The brand is you

We had the chance to meet with Turgay from Saffron Consulting about creating a brand. It was probably the best visit we had because it was so interactive and no one fell asleep. Just before we arrived, we were informed that we would do an exercise that would give one of us the chance to have a page in their new book Turkey as a global brand. The winner would also be given an internship in London. They gave us 15 mins to find a picture in a magazine and write in under 60 words a brand for Turkey. It was tough.


We then had to present them to the class.
A Professor from Marmara University told me later that mine was the best! That made me happy.
I would love to win.
We then had the chance to go to the #1 late night talk show in Turkey, Disco Krali.


On the way they told us we might get to be on the show to present our pieces.
And we were.



-Misty

Biscuits

We visit anywhere from 2-5 locations a day and every one offers us baked goods that are exactly the same. Even our hotel offers them. I call them biscuits. They look big but they are actually about the size of a quarter. I am biscuited out. They are killing me. I am sure that when I am home I will want biscuits again.



-Misty

My favorite view from my room.


-Misty

Tv8

Today we went to TV8. It was great, I got to meet a Turkish talk show host who gave me her cook book, even though it is in Turkish. She said I was amazing because I have 5 kids and that I should cook them Turkish food. I also got my news anchor picture taken. It was a lot of fun.
I have tried to work on my assignments but the internet is so slow that I cant get anything done.





-Misty

 This picture made me think of Adam, because he asked me if I had a boat when we talked on the phone for the first time while I was here

 This picture made me think of Kaely because she loves the ceramic dolls and is always telling me how pretty they are.

 This picture made me think of Elly because her Belle eyes sparkle like these lights.

This picture made me think of Janers because she loves beautiful things and she is beautiful.

This picture made me think of Skyler because he asked for some crazy chips like Duck and Hoisen. I got you some by the way!!

 This picture made me think of Shay because I am no good without him.


I miss you guys like crazy and can't wait to get home to you.

Breakdown

I had a bit of a break down today.  I have never been away from my husband and kids this long.  It is difficult.  My roommate does not like me because she says I talk to her like she is a child, so she is very disrespectful and rude to me.  It is surprisingly hard to have someone treat me like that.  Especially when my roommate back home is ALWAYS telling me how wonderful I am and how appreciative he is.  I guess I have been clueless to how lucky and blessed I am.  It sure brings it to the forefront.

I miss my babies so bad, when I called them I could barely talk from crying.

I have had a very emotional day.  

Istanbul Day 2

It rained today.  My pants were disgusting on the hem from walking all over the city while it rained.  The umbrella Shay convinced me I needed and bought for me came in handy.  I was very grateful.  We have a great group of people and I have come to love everyone.  Our Turkish guides are very nervous that we will get lost or stolen and they keep a very close eye on us.

 The Evil Eye as seen on the bottom of this jewelry is thought to keep bad spirits away.  I think this is where the stink eye originated.

 The Grand Bazarre

Doner Kebap Shop

 Pigeons on a Mosque

The street we are staying on.

I have thought about all of those who donated for me to go on this trip and I am grateful. 

Coca~Cola Reception

Tonight we had a reception hosted by Coke Eurasia. It was at a beautiful location on the Bosphorus Sea. It was at a museum that held a Rembrandt-Vermeer exhibit. It was beautiful and I scored a big win by being the first to get an interview with a top executive of Coke. I miss my family but Istanbul is beautiful.






-Misty

Istanbul

We arrived in Istanbul around 2 am and I finally made it to bed when call to prayer began at 5am.  We had to be up at 8:30 am and I promised myself I wouldn't take a nap today. We started the day with 3 speakers who talked to us about the state of freedom of speech in Turkey.  They are a pretty modern society by the Middle East standards, but they have the most Journalists in prison of any country, right around 95.  They talked about the importance of freedom of speech to keep the government honest and much more transparent.  She said the fear that Journalist have felt has caused them to be self restricting and that is bad.
When a girl asked what the US was doing or could do to help, the speaker stated that we needed to help ourselves first. I loved it.  It was a fresh perspective.  It definitely made me think twice.  Do we really have freedom of speech? Or are we self restricting? What do you think?

The city is amazing and I love seeing all the Turkish flags hung from every building.  It was Youth Day today, so the city was decorated in flags.  We went to the Spice Market and Grand Bizarre, but the guides were so nervous to lose us that we didn't really get to enjoy it. I got some amazing pictures and had a wonderful day in the end.

Amsterdam

We had a 7 hour layover in Amsterdam.  Our Professor told us if we missed the flight then we should buy a ticket home, because we would not be welcome on the trip anymore.  Luckily everyone made it back, but just barely for about 7 people.  Super crazy.  Three of us who chose not to take part in the mj brownie and Red Light District, had a wonderful time taking great pictures, eating great food and enjoying the beautiful weather in Amsterdam.

Leaving

If you think it is hard to take a good family picture try leaving them for 12 days, now that is hard.

