The Turkish Way

Oh America, how I miss you. The past few weeks have really made  me appreciate the great US of A. I have been working for almost two weeks now on getting a residency permit so that I can stay in Turkey until May. This has been, hands down, the most frustrating and difficult process I have ever had to deal with in my life. Part of the problem is that I have waited so late to get my residency permit. I need it before December 7th because that is when I have planned to go home for Christmas. I didn't think this permit was necessary in October, so I didn't worry about it. Apparently, it is very necessary, and it is not easy to obtain.

I have done a lot of research about getting this permit through the internet, but each website says something different. One of my coworkers tried to call the police station to figure out what I needed, but they couldn't give her any information over the phone. So I went to the Istanbul police station to inquire about it. My wonderful roommate, Ceren, accompanied me to help translate and we spent a total of 7 freaking hours at that damn station. While the time did pass fairly quickly, and I got to meet a very interesting Syrian man, I was not happy about the situation. We arrived at the station around 10 and asked a kind police man where we needed to go to get information about the permit. He told us to go upstairs. We went upstairs and asked an equally kind police woman where we needed to go. She told us back downstairs. We asked a one more police man, who was not as kind this time, where we needed to go, and he told us we had to take a number and wait downstairs. So we took and number and waited. Then we waited, and waited, and then waited some more. Apparently at 11:45 the workers in the station take a break and everything pretty much stops. At 11:45 they were only on number 73... Finally, at 5:30 our number appeared on the screen. Oh what a glorious moment it was when I saw the number 220 appear. After waiting for so long it was finally our turn. We got up to the window and Ceren talked with the police man for about five minutes, only to find out that we had to make an appointment to come back. The earliest appointment we could make was for December 31st. This meant that I would not be able to leave the country until I had this appointment. I was devastated. Ceren told me not to worry though and we would try to figure something out.

Three days later Ceren called me and told me to pack my bags. I was going to the Izmir office, which is 8 hours away, to try and get my residency permit there. Apparently it is a lot easier there, because Izmir is a smaller city. She told me I would be leaving at 7:45 the next morning. When I asked her how long I would be staying she said she had no idea. Maybe one week, maybe two. Normally this uncertainty would bother me, but I didn't care. I had hope that I actually might get my permit and be able to go home for Christmas. Plus, I really wanted to see Izmir and now I had a chance!

Yesterday I arrived in Izmir, which is a beautiful city. It is on the coast and is much smaller than Istanbul. While this city shares similarities to Istanbul, it has a completely different vibe. It is less crowded and just seems more laid back in general. I spent almost all day yesterday trying to figure out my permit situation. I went to the police station with a woman from the office, Irem. Going to the police station in Izmir was a much quicker process, but it was still complicated. We went and got my application, but we found out I needed a tax number to open up a bank account. Then we went to try and figure out the tax number. After leaving the police station we realized we needed some more information so we went back. We took a break and had some cay (tea). Irem had to leave because she had to go to court, so another woman from the office Hale joined me. We went to a government building to get a tax number. This building was quite depressing on the inside. All the walls were a stingy off white color, and the lights were dim. A very unkind woman "helped" us and within 10 minutes we had a tax number. After leaving the building we realized we needed to find out how much money I needed in my bank account, so back to the police station we went. Apparently in order to get a residency permit I need to open up a bank account and deposit 1000 EUROS. Why EUROS, you ask? Well I could not tell you. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. After getting this information, we went to the bank and I tried to open up a bank account. Unfortunately this was not possible because my tax number was not active. We asked when would it be active but they could not give us a definitive answer. This morning we went back to the bank to try again, but the number is still inactive and they can't tell us anything else.

So now I am stuck in Izmir (which is not a bad thing) until I can get my tax number activated, so I can open up my bank account, so I can deposit my money, so I can turn in my application for a residency permit. After I turn in my application they will take my passport and I can't get it back until my application is processed. When will it be processed? Well, as you might have guessed, no one could tell us. Maybe three weeks, maybe two, maybe a month....

This process has been very frustrating and I have to keep reminding myself to breathe because there is nothing I can do about this situation. I am not good with dealing with all of this uncertainty and not being in control. I am American and I like things planned and organized, and most importantly I want things done quickly. I don't know if this process would have taken as long in America because I have no need for  residency permit there. If it does, wow I feel sorry for anyone having to go through this process. I do know one thing though, in America I would have been able to go to a website and get all of the information I needed. Or I would have been able to call someone and get all the information I needed. Also there would have been definitive answers! Now, I really do love Turkey and the way of life here. That is why I am trying to stay! I appreciate that everyone is laid back and easy going; however, when it comes to getting my residency permit the "Turkish way" makes me want to pull my hair out!

