*does not have excuse for the delay*

Günaydın world!!!! 

Let's just pretend we didn't take a 2 month hiatus from blogging.....just think of it like when your favorite band decides to "take a break" and then like 5 years later, they just drop an album out of thin air. Maybe you could even compare the three of us to Beyoncé and her self titled album that shocked the world a little over a year ago. I know I know the resemblance is uncanny. 

So let's get started with things Pratibha did not already mention in her long ass blog post that I may or may not have edited and posted because it was just sitting in our draft folder....talk about slacker jesus. Randomly early March, I just decided to book a flight to Dublin for the world's favorite holiday that they think is just dedicated to drunken foolishness aka St. Patrick's Day! I was told by a friend studying in London that a large group of Bostonians that I galavant with at school were all reuniting so I took it upon myself to crash that. Aside from the weekend being filled with great laughs, decent beer, better accents, greasy pub food, seal sightings, and GOD's gift to the world, Carroll's Clothing and Gifts, my first AirBnB was absolutely perfect. Claire and her trusty sidekick, Woody the dog, were so warm and welcoming for my short stay and I can honestly say Dublin's inhabitants blew me away with kindness. May I also mention that friends of friends, aka Lillian, are much appreciated in all areas of the traveling process. 

After that trip I needed some time to recuperate, which was perfect because my 21st birthday was approaching...I am also fully convinced that no matter what birthday it is, the day becomes less and less exciting for the one blowing out the candles... Nonetheless, my birthday was full of everything I enjoy in life.

1. Delicious food (notice the order hur)
2. Great friends
3. Wine
4. Strategy murder games (which always make for fun disagreements and temporary rage)

What I was most excited for after my birthday was my wonderful trip to Budapest to reunite with Kelsey "Kelsey Right Now" Cowher and of course the fact that I could reenter Boston and order a drink alongside my favorite pulled pork nachos at Sunset Cantina. Kelsey is studying abroad in Paris so she decided to plan a trip with me to Budapest, which got crashed by Pratibha....and Durant..... The more the merrier right. We stayed at the most hip hostel in Pest called "The Lavender Circus." The hostel was full of stenciled decorations, antique furniture, and even cooler hostel workers. We went sightseeing all day on Saturday which exploited the sad fact that Pratibha was breaking in a new pair of shoes... Blisters for days. She was a trooper so I have to commend her. I would have been in the fetal position near the Hungarian Parliament Building begging for bandaids....oh wait that's exactly where Prat took a nice break. 

The city is truly a mishmosh of European influences and I loved it. The currency exchange also helped my spirits out... 1 dollar equals 277 forints. We were ROLLING in the dough. After our long day of walking and picture taking, we went back to the hostel for a nice home cooked hungarian stew which was accompanied by Palinka (strong ass brandy) and good company. With no intentions of just relaxing and staying in, we were doing exactly that (especially after 8 or 9 shots of Palinka). After all the trips I have had thus far, I have noticed that we underestimate the pleasure of just sitting back, conversing with new friends, and laughing about how hard it is to drunkenly build a card tower. 

Anyways..my mom and sister arrive tomorrow for a nice week Istanbul fun, including all the sights I have not yet seen! ALSO, I WON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING. Money runs the life of an abroad student for sure. 

A special shout out to Mr. and Mrs. Kenney!! (Karolina's parental units). They encouraged us to get back at it with the blogging and here I am procrastinating my hw!!! Thanks for the procrastination inspiration guys!

TTY SOON I promise. I think... 

*spongebob narrator voice* one month later

it's been so long (again) since I've blogged god sorry I'm a MESS! School's been getting pretty crazy and traveling almost every weekend, as amazing and fun as it's been, can be a little draining... blogging has honestly been at the bottom of my list week after week but I'm pushing through tired eyes to get this out there bc I don't want to forget a single thing once I'm back home in 2 months (WTF.......ok)

SO since I've been gone..... we went on a trip to Izmir, Ephesus, and Pamukkale..... and honestly, if you ever find yourself in Turkey, definitely try and make trips out of Istanbul. It's so worth it. I mean, yes, you won't get bored of Istanbul quickly, but it's such a tiny part of Turkey as a whole that I feel like you're missing out if you don't see at least some of these other places :-) yeah so me, Kyle, Carla, and Lauren flew into Izmir on Thursday and had an interesting car rental experience that involved Lauren renting a car with her Australian learner's permit bc Kyle was still 20..... shakily driving us out of the parking lot ("Which one is the gas and brake again?") and then doing a quick in-car switcharoo with Kyle out of the Enterprise workers' line of sight so we could make a speedy getaway. completely illegal but hey! Ended up being the cheapest travel option so we made use of it

The actual town of Izmir is full of cute restaurants, surprisingly energetic nightlife, and bars for days. Also some prostitutes...maybe one would even say many.. Not as raging as Taksim, which is probably why I loved it, but it had a very similar feel to it so we felt right at home. also I'm pretty sure I had pesto spaghetti every night for the 4 days we were there but no regretz............. U gotta do u sometimes

Pamukkale was our Friday excursion and it was SO F*CKIN COOL like! Google for a better idea of how beautiful it was in real life but .....it's basically just cascading clear hot springs in salt deposits where people go to wade in the water, sometimes fully sit, bathe.... it was an experience. PLUS Kyle completely ate shit as soon as we walked onto the ground!!! it was a truly magical moment for us and the Turkish bystanders (Kyle fall count: 4) hah

We saw tons and tons of ruins in Ephesus and Pamukkale and spending time with everybody was so great (missed Karol tho)! I would probably go back to that area of Turkey in the future, maybe during the summertime? The beaches and coastal islands are supposedly gorgeous, akin to the Greek islands, and not as touristy. definitely up my alley

The day I came back, Grace arrived in Istanbul for a couple days. It was so good to see her and catch up on ~life..... just seeing another familiar Boston face was so refreshing. We did all the typical touristy things, got harassed at the Grand bazaar (lololololol love it), went to delicious restaurants with her family friend JP (who was literally the kindest human being in the world), explored Karakoy, etc......miss her already but I know it's gonna be a thousand times sweeter seeing her again in the fall when we're SENIORS omg Kill me............

After Grace left, I went on a mini trip to Bursa with Karolina, Gwen, Anna, and some other people, and it was actually super fun despite the travel troubles we ran into beforehand. Running from one ferry port to the other trying to find space was tiring, but we eventually made it to the city and while it didn't offer as much as Izmir did, traveling with new people made the whole trip worth it. We went for breakfast the next day in a quaint village that seemed very touristy but was truly just full of kind people serving delicious foods and selling their colorful handmade goods. such a nice, albeit brief, getaway

In the midst of all these visitors and weekend trips, there HAS been hella amounts of studying in the library, studying in my bed, studying in cafes.... studying until I pass out basically. 5 classes ain't so fun for a simple gal like me. However, I did manage to fit in the latest season of Broadchurch into my schedule which was nice. I always like making time for ME aka sitting in bed with a Magnum bar and Netflix..... and I do miss Chipotle every now and again. But I'm enjoying the time spent with abroad friends, Karolina and Kyle................... and my eyes are literally closing on me in Simit so I'll save my weekend trip to Budapest and my upcoming Paris trip with the GF ABBY for next time! Time abroad seems like it's coming to a close so quickly but then it's off to India for 2 weddings and maybe an internship in Boston over the summer? who knows but exciting things are happening and grades are just a number........ *she whispers to herself with shaky reassurance*

Until next tiiiime...