From Ali

Hi friends and family! I sure miss you, but I'm having a wonderful time here in Turkey. I could echo Liz and Randa's comments about the food being delish. It sure is. So far my favorite is pasarli pide (cheese pita). We also like the Algida ice cream.
Today some of the girls (Randa, Liz, two N-land girls Liz and Julie, and I) went over to Asia to Uskudar where there are a lot of wedding shops. We stopped in one where the shop keepers did not speak English, so it was a little hard to communicate. Liz tried on a gold Turkish wedding dress though! It was really pretty! Most of the other dresses in the shop looked like traditional American wedding dresses (white, lacy, sparkly) only a tad more modest than most American wedding dresses! The next place we went we found a girl about our age that could speak very good English and she was telling us about Turkish wedding customs and the procedures that you go through to get married. It was very interesting, and we're hoping to go back and speak with her again.
We'll try to get more pictures up soon. For some reason it doesn't seem to be uploading right.

Mom and Dad, I miss you! Hope you get back from Argentina safely! Make sure to tell me if you decide to move while I'm gone, okay? :) If you see Jared around, can you tell him the name of this website and tell him that I miss him.
Bill and Jess, miss you guys too! Make you "pwiss net" for my little buddy, okay? (aw, I sure miss him too).
Jess W., keep the homefires stoked. And I definitely love you more.
Meg, I was thinking of you the other day. I hope you get to Austria safely. I know you'll have a great time.
Kim, thanks for the comments. You make me laugh. Thanks for taking care of everything else too.
Rusty, Justina, Jacob, et. al., Miss you guys and hope to see you once I get back!