Black Sea!

Yesterday I traveled with four friends to Şile which is a city about two hours away from Istanbul by bus. I was very excited to get to the beach and just enjoy the day. Two of the people who came I had never met but we quickly became friends and we all talked so much on the bus. So much that we were told to be quiet on the bus! It was just so hard to not be excited!

So we got to Şile and we walked down the streets to get to the sea. It was a sunny day though cooler then in Istanbul so I was happy I brought a sweatshirt that I ended up putting on and off several times. We first went to the harbor for lunch. Though we had to find another place to eat as, of course they all only had fish, and I don’t like fish and Trista doesn’t eat meat. So we found this nice place to eat that had a great view of the Black Sea. We then walked to the beach!

I immediately took off my shoes and everyone else did the same. It was just so wonderful walking along the beach, our feet in the water. The water was cold at first but it felt amazing. I tried taking pictures of my footprints in the sand but it is much harder then it seems! We all were having fun writing words in the sand. We then took a break on some stairs while trying to get all the sand off our feet. We then walked around the Sea some more. Şile is famous for their cotton and their lighthouse. We saw the lighthouse as we were leaving on the bus. It was just a nice relaxing day.

Side note: I was planning on going to Ephesus (Efes) this weekend but it did not work out. I really am trying to go before I leave! 

First sight of the Black Sea!

Normal

I have been thinking about what I consider normal has drastically changed while being here in Turkey. I just wanted to share some things that have just become normal to me.

Going to Europe for the day from Asia by a ferry or a bus.

Eating bread for breakfast.

Having professors come to class thirty minutes late and students coming late and leaving early.

Not being able to understand conversations around me in class, on the bus or really anywhere.

Being stared at everywhere I go by men, women and especially children.

Going to a grocery store and having to base all the food on the picture on the package.

Being the best English speaker and having to help friends with their English.

Spending an hour and a half on two buses to get to church.

Being super excited when I pass by English speaking people.

Playing the game, “Who is Turkish and Who is American”, especially in more tourist places. It is really fun!

Surprising museum admissions staff when I show them my student ID.

Taking many modes of transportation in a week (or day) such as a bus, ferry, metro, tram, metro bus and taxi.

Washing dishes by hand and hanging clothes around my room to dry.

Seeing women veiled, either a headscarf or a burqa.

Going to a popular site and seeing men armed with large guns.

People smoking everywhere and then throwing the cigarettes on the ground

So this is my normal life for seven more weeks . I know I will have a large culture shock going back to the States where I no longer have my “normal” life that I have lived these past few months. So for now, I will keep enjoying my life here in Turkey and live up the rest of my time here! Crazy that in exactly seven weeks, I will be on a plane home!

I Was Tagged!

So my lovely friend Kate, who also blogs, tagged me with these questions as, like she said, I enjoy these things. 

Enjoy!

How old are you? I am 21 years old. Just turned 21 last month J

Who's your favorite singer? Singer: Taylor Swift Band: Tenth Avenue North

Would you rather text or e-mail?  Depends on the situation. If I just need a quick thing, text. But a longer message or a more thoughtful message, email.

Do you have any pets? I have an adorable flat coated lab named Shelby back home. I love her.

Do you have an Ipod? Yes, Itouch

Do you love to sing? Yes, I do. I don’t like to sing in front of people though if it is just me.

What's your favorite song in the whole world? The answer to this questions changes very frequently. I really love Out of My Hands by Matthew West currently. Overall, Times by Tenth Avenue North and a cheery Taylor Swift song.

Do you have your own room? Yes I do. Currently in Turkey, I have my own room which is very nice. Also when I am back home, I have a nice large room.

What is the color of your room? In Turkey, red and navy blue. Back home, PURPLE!!

What's your favorite hobby? Listening to music, reading, hanging out with friends and just chilling.

If you could be a prodigy in any one thing, what would it be?

I also would say, like Kate, learning languages because it would be so useful and so awesome to be able to talk to so many people. Right now, learning Turkish would be so helpful!

You're going to a desert island and get to take 3 albums with you. Which 3? Fearless by Taylor Swift, Over and Underneath by Tenth Avenue North and Come to the Well by Casting Crowns

And I will add one, If you could eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be? ISKENDER!!!! It is a Turkish dish that is a type of meat that is over pide. It is then covered in a tomato sauce. Some people put boiling butter over it and yogurt on the side but I don’t like it that way. And then it is topped with a spicy pepper. Yum!