On the bright side though this process has allowed me to come to Izmir.  I feel very fortunate about that. This city is really wonderful, and I really like the Izmir office. There are three women who work here and they are all so nice. They also all speak English well which is a major plus! I am staying with one of the women and her husband. There apartment is huge and so well decorated. Last night they prepared a delicious meal for me and we talked about the differences between America and Turkey. Both of them have spent significant time in the US so it was a very interesting conversation. I don't know how long I will be staying here, but I am going to try and enjoy my time while I'm here.

Two weeks worth of updates

I have been really  bad about writing in this blog. Life has started to pick up here which is nice. I will try to recount briefly what has happened over the past  two weeks. Two weeks ago I went to Bulgaria for holiday. I spent a week visiting Burgas, Sofia, and Plovidiv. Bulgaria was amazing and I am really glad that I decided to go. I knew that I would have a week off of work so I thought about going to Greece, but the tickets were really expensive due to the holiday. A friend suggested Bulgaria so I looked into it. I emailed a friend of mine from high school who currently lives in Bulgaria and she invited me to stay with her. I was a little nervous about going there and spending a week with her because we hadn't seen each other in quite some time, but it was not a problem at all. I had such a good time with Nevena and I am hoping that we will travel together again soon.

Here are just a few highlights from my trip to Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is a small country but there is so much to do. My favorite city that we visited was Plovdiv. It is a bigger city with a small town feel. I was very fortunate having Nevena with me because she could translate for me and she knew everything about Bulgaria. It was like having my own personal tour guide. During our two days in Plovdiv we stayed with Nevena's grandmother who was everything you imagine an eastern European grandmother to be. She was so thoughtful and kept telling us to eat, eat, eat. At times it was a little awkward because her grandmother didn't speak English, but she did a great job of communicating with me through gestures. I love the fact that people can talk to each other even if they don't speak the same language. When we left Plovdiv her grandmother stuffed a bunch of food in our luggage and gave me a pair of knit socks. This was the best gift ever and I wear them all the time.

My favorite part of the trip was the bus ride from Sofia to Plovdiv. Sofia and Plovdiv are two major cities and when y. There are a lot of apartments and they are very busy. A lot of the apartments are from the days when Bulgaria was a communist country and they have a sort of dreary feel to them. They all look very similar in that they are painted dull colors and all look like they are going to fall apart soon.  Between Plovdiv and Bourgas is the countryside which is beautiful and filled with smaller villages. I loved seeing the contrast of the city to the villages.

Going to Bulgaria was such a random adventure and I am so glad that I made the decision to go. I also love the fact that I was able to reconnect with a friend from high school. It is random experiences like this that make me appreciate my life and how fortunate I am.

Life has started to pick up more after coming back from holiday. I have been busier at work which is really nice. I still have slow days occasionally though. The company has asked me to stay until May and I told them I would be delighted to. I am currently having some trouble with my visa so there is a chance that I will still be returning for good in December.

Ali came back from Canada the day I got back from Bulgaria. It is so nice to have her in the apartment again. I love living with Ceren, but it gets hard to speak broken English all of the time.

I have decided since there is a chance that I will be staying until May that I actually need to focus on learning Turkish. I searched craigslist and found a teacher that does not charge a ridiculous amount. I met with him last week and we will begin our lessons in two weeks. He is a grad student studying journalism and has had a lot of experience teaching Turkish in private lessons. I look forward to staring our lessons. Hopefully I will be able to start communicating with everyone in the office a little bit better.

I am trying to think of other interesting happenings to relay, but there really haven't been any. I am starting to feel comfortable here which is a relief. Life is feeling normal and I am able to do almost everything successfully. I did buy the wrong kind of dishwashing soap last week, but that has been my only mishap recently.

Being Present

I don't have much to report from this past week. I am trying to save money so I didn't do much. On Sunday I went to go see Hagia Sofia, the church turned mosque turned museum, that I wasn't able to see last week. It was beautiful and very interesting to see the mixture of both Christian and Muslim decorations. I enjoyed it, but I think my favorite place I have been so far is Blue Mosque. There is a different feeling in Blue Mosque because while there are tourists taking pictures, there are also other people who are in the mosque to pray. I enjoyed watching this mixture of people and learning more about Islam.

