Live from Canada!

Hi everyone!

     This post is longer overdue, but I wanted to update y'all on some big changes that have taken place in the last week.  I have been relocated from Urfa to Adiyaman!  Although I was really excited to visit the birthplace of Abraham, I am still just as thrilled to be volunteering in Adiyaman.
     You may be asking yourself--why was I relocated?  Well, Syria has been home to a civil war for the last few years that has minimally affected Turkey.  However, at the beginning of this month of May, two car bombs exploded in Reyhanli killing 46 people.  Reyhanli is a border town in Turkey that is home to many Syrian refugees.  Click here for more info from BBC about the car bombs.  This town is only a little over 4 hours away from Urfa!  Also, I've been told that this struggle in Syria has yet to impact or involve Turkey in any major way but that this is the closest it has come!
     The board at Learning Enterprises did a lot of research, spoke with many trusted people in Turkey and even talked with other programs similar to ours that host summer programs.  They determined (just this last Sunday!) that we may proceed with LE in Turkey on 2 conditions: (1) that all the LE volunteers stay together in Adiyaman (instead of split into 3 different cities including Urfa) and (2) that we sign an additional waver form.  I did my own research, talked it over with both my parents and decided that I would proceed!
     So.. fast-forward.. I left DC this morning and am now waiting in Toronto, Canada to board my flight across the Atlantic.  It's been a long boring layover, but in just a half hour I will be boarding a flight to Vienna, Austria.  One of my best friends--Leona Pfeiffer, studied abroad in Vienna this Spring so I chose the longest layover possible (5 hours) so that I can meet her there!  SO EXCITED about that!  Then I'll be off to Istanbul!
     I arrive in Istanbul on Friday, May 30 around 4:00ish PM.  I'll have orientation there this weekend and then we'll all fly to Adiyaman together where our host families will be waiting to greet us.  I can't wait to meet all the sweet Turkish people I've been in contact with through Facebook! :)
     Okay, I'll probably post again early/mid next week with more info on how things are starting off!  Feel free to contact me through my email: rachelkelseysawyer@gmail.com