First Impressions.

It's funny to think of all the things you take for granted in the US. Prime example, ice water. In Istanbul you must boil every bit of water you drink. This can be very annoying when you are dehydrated and just want cold water.

The city itself is about 10 times larger than NYC. The first thing I have noticed is that everyone and everything here smells delicious. Whether it is walking past someone and smelling their perfume, or walking past a restaurant and smelling spices and food.

So far none of my roommates are here, and I am desperately waiting for a bilingual person to show up and help me find a phone, and an ethernet cord, and some more food than just bread, cheese, and tomatoes.

Despite all of this, I feel a sense of calm being here.