 

 

Even though I haven't done much this week I have had this feeling in the pit of my stomach of pure happiness. I apologize because I do not have the writing skills to put this feeling into words, so you are just going to have to decide for yourself what this feeling is like. From time to time I get this sensation in the states, but it hasn't happened a lot in the past year. I remember experiencing it daily when I lived in Costa Rica. I have decided to not try to analyze while I am feeling this way, but to just be present and  enjoy it. I have come to the realization that "being present" isn't something I am great at. I am always trying to figure out my future or I am reminiscing in the past. At work I sometimes find myself figuring out how many days I have left because this experience is going by so freaking quick. I have decided to stop counting the days I have left and to stop thinking about what I will do once I leave here. I can figure that stuff out when I get home. Instead I am going to try to live in the moment and appreciate the experience I am having now.

 

I am laughing at how they are singing Happy Birthday

I had a wonderful birthday yesterday. Work went by quickly and up until lunch I actually had work to do. In the afternoon my co-workers surprised me with a cake. I was actually very surprised because I had only told a few people when my birthday was.  I feel very grateful to work with such thoughtful people. I may not be able to communicate with all of them 100% of the time, but they are good people nonetheless. It was kind of nice to not have a lot of work to do in the afternoon because I got to talk to a lot of people from home via Facebook and Whatsapp. After work I went out with Lysa for a few beers and then went home and watched I Love You Man. I am definitely getting older because I didn't mind at all that I spent part of my birthday in my pajamas watching a movie.

 

All in all my birthday wasn't too eventful, but it sure made me feel very lucky to have the opportunity to go to another country and to be surrounded by such wonderful people both here and at home.

Tour of Istanbul

Yesterday I got a private tour of some of the bigger attractions in Istanbul from Ayten and Ece, two of my students in Speaking Club. I met up with them close to the office at 2. They were very eager to show me Istanbul and to practice their English.

 

 

 

We started off at a church close to where I work. I think the Church was called San Antonio, but I am not sure. I have actually walked by this church many times, but I have never noticed it. Ayten told me that she goes there sometimes just to sit and think even though she is Muslim.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After visiting the church we took a train to another part of Istanbul to see the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is a huge covered market. Ayten told me that it was the oldest market in Istanbul. I think it is also one of the oldest in the world. We walked through part of the market, but didn't buy anything. I paid close attention as to how we got to the market so that I could go back and buy gifts before I leave.

 

Our next stop was Sultanahmet or the Blue Mosque as it is known in English. This mosque was built in the 1600's and is very famous in Turkey. The outside is covered with blue tiles which is why it has come to be known as the Blue Mosque. In order to enter the mosque you have to be in the proper attire which means you must remove your shoes, and if you are a female, you must cover your head. Sheets to cover your head are provided upon entering the mosque. I also had to have a sheet to wrap around my legs because my dress was not knee length.

 

 

The inside of the mosque is gorgeous. There were quite a lot of people inside the mosque and there was an interesting juxtaposition between the tourists taking pictures and the Muslims who had gone there to pray. Ayten, Ece, and I decided to sit down in for a little bit to rest our legs. I asked them a lot of questions about the mosque and about their religion in general. There are aspects of Islam that I find really intriguing and others that I find disturbing. For example, I don't like that men and women have to pray separately. In Blue Mosque, and possibly all mosques, the men pray in the front and the women have to go into a separate room in the back of the mosque to pray. The women's praying area in Blue Mosque was not nearly as nice as the men's area. One thing I have really come to like though is the call to worship. The call to worship happens five times a day. In Taksim there is one man who sings the call to worship, but I forget his name. At first I was a little annoyed by the first call to worship because it happens at 6 am and it would wake me up. Now I really enjoy it and when I hear it at work I take a few minutes to stop and think about people in my life who could use some good vibes. I also think about what I am thankful for, which right now, is a lot!

 





After the Blue Mosque we walked over to Hagia Sofia. This started out as a church, but was later turned into a mosque. It is now a museum that unfortunately is closed on Monday's. I took a picture of the outside of the church and will go back next week.

 

 

Our final stop was Topkapi Palace, the home of the Ottoman Sultans for 400 years. The Palace is huge and I think if I lived there I would get lost. We had to buy a ticket in order to enter which took longer than expected. The tickets cost $20 for tourists, but Ayten and Ece told me I could buy a Museum Card which would allow me to enter multiple museums twice. They thought the card was only 15$, but realized that was the price for Turkish citizens. For tourists the card is $40. They decided this was much too expensive for me and decided to try to get me a Turkish student card which is like $7. Ece went and bought the card so it had her picture on it. They made me rehearse her name a few times and told me when I entered to not say anything unless someone spoke to me. Luckily the women didn't really even look at the card and getting in was no problem. We walked around inside the palace and saw the sultan's clothes and artifacts. Everyone was so detailed. The chairs the sultans sat on and the mirrors they used were covered in gold, jade, emeralds, and rubies. Ayten kept pointing at the artifacts and saying "ottomans very rich."