Several Wonderful Journeys

 I had a very busy weekend which was amazing. It started Friday, when Judith and I went to the biggest Prince Island and spent the day walking around. As soon we got off the ferry, many café owners were trying to get us to eat there. It is super expensive so we ignored them and kept walking. After about ten minutes, we reached a much quieter area and started our journey. We went up many incline roads and finally found some trees and started walking on the path. It was so wonderful to be in nature where it was so peaceful. We walked for quite a while until we came across the actual road people take to get around the island. There were many horse drawn carriages.

So we started walking on the road and came to a huge area with many carriages and people. We started walking in the direction that said “Big Way Trail” or something like that. Little did we know, how big it would be! We were walking and saw a sign for the beach which made me really excited. After much more walking, we found the path down to the beach. After lots of steps, mostly earth made, we got to the bottom. It wasn’t like what you picture a beach, it was a small concrete area that you could sit and dangle your legs. So we took off our shoes and relaxed. I jumped on all the rock and felt the cool waves splash against my legs for a while as it was a warm day. There were two Turkish guys and one came over and talked to us in very good English for a while. He had been drinking but he was nice just very chatty.

We headed back up the mountain to get to the path and by this point, we wanted a carriage. But we walked another forty minutes or so until we got to a place where they were. So we then enjoyed the rest of the way back to the ferry in style! While we were waiting for the ferry, we got some ice cream and it was delicious. It was getting a little chilly so then we got some Turkish tea. We finally got on the ferry and since it was windy, it was kind of hard to walk around to find a seat! We parted ways after Judith tried her first chicken doner (a chicken sandwich I love) by the sea side in Kadikoy. I was so tired by the time I got home and got some sleep for the next day.

Saturday morning, Judith and I met up in Kadikoy again and were planning on going to Şile, which is a town about two hours away on the Black Sea. We tired to go to one area but no buses were running from Kadikoy so we took several buses to finally get there. As were on the bus, it starts to downpour and we decided that we should turn around as we wanted to chill on the beach but since it was raining, everything would be wet. So we took a complicated way back to Kadikoy and went to a mall. We watched The Vow which was good and I got to go to a Claire’s. First one I have seen here! We had iskender which is one of my favorite foods for lunch. We headed back home in the late afternoon and spent the evening relaxing.

Yesterday, I went to church which is always great. It was a small crowd but, as a new church, that happens. Everyone is so nice and the worship is powerful. After the service, the translator shared his testimony. After that, Jim who is about 25 and works at the church, invited me to hang out with one of his friends and her siblings. It was such beautiful weather and it really fun just walking around. We did have a late lunch waiting for his friend. It is nice to be able to joke around with him as he is American and understands! After we went through a very large park with many flowers and relaxed by the Blue Mosque, I said goodbye as I wanted to bet rush hour. I did stop at a little shop and bought a sweet shirt that says Istanbul: My City. So I got on the ferry and then the bus and headed home after a long wonderful weekend with friends.

Beautiful view of the island

Enjoying the cold waves

Riding in the carriage after a long day of walking!

It was raining so much and Judith shoe's were soaked so she went barefoot.

Iskender yum!! It is meat and underneath it is pide bread. The pepper on top is so tasty and the sauce!

Dessert! Kanafeh which is fried cheese. I know it sounds weird but it is so sweet especially with the cream on top and honey on the plate!

The Vow!!!!

Food As Memories

I realized today as I was uploaded some pictures to Facebook is food is such a big part of the my photos. Most of the time it is because it is different then what I am use to. But other times, it is because it reminds me of people.

For example, I went to the grocery store last week and was so excited to find fruit leather. One of my friends, Beth from school, loves fruit leather and we have eaten it together and it is so tasty.

There are corn stands around especially the more tourist places. Some of them are cups of corn while others are corn on the cob. Of course I miss my Iowa sweet corn so I thought I would try them. The cup was okay and the corn on the cob was just cold and nasty!

A few days ago, my best friend from Beloit who is currently in Senegal, blogged about a certain type of cookie that is imported from Turkey. I had seen them in stores but never tried them before so today I bought some. They were tasty but even more because I knew she has been eating them in Senegal.

I also today tried Nutella for the first time in years. When I went to Germany when I was younger, I did not like it so I have been saying I do not like it while being here. So today, as I went to the store to by the cookies, I saw a single serving size and decided to try it. I put it on some bread and it was quite tasty. So now I can say I do in fact, like Nutella.

Anyway, I do enjoy most of the food in Turkey and I will miss it when I head back home in eight weeks. But I also will enjoy eating pork and skim milk again.

Here are some fun pictures of food J

Chicken Doner. SO much tastier then it looks!

I was happy to have a cheeseburger but was confused at such a sharp knife they gave me

Turkish Fruit Leather

Had to have Ramen once here.

