Now I’m new to this whole traveling thing and already I’m running into mental battles royale.

After a little over a week in Istanbul, general ideas about Turkish culture have floated through my head causing me to make rather quick judgments on what the people are like and who they really are. I’ve noticed things like many of the people here are trustworthy yet not trusting, passionate as all hell about pretty much everything, and aggressive in their interactions yet extremely helpful. I’ve formed these opinions from different interactions with friends, a lover, and even street vendors, but the truth is I’m finding it exceptionally difficult not to sit at home at night and wonder if I even have the right to come up with so many general assumptions after only being here for a week.

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