Turks turning up everywhere

In all of the things I had expected to happen during the whole process of applying for the grant to Turkey, one unexpectedly favorable outcome was how many Turks I would find at BC and in the area. Since beginning my Turkish studies in the summer, I have come across over well over 20 Turks at BC, BU, or Northeastern. Sure, you can say, "Matt, you've been hanging around a lot of Turkish places this semester."

I'd tend to agree on that except for two things.

1)I worked for a year and a half on a documentary about the Muslim community in Boston and never met as many Turks as I have now. Of course, I wasn't really looking as I am now. But, number two is even more peculiar.

2) I have found Turks in my classes(non-Turkish related), the Improvisational Murder Mystery Comedy group I'm in, and many other random, totally unrelated groups I have been in at BC for the past few years.

Of course, all of this has been great. I've been able to practice my Turkish, and been introduced to the country by and wide group of amazingly nice people. I just wanted to reflect on how amazingly lucky I've been to find so many people from Turkey through so many random and unexpected connections.

Also, it has been reported that Barack Obama was briefed on Turkey in the past few days. According to the Turkish news source, the report spoke about the "importance of Turkey in the region. Brookings and CFR experts recommend Obama to develop Turkey's mediating role to find a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute."