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| Sofia by the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey |
As I packed recently for a ten day trip to Turkey, I
dedicated one carry-on bag to a few (okay, maybe more than a few) books I
needed to read for my dissertation literature review. My husband looked at me
incredulously and asked, “are you really going to read those on this trip?” I
said, “of course!” I was actually not sure, but I put the intention out in the universe hoping I would find the motivation and energy.
It was an amazing
cross-county excursion with jam-packed days of touring major sights in
Istanbul, Izmir, Cappadocia, Konya, Ephesus, and Urfa and
yet, at the end of each day and long van rides, somehow I did find the energy
to focus for a bit to read and write.
One very opportune day came when we took a 10 hour bus ride that was
supposed to be 7 hours. I knew this was
one occasion when I would have no choice but to sit for hours. In her excellent
book Writing Your Dissertation in Fifteen
Minutes a Day, Joan Bolker shared that when she worked at Harvard’s Writing
Center they joked “that the single most useful piece of equipment for a writer was a bucket of
glue. First you spread some on your chair, and then you sit down.” What better glue than to be on a moving bus for
hours?
Although some of
my travel companions were not happy about this long ride, I was ecstatic! When
you have a busy work and home life with 2 small children and an aging parent to
attend to, there is no such thing as being able to sit for so many hours. I am grateful
to Turkey for not only giving me the best 10 hour sit down and focus
opportunity, but also for the amazing food, historical perspective and an eye
opening experience that proved to me that there is no such thing as “mainstream
media” reporting only violence and protests in Turkey and not the regular,
friendly, and peaceful day to day life that I actually experienced. Sometimes you need to get out of your comfort
zone, travel and see things for yourself.
I came back to the U.S. a better person with inspiration and many more
pages toward a dissertation completed.
So in my terrible
Turkish accent, “Türkiye Teşekkür ederim!”
- translation: “Thank You Turkey!”
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