Things to Come

… Haven’t posted in a while.

Sorry!

Life update, casual WordPress peruse-rs and loyal followers:

I have returned to the States and my hometown in Ohio, and will be here until late August, reconnecting with my family, relaxing, taking up the scoop at Jacky’s Depot once again, and… catching up on blogging about seven months worth of travels and adventures in Turkey that I neglected to write while there. (If I put my commitment to complete them on here then I have to do it, right?) Be on the lookout for explanations of the ‘whirling dervish’ community, stories from ancient sites across the southeast (with a focus on historic Christian communities), hot air balloons floating across a lunar landscape, the Tigris River, and images of many, many beautiful vistas.

My latest post on Turkish breakfasts is (inshallah) an appetizer for more food-and-culture-writing and recipe sharing to come (a rapidly growing fascination of mine). Also keep on the lookout for a new section of the blog (indicated in the tabs section on the homepage) devoted to all things gastronomic.

In the late winter I envisioned and began crafting a YouTube page devoted to videos from my travels to complement the blog, giving my readers a direct audiovisual experience of the region, and to circumvent the hefty fees WordPress wants users to pay to directly upload their own videos. This project was interrupted by the temporary ban on YouTube in Turkey this spring… it is another endeavor I hope to continue to chug away at while home. Once the page has significant content, I will debut it in a devoted post here.

Given the many varieties of horrific news that have come across all of our newsfeeds this summer, I regret not being able to do more to share links to important perspectives and voices about the conflicts raging from the U.S. southern border to the open-air prison of Gaza to the Iraqi fields to the shantys of Brazil’s mega-cities to the devastation in Syria. Time and space do not permit a full analysis, but in my opinion, we can face these enormous tragedies only with a steadfast commitment to the value of every human life, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, language, religion or sect, age, occupation, socio-economic advantage, gender, orientation, or any other construct that has been used to divide.

My recent lack of comment on these issues is in no way a reflection of my lack of passion, anger, grief, moral outrage…. all are carried in my heart. I’m grateful to those who have taken an interest in my travels, and as I continue the process of sharing my experiences, I do so supremely cognizant of the many privileges with which I am blessed. I am so, so lucky. My prayers for the peace, safety, nourishment, and love of all people join the chorus….