 

We didn't see the entire palace because we were all very hungry. I was okay with this because there are only so many artifacts I can look at without becoming bored. We decided to head back to Taksim and grab a bite to eat. They wanted Burger King so that is where we went. After good old BK we went to "Friend's Street" and found a place to get a drink. "Friends Street" is a small road that has a ton of restaurants and bars. We sat outside and drank a beer and listened to music. The girls tried to teach me some Turkish, but I have already forgotten the slang words they taught me.  After we finished our beer we headed back to the center of Taksim. Ayten had homework and Ece and I were exhausted.

Week 4

I'm going to be honest, I am losing motivation to write this blog. I am going to try my best though to keep updating it at least once a week. I can't believe I have been in Istanbul for a month. Time is flying by so fast here. I can finally say that after a month I am starting to actually feel comfortable in Turkey. I now have a fairly steady routine and life is starting to feel slightly more normal than before. Work has gotten a lot better and I am actually busy. I am slowly starting to pick up some Turkish so when people in the office are speaking I understand bits and pieces. There are still times though when I have absolutely no idea what they are talking about though. During times like this I like to pretend I know what they are talking about and I make up the conversation in my head. I am sure my version is far from what they are actually saying, but I bet my version is more entertaining. Turkish people always seem so passionate when they are explaining something. Sometimes I can't tell what emotion they are feeling because everything always sounds so intense. Someone could be talking about something as simple like the cheese he ate this morning and I would think he was discussing how dumb the US government is. Maybe after I learn some more Turkish I will be able to understand the passion with which they speak.

 

I realized that I have spent this entire week with Turkish people speaking in both broken English and Turkish. It has been kind of nice. At work I met a girl who just came back from the US. She was working in Pigeon Forge! She came into the office and was eager to speak with me when she found out that I lived in Knoxville. Her English was really good and we spoke for about 30 minutes. It was interesting speaking with her about the US. She said she visited New York and Boston, but her favorite place was Pigeon Forge. I couldn't believe this. Personally I am not a fan of Pigeon Forge. I think it is incredibly tacky and it is the last place I would go in the US. She loved it though and said that everyone she met was so nice and welcoming. She told me she understood how uncomfortable your first few weeks in a new place can be and told me to call her if I needed anything or just wanted to hang out. I think I will take her up on this sometime soon.

I have continued to teach English to the Turkish student who wants to go to England. On Sunday we met up and went to Gezi park to work because the office was closed. His English is getting better, but he still has a lot of work to do. I wonder how much of what we say to each other gets lost in translation. I really enjoy working with him and I think he is actually helping me learn some Turkish even though he doesn't know it. We ended up working for two hours, but it felt like 30 minutes. He has a friend that also wants lessons so I may end up working with him/her ( I couldn't tell the gender) as well.

 

At work I have started leading the "Speaking Club." I am pretty sure most of the students in the club think I am crazy, but that's okay. I don't really have strict guidelines as to what I have to do for the club which is nice, but frustrating at the same time. The students who were in the club last year complained that they weren't given as much of an opportunity to speak, so I am trying to design our meetings around the students. I am also trying to incorporate some interesting facts/lessons about American culture as well. My first two meetings seemed to go well, but I need to come up with more topics to discuss. I think this week we will play catch phrase.

 

Outside of work I have been spending more time with Turkish people. Ceren is such a wonderful roommate and is so good about taking me out with her. On Friday I met up with her and Fulya and we ate some type of sandwich, it was close to a Panini, and drank tea. Afterwards we went to a bar type place and drank a beer and listened to music. Fulya has a lot of friends who are musicians. I really like Turkish music and I asked them to make me a list of famous singers.  On Saturday Ceren took me to her parents house on the Asian side. Her mom and dad were so nice and kept trying to teach me Turkish words. Her mom prepared manti for us which is a traditional Turkish dish. I should have taken a picture of it. Basically it was pasta filled with meat and topped with a yogurt sauce. I think it might be my new favorite dish.

Adalar

My weekends begin on Sunday here because I have to work a half day on Saturdays. I found out that it is very common to work six day weeks here. I am lucky that I get two days off. My weekend was very relaxing. I finally got to sleep in on Sunday! I haven't done that in three weeks. After I woke up my roommate prepared breakfast. We ate eggs and sausage, bread, tomatoes, cucumber, and cheese. It was delicious! After breakfast I went to the markets to get some fruit and movies. I don't have wifi at the house which is hard at times when Ceren isn't there. I can either read or watch Downtown Abbey, but I have already watched the second season twice now. I bought some food at the market using broken Turkish, and three movies. On my way back home I stopped in a bookstore to get an English teaching book and dictionary. I spent the rest of my day at the apartment cleaning and reading. It was very low key which is exactly what I wanted.

