First week has gone by so quickly

It is hard to believe I have been in Istanbul for one full week now.  The time has gone by so fast.  I miss home even though it feels like we have been so busy there is no time to think about anything else.  As the first week winds down I reflect on the progress we are making towards our end goal.  

This is our team …. Matthew, Yolanda, Sonal, and our project assistant and wonderful translator, Tara.  I am, of course, taking the picture.  We are challenged to think about the needs and value that could be provided for the small and medium enterprises who are represented by the TURKONFED confederation.  Gathering data to help define the small and medium businesses who are a part of TURKONFED and what business support they would value is a large undertaking.  At the same time we are researching and evaluating some of the best practices internationally.  There are many different aspects our team is trying to get to and while we make progress every day there is so much more we still want to do.

But there is always time for a lunch break.  Today, we visited one of the doner shops at the top of Taksim Square.  There must have been at least 10 of these doner food places in a row, all offering beef and chicken doner (meat barbecued on a large rotisserie and thinly sliced off and served as it cooks).  It was very tasty.

Tomorrow is Saturday and we are off exploring Istanbul.  A few of us will go to the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar to do some shopping.  I understand there are thousands of booth-like shops in a labyrinth of streets.  I am hoping my bargaining skills will emerge with this trip!

#ibmcsc turkey