Turkey... and I'm not talking about Thanksgiving

Last month D and I had the unbelievable opportunity to fulfill one of our travel destination dreams! On 24 June we traveled via Bali and Bangkok to Turkey!

Standing on top of the Galata Tower looking down on the Galata Bridge in Istanbul

Our Turkish travels began in Cappadocia, a historical land of natural wonders located in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey.

The city of Goreme, where we stayed in Cappadocia, is characterized by its fairy chimney structures standing tall throughout the landscape.

Dondurma, the ice cream man with a memorable act to perform is a necessary stop & experience while visiting any town in Turkey.

A local woman in Goreme that roped me in one evening for apple tea and her handmade jewelry. 

A most delicious dining experience-like most- in a unique cave restaurant in Goreme.

Meet one of Turkey's best and few climbers, Recep! Sharing the Valley of the Stakes in his backyard in the Aladaglar Mountains. Recep and his wife run and operate Aladaglar Camping - great place to base camp for backcountry climbing, trekking & skiing! 

Phenomenal conglomerate walls in the Valley of the Stakes!

D & I with the Valley of the Stakes right behind us and the Aladaglar Mnts. in the distance.  

Recep and D walking back to the vehicle.

I think this is where the Cappadocia wizards live.

From Cappadocia we traveled to the west coast of Turkey to Selcuk and Ephesus.  

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A defaced fresco of Jesus from the early church between 3-11 century AD.  Last standing column of the temple of Artemis with storks nesting on top.

Dave contemplating great things standing in the ancient Library of Celsus in Ephesus, built in 117 AD!

 The Great Theater in Ephesus where Paul preached against the pagans.

 Turkish coffee!

After a quick visit to Ephesus and Selcuk, we headed north for our last stop in Istanbul. 5 incredible nights in this historical city were some of our best spent!

D and I with Tolga - an old WEMT friend and a great tour guide!

Backgammon and tea, a Turkish man's favorite pass time.

D standing in front of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.

Whirling Dervishes, an ancient sect of Islam!

 Protests in Taksim square

Beautiful early church frescos found in buildings used by Christians and Muslims.

 Fresh fish sandwiches right off the boat!

Taking the Bosporus to the Black Sea!

Korea

When I told my Indonesian colleagues that I was heading to Korea for a month-long contract they asked me: "So Miss Leslie, will you be visiting North Korea and teaching them about team building and the 4 Key Concepts (Team, Communication, Trust & Creativity)?" Wow, I thought, these people have way too much faith in me and my abilities!

No, I went to boring old South Korea... no missiles, no nuclear development and no big posturing national leaders. Instead I worked with a wonderfully progressive and friendly International school in the Seoul area, supporting and developing their outdoor education program.

Instructors on top of Mt. Bangteasan

Yummy... The kimchi! Everyday...

The 8th grade class at the completion of their base camp Outdoor Ed experience

The Welcome Back committee! 

I even had some time to visit our good friends, K & B and their 2 great kids in Seoul!

Beautiful Jirisan National Park.

The Korean BBQ was very delicious.

Students all dressed up for their temple-stay experience.

May 17 was Buddha's birthday, so the temples were beautifully decorated

Tembagapura... (April 2013)

I like this video.  It's only a little over 3 minutes long (took me like 4 hours and 3 attempts to upload), but it pretty well captures a good flavor of how strange our lives are here:  traveling in and out on helicopters, incredible green rain/cloud forests,  spectacular mountains,  a constant stream of ridiculously large unidentifiable heavy industrial equipment,  groups of Papuans chatting exchanging secrets,  children wandering 'n playing around,  firefighters walking around like they're Rebel X-wing fighter pilots,  my new boss scratching his head...  it's all mixed up and chaotic,  everything is happening simultaneously, overlapping, interacting, disorganized, changing, often sparking conflict.

I wish I could write a poem as good as this video.

I welcome your comments.

The Business Report

As many of you may know, last July I became the proud owner of Adventure-Based International, LLC. (www.adventurebasedinternational.com) This new business venture has only been possible with the support of my hard working and encouraging husband, as well as some funds inherited from Grandma Sangster who passed away April 2012.

Starting in January of this year, ABI was contracted by PTFI to implement adventure team building programs for one particular department. As the owner, operator and sole employee of ABI thus far, I have served as the consultant, program developer, trainer and supervisor for this project.

Once all of the contract negotiations and paperwork were completed and after returning from South Korea in January with a work VISA, I was finally able to "break ground", so to speak, on the project.

First matter of business, getting department heads involved, on board and behind the project:

The Needs Assessment with the department heads was fun, challenging and insightful for all involved!

Next was the program development and facilitator training phase:

The facilitator training included 6 training sessions, trainings for over 11 facilitators and 2 service-learning opportunities where facilitators led adventure team building programs for local teams.

Finally, the bread and butter, implementation of 8 adventure team building sessions for over 120 department employees!

 Currently I am wrapping up the review and reporting phase of the project before heading to Seoul next week for another contract.  With some luck and another work VISA from the Indonesian Embassy in South Korea next month Adventure-Based International, LLC should have another contract to continue training facilitators and implementing programs to more PTFI employees here in Papua!

Thank you all for your support and encouragement as I have stepped out on this journey of owning and operating a business. Stay tuned for more posts from our recent adventures in Northern Sumatra!