On Monday I got up and ventured down to the Kabtas, the ferry docks, to go to Princes' Islands. Princes' Islands or Andalar, as they are known here, are a group of our islands that are about an hour away from Istanbul by ferry. I met a nice British couple when purchasing my ticket. They helped me figure out when the next ferry was and told me about their plans for the islands. Eventually we parted ways so I could get something to eat. The ferry ride was gorgeous. I decided to go to the biggest island, Buyukada.

I read a little bit about the islands at work, but most of what I read had escaped my mind by the time I got to the ferry. I decided to just wait and see what the British couple did, because they were going to the same place as I was. At the third stop I looked around to find the British couple only to realize they were getting off the boat. I tried to get off as well, but was too late. It was a good thing I stayed on, because they got off early.

view from top of Buyukada

When the ferry got to Buyukada I got off and went to a restaurant by the water. Both of the waiters spoke English and were very eager to practice with me. I decided to try something new and got lamb which was overpriced, and not very good. The location of the restaurant was beautiful though so I didn't mind. After finally leaving, the two waiters would not quit talking, I attempted to find St. George Church. I remember reading in Lonely Planet that there was a clock tower in the center of the Island that I had to pass in order to get to the church. I asked the waiter and he told me to go by the "Big Ben watch."

I walked for about an hour to get to the church. The walk was gorgeous. Cars are not allowed on the island so the only way to get around it by bike or horse drawn carriage. I chose to walk because there were a lot of hills. For about 40 minutes I walked by the most beautiful houses. Most of them overlooked the water and were amazing. I am not sure if they were people's homes or just vacation houses. Regardless, they were great, and I would be content with living in one of them for the rest of my life. After 40 minutes my walk turned into more of a hike. I went up a very steep hill for about 15 minutes. It was tough and I didn't even know if I was going the right way. On top of that everyone kept staring at me. I don't know if it was what I was wearing, but during my entire walk I was stared at by everyone. It was yet again another uncomfortable time, but I just put my sunglasses on and ignored the wandering eyes.

At the top of the hill I saw a church. I was relieved that I had actually gone the right way. The church was small and I had to cover up before I went in. The inside of the church was breathtaking. Cameras weren't allowed so I couldn't take any pictures. I was kind of glad that I couldn't because it would have ruined the experience. Instead of pews there were cubby like seats around the church that people were sitting in. I don't know if they were praying or just thinking but everyone seemed to have something on his/her mind. I looked around for a while and eventually left. The feeling inside the church was so calm and it made me calm inside. Outside of the church was the most beautiful view of the other islands/Turkey.

I wanted to sit for a while so I climbed down some rocks and found a cozy spot. I had climbed down far enough that there wasn't anyone around. I don't know how to put into words what I felt as I sat on those rocks. It was a spiritual experience. I sat there for an hour just looking out. I didn't listen to music or read, I just sat there. It was so peaceful and I think I can say without a doubt that is my favorite spot in the world. I realize I have a lot more of this world to see, but for now that is number one. I was glad I had decided to take a day trip, and I was even more glad that I decided to do it by myself. I was forced to leave my hideout after a couple began making out near me. It was good timing though, because I needed to leave anyway to catch the ferry. On my way back to the ferry I bought some baklava which was delicious.

The ferry ride back was pleasant and a different experience than on the way there because the sun was setting. When I got back to the apartment I cooked dinner and watched Dead Man Down. I went to bed relatively early so that I could be ready for week 4.

Week 3

Another week has flown by. A lot has happened during the past week. I have been busier at work, which has been so nice. I interview at least 3 or 4 students a day. It has been great to speak with them about why they want to travel. Most of them are so eager to see America they don't even care where they go. My favorite question to ask the students is, "what do you know about the US?" Most of them either say that Obama is the president or tell me their favorite movies/series. Almost every student has mentioned that they watch Game of Thrones and that they are eagerly awaiting the next season. I love that they are just as obsessed with this show as I am! I have also started working with one student who wants to go to England. His English level is beginner and he needs to be at an elementary level before he leaves. We had our first English session last week. It was exhausting, but so much fun. His English is so basic that I have to speak in very simple sentences. I relied a lot upon my charade skills to help me out. We also used Google Translate for the important information such as when he was going to come back. I think I will enjoy teaching him and hopefully this will be a chance to improve my Turkish. I bought a Turkish dictionary for our next session.

