This month my phone bill will be smaller

It's amazing how different I felt having a close friend visit. While Kyle was here, I didn't make nearly as many phone calls home as I usually do. I also didn't take an hour to get out of bed, and I ate more meals at home. These are all things I tell myself I'll do (or not do as the case may be), but I never really follow through. My life is so simple here that sometimes it's difficult to motivate myself to do even simple things, such as get out of bed when I wake up.

Now things will go back to normal. I'll go to work at noon, plan lessons for a few hours, teach for a couple hours, go to the Internet cafe, eat a small dinner, read, then go to bed. On the weekends I'll teach for several hours, go the Internet cafe, eat, read, then go to bed. Somewhere in there I'll practice the saz.

How is my life so simple here but oh-so busy back in the States? Mostly, I don't have many people to hang out with here. At first this really brought me down, but as more time passes I'm happy to have all this time to myself. The only thing to distract me from what I want to accomplish is myself. While this is a blessing, it is also my greatest challenege. This is the year I overcome laziness.

Just looked up "lazy" in the dictionary. Do I want to look back at my life and remember my year in Turkey as inert, passive, procrastinating, unindustrious? Hell no! I want to see myself as involved, animated, delightful, and alive!

That's it. I'm going to the gym right now. Wee!