The Sweetest Thing

© Connie Hum 2009

Time Flies...

But I certainly had a lot of fun!

Sad, but true, my days in Istanbul are coming to a rapid end. I have 8 days of holidays with the family in Bodrum before returning to Istanbul for some of my last days in this incredible city that I love.

I can't believe six months have flown by so quickly! Words cannot describe the feeling that overcame me today as I spent my last day at home with my girls. I felt such an immense love for them. They really are darlings and I will miss them tremendously.

The family has been overwhelmingly generous and kind to me in the last six months and I know no words to convey how much I appreciate all that they have done for me.

I know I will return to Istanbul a number of times so hopefully this doesn't mean it's the last time that I will get to spend with this amazing family!

© Connie Hum 2009

Proud Mom!

I knew this would get your attention! To all my friends who keep wanting me to be pregnant (why, I'm not really so sure), THIS IS NOT A PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT!!! I am NOT, nor will I be in the near future, pregnant! =)

I am simply very proud of my mother for deciding to fly out to Istanbul BY HERSELF and travel around Turkey with me.

This is a huge step for her and I really couldn't be any more proud of my mom! She is certainly full of surprises.

Now I have to plan. Which is very difficult for me because I usually do not like to plan my trips in the way that I will need to for my mother's visit. Here I go!

© Connie Hum 2009

Cold Turkey!

I was SUPER excited to go diving in the Gulf of Saros in Turkey this past weekend. My friend, Yusuf (left) and his cousin, Murat (right) drove me from Istanbul to Ibrice in Saros, a normal trip of 3-4 hours ended up taking over 7 hours because of the massive Istanbul traffic getting out of the city.

The dive trip was set up by a diving club in Istanbul so there were a lot of people on board. The water was a beautiful azure color and I couldn't wait to see the world below me.

Sadly, I was gravely disappointed in the dives. The water was FREEZING! I was literally shivering as I was underwater and when I got back to the surface, even the hot Turkish sun couldn't warm me up fast enough. My body shook as if I was back in Iceland, pre-Icelandic wool socks, and my extremities were a sickly shade of purple!

There wasn't a whole lot going on underwater either. Not much life or fish around. I was totally bummed as I had heard that Saros was a good area for diving. Perhaps it was just bad timing.

The highlight? On the second dive of the day, I got to go through a tunnel! I was a little apprehensive at first as I had never been through a tunnel before but THAT was pretty amazing!

© Connie Hum 2009