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Published: June 26th 2009
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YTÃ
This is one of many paintings I found on the wall of a building on campus this morning Let me begin by assuring you that what I post on this blog in no way represents the views of the State Department or the Critical Language Scholarship program.
This entry's title, "yaz," in Turkish can mean either "summer" or the command form of the verb "to write." And, indeed: Bu yaz, yazmalıyım ("I should write this summer"). I have decided to do so here, in both ingilizce and in türkçe, as I have a small and beloved bilingual audience. I might occasionally throw in a bit of "Tarzanca" too (literally, the "language of Tarzan," but this is commonly used to refer to a blending of English and Turkish, which, şimdi, you are reading). Some things will be easier to express in one of these languages than in the other, so I'll write in whichever way seems the most practical. In the interest of time I probably won't write about everything twice. I'll try to mention the juiciest bits in both languages though, if there are any juicy bits. Surely there will be at least a few funny bits to pass on.
Bits.
Merhaba! Artık burada hem ingilizce hem de türkçe yazmayı çalışıcam çünkü sürekli pratik yapmam
gerekiyor. Yeni İstanbul'a döndüm - yarın birinci hafta bitirecek. Geldiğim için çok mutlu oldum! Ağustos'un ortasına kadar türkçe kursunda çalışıyorum. Türkçem hemen iyileşeceğini umarım ve sonraki yazmalarım daha güzel olacaklar. İstanbul yazın cennet gibidir. Burada olduğumu çok beğeniyorum.
It feels like there is a lot to update you on and at the same time not much to write about at all so far. Our trip began in DC, where we all met and the CSL program started spoiling us rotten (to my delight, the spoiling part has not stopped yet). At first it was surreal to sit in a room full of other young people that all have exaggerated interests in Turkey and the Turkish language - each of us with our own unique reasons. In that sense, I was in a quirky and specific minority at Geneseo, but at least it wasn't the only one of its kind.
Derslerimiz salı günü başladı pazartesiki oriyantasyonumuzdan sonra. İki tane hocamız var ve biz on tane çalışkan öğrenciyiz. Şimdiye kadar herşey yolundadır. Hafta sonunda İznik'e ve Bursa'ya gidip geziriz. Oradaki Bursa kebabı yemeyi dört gözle bekliyorum. İnanabilirseniz bu hafta çok fotoğrafı çekmedim. Genellikle derslerimizden sonra arkadaşlarımla buluşup sohbet edip beraber
yemek yiyoruz filan falan. Yani geldiğimden beri İstanbul'u gezmek için çıkmıyorum ama sonra güzel fotoğrafları çekip buraya koymayı çalışıcam.
I was lucky enough to have a window seat on the left side of the plane as we came into İstanbul with a stunning view of the city's center, from the Black Sea to the Marmara, over which we turned and descended smoothly into Atatürk Airport. Those familiar with the city's geography might be able to spot in the picture I've posted the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus Bridge, the Prince Islands, or - at the very least - the mighty continent-severing Bosphorus itself. Sorry it's not a better pic.
Reuniting with my sweetheart immediately after baggage claim, customs, and immigration was a lovely beginning to a superb weekend. We patted ourselves on the back for weathering five months on opposite ends of an ocean and spent the days that followed rediscovering how we each prefer our tea, the different ideas we have about dogs in the street and if they can be trusted or not, and that it's easier to stay balanced while walking on a curb if somebody holds your hand while you do it. And about a
zillion other things that we simply could not properly share over the internet, seven time zones apart...
İstanbul'a varınca manzara uçağın penceresinden Karadeniz'den Marmara Denizine süperdi. Adaları, Boğaz'ı, köprüleri, Haliç'i filan falan görebildim. Ne kadar güzel bir şehir İstanbul kesinlikle oluyor. Fotoğrafı buraya koydum ama maalesef o kadar iyi değil.
Havalimanında sevgilimle buluştum. Hafta sonunda çok eğlenceliydi ve beraber zaman geçtiğimizi çok beğendik. Özel şık tasarımcı partilerine gittik cumartesi akşam. Pazar günü Ortaköy'e gezdik ve sonra İstinye'deki arkadaşlarımızla buluştuk.
And that's really about all for now. I hope this post finds you well.
Görüşürüz!
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