We started this morning a bit later than usual, at 11 am, so that everybody could get a good night's rest. We visited a public high school mid-morning. It was a special, application-only school that specializes in certain areas like finance and video production. We met its director and 2 students, who answered our questions about their teaching system and how Turkish public schools differ from private schools. For an interesting dichotomy, we then went to a private high school, Samanyolu College, for lunch and a tour. It was a spacious, modern building with some great student photography work displayed as an exhibit in the front hallway. Their Director told us about Samanyolu's history and numerous achievements in student competitions.

The afternoon consisted of a brief trip to a shopping district before we went to TRT, the Turkish government-owned television station. We had the pleasure of seeing 5 of our group members on a national television news show! Olivia Stehr, Danny Kim, Laurie Veillon and Tiffany Simmons, along with IC group co-leader Atakan Ata, were interviewed about the Art & Essay Contest and their time in Turkey. They did a wonderful job explaining their participation in the Contest and what has been so special about our time together in Turkey. The whole group watched excitedly as the live interview was shown on TRT. We then got a tour of the studio, which was very interesting.

Next up was Mogan Park outside of the city. This enormous park featured a walking path around a lake, mini-train, small roller coaster and several restaurants. After riding the train and roller coaster, we enjoyed a picnic of doner gyros near the lake as the sun set. Now it's time for bed since we have an early flight to Izmir, our 3rd city. Iyi geceler (good night) from Turkey!

- Sarabrynn