The Christmas Break

Hey everyone!
I am back at it and now in Ankara, Turkey again. Everyone I know in Istanbul was either out of town or busy so I decided to jump on a train and move on right away. It was a long ride back out here but I finally made it with enough time to still celebrate New Years. I am staying with Inanc, a couch surfer that Sandra, Bre and I stayed with a month ago when we were last here. It's all good, but a lot colder than home, believe it or not. There is snow on the ground. We went out last night and met up with a Brasilian guy and Turkish girl from couchsurfing and actually ended up staying at their place. New Years Eve is a pretty big party day here as well and people get into it. Not quite the same kind of craziness at home but still pretty good. It is also the beginning of a 4 day Muslim holiday here in Turkey (lunar schedule so not related to new years but just happens to be now) so buses are free and people are not working. It is really dry here and my lips and eyes feel so dried out.
Being home was good for the 3 weeks I was there. Not sure there is a huge difference between the developed and developing world anymore. After all, the roads at home aren't the best I've seen and there was a guy living in the dumpster at the bottom of our apartment building. Ah, welcome to the real world.......
It was good to see those of you that I did, though I wish I could have seen more of you all as well as those of you that I didn't. It was cool to see and do those things that I haven't done for over a year. Sushi, steak, football, I was readdicted to suger (it is very noticeable), had to suffer through a lot of rain, got to drive again (actually I was quite nervous driving in the rain), found out I had a scientific paper published while I was away, got to see a multicultural society and hear lots of english speakers again. I am happy to be back on the road again though I am still not sure what I am doing. It will be another long haul but I don't feel as bad or guilty about it anymore. I am confident that I will have many job opportunities when I get back and that I am doing the right thing. Now all I have to do is stay alive and have fun. Shouldn't be too hard. Hopefully I will have lots of stories for you guys so stay tuned. The rest of the family should be returning in Feb but we'll see what happens.
Ammon