Three weeks. Three entire weeks have passed since I left Istanbul and returned home to Naperville. Each day for the past three weeks I have attempted to sit down and update this blog with retrospective reflections of my trip, but each day, I sit before a blank computer screen, unable to capture my experience in words. Sure, I could detail my experiences as a student immersed in the rich culture of Istanbul, or recount all that I miss about the incredible city, from its towering minarets faithfully sounding the call to prayer to the fruit vendors selling freshly squeezed orange juice from their appropriately named “vitamin shops.” But neither of these approaches would do my experience justice.

I will be the first to admit that I did not update this blog nearly as much as I should have. Much like in these last three weeks, there were countless times over the six weeks that I wanted to recount my experiences and reflect on recent occurrences. But an overriding sense of doubt in my ability to articulate my experiences left me at a loss for words. There was the time I was made uncomfortably aware of what it meant to be an American, when a Kurdish man claiming to work for the United States Army in Iraq made conversation with us, the tone of his voice betraying his hope that we were his ticket to America. Or the time I went to Sultanahmet with a few friends to experience Ramadan in the heart of historic Istanbul and was witness to an eerie silence that had descended over the area as the faithful wiled away the hours before sunset.

What I can articulate, however, is that I learned more in six weeks in Istanbul than I would have learned in an entire quarter at Northwestern. I learned about politics and religion, about history and culture, both within the classroom and outside its doors. I learned from my interactions with the local people and from my passing observations. And perhaps most importantly, I learned about myself. As a Muslim in a secular country, my beliefs were repeatedly thrown into question. Yet these constant challenges forced me to learn more about Islam, which, in turn, allowed me to emerge stronger in my faith.

In the end, the six weeks I spent in Istanbul were a time of growth and introspection. And while I may not be able to properly articulate the experiences I had, I know that I have entered into a love affair with a rich, vibrant city and ventured onto a lifelong path of learning and discovery.