Graduation Weekend in Chapel Hill

After only six days in Istanbul, we got up insanely early on Friday to head to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It’s not every day that your youngest brother graduates from college, and we were so excited to see the family!

Roughly 24 hours and three flights later, we landed just in time for dinner Friday evening. I think everyone was horrified with my meal: I decided to order anything that I couldn’t get in Sri Lanka or Turkey. I started with chips and guacamole, then had ribs, and I finished it off with a warm brownie and vanilla ice cream for dessert! I love America. (Mom, I can already hear you scolding me!)

I had not been to Chapel Hill since I was college shopping as a junior in high school, so it was basically a new experience for me. It’s the perfect college town! We spent Friday night at the frat house, dancing the night away to an awesome Motown-esque band. Then the jetlag set in, and we had to get to bed ASAP!

Meadows’ mom thought of everything to make the weekend perfect, down to booking a suite so we could all hang out together (fully stocked with snacks and drinks!). It was awesome to live like our “old normal” again: no safety concerns, comfort food and family.

On Saturday, Chandler’s college had their walking ceremony. Since it’s the School of Media and Journalism, Cokie Roberts gave the commencement address! Just when we thought we couldn’t be any prouder, Chandler rocked UNC socks!

Saturday night was Chandler’s big graduation dinner. We ate at a fabulous southern restaurant, and Meadows got his fried chicken fix. They even had a dessert brought to celebrate my birthday early!

Sunday came way too quickly. We got up early and went to the big, university-wide graduation ceremony. The school couldn’t have asked for better weather, complete with a “Carolina blue sky.”

We enjoyed brunch on Mother’s Day (shout out to all the moms in our lives!), celebrating both Tudda and Chandler. I can’t tell you how awesome it was; we had delicious southern brunch food, a photo booth and matching t-shirts!

With the end of brunch, our 48-hour trip was over; it was time to head to the airport. We made it back to Turkey on Monday evening. We took six flights in less than four days, and had no delays or cancellations! Tuesday morning (at the crack of dawn) we flew to Ankara, still on a high from the weekend.

Being back in the U.S. was more than supporting Chandler or a chance to indulge in Chick-fil-a (which we obviously did!), it was the rare opportunity to be surrounded by people we love. We appreciate these moments more than ever these days! Congratulations to Chandler, and a big thanks to Tudda – we had a FABULOUS weekend in Chapel Hill!