What Have You Been Up To?

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I've been asked why I haven't blogged in four days. The answer is quite simple really, I haven't done anything. Being here for "study abroad" means I still have school, class, and homework; and so do my roommates. Yesterday marked the first day of Ramadan and so now for the next 27 days quite a few of my friends will be fasting. It's really interesting to learn about their culture and Turkish culture through this. Being able to ask questions in an environment where people are willing to answer without assuming the "other religion" is wrong is so refreshing and allows me to learn so much more.

With my friends fasting now, our biggest outings have been late dinners once their closing prayer is done. So being a food person, I wanted to try an actual Turkish meal when we went out to a new restaurant. I decided to order manti, which is basically Turkish ravioli. Let me tell you something, never ever EVER purchase a specific country meal from a back alley diner. I'm not sure how manti is supposed to taste, but I could easily compare it to spicy pizza coated in a salty watered down yogurt (a.k.a aryan). Not. Tasty. My roommate told me though that it's not the best manti she has ever seen nor eaten (she's from Turkey) and said that I should try it again at a nicer place. Ehhh I'm still skeptical.

Moving on, I'm still getting used to the Turkish environment though and the sleeping schedule. I swear I've been getting at least 8 hrs a night and I still need a nap! Some say it's due to the warm weather but thankfully the temperature has dropped to the 70's the past few days. Oh it's been so wonderful. Still, my roommate and I split the cost on a fan because no A/C is no bueno. We named her vanti from the Turkish word for fan vantilator, YAY. Now my only problem is that my roommate gets cold much faster than I. Another difference that I'm getting used to this environment is the fact that everybody in Istanbul it seems drives really nice cars. I mean there's a street we live by that is full of restaurants and markets, that has a Mercedes Benz dealership just right in the middle of the block. Parked everywhere on the curbs are BMWs, Audi's, and other high end models of cars. HOW?? People don't even drive here! The taxi and bus services are so efficient that I cannot fathom why people would spend double what Americans do (because all the cars are imported) to simply have it sit on the side of the road. Maybe they can afford cars because everything else around here is so cheap. Running to the grocery for water and a few foods to eat throughout the week is costing me around 8tl each time, which equates to roughly $4. And this is including fruits and veggies. It's beautiful. America, get it together.

Beyond some cultural "norms" that I'm still wrapping my head around, I've finally started adjusting to Turkey and being so far away from home. It seems that everywhere I have traveled to in the past was always with friends or family or I could easily go home by car. Now it's a 12 hour flight broken into two connections and people are awake when I'm asleep. Makes for a difficult change. But it all fades away when a group gets together to go exploring. I'm greatly looking forward to this next week when my roommate and I are going to the old city to see Topkapi Palace and then a larger group wants to travel on Friday to the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar. I feel as if I'm going to fill my phones' memory with photos of these beautiful landmarks!

Balancing school, traveling, and talking with friends and family can be tough. Especially with the fact that my day starts 8 hours before everyone I love and want to hear from. But I'm doing it. I'm experiencing something I never would have dreamed in a million years. If someone would have told me that before my third year of college I would be in Turkey I would have never believed them. In 46 days I will be back in Kansas, but until then I hope to further enjoy Turkey (mainly Istanbul).

Iyi geceler! (Good night!)

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Comments

[Melissa]

So proud of you!!! :)

[Sheridan]

Sounds Exciting!
Sounds like you are having a great time now! Way to try the local flavor. If your school or local friends offer to travel other places with you too, go for it! Stay open and keep taking pictures (can you share some here?).

[DarrahBarrah]

Photos
I've been looking everywhere trying to figure out how to load photos on here. Do you know how?

[Sheridan]

Photos
When you go to add a new blog post, there are tabs at the bottom. It automatically puts you in "add text." There are other tabs, including Photos. Start by clicking the "Photos" tab, and it should walk you through it. Depending on how good your internet connection is (and how big your pictures are) you might want to resize the images in Paint (or a program like it) before trying to upload them. And remember that this is a fairly public website, so only upload stuff you are comfortable sharing. Good luck!