Istanbul is amazing. Here's a disjointed but somewhat complete rundown of my adventure thus far:
Airport: small, easy to manage, 14€ or $20 visa, easy entry, easy bus ride to our dorm (although we were a wee bit lost on the side street, but at least we were on the right block)
First night: stupendous. As mentioned, I ended up in a double with Gözde because I was the only one who could somewhat understand what was going on in room distribution. She and I ended staying up until around 0430 talking. We asked each other cultural questions, among other things.
--I explained that most Americans don't know where Turkey is or that it's anything but the bird that we eat to celebrate the holiday where we eat food and commemorate the commencement of the destruction of North America, and most Americans couldn't name a country that borders the Black Sea to save their lives. We're taught geography in middle school, yes, but no one retains it because we're an isolated country between two oceans, Canada, and Mexico, and we're full of people who don't have active passports, much less passports with any recent visas. Geography? Why should I know where Australia is?
--I explained that very few people understand Islam. Turkey is a Muslim country, people, but it's FAR more secular than the United States. You could never say anything like 'Allah bless Turkey.' When trying to show why people in the United States are so uneducated, I decided to bring up foxnews.com. Yep. The top story was a potato that had, apparently, an image of Jesus on it. People in Europe eat french fries like you wouldn't believe. Another story blurb was complete with a picture of an angry Ahmadinejad, and it detailed something about his refusal to stop their nuclear programme within the two-week time frame. Whose two-week time frame? And honestly, America. (The Islamic Republic of) Iran hasn't invaded a country in over two hundred years. Who's the real current threat to the world here?
--It was such a long night, after such a long day, but so lovely.
Yesterday: busy. We had a lovely breakfast, walked around down the equivalent of Istanbul's Beacon Hill and Newbury Street. We walked to Bahçeşehir Üniversitesi, where we had a small tour and were each given a wicked nice book on a perspective of life in Istanbul. Our professor had coffee with the president, and he invited us to the opening ceremony of a historical museum to-morrow.* While she schmoozed, we enjoyed amazing views of the Bosporus. After an amazing lunch replete with all manner of things that I could eat and enjoy (zucchini and egg fried tortilla things, rice-stuffed green peppers, rice, I think that it was apricot juice, plenty of water...), we had two lectures on water in Turkey--one past and one present and future--which were both very interesting. More on water later.
--We came back and Gözde took Theresa and me shopping. I bought things that I would never buy in the US: a shirt that's neither form-fitting nor cinched at the waist (it is at the hip) that's YELLOW and doesn't look horrible on me, and a simple, white, sheer tunic to throw over skimpy tank tops. We had a lovely evening, complete with being harassed by two young gypsy girls who were, among other things, being all creepy and homeless and poor, and barking at us, and laughing. O, gypsies--I guessed right away what you were.
--Upon our return back, I showered, packed for our trip, and tried to finish my reflection paper. The security guard from downstairs moseyed up here around 2245 or so, and we began to talk: Gözde, Havva (the guard), and Dilek, a girl who lives down the hall. Havva asked me all manner of questions--she's hilarious. When I didn't understand, she would speak louder and slower, much to our amusement. Eventually she understood that nomatter how loudly or slowly she spoke, I would still not understand. I was reminded of people in America who do this. I also remarked upon all of the people in America who, despite the fact that out country has no official language, demand that visitors know English, yet the people in our group, and most American travellers, barely know Turkish, or the language of the country to which they're travelling.
--I was able to understand much more Turkish than I thought, especially when it was complemented with lots of miming. I understood when Havva told me that, if I study at Bahçeşehir, then I can stay here, and she'll teach me Turkish as I teach her English (she speaks, basically, none). I told her that she can stay in Boston with me if she comes to America, although I don't think that this is likely... She kept saying that mine eyes were beautiful, and how did they get that way? Everyone here has dark brown hair and brown eyes, with some with hazel eyes, but no blue. Here, I'm blonde. Actually, Emre, our professor's first cousin once removed or something--he's basically being an aide on our adventures in Turkey, and he's our age--was the first person to guess that my heritage must be in the British isles. Everyone seems to think I'm Russian (tall, thin, pale, wavy hair, very square face, harsh features (I think that this part is only because I'm thin, but maybe I do have harsh features)), for some reason. I digress; Havva stayed late, and I didn't get the change to finish my reflection (but I cam within half a page) before having to shower, pack for the next day, and sleep.
--I'll write about our adventures to-day later.
*We're leaving in about an hour on a bus to stay in a hotel a few hours south down the coast to-night. To-morrow, we'll attend the ceremony as guests of honour, so yeah, we're kind of a big deal. O, and Gözde's tuition dollars are paying for all of our transportation, lodging, and food. Turkey is amazing.
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