lit-up at night. It's the first real "castle" that I've seen in my life, so I was quite impressed. Then we visited a mosque just outside the citadel where some of the Alawid dynasty's royalty are buried. The imam was a real character He gave me a tour of the mosque and tombs and then took my camera hostage and snapped a variety of photos for me. After making me photograph himself with my tour guides, I received a unsought lesson on Islam, in which he explained to me the need for men to be allowed to have 4 wives and how if everyone was Muslim there wouldn't be AIDS. I was a bit dumbfounded; I decided that it was in my best interest (and in the interest of time) to nod politely despite my desire to engage him in what I'm sure would have been a lengthy conversation.The three of us then headed to an internet cafe to try and call my sister on her 28th birthday. Alas, we didn't get ahold of her; we were prepared to sing, dance and play the rababa, too!
ICARDA
The next two days I accompanied Maite to ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research of Dry Areas) where she is currently doing post-Doctoral research on waste-water reuse and its effects on public health. It was really interesting to see all the papers and publications ICARDA has produced with regards to sustainable agriculture, water conservation, bio-engineering, climate change, etc. I got to meet many of the researchers Maite's working with as well as students working on their graduate research.
In fact, there's a lot of research being done at ICARDA on water-harvesting in the Middle East. As this is what I plan on doing my graduate research on, I was very interested in learning as much as possible about what they are currently researching publishing, etc. The next day, I returned to ICARDA I was met with Dr. Feras Ziadat with the Integrated Water and Land Management Program, who by the end of our meeting offered me a internship as a research assistant! I was absolutely thrilled and accepted immediately. It is unpaid, but an excellent opportunity for me to get some research experience and learn more about water-harvesting in the Middle East. And so, it looks like I will remain in Halab for around 3 months working on a water-harvesting research project looking at water run-off on olive groves in Northern Syria and how water-harvesting modeling can mitigate soil erosion.
On my second day visiting ICARDA, I also got a tour of the non-functioning qanat (underground water canal) that's on the property. It was really exciting for me, since I've read so much about them, especially since Dr. Michael Bonine, the UofA Near Eastern Studies Department Head, has studied and written a lot about them. The qanat system we think began in Iran and pre-dates Islam and the Romans who elaborated on the system. Qanats utilized gravity to bring water (some still do) from far-away mountains to settlements in arid lands to irrigate crops and sustain life in otherwise uninhabitable areas, thus contributing greatly to the spread of civilization across much of the Middle East.
Maite has graciously invited me to stay with her in her beautiful apartment, whose plants and compost pile I am currently tending while she's in Spain visiting her family. If anyone's in the region between now and February, we have an extra bedroom that sleeps three, plus a couch! Come for a visit - ahlan wasahlan!
And that brings us up to today!! This was my first week at ICARDA, although 1/2 of the week was spent at home with a stomach bug. I'm currently doing an intensive literature review on soil erosion and physics since my water harvesting background is only urban-domestic and I'll be working in rural-agricultural sites. Wish me luck!!
Peace,
AMS
The next two days I accompanied Maite to ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research of Dry Areas) where she is currently doing post-Doctoral research on waste-water reuse and its effects on public health. It was really interesting to see all the papers and publications ICARDA has produced with regards to sustainable agriculture, water conservation, bio-engineering, climate change, etc. I got to meet many of the researchers Maite's working with as well as students working on their graduate research.
In fact, there's a lot of research being done at ICARDA on water-harvesting in the Middle East. As this is what I plan on doing my graduate research on, I was very interested in learning as much as possible about what they are currently researching publishing, etc. The next day, I returned to ICARDA I was met with Dr. Feras Ziadat with the Integrated Water and Land Management Program, who by the end of our meeting offered me a internship as a research assistant! I was absolutely thrilled and accepted immediately. It is unpaid, but an excellent opportunity for me to get some research experience and learn more about water-harvesting in the Middle East. And so, it looks like I will remain in Halab for around 3 months working on a water-harvesting research project looking at water run-off on olive groves in Northern Syria and how water-harvesting modeling can mitigate soil erosion.
On my second day visiting ICARDA, I also got a tour of the non-functioning qanat (underground water canal) that's on the property. It was really exciting for me, since I've read so much about them, especially since Dr. Michael Bonine, the UofA Near Eastern Studies Department Head, has studied and written a lot about them. The qanat system we think began in Iran and pre-dates Islam and the Romans who elaborated on the system. Qanats utilized gravity to bring water (some still do) from far-away mountains to settlements in arid lands to irrigate crops and sustain life in otherwise uninhabitable areas, thus contributing greatly to the spread of civilization across much of the Middle East.
Maite has graciously invited me to stay with her in her beautiful apartment, whose plants and compost pile I am currently tending while she's in Spain visiting her family. If anyone's in the region between now and February, we have an extra bedroom that sleeps three, plus a couch! Come for a visit - ahlan wasahlan!
And that brings us up to today!! This was my first week at ICARDA, although 1/2 of the week was spent at home with a stomach bug. I'm currently doing an intensive literature review on soil erosion and physics since my water harvesting background is only urban-domestic and I'll be working in rural-agricultural sites. Wish me luck!!
Peace,
AMS
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!! I'm so glad you posted this! now everything makes sense! This is amazing, ange! amazing! this was exactly what you were hoping would happen before you left. omg. it sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. and you obviously really impressed the director of icarda, seeing as he hired you on the spot for an internship. i'm not surprised at all. it sounds like you are in the middle of a big ocean of miracles and i want to know all the details. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
ReplyDeleteMarvelous adventures dear Angel, I am so happy to know from you, we miss you very much but I am thrilled your are enjoying your time meeting new people, places and having fun and new experiences. Best of luck, love you!
ReplyDeleteSo this answers my questions about the internship. Unpaid :( but you've got a sweet place to stay :) so that should help with expenses to live with Maite. And a 3-month internship..meaning we shouldn't lose all hope of getting you back sometime in the next year. You are looking fantastic in those pictures. How do you pack such glamour into those little suitcases? Mine are always wrinkled t-shirts.. This looks so exciting. I'm really happy for you
ReplyDeleteThanks for the love and support friends! I miss you all very much!! xoxo
ReplyDelete