Hayirlisi Olsun

Allow me to share my daughter’s sad tale with you.

Kayla is planning to spend the day with her friend, Amy.  Nothing unusual for a Tuesday during spring break, except that they (and 20 other high-school classmates) are supposed to be taking in the sights of Istanbul right now.  This story started last year when they persuaded Mr. N, their physics teacher, to take them on a trip to his homeland.  A year of planning and fund-raising later, they were due to leave for Turkey last Friday.  I’m sure, globally aware blog reader, that you can anticipate what happened to their plan.  Scheduled to fly through Zurich, their flight was among the first affected by the closing of Swiss air space.  With travelers stranded around the world, learning of the cancellation before even reaching the airport seems like a pretty good deal.  Nonetheless, everyone (students, teachers, and parents) is very disappointed.

One of the guiding principles of my life is that Mother Nature will always have the last laugh.  To this I’ll add “hayirlisi olsun,” a Turkish phrase Mr. N shared, which (as I understand it) has a meaning of hoping for the best possible outcome, when that outcome can’t yet be seen.  Volcano willing, the trip will go on!  Just not this week.  Meanwhile, the kids have learned a lesson of what it means to live in a globally connected world, one in which even technology (not to mention teachers and parents) can’t make volcanoes cooperate.