Happy February!

Good morning. Here in Turkey we missed the State of the Union address because 9 pm eastern is 4 in the morning here. Also I don't have a television. I trust everyone who tuned in played along with the obligatory drinking game and is now in hospital on dialysis. What I'm dying to know is if Mr. Bush pronounced "Mahmoud Amadinejad" correctly.

Happy February! This year has gotten off to an exciting start, and I'm right next to the action! Turkey shares borders, not only with Greece, Bulgaria, and Georgia, but with Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Of course Istanbul is incredibly European on the very Western side of Turkey. Impromptu Turkish lessons are going well, and I'm helping Hasan's English become more sophisticated. Wishing you all the very best for this coming month.