10 days of paradise come to an end

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October 7
I’m not entirely sure where I left off with my adventures but I’ll continue a bit with Turkey. My last days in Turkey consisted of taking a boat tour on the Bosporus, going to a large spice market, and touring another Ottoman palace.

I realize that Turkey isn’t that foreign but it’s the most exotic place I’ve been in my life so far. It’s in an interesting position because one side borders the western world and the other side borders only third world countries that the US is attacking. Even though it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the EU the other side of Turkey’s border has almost no political or economic stability.

Another unfamiliar aspect of Turkey was that it was the first Muslim country I’ve visited. Of course Turkey is probably one of the most liberal Muslim countries in the world. Our tour guide said that 90% of Turkey is Muslim and that 35% of them practice regularly. We visited on Ramadan and supposedly 80% of Turkey observes Ramadan, meaning they fast (along with other things) everyday for a month during daylight. However while sipping my apple tea at a café after a successful day of shopping at the Grand Bazaar I quickly noticed that the only women on the streets were either tourists or covered to head to toe. It appeared that about 90% of the population was men but in reality the women were just at home. Also all of us got a non-traditional 5am wake-up call each morning—the Muslim call to prayer that sounds via intercom all over the city five times a day.

I really did enjoy everything about Turkey (except not being allowed to drink the water). It makes me want to visit countries more extreme than Turkey some day, you know, real Muslim countries. There’s a lot out there that I need to get a better understanding of and seeing it is probably the first step. In three weeks I’m going with three friends of mine to Morocco for fall break and I’m hoping that I’ll get another good glance at a Muslim country, something that surprisingly fascinates me. I’m really glad I’ve gotten the opportunity to get an itty bitty taste of Asia and Africa this semester.

And now onto more fun topics! I have a new senora who I love! She is 37 and her cousin who is about the same age lives with us too. Her apartment is so cool and modern, especially compared to my last homestay. She speaks English but I asked her just to speak to me in Spanish. However, when crucial details are being given and I don’t understand she says the English word. Her mom came over to visit today and she may be my favorite family member even though they’re all great. Her mom is a professor and is taking French and English classes. My senora and her cousin went to work and her mom and I continued to talk and have lunch at the apartment. Communicating with my senora’s mom is so much fun because she speaks slowly in Spanish to me and if she thinks I don’t fully understand what she’s saying she says it in the broken French that she knows. I love this because my French is getting really rusty. Also, I like when she asks me how to say things in English.

I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to the end of my excursions in Turkey and Greece but now that I’m back in Madrid I’m excited to have three quiet weeks. My new senora thinks I don’t eat much but the truth is I’m not hungry at all after being fed non-stop for the past 10 days. There’s a park right across the street from my new house and I’m hoping to get back into running. Also there are tennis courts and a driving range. I find this hilarious because my dad and brothers would joke around and tell me I should take my golf clubs with me to Spain and I always responded with, “How on Earth would I find a place to use my golf clubs?” And now I can see a driving range from my bedroom window. My friend, Maura, is studying in Paris and she’s going to make it into Madrid in a couple weekends. Besides that, the last three weeks of October appear to be pretty quiet.

October 8
I realize this is only day two of my new homestay but I like them more and more each hour. I’m really thankful to have young senoras because unlike my senora (who I loved) in Granada and my senora (who was terrible) in Madrid I am not forced to shove three helpings of fried pork down my throat. When I tell my senoras here that I don’t want to get fat they laugh at me but they completely understand where I’m coming from. And instead of serving me fried foods they seem to be in the know with what’s healthy AND they take me grocery shopping with them so I can tell them what I like and what I don’t like. I just finished what may have been my favorite meal in the past month and a half. It was an enormous salad of mixed greens (not iceberg lettuce, which is what they serve everywhere in Spain), apples, red pomegranates, a white cheese, and balsamic dressing. After that I had steamed green beans with a bit of balsamic and three glasses of water because I just got done running in the park. An apple and peach yogurt was for dessert. My tummy is full of fruits and veggies—YUM! Time to shower!

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