The cookies in honor of Val

Second piece with Nutella

And licking the rest from the container

Taxis

As I was waiting for a friend at the main gate of campus, I was really paying attention to all the taxis. There are a lot of taxis all around Istanbul and there are always two or three by the gate of campus. What I figured out today is that the taxis line up waiting to get into campus. There is a place for taxis to be in the campus but only a few are allowed at a time. My school has some rich people who take taxis to get to and from school so they go to that area to find a taxi. So when one taxi leaves campus, another is allowed in. This is what I observed and it may be false but I don’t think it is.

I have taken a taxi only a few times when the buses had stopped running as it was late. They of course are quite expensive so buses are the much smarter way. 

Busy Week (And It is Only Tuesday!)

So Tuesday is my “day off” but not today, it was full! Full of fun things mind you, but still full. I woke up after a series of interesting dreams. I spent the morning on homework and practicing for my presentation that is tomorrow about Syria. I then met with Judith for lunch at one of my favorite places near campus. I get such a simple dish, rice and chicken with a few chick peas but it is so delicious. I also enjoy this place because the owner is so friendly and we are now friends. He can speak a little English and I a little Turkish so we have short fun interactions.

Judith and I then went to my house to plan for our weekend trip. We really wanted to go to Canakkale which is near Troy. However, after spending about an hour trying to figure out the best way to get there and started looking up hostels, all the hostels were booked solid. So change of plans. Now we are going to the Prince Islands, the biggest one Büyükada, on Friday and Sile, which is on the Black Sea, on Saturday.

After having tea and figured all of this out, we went to campus to pay for out trip that is next weekend through the Erasmus Club (International Club). We are going to Efes which is really exciting. So as we were waiting for the Turkish girl, another friend came and talked with us. She is actually my neighbor so after we paid for our trip, Judith went to class and then we went grocery shopping. We went to several stores to get everything we wanted. And ended it, with going to the bakery and bought some delicious rolls.

I finally got a home a little bit ago and chatted with Trista for a while. I am really happy Trista and I are such great friends and flatmates.

Tomorrow is another busy day with six hours of class and then planning with Melissa about our trip to Greece! So pumped!

Anyway, just some insight in my everyday life here. I only have about a month left of classes which is crazy!

Just a Chill (Taylor Swift Filled) Wonderful Friday Night

Last night, I spent the evening with my lovely flatmate Trista. Neither of us really wanted to go anywhere so we went out to this restaurant near our house called Noodle Company and had some really great conversations. Then we went grocery shopping and bought pistachio ice cream since neither of us had tried it before. Then we ended up watching Taylor Swift Speak Now Live Concert Tour which was awesome! She never really listened to her before but now she is also a huge fan. Just a chill night in Istanbul…

My first bowl of pistachio ice cream

Dolmabahçe Palace

On Tuesday, as I had no class, I went to the Dolmabahçe Palace with my two Turkish friends. Due to language barrier, I thought we were going to Tokapi Palace. But this palace was also really great. It was a cold rainy day as we got on the ferry. When we got to the European side, we first went to a museum filled with items from the Ottoman Empire. It was really cool especially since I am currently learning about the Ottoman Empire in class. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to take photos but did take one of the building. The thing was that it wasn’t posted anywhere that we weren’t allowed to. My friends asked in Turkish and was told no. But as we were looking around, one of my friends got really upset because some guy was taking pictures. Two reasons for upsetting her. First, she didn’t like that he was breaking the rules (though he didn’t know he wasn’t suppose to). And second, which I found out when I tried taking pictures of them, they hate getting their picture taken. I tried asking them why and what I got from it was they think when people take pictures of them, the people talk about them, I am guessing in a bad way. I really didn’t understand and still don’t.

Anyway, we then went to this restaurant where I had something that is now one of my favorite foods. It is like a burrito with chicken and some type of hot salsa, which was so tasty. One of my friends was saying it was bitter and many other friend and I was laughing at her as it wasn’t at all bitter.

We then walked a while in drizzle to the palace. We were all surprised to see such a long line since it was a weekday and horrible weather. So we waited for about an hour. It was fun to be a tourist place where there were so many languages. When we finally got to the ticket counter, I really surprised the lady. She thought I was tourist but when I showed her my student ID, her facial expression was very funny. She was expecting me to have a student ID.

So we finally get in and there was a beautiful garden with a foundation and many flowers. We went up to the palace and had to put on pink shoe coverings. People were divided into Turkish and non-Turkish groups. Meaning the tour was either in Turkish or English. My friends stayed with me in the English line though. It was about a forty-five minute tour. The tour guide had a very thick Turkish accent and since the group was so large, it was hard to understand him most of the time. But just walking around this huge palace that belonged to Ataturk (the loved founder of the Turkish Republic) and many other people. It was so beautiful. Going up the staircase, it looked like a scene of the Titanic (before it hit the iceberg!). Once again, I couldn’t take pictures. Though I did sneak a quick picture before our tour started.

