Take Off!

by Taylor Huber

Today we start our trip to China – but actually, first we will be going to Turkey. We’ve been spending this week getting ready to go – and playing with our Texas cousins who were visiting. We’ve been packing and cleaning the house. I’m surprised I have enough clothes.

We will leave our house at 3:30 today. Someone is driving us to the bus stop in downtown Madison. Then, we’ll ride on the bus three hours to Chicago. In Chicago, we’ll wait for our flight that leaves at 10:15 p.m. The flight lasts 10 hours and 40 minutes. I’m worried I’ll be bored to death or that I won’t be able to fall asleep. It’ll be weird because when we get to Turkey, it will be 5 p.m. there but only 9 a.m. in Wisconsin. Our flight lands in Istanbul where we will be for four nights. My mom got our tickets to Seoul with this layover in Istanbul because she has really wanted to go there for a long time.

Istanbul is a very important city in history. It’s also the fifth largest city in the world. It used to be called Constantinople and has been the center of many empires. While we’re there, we’re going to see some mosques and palaces and go to some markets.

I’ve been nervous for this summer trip for a while but now I’m starting to feel excited. I think the things I’m most excited about are seeing the Great Wall of China and looking across the Chinese border into North Korea. But I’m not excited about the long plane ride.

Our next blog post will be from Turkey!