AU Wackerlin Center for Faith and Action

Intercultural and Friendship Tour to Turkey

While I do not wish to speak for the entire group, I do want to relay some sentiment that I expect all of us share. Turkey was far, far beyond any expectations I could have ever imagined. The people of Turkey, the culture, the food, the giving, the understanding, the caring, I could go on for ever; Turkey was a dream, simply breathtaking, an experience that I will never forget.

In my travels I have learned, that while emotions run high during the experience, they truly begin to set in and take effect afterwards. Our group is too mature and too intelligent to have to reiterate how lucky we were. We saw and were given so much, we lived and we loved so much. Thank You Turkey and all who gave us your country for a few weeks.

But to stop with my thanks at Turkey would be cutting a good too many people short. First of all, I want to thank Tim. You dedicated your time and effort to secure our travels, and for that we will forever be indebted to you. "Retroactive" could be the word of the day for you; and if payments could be made in the form of friendship and love, I will be repaying you for the rest of my life. You sure can be a goofball, but I will always love you.

I also believe that Martin deserves a great deal of thanks from us. You began our relationship with Niagara and have furthered it to this day. You love, wisdom, and dedication to us has gone light years beyond the student-professor relationship. You have become a mentor, a father, and a friend that I will never forget.

My final thanks must go to Hakan and his parents, Gengiskhan and Afet. I had brief expectations of Turkey being a very welcoming and loving country, but I never expected to be lead around the country by such wonderful people. Turkey should be proud to have such dedicated and selfless ambassadors for their country. You three took us in, cared for us, and loved us like family. I will forever have a spot in my heart dedicated for you all. By no means were the last three weeks that last time I plan on seeing you all. We all have long lives ahead of us and I look forward to seeing you all again.

Thank you Erin, Steve, Lex, Martin, Tim, Hakan, Afet, Gengiskhan, and all of Turkey. You all were wonderful travel companions and an incredible group of people to spend a few weeks with. I couldn't have thought of a better way to let loose a bit before I take off for a few years. Thank you all.

With love, friendship, and the inevitable call for Peace,

Jason Lemberg