Hi everyone! I'll try to cram the past two months into a few paragraphs as well.

I started my break with a two-week family vacation to Turkey. We checked out the markets and mosques in Istanbul, the historical sites and memorials in Gallipoli, the valleys and rock formations in Kapadokya, and the sun and sand on the Mediterranean coast before flying home. (If you haven't seen it already, I have a Facebook album with an assortment of pictures I took along the way.) I enjoyed driving around the country, since we really got a sense of the varied landscape of Turkey's western half. The food was incredible...I took a much-needed break from being a vegetarian and had lots of kebaps and kofte, not to mention hummus and dolma and lots of great flatbread. I'll start learning Turkish at G-town in the fall, so I'm excited to go back and explore the eastern half of the country.

After taking four flights home (ugh) to Illinois, I started working as a waitress on the Northwestern University campus. It's a great deal: nice managers, cool coworkers, not that much work to do, significantly more money than I deserve. Air conditioned. Free, delicious food. All in all, a sweet place to hang out this summer whilst making money. After a jaunt to Long Beach Island (to visit the BF, check out the beach and restaurants, travel to NYC to see Ms. Munn and other fun New York things), I came back and started guitar lessons. At this point, I can play 8 or 9 chords and am starting to read tabs. Basically, I'm horrible, but having insane amounts of fun being able to play something resembling music. On a less fun note, I started summer school (public speaking at Northwestern)—actually, though, it's perversely enjoyable and definitely helpful.

In my free time, I've been doing a lot of reading and a lot of going out/catching up with good friends. Basically, I can't complain! Everything seems very well-balanced and fun right now...exactly how I think summer should be. :)