Just a little more Ankara.

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Hey all.
I don't have a lot to write about, as it hasn't been incredibly exciting this past week.
I started school last week, well sort of. Classes started the 18th, but as of the night of the 17th, I still had no idea where my classes were being held. So in desperation I got a hold of my host student and she met me the next morning to give me a hand. Turns out you have to go to this obscure room in the basement of your department and only there do they give you the list of the classrooms. Putting the room numbers on the website with the rest of the class info would be just too easy.
The day ended up with one of my professors not even showing up for the class, which, apparently, is very normal at METU. A nice way to start school off! The next day, for another class, when we got there the TA told us to come back in two hours for the class (they're in 3 hour blocks) and even then the prof was 20 minutes late. Things work a little differently here.
All in all, I have a great schedule. I only go to school Monday and Tuesday, giving me 5 day weekends to travel! All the IR classes are once a week in 3 hours, so I managed to find 4 classes that fit perfectly into that timetable. And better yet, while some classes I picked solely because they fit into the schedule, they've all turned out to be good! I'm even taking a Masters class (I know, crazy when I'm an doing an exchange, but the topic is amazing, Arab-Israeli conflict, hey Rebeca??)
I have a decent roommate situation. One is about my age and a chemical engineering student (since this is a Technical University, almost everyone is in some form of engineering. There's even food engineering). The other two are doing 'prep year', which is basically a year of intensive English so they're ready to take all of their classes in English the next year. One is pretty good at English, but the other doesn't speak much at all, which is good because then I have good practice at my Turkish.
There's a market really near to our campus on Thursdays and Sundays, and Jessie and I visited it last Thursday. It was an interesting experience. At one stand I tried to ask for 2 lira worth of apples. I ended up with a huge bag and then was surprised when it cost 4. I then realized that I had been given 2 kilos of apples! And it's an hour walk home. We also had this woman keep feeding us different types of cheese, and we couldn't get her to stop, but felt really bad because we didn't want to buy any. I didn't want to end up with 2 kilos of cheese in my fridge.
On Friday we went to apply for our Residence Permits. I've never experienced French bureaucracy firsthand but I'm thinking Turkish might match it. All in all, it took us about 4 hours just to submit our applications. A very long, tiring day, but I'm glad it's over. And not one computer in the building. Friday evening I experienced the first of what I think will be many power outages. We were powerless for an hour and a half. No one here seems to know why the power goes out and I'm very curious to find out why. But I am glad that I have a flashlight with little legs that can stand on its own.
This past weekend I went to see a movie in the cinema. You get to pick your seats out beforehand, and if you're even the slightest bit late, they won't let you in (unless you have a Turkish friend to beg for you). The seats are so incredibly comfortable and the place is spotless. And there's always a 10 minute intermission halfway.
Classes again today, and my one prof did show up (although, 20 minutes late, and he then informed us that classes will now always start 20 minutes late, so that we can have a 'proper lunch'. I love Turkey.) However, after going on about how important this one textbook is to get, and that it's our primary reading, he then told us he had no idea where we could get it. (Definitely not in the bookstore on campus. Side note: My one friend went to ask if they had one book for her, and they said no, but luckily, it's going to come next year some time.) There is one copy in the library, but of course, it's checked out and I have no idea how 50 students are going to manage sharing that. Hopefully reading is as important as being punctual.
Another interesting note. In Turkey, you don't buy textbooks. Normally, the prof just sends a copy downstairs to the 'photocopy room' and students just go there to buy photocopies of the book. It's awesome, and incredibly cheap. I love how copyright laws doesn't exist here, or like many other laws, are simply ignored.
I can sense already that this is going to be a term like no other. I'm excited to see what it all entails. I have no pictures for this entry, but I am heading to Pamukkale tomorrow night so I will be full of pictures and more interesting stories next time.

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