MACK ATTACK!

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This feels like the first year of university I never had. My first year of uni was spent at a lonely and commuter-y BCC, working my ass off to make sure I overcame the GPA deficit I finished high school with and got into a real university I wanted to go to. Instead of, you know, meeting a million people, making lifetime friends, hanging out and enjoying new-found freedom, making and discovering music, exploring and getting to know my new surroundings, taking pretty easy classes that I did the work for but didn't feel the need to freak out over--you know, that sort of thing. Which is what this place is to me--I have met such amazing people here, and recently, even though I'm in Istanbul, I've spent so much of my time just enjoying being around them instead of enjoying the city. My classes are pretty easy compared to America--so far, at the very least--probably at least partially because my grasp of English is, shall we say, better than most of the students here, and most of my assignments involve reading or writing in it. Thus my classes are easy, but not unfulfilling or uninteresting--my philosophy class, for example, is one of the most challenging intellectual endeavors I've undertaken in a while, partially just because I'm immersed in an environment full of people (senior phil students and the instructor) who come from an almost completely different background from my own. I keep getting introduced to new ideas that they often take for granted! The subject matter is really, genuinely interesting and important to me! The reading is great...even if the professor is a little too pedagogical in her approach. My other classes, except for perhaaaaps international economics, are similarly interesting without being too difficult. Every other night I eat a hearty soup-and-bread dinner for literally either $0.66 or $1.6666 at the amazing cafe down the street from my apartment! Food here can be so fucking cheap! Okay, sorry, I didn't mean to get on yet another one of those "oh my god life here is great for reasons X! and Y! and Z!!!!" rants. Basically, as I said, it feels like the freshman year of college I never had, in an amazing way.

Also, my friend Mackenzie is visiting in a week and a half! I am excited for her to be here! I want to show her Dirty and the Hagia Sofia and the amazing cafe down the street and have her meet my awesome Istanbuddies! Hilarious excerpt from an email message from her:

do you have a turkish phone that ill try to call with my french phone, or should i plan on meeting you somewhere?

SO INTERNATIONAL

International asfuck.

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