 

My roommate Ceren has helped me to gain more of the Turkish experience this week. After cleaning our apartment on Saturday, she took me to a bar to hear some music. We met up with her boyfriend, Arturo, his friends, another girl from the office, and her friends. They were all very nice and kept making sure I was okay. They spoke mainly in Turkish so I just sat there and smiled. Eventually they moved the table around so the stronger English speakers sat next to me. The guy that played, I think his name was Tuna, I really have no idea, was very good. He played guitar and sang some popular Turkish tunes which everyone loved. Eventually everyone began to dance. When I say everyone I mean like 80% of the bar was up and moving. Their dance moves where nothing like what you would see in an American bar. There was a lot of hip moving and snapping and at times there was also some clapping. At one point everyone took a napkin and began waving it in their hands. I don't know what is the best adjective to use to describe the type of dancing they did. The only thing I can say is that it wasn't vulgar or sexual in any way, which seems to be a theme in popular American dances. It was classy and  traditional. My favorite aspect of the dancing is that guys were dancing with other guys and it was completely normal. Men are just so comfortable showing affection to other men here. One of Arturo's friends was giving his other friend a backrub and kept hugging him and telling me that he was his best friend. I just love how men interact with each other here.

 

Ceren and Fulya, the other girl I work with, got me up to dance. It wasn't pretty. After the bar  Arturo, and his friends came over for coffee. I thought this was strange seeing as how it was 2 am, but I went with it. As we drank coffee Arturo's friends began to argue over Turkish politics. One of his friends was very pro- president, while the other supported the protests that have been going on the past three months here. They tried their best to speak in English, but at one point it got heated and they had to speak in Turkish. I have no idea what they said, but each one seemed pretty adamant that his position was right.

 

After work on Saturday, Ceren took me to one of her friend's apartments. Her apartment was wonderful! She had music posters and pictures of Marilyn Monroe everywhere. I could tell that she was really artsy. One of their other friends was there as well. I forget his name, but he was really nice and was studying to be an English teacher. Ceren and her friend prepared dinner for us while he and I talked. He was very nervous and I realized that for many Turkish people it is uncomfortable to speak with me. His English was actually very good, but he explained to me that he was thinking too much when he was speaking to me. He didn't want to make any mistakes, because he knew I would catch them. I told him not worry about it because I am a native speaker and I make mistakes all the time. It was nice speaking with him and gave me a better perspective of what people are thinking when I speak with them. There are quite a few people here who want to practice their English and who are eager to do so. Others want to practice, but are so nervous. It is hard for me to grasp the fact that other people, aside from me, feel nervous and uncomfortable here. I have been so wrapped up in my own discomfort that I have overlooked the fact that some Turkish people actually feel the same way when speaking with me. I think this is particularly true in the office. There is one girl who I work with that I thought hated me. She would speak to me, but it was always very briefly, and sometimes she would just stop in the middle of a conversation. It turns out that she actually likes me, but she doesn't think her English is very good. She asked the previous intern to help her with her English and he wanted her to pay him for his help. I told her that I would teach her three words a day until I leave so that she can improve her English. I have started to force her to speak with me, and I think she feels more comfortable with me now.

 

This week has been great and I am so thankful that my roommate has taken me under her wing. I look forward to meeting more people during these next three months.

The struggle is real

If I was competing with Turkey right now,  this country would be kicking my ass. The score would be something to the equivalent of: Turkey 100, Katie 0. How exactly is Turkey doing so well you ask?  Well to begin with the mosquito bite count is now up to 30. I can't actually give an accurate number anymore because there are so many, and some are so close together they have become one big bite. Aside from that, it takes me so long to do simple tasks, and more often than not it takes me multiple attempts. Ordering a pizza by phone takes at least 45 minutes because I can't pronounce my address. Turning on the stove was a 10 minute process the other night. I went to buy toilet paper the other day and came home with paper towels.  I went to buy toilet paper again last night and came home with moldy toilet paper. I am limited to what I can cook at my apartment because I can't read the labels on the ingredients. So far the only two spices I know I can buy are red pepper (because of the way it looks) and oregano (because there was an English translation on the packet). On top of that, I have probably offended at least 10 students by using the "okay" sign with them. It is not a positive gesture here. I have used it with over 10 students, but I'm sure I didn't offend all of them... I have a soccer ball sized bruise on my thigh because I walked into a post while looking at something. I tried to buy a hair dryer the other day, but the woman at the department store didn't speak English so she kept pointing me to the brushes and hair products. And probably the most frustrating thing is that I have no idea of what goes on in my office 70 % of the time because everyone speaks Turkish. A few people speak English but at times get fed up with trying to translate because they don't have a large vocabulary. Phhewww. I think that's all.

