I’ve had a good, busy day. I met a fellow teacher this morning and we went and wandered around the archaeological museum and then grabbed some lunch afterwards. It was really great to hang out with her and do some sightseeing around Istanbul. There are a few things I’d like to do and see before leaving and she has a few things on her list as well. I enjoyed spending time with her.

I also got it in my mind that I should extend this trip I’ve been on for a few more months and head to Nepal and India. I’ve felt pulled there for a while. Unfortunately, the only way I can see making that work would involve pulling money out of my IRA account. I’m not super excited about that idea. It is appealing to extend the trip, though. I’d like to keep traveling and the idea of abandoning lots of stuff in Istanbul with the intention of not working or trying to work while I just focused on traveling for many months is appealing. In Nepal I could do some trekking, but I could also spend time somewhat stationary just writing and drawing pictures. I’d love to do that more and try to set up a schedule and routine that would allow me to focus on it. I am going to give it some thought. Financially it’s not a great idea, but I could make it work. I’m going to give it some thought and see where my gut takes me. I think the answer will become clear in time.

I had a very strange dream last night/this morning. I was swimming in a pool (I remember thinking I was with other people, but don’t actually remember anyone else being there). There were sharks in the water. I came across these little figurines. I’m not exactly sure how many there were, but I remember thinking in the dream that they were old, very valuable and that I didn’t want to leave them there. I lifted one and turned it over to look at the bottom, on which was printed Kierkegaard followed by a phone number with the area code 612. The strange thing about this dream is that I am not familiar with Kierkegaard and the name meant nothing to me when I woke up and was thinking about the dream. It wasn’t until I got up in the morning and googled the name that I found any information out about him. I’m not really sure what it means, but I’ve been intrigued by it all day. Maybe I’ll get another puzzle piece tonight. I hope so, anyway.

I’m meeting a program person in the morning to go hiking. I’m looking forward to it. I think it’ll be really cool. It also sounds like we’ll be gone nearly all day, but thankfully I’m not meeting him too early in the morning. I do need to get to bed so I can get a good night’s rest, though. I’m looking forward to another busy weekend day doing something fun.

I also emailed my DoS today and requested to be done this coming Friday. I certainly don’t want to work up until my last days in Turkey. I haven’t heard back from her, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.