On my way

I left the ATL on Thursday from the new International terminal. It was so nice and quite, it felt like the Twilight Zone. Only two people in front of me in security!


-Misty

Flushing My Hopes Down The Toilet

My exam is this morning and it counts 30% of our grade. I made it to school on time and went to use the restroom before I would go over my notes. But my notes fell in the toilet. So wish me luck.


-Misty

Loss of a Scholarship

I did not get the Coke Scholarship. It is a sad day. But life goes on and we will figure it out as we go.


-Misty

What I Have Learned So Far

-Going to school on Saturdays is brutal.

-Getting the house clean, dinner made, laundry done, dishes done, kids loved, prepare for a trip, homework done (mine and the kids) and getting to bed before you have to leave the next morning is pretty much impossible.

-Only two other people in the group are married and I am the only one in the group that has a kid. (I think)

-Shay is amazing and patient, I need to take better care of him.  It is hard to go to the office everyday.  I really had no idea how draining it was sitting around and thinking.

-The world is sort of flat, which is an interesting topic of discussion, if you are interested in discussing it please let me know.

-Cartoons are magical and evil, but I am too tired to do anything about it.

-Sundays are wonderful.

-We are all naive.

-I love Mothers Day!

-Passion = Success
-Networking is good.
-Working in the media industry will steal your soul.

CNN

We went to CNN a couple of days ago.  It was really great to get some new perspectives and connect with some big names there. For example, we heard from the EVP of Finance and Administration, Assistant General Counsel, SVP of Marketing, Ad sales Executive, VP Human Resources, SVP of CNN Digital, EVP of HLN, Sr. Director of International Newsgathering, SVP of Programing CNN International, Executive Producer of CNN Espanol.
The day was full of information and everyone I talked to said they crashed at 6:30 when they got home.  It is amazing how tired sitting in the same chair all day can make you.
The propaganda was amazing.  I do love to see people blindly promoting their brand.  I do it, why can't CNN?

Leaving Everyday

It hurts.  My heart wants nothing more than to stay with my little boy.  It has been over 2 years now that I have been in school.  Two to 3 days a week, I would take my sweet Adam to the sitter.  Most mornings he would cry, he did not want to go to Tyler's, he is mean and hits him.  Well what can I do, I kiss him and tell him I will run back as fast I can to kiss and hug him and save him from mean Tyler.

And I do, the second class is over, I literally run to my boy.

(Just so you know, the next day he usually BEGS to go to Tyler's. Two 3 year old's and one monster truck, someone is gonna get hit!)

For the past 8 days I have left my good, strong superhero (because he eats his vegetables) 3 year old boy to go to class.  My eyes water and I try not to think of him growing while I am gone.  I am not an emotional person.  I literally cry 1-2 times a year, no joke.  But this baby boy of mine has stolen my heart.  It is different for the big kids.  They are in school and I am home shortly before or after they come home.  

Every morning for the last 8 days I tell my Adam him where I am taking him, he cries and says he wants to go here or there instead, only the next day when he goes to the place he cried about he cries to go the place he went to the day before.  

A couple of days ago, on the way to drop him off, I asked him, "Adam, why did you pick me to be your mom?", he replied "Because you are the Best".  

That is the kind of boy I have. 

Now I have to leave him for 12 days. Wish me luck.

Surviving

I have made it through the first 3 days of classes.  We have class 6 days a week for 2 weeks here in Atlanta, then we head to Istanbul on the 17th.  We will leave here on the 17th and arrive on the 19th thanks to a 7 hour layover in Amsterdam.  Which should be an adventure.
The last three days have been insane, I get home and run from here to there and I should be doing homework that is due the next day.  I am supposed to have read The World is Flat by tomorrow, but is has been super tough to read a 650 page book in the last 4 days.  It has been demanding but I have already felt like I have learned a lot about international business and I am excited to learn more.
Now I have to figure out when I am going to have time to prepare for the trip.

First Day of Class

My study abroad class has officially begun. I had almost a full week off before this class started. I purged the whole house and got rid of enough stuff to fill the whole Garage. And enough body aches to keep me from moving first thing in the morning. We are now having a garage sale to make some spending cash for my trip. Well Shay is having a garage sale, I will be in class. Yes that is right, we have class on Saturdays. I am excited to get to know our group, they seem really great. I had a mommt date with Adam the last day out of class, we did a Superhero adventure. It was so fun.









-Misty

Battle Strategy

I have been thinking about getting Skyler to take some college courses starting next summer.  He will be going into High School and I have a plan for him to have his Bachelors before he leaves on his mission.  I am not sure it will work, but I want to give it a try.  He will still go to High School but will take college courses in the Summer.  So I asked him what his best subject was so we could start thinking about what major he should work toward, his answer "Battle Strategy".  My first thought was, "maybe he is not ready for college classes", second thought "maybe he is".  I am hopeful that I can make this work.  I am excited to try.