Writing from Istanbul.

Hey family,

So here is a little update. My flight was delayed leaving from JFK, Turkish Air offered us food vouchers for the inconvenience, and they also told me to check with the airline once I got to Istanbul for free hotel stay. So immediately I’m like WHOOOO HOOOO!!!!. Our flight pulled out of JFK at 3am, I kept dosing off seeing as I had been up for 40hours straight. When we got on the plane Maheeyah and I were fast asleep, but Nana was glued to the TV and their large kid movie selections. She watched movies for 10 hours straight;, someone has a serious addiction…lol… Maheeyah and I woke up after a wonderful 7 hour rest. We watched the sunrise from the window, it was breath taking and an hour later we watched the sun set, that was also breathing and a little confusing. Yes, by the time we got to Turkey it was time to go back to bed. So, now I know that I am not a big fan of Turkish food, I’m sure they are known for many things but dessert is not one of them.  They use a lot of olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  Every time they brought the food out Maheeyah would say “I don’t understand this food” it was so funny.  When we finally got to the Istanbul airport I was walking down the empty hallway thinking ‘WOW!!! This is really happening’. I sat for a few minutes taking it all in, giving thanks to the Heaven for this opportunity, and then I headed to the Turkish Transit to find out more about this free hotel. After they went through our passports and travel information, they directed me to the Visa line. When I got there the guy says its $60 to get a visa and I need that to step out of the airport. There were a group of Russians at the counter next to me saying “that this is an outrage. Why should we have to pay for your mistake” then one of the older gentle men looks at me and says “ don’t pay them anything, we have to stand together and protest. So I started thing thinking WWJD??? So I did what anyone in my position would do, I got in the group with the Russians and started to protest……lol…. After about an hour of “HELL NO, WE WONT PAY” in Russian the Turkish airline decided to pay for everyone’s visa including ours, and they wanted us out of there quick, so the escorted us to the area where we would be meeting the hotel shuttle. While I was in line laughing, clapping, and giving high fives to my new friends, one of the Turkish airline administrators came over and asked if he could have a word with me. He explain to me that due to the delay in New York the other people missed their connecting flight, but I did not miss a flight and that I was already scheduled to leave in the morning, and that I have to pay him back for paying for my Visa’s…… I was BLOWN!!!!!.....lol…… But since I’m already here waiting he will pay for our hotel tonight….. So here I lay in a beautiful 5star hotel room, free of charge. Well sort of. Lol So all is well that ends well…The other good news is that our visa is good for 90days. I guess I’ll be coming back to Istanbul…. Good night!