I am amazed at how such simple things have been so difficult for me in this country! In the US I can get almost anything that I need done in no time. Going to the grocery store is a mindless task that I can accomplish in 5 minutes if need be. Here I feel like an incompetent fool. The struggle is real. 

Now it sounds like I am complaining, which I most certainly am, but I am not defeated by any means.  This is exactly what I wanted for my experience here. I wanted to put myself in an uncomfortable position and I wanted to struggle. I think it is safe to say my mission has been accomplished. Now my goal is to figure out how to make life easier and to start winning some points against Turkey. I realize that I have only been here for two weeks and that my biggest hurdle is the language barrier. I am slowly starting to pick up the language. I can do the whole introduction thing fairly easily and I have started teaching myself how to conjugate verbs. I try to figure out what the people in my office are saying.  I think in time it will start to make sense, and when it does life will become so much easier. At least I hope so.

This experience has definitely been humbling. I don't know if that is the word I want to use, but I am going with it anyway. When reflecting upon my experience here thus far I can't help but think of the numerous people that are facing somewhat similar struggles in the US. I keep thinking of the two refugee couples who I attempted to teach English. I remember taking Howeida and Jameel to Target for the first time. It was summer time and Howeida was limited in what she could buy because she was pregnant and Muslim. All of the clothes were either too revealing or not her style. The only item she bought was pants and I think she originally went there looking for shirts. I realize that I cannot totally relate to what Howeida and Jameel went through. They were forced to leave Iraq for safety reasons. The struggles I am facing are directly related to the choice I made to move to another country. I can, however, appreciate the uneasy feeling of not knowing how to accomplish simple tasks. Or the feeling of having people stare at you while you are walking down the street because they can tell you are foreign. Or coming to the realization that people are talking about you, but not knowing what they are saying. I can appreciate that feeling of just being uncomfortable in general. It is so hard especially when thinking about life in your home country. I am actually a competent person in the US. I have a freaking Master's in Education for crying out loud. None of that matters though if you can't speak the language. My broken Turkish doesn't reflect what I know or even my actual personality for that matter. It is so stressful, but in a good way.

One of the reasons I came here was to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. This experience has made me want to look for jobs where I could work with people in the US, such as immigrants or refugees. Maybe I would like teaching ESL? Or possibly working with a company such as BRIDGE, that provides services to refugees? I think my experience here will help me to appreciate, a least to a certain degree, what they are going through. I can think of simple things I wish people could do to alleviate some of my stress here. Maybe there are things I can do to help this group of people in the US? I am going to play around with this idea some more and see what my options are.

Well that is all I have for now. I must go read the AMA on reddit with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He is my one true love. Sorry Jon!

Two weeks

Today officially marks the two week mark. I cannot believe I have only been here for two weeks. It feels like I have been here for at least a month. I have learned so much over the past 14 days. I am starting to learn my way around where I live/work. It is not as complicated as I originally thought it was. On Friday, I was given a PPT to edit about the language and customs in Turkey. It was for "survival in Turkey." I wish I would have received this the first week I was here. If I had, I would have realized that the okay sign, the circle with three fingers, is actually offensive here. I think I probably used this sign with at least 20 students interested in going abroad to tell them that there English was "okay!" Hopefully they realized what I meant by this gesture as I was always smiling while throwing up the okay sign.

 I learned a few other useful do's and don'ts through this PPT. Pointing at people is offensive, putting your thumb between your index and middle fingers is offensive, and sitting where people can see the sole of your feet is offensive. Thankfully I don't think I have done any of these gestures. It is very common to greet someone with two kisses on the cheek. This didn't surprise me much, because I have seen people do this and this was also very common in Costa Rica. What I found interesting though is that it is very common for men to greet people in this way. It is also common for men to walk together arm in arm. After I read this I realized that I had seen a lot of men walking arm in arm. I just assumed they were gay. I know I know, I shouldn't make assumptions, but get over it I did. Homosexuality is not as accepted here as it is in the US; however, it seems that in spite of this men are so comfortable with their masculinity that they don't care to show affection to other men. My roommate told me one of her male friends who lived here attempted to take this custom back to the US but was unsuccessful.

Kadikoy

My weekend went by faster than my first one here and I had three entire days off. On Saturday we took the ferry to Kadikoy which is on the Asian side of Istanbul. The boat ride was absolutely gorgeous and only took 20 minutes to go from one continent to the other. The Asian side seemed to be more residential and wasn't as full of tourists. The European side of Istanbul has more touristy sites such as the Blue Mosque. There wasn't a whole lot to do in Kadikoy aside from shop and eat.

