today is a day of relief. my Iranian visa is approved, BUT I can only collect it on Saturday. of course the guy tells me on thurs afternoon (fri is an iranian holiday, which also applies to its embassies)

and my emailbox is working again. but still no replies from all the people i wrote to offering to write stories for them. travel writing isn't all its cracked up to be.

hate having to write when i travel - its like watching a movie and knowing you have to do a review. but then, i do appreciate all my friends' encouragement and replies at how fun it is to read my blog, and its definitely worth it. and i think its good practice for travel writing. god i'd love to do that one day.

anyway, I'm back in Erzurum, waiting for my visa to come in tomo and thanking GOD for the broadband here that's cleaned up my email mess. like alex sez, i may not be connected, but I am connected. i've stopped thinking about what he means; i'm just glad he talks sometimes :)

laters people

jo