Traveling

Finally on the way to Istanbul, Turkey! I feel like it was just yesterday that I signed up for the trip! Packing for a month was so difficult especially knowing that we would be traveling frequently so packing light was a must. I tried to be a smart by packing clothes that would be easy to wash and dry at the hotel and durable to go on long walking tours. Also, I had to factor in that we would be in completely foreign country so everyday items such as contact solution and my specific face wash would need to be packed in a larger amount because if I ran out who knows how I would find a replacement.            Trying to be prepared for an emergency of foreign situation was so tough. I wonder how the Greeks prepared for their long journey to Troy without even knowing when they would return. I'm sure many have never even been to Troy, so how were they suppose to know what the weather would be like? I assume that the soldier dress to suit the climate they were fighting in. So suppose Troy was as cold as Serbia, how would the soldier know what they were getting themselves into? Maybe that is trivial, but this thought made me think about the conveniences we have today in the 21st century. I can easily go online or even on my phone and look at the weather in Turkey and pack accordingly.             In addition the transportation makes traveling way easier and accessible to more people. I personally was dreading the long flight overseas, but what is 10 hours versus weeks of travel by boat? Charting unknown seas and submitting to the whims of the sea must of been frustrating and sometimes frightening.             Most soldiers didn't even making it home after war, not because of the fighting but because of the voyage home. Odysseus was cursed to sail the sea endlessly, which sounds worse than the actual Trojan War. In the Odyssey, Homer clearly depicts Odysseus longing for home and the heartache he felt thinking about Ithaca. Though I am super excited for the beautiful sights of Turkey and Greece, I know I will be equally eager to go home to my family and friends. There truly is no place like home.