 

 

 

Stadium

 

We did go look at the soccer stadium there, Fenerbahçe stadium. I hope that once the season gets going a little bit I will be able to go to a game. I could tell just by looking at the Fenerbahçe store that there were some intense fans. The store had everything from jerseys to birds that were yellow and blue (Fenerbahçe's colors). From the stadium we went to a part of town that had stores and restaurants. Everything was so cheap so we did some shopping. I got a pair of vans for a little under $20. They may not actually be vans, but they look exactly like them to me. After shopping we went and got some food and a drink.

European Side

On Sunday we went to the market again and got some essentials for our kitchen. I want to try and cook more at the house to save some money. We also went to the grocery store. It is amazing how complicated simple tasks can be when you don't know Turkish. I have no idea what to cook here because I don't know how to get the ingredients. The grocery store has a lot of stuff that I can figure out easily such as fruits and vegetables, but I have no clue which spices I need because the labels are all in Turkish. I need to study up on my food vocab for my next visit to the grocery store. Sunday night we made spaghetti. It was delicious despite the fact that we picked up tomato paste instead of tomato sauce.

Finally feeling productive...

I have now spent a total of 8 days at my internship. I would say that I am pretty much the glue holding this company together, but that would clearly be a lie. As an intern for the past 7 workdays I really haven't done anything for the company because there isn't anything for me to do. If I was going to redo this program I would have come in October because Turkish students don't go back to school until the end of September. Anyways, yesterday I was finally somewhat productive. It was a great feeling. I never thought I would actually be asking for work! Yesterday my boss asked me to work with my roommate Ilhan on a presentation that they will use next week in Singapore and then in Australia. Ilhan speaks English semi well in that I am able to understand him 90% of the time. 10% of the time I understand the words he is saying but not his meaning. He is very entertaining and doesn't have a filter so I enjoy speaking with him because he always has interesting/funny things to say. Two nights ago he told me I sound like an "educated black girl." Now this might be the best compliment that has ever been paid to me, but I couldn't understand what brought him to this conclusion.

Anyways back to the presentation. We spent two hours working and didn't even come close to finishing. He kept arguing with me over every single word. For example, we were trying to define Eduyork's purpose. I wanted to keep using the words "mission" and "goal", but those were not acceptable to him. At one point I suggested using the word "help" because ultimately that is what Eduyork does. The company helps students find jobs in the US. He told me "Eduyork is not a nonprofit and we don't help people." After this I started slowly losing my patience.  I wanted to remind him that I was the native English speaker and to trust me, especially since they would be presenting this to other native English speakers. While it was rather annoying, it got me thinking about the connotation of words. There may be a direct translation for certain words in Turkish, but they don't carry the same connotation as they do in English. It is amazing how people can pack so much meaning into one simple word. I kept thinking about this idea for the rest of the day. As I watched my new favorite Turkish TV show "Kuzey Güney", a Turkish spin off of "Rich Man, Poor Man," I realized there are at least three different ways to say "thank you" in Turkish depending on the situation. They have the simple thanks and thank you, but when you want to thank someone for preparing a meal you have to use a different phrase.  I am sure there are even more ways to say thank you that I haven't even learned. It is confusing at first, but really interesting when you start to think about it. I hope to slowly learn more phrases and to be able to speak basic Turkish. Everyone speaks Turkish at the office and I hear it 24/7 so I think this is a reasonable goal .

First Weekend

My first weekend in Istanbul went by rather quickly. I can't believe it is already Sunday. Friday at work I sat at my desk and continued to do nothing. I spoke with a few more students who were interested in going to the great US of A. Aside from that I checked Facebook, returned emails and read The Great Gatsby. I am starting to feel a little more comfortable at the office. One of the girls told me today she wants me to teach her English. After work I went home and had a nice relaxed Friday night. My roommate and I decided we would just stay in and order pizza. The simple task of ordering pizza, which would only take two minutes in the states, took us a grand total of 45 minutes. It was quite comical. Ali was able to call Dominos and tell the woman what we wanted on our pizza, but problems arose when they wanted our address. To be honest I have no idea what street I live on. I know my apartment is called Volcan apartments, but that's about it. Our other roommate told us we could just mention his name and they would know our address, but that didn't work. We were able to get the actual address from him via text message; however, we weren't able to accurately pronounce it. Ali tried several times. I think the woman from Dominos got fed up with our terrible Turkish so she told us she would have someone else call use back. Fortunately for us we saw our neighbor who feeds the