A few weekends ago we had our district conference for Rotary. For those of you who aren't involved with Rotary, this is the time of the year when all the Rotarian's in the district get together for a few days of merriment and charity. The exchange students also usually do some type of show for the attending Rotarian's. This year, the conference was held at a resort in Oludeniz, on the southern coast of Turkey. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. Palm trees, deep blue, clear water, constant sunshine; It was wonderful.
Personally I'm not one for resorts. I feel like they are for the people who want to say they've been to a country, without truly experiencing it. They're for the unadventurous, and people who want to be safe. This resort had the most confusing layout imaginable. I'm fairly sure the architect either didn't go to school, or was on acid the whole time. I got lost more time's than I would like to say. The food was so uncultured, it was just like any other all-you-can-eat buffet back home with hardly any Turkish food. The activities provided were simple and unimaginative. The only things I found nice about the resort was the location, the water, and bacon. That's right! They served BACON! Never in my life have I been more excited to eat bacon in my life. I savored every thin, smokey, crispy piece of it. It was also nice that the resort was all-inclusive, so we could go and do whatever we wanted.
For the most part, we spent our time by the beach, and swimming in the Mediterranean. It was very relaxing, and very enjoyable. We also got to experience a little bit of European beach culture since the resort was saturated with Brits and Germans. There were more than a few women who were topless, and quite a few little kids running around as naked as the day of their birth (which probably wasn't too long ago). It wasn't shocking or disturbing at all, but it was a bit of a surprise since we were in Turkey, and if it were anywhere else, that wouldn't be accepted at all. Now we got our time to play, but we also had to do a performance.
For the past few months we had been taking Turkish folk dancing lessons. Now it was our time to show what we had learned in a performance for the Rotarian's. Unfortunately it was at 9 in the morning, so we weren't completely awake, and not as many Rotarian's turned up as we would have liked. The performance went really well, unfortunately I don't have a video, so I can't show you all. After the performance we got turned loose again until the evening. That evening was the gala for all the Rotarian's. There was live music, everyone was dressed to impress, and the food was wonderful. The band was particularly good, and we all got up to dance together. It was a very fun event that went long into the night.
The next morning we were on the bus early in the morning to head back home. We made a stop at the Greek village I saw with the Boy Scouts back in February. It was nice to get out and stretch our legs. I sat back while most of the group took a hike around the ruins. Me and my friend Lauren found the cutest puppies ever. I contemplated fitting one of them into my bag and smuggling him back home. This might have worked, but he was too young to leave his mother. Again we piled back into the bus and drove back home.
This trip was a very nice one. The sad part is was that it was the last one where we would be all together, it's a good thing it was a good last one to go out on. Now I face the last month of my exchange. I am starting to get anxious to come home, but I also want to stay here longer. It's a very bitter-sweet feeling. I hope to see all of you when I come home so I can tell you my stories in person.
-Torvald