It was a lovely day and even with the super long bus ride home (as it was rush hour), it was a great day.

Ending on a very positive note, I got a 90 on my Gender midterm! J

As we were waiting in line.

The quick photo I took inside!

Photos!!

Easter Worship

Easter Lunch- I ate it all, so tasty!!

Judith and I

First view of Miniaturk

The Haggia Sophia and Blue Mosque and everything in between!

(If you look to the very left of the picture, the black post is scanner that will tell you about the model. At first, we couldn't figure out how to get it in English. Turns our, since our tickets were students, it was Turkish. Thankfully we found a couple who traded one of their tickets so we could hear it in English)

This little boy could figure out how to work the scanner but then I gently helped him. When the voice came on, he got so excited and ran to his mom to tell him. He then came up to me and said Thank You, in English. He was just one of many adorable children I saw and interacted with this weekend.

Miniaturk

On Saturday, Trista, my roommate, and I went to Minaturk on the European side. Minaturk is this awesome place that is filled with mini models of sites and buildings in Turkey. Some of them are what places use to look like but some are current. It was so cool to see a mini Haggia Sophia and Cappadocia. I made me want to visit all the places that I haven’t been to yet. I was also cool to see the place I have been to.

http://www.miniaturk.com.tr/en/category.php?id=1

I am sorry for the lack of pictures the past few posts. It isn't letting me upload them for some reason. But I will keep trying!

He Is Risen!

Happy Easter everyone!

Today I went to church and had a wonderful service and lunch. I brought a friend with me, Judith who is from Germany. She is Catholic but wanted to try a new church and she enjoyed and wants to come back which is great! It was so wonderful to be surrounded my Christians who were just as excited as I am about today. We say some of my favorite songs such as “Lord I Lift Your Name On High, Amazing Love and You Are My All in All”.

After service, there was a wonderful lunch. It was much different from the tradition Easter lunch I think of but there was delicious meat with potatoes and rice and curry. And of course, wonderful desserts! Since many of the members are American, someone made angel food cake and pineapple upside down cake. There were also little egg shaped chocolate which was so wonderful as there is basically no Easter candy here. Of course it makes sense but I missed my candy. But of course, that isn’t want Easter is all about and spending it with people who are passionate about God was definitely good enough for me. And I will be Skyping with my family in about an hour. My grandparents and Mark are over for lunch and so I will get to see them all which I am excited about!

The Wonderful World of Languages

I had a really cool interaction a few days ago regarding languages. Asude had a friend from Japan visiting and we went out to dinner and then to a coffee shop. Asude and I had brought homework while her friend was reading magazines. Asude was working on her Japanese homework and asking her friend for help. During the times Asude wasn’t asking for help, her friend was asking me about words in English and then sometime Asude would also ask about an English word like “knob” as in a doorknob. I have become very good at explaining with hand motions and simple words. Then sometimes Asude would tell us a word or phrase in Turkish. We were all trying to help each other learn and understand another language. It was a really neat experience.

Two Months of Turkey!

I have officially been in Turkey for two months! It is crazy to think that exactly two months ago I was in the dorm on campus, so alone and having no idea what to expect. Two months later and I have had so many fun adventures and have made so many wonderful friends for all around the world.

Today is my flatmate, Trista’s, 22^nd birthday today so we went to a restaurant by our house. Asude, our other flatmate wasn’t able to join us so it was just the two of us. We had a really great time! We were laughing and joking around and just enjoying ourselves. It is so interesting listening about her culture and how she perceives things differently then I do. She is really nice and it is nice that I can have a conversation with her as her English is better then most of my friends. We are planning on going to the European side of Istanbul on Saturday to Miniaturk, which is a miniature park of Turkey. I am really excited!

The past few weeks we have had pretty decent weather which has been wonderful not having to wear a winter coat. I have just been wearing a sweatshirt or on a few occasions, only a tshirt! Today I spent the majority of my day studying for my last and hardest midterm, Gender in Society. We have to know all the authors and their arguments. There are about fifteen authors and some very dense articles so it has been a challenge but I believe that I am prepared and I will study a little more before the test tomorrow.

In other news, I am living in the Moore Townhouses with three of my close friends in the fall so I am pumped for that! Basically it is an apartment with our own rooms and we share a kitchen, living room and bathroom. I can’t believe I will be a senior!!!!

So here is to another two months (and ten days) in Turkey!