From our friends in Balyolu...

From our friends in Turkey... so important at crazy and sad times like these.

We know that Turkey has been hitting the news hard this week, and not in the super positive way that we love. We are saddened deeply by the events and further reminded why cross-cultural understanding, communication, and collaboration is so important. This is not a PR message. This is written from my heart as a solo woman living in a rural village at the intersection of several of Turkey's borders and cultures. Travel, at the end of the day, is not about generating money for a local community, checking off a cool new place on your list, or "getting away."

It is taking time to connect with a person, a perspective, and a way of life. We can travel only a few blocks to do this. Or half way around the world. But in doing so, we bridge the gaps that divide us, we respect each other a bit deeper and we love a little harder. I try not to be discouraged by the bad that can happen in the world, as cultures and people collide, rather motivated by that kinetic energy to reach out and share my soul with those around me.