My first month

I started classes on February 16th and really like them. I am taking some really interesting things:

Contemporary Political Economy of Turkey
Introduction to Turkish Politics
International Law
EU Relations with Russia and CIS Countries
Turkish for Foreigners

The culture of the classes is pretty interesting. I have come to the conclusion that all of my professors (except Int'l Law) operate on Turkish time. Dr. Yilmaz, my Turkish Politics professor, is the best example. Every class he averages between 15 and 20 minutes late. Then he lectures over! It's ridiculous. In Political Econ sometimes the students and professors will have exchanges in Turkish, which I find quite entertianing. Turkish is a much more animated language than English. They always use their hands and body language to show things.

The culture here is also quite different. For example, when two men who are good friends greet each other, they touch their cheeks to each side. When a Turkish guy who I had made friends with did it to me for the first time, it really caught me off guard. Also, my roommate's friend Altuğ was really nice to me when I hung out with them. However, when we came back home, I was tired and retired to my room and let Umut and Altuğ hang out together. I discovered from Umut the next day that he was insulted that I did not sit with him in my home. Apparently, it is customary to do that and considered an insult if you don't. I felt horrible! I didn't make the same mistake again though.

So far, I have only been to a few touristy places. Blue Mosque, Taksim Square, Ayasofia, Kuzu Kulesi, Galata Tower, Eminonü, etc. I have some wonderful pictures from them on facebook! I have eaten dinner at my Altuğ's parents house twice. Let me tell you...that was a very cool experience! His mom couldn't speak any English and his dad only knew a few words! It was so cool because I had an authentic, homemade Turkish meal! The meal consisted of salad, mackeral, bread, and a special type of soup. Also, the Turks are very hospitable. It puts "southern hospitality" to shame. When I had breakfast with them for the second time, the mother cracked hard boiled egg open for me and in both instances she took my plate and served me. The Turkish (like the Greeks in the Odyssey) have a strong belief in the sanctity of guests and bringing guests into the home. On both occasions, I sat at the head of the table and was always served first. Then we played batak, which is a Turkish card game that sort of resembles spades except it is slightly different. Backgammon is also a big deal here. I have smoked the water pipe a couple of times and have gotten to hang out with my roommate's friends (all Turkish). So far I would say it's been a great experience.

One thing that is interesting is that I really do have to be careful about the whole Jewish thing here. I know its a cliche thing back home, but I found out first hand that it's not something to be taken lightly. At Altuğ's house (my roommate's friend), he was telling me that they try not to drink coke too much because they don't want to support the "Jewish factories" that produce it due to the war in Gaza. The next day at the bus stop, I was relating this story to another person I had met on the abroad trip. When we got on the bus, a guy at the stop got our attention and in broken English said, "Keep quiet about the kosher stuff. It's dangerous to talk about that around here." Needless to say, we spent the next 20 minutes in silence. The university itself is a pretty liberal place. It is the only university where girls are permitted to wear the headscarf in all of Turkey. Also, its the only university with a Gay-Lesbian club. That gives you an idea of how conservative things are around here!

On the first day of classes it snowed here! We got about half an inch on the ground. It was so pretty. It's been so cold here! The day time highs have only been in the upper 30's or low 40's. It rains almost every day. I literally feel like I am in Seattle. I am told that the weather will get better next month though. Apparently spring here is absolutely magnificent. We shall see!

The apartment situation has worked out really well. My room is incredibly small, but that's about the only problem. Both of my roommates are really nice. One is an English teacher and the other is an entering masters student in Biomedical Engineering. They are great for me to practice my Turkish! :) The kitchen is pretty rustic, but we have a small oven (it looks more like a big toaster oven), a gas stove, and a fridge. No microwave though! Can you believe it? There is a washer, but no dryer. We use a drying rack to dry our clothes. It is basically a metal device that hangs up our clothes inside in order for them to air dry. Weird, huh?

It has been hard to do a lot of cooking here because every time I go to the grocery store, it is in Turkish! I have gotten better though. A few weeks ago I basically made up my own dish, which consisted of pasta, lamb, tomato sauce, and cheese. It was quite good! Since then, I have found a fish market and have prepared solmon (salmon) and levrek (sea bass). My roommate taught me how to make lamb meatballs, a traditional Turkish dish. One down, hopefully a lot more to go! I hope to learn how to make borek next. (I don't think that's the right spelling but oh well). Borek is basically a bread filled with cheese and meat. Speaking of which, Turks love bread! There is a bakery in my neighborhood and I get fresh bread every time I need it. The bread is literally made the same day I am buying it! How awesome!

I would say I know a few good places here but haven't gone restaurant hunting that much. Pretty much every place I have been has been great! Turks are known for their food. There are a couple of special places my roommate has shown me, but I will see more in the spring. Everyone goes out more and does more stuff in springtime because the weather is so much better then.

I have also discovered in my experience here that I am incredibly unlucky. So obviously my travel troubles were an issue. In addition, my digitial camera broke (causing me to buy a new one...that adventure deserves its own seperate entry), my light has not worked in my room twice (i have had to replace both the fixture and the switch), one of the ram drives on the motherboard of my computer stopped working (i now only have 512MB instead of a GB), and when I finally got my luggage from Air France a month later, my electric toothrbush was missing AND they don't want to pay me until I return to the US. FML.

The call to prayer just finished a few minutes ago. I still love listening to it. :)