Turka Turka whaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

outdoor amphitheater at Koc

So the theme of my first Friday at school is: Turka Turka whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa? this can generally be explained as my inability to understand the words that are being said around me, combined with my poor attempts at intermittently trying to speak Turkish and English very slowly (which is really annoying for anyone to do - as if that will magically get people to understand a foreign language). 

Registration did not go entirely as planned.  Apparently I was supposed to bring my college diploma, which is sitting in a lovely wooden frame that my brother kindly assembled.  Perhaps I should have taken that "required registration documents" a little more seriously.

anyway, registration would have been impossible had it not been for my awesome new friend, Yilmaz, who not only helped me decipher the registration documents, but gave me a full tour of Koc's campus, with a foozball game to boot (clearly, I beat Yilmaz with my years of foozball practice alone in my basement).  He also showed me where to get a sandwich (my first experience explaining to a Turk that I do not eat meat was greeted with much existential discussion) and where to get useful things such as razors....but I will never buy a Turkish razor again, we are not compatible. 

main courtyard

Random interjection - while walking around campus, I ran into a young man that I recognized as being an alum from the abroad program I did in undergrad, a very small program in a very small town in Turkey - I approached him and introduced myself, and it turns out he is one of the 9 other students doing the very same Masters program I am doing here - what are the odds?  His name is Zac and I am very glad to have seen him. yay!

Anyway, Dumi and I decided to buy a few of these necessary items in the school store, which of course added up to a scary number, and then of course Citibank decided to flag my purchase - why would she be in Istanbul?  Dumi to the rescue!  Dumi, I have your money!  No need to call your Romanian mafia friends.

The other turka translation problem I had consisted of my discussion with the truly lovely and very helpful dorm registrar.  So I have a few issues with my apartment - I am making it nice and homey, yes, but the location!  I am just far enough outside of the University that I have to flash my passport any time I want to go to campus to, say, go for a swim in their fantastic spa-like pool that overlooks the Black Sea, and I am just far enough away from the city that it makes awesome evening trips in to town more of a hassle than is worthwhile.


The upside of being removed from the city is that it's quite and very pretty: over those hills is the Black Sea.


So I ask this lovely dorm registrar man how I can rectify this problem by finding a place where I can move that is closer to the city, and he LAUGHS at me.  Apparently it is just too far to commute from Istanbul to Koc (I am still hoping this is not true and will talk to as many people as it takes to get a different answer).  I then tell him that I want to find an apartment, any apartment, (it can even be out in the burbs) that will allow me to bring my little 9 pound dog Barnaby.  My kind dorm friend tells me "no, no dogs"......and my heart is broken.  This cannot be true, no apartment in Istanbul or its surroundings cares for 9 pound dachsunds?  what kind of place is this?  perhaps I will have to show them pictures....

I'd like you to take note of the plethora of kittens on campus - why can Barnaby not play with them?

Dumi and I return to put all of our pretty new groceries and such away, a very exciting activity for anyone who has moved into a new apartment/home.  Then, I get a little down.  The whole turka-translation situation left me feeling slightly isolated and as if I would never be able to have the Istanbul experience I am hoping for - to be in the city, and have my little pup.  But I will continue to persevere on both fronts....

In fact just when I was sitting on the couch feeling glum, I got a phone call from my dear friend Onni, saying that she and the group of students on the Turkish abroad program I did last year were all going out to a nice dinner in Istanbul and I should come.  This did not initially bring me out of my gloomy state - it only reminded me of how difficult and far it was to get to the city.  Alumn friend Zac to the rescue!  He says that he will go with me to the dinner that alumns are invited to, and he is more savvy than I with the Turkish bus system (apparently he spent his Fall break traveling around central Anatolia during the program and became quite familiar with the wonderful if not slightly chaotic system.

another ampitheater and view of tower at Koc

street in my neighborhood

So I go for a quick run before showering and getting ready for said dinner.  I should mention that my run was basically an exercise in ignoring all the stares from neighbors that did not understand why a person would just run for no other reason than to expend energy, and I admit, this is a very odd phenomena that only really exists in urban areas.  After time spent in Vermont and now "rural" Turkey, seeing people work in the effort to produce some type of good, it seems very strange to work without a tangible product in mind.  These are the things I think about....

Oh yea, there are also cows in my neighborhood....and sheep.

view of my neighborhood

So after 2 long bus rides and 1 confused cab ride later, Zac and I are in Istanbul proper, Taksim Square to be specific...and the fun ensues!  My first REAL Turkish meal since getting here.  Not only is the food excellent, but it is plentiful.  Now I remember real Turkish-style eating, where the appetizers would be a normal dinner serving in the U.S.....oh my...so we have appetizers of dolma, baked cheese & mushrooms, plain cheese, eggplant/yogurt, tomato/pepper mix and a tasty pastry, and then we have the main dish of fish, stewed (and delicious) celery and carrots with lightly buttered potatoes, and then we have the dessert; fruit with...helva!  a wonderful flour/water/sugar/oil mixture that is basically like a light cookie dough without the chocolate chips....it's so good.  Oh yea, and there is lot's of raki and wine. 

Aside from the wonderful food, I quickly remember another thing I love about Turkish people; they know how to have fun.  When a live band is playing, they do not just sit and stare.  First they start to clap, and then once they get really into the clapping and can't clap any more excitedly, they get up!  and they dance!  men will even dance with men.  And then there is that absolutely joyous smile you see on each person's face, like "oh I am so happy to be here, to be with these people, enjoying this moment". It is truly special to be around people who enjoy life so much.

Onni and I at after dinner

So then the group breaks up, and I decide to stick around in the city with the plan to crash at my friend Onni's hotel so we can get up early and have a full day of fun in Istanbul.  So after a little bit of dancing, Onni and I go home...stopping to getting Caramel brittle and Chocolate ice cream on the way - no I didn't think it would be possible to be hungry after that dinner, but I was wrong.

When we get to the hotel, Onni and I fantasize on google.com for about 15 minutes about the various destinations we can go on our (coincidentally joint) vacation in November...drum roll please!  the top options are.....Italy! Helsinki!  Copenhagen!  Geneva!  What do you guys think?  please feel free to mention any wonderful contacts you have in any of the above listed cities....

and then it was sleep time before Istanbulday