International Flights are so fun when you are over 6'

It was a long day of travel, but we are in Istanbul!  Our flights were uneventful, but cramped for those of us over 6' tall (4 out of 5 of us). 

One of the things that always strikes me when I am around groups of students who are meeting each other for the first time is how fast everything happens.  My little group of four made 16 new friends yesterday within minutes of meeting them!  Students are so quick - much quicker than adults - to get over that initial awkward, "Uhh, hi...My name is _________.  What is yours?"  They get it out of the way, then they move on with confidence and curiosity.  It's the curiosity that makes the biggest impression on me.  They want to know what shared experiences others have had, what their schools are like, what they do in common, how they are different.  The initial awkwardness is replaced with enthusiasm and animated conversation almost immediately.  Within ten minutes of our schools coming together in the JFK Terminal on Monday, this was the scene:

  There is a second circle of students that I couldn't fit into frame directly beside this one.

Later, after a long flight and hot trip though customs, when the students were presented with a large tour bus, this is what I boarded to:

Clearly everyone is getting along just fine...

We have a pretty restful day today, but tomorrow is a different story!