Touchdown, Istanbul

What a strange thing to move from Beijing to Istanbul. Matter fact, for most people it's a strange thing to move at all. We have been hoping for this for a long time, and it really does warrant a pinch on the arm and a prayer of thanksgiving. Here's a look at our first day in our new home--Istanbul, Turkey.

Stressed Out and Exhausted

We arrived in Istanbul after a ten hour flight where I barely slept because my super fidgety baby was on my lap. But can I just say, Turkish Airlines, WOW. Incredible service. I would recommend them 100%. The food was delicious, of course. I mean, they had profiteroles for dessert in Economy. I was still on Beijing time and even though it was the middle of the night, those little chocolate things HAD to be eaten. As Tina Fey said, having food you're not supposed to be eating is like taking mini vacations out from your stressful day.

And boy, was I stressed out. We brutally left a lot of our things in Beijing, frantically giving them away to anyone who would take them. But some things we didn't mean to leave behind, like Allegra's water bottle. I was determined to let her rest during this long flight, but she couldn't find a spot to be comfortable in. I tried my best not to move the few times she would fall asleep. She also didn't eat. That did not help give me peace.

Arriving in Istanbul

Finally, our plane landed. Paolo and I held hands, looked at each other, and thanked the LORD because we couldn't believe it! We were here! We made it. What a huge, answered prayer. We went through immigration and arrived at our hotel in Beyoglu at 8:00 AM.I was staring at the sky the whole ride from the airport. It was blue. Unbelievably blue. Check-in wasn't until 2:00 PM, so we had time to kill and try to adjust to the time difference. Our immediate itinerary:

1. Get some sun

2. Find lunch

3. Find a supermarket we could buy supplies from like water, fruit, etc.

I find that getting some sun makes it easier for me to survive jet lag. Luckily, there was a park right downhill from the hotel.

I had to drag my poor husband out of his relaxing bench and uphill to the little supermarket. We all needed some water. None of the restaurants near the supermarket were open yet. Shame because one lahmaçun place looked really good. Also, the baby STILL HAD NOT EATEN, I was out of snacks, and I was feeling stressed and anxious again.

The area we were staying was more residential than touristy, so there were a lot of local fruit stands. I hurriedly bought some bananas, apples, and plums, plus cookies and chips for good measure. She had a few bites of fruit, so that exhausting trek uphill and almost quarrel with my equally exhausted husband was worth it. We walked back downhill and found a hole-in-the-wall that was ready to serve an early lunch, and HURRAY. Instant mini vacation.

Exploring to Stay Awake

The hotel had a shuttle to Taksim Square  just as we arrived from lunch, so we thought we'd do a little bit more exploring.Taksim Square was a busy place filled with people, mostly tourists spending their summer here.  We got "ni hao'd" a few times by shop owners and by the third one we just resorted to yelling, "We're not Chinese!" back. 

But we also caught some locals spending the afternoon at Taksim Gezi Park. They were just there with their picnic mats and friends. I thought it was amazingly simple and beautiful. No one had their phones out, everyone was just in the moment, laughing, eating, and enjoying the day. The park has steps that lead to the main square, which is a massive, incredibly lively place.

We found ourselves walking down this street that had schools on either side, and at the end found the Hagia Triada, a 138-year-old Greek Orthodox Church. I know it's just our first day, but finding a church that was built during Ottoman rule was pretty amazing. A mosque is under construction just a few streets away from this legendary church. We are overwhelmed by the beauty of this city, and we've only been here a couple of hours! We can't wait to make memories in this multi-cultural, multi-ethnic place that straddles Europe and Asia.

On the real though, I am thriving because I speak some Arabic and the language is easier to learn. But my first priority will always be my family. I hope Paolo finds fulfillment in his new job, but more importantly we hope Allegra will grow up not resenting us because we move around a lot. Our next order of business:

1. Finding an apartment before our hotel stay is up.

2. Getting that apartment equipped with wifi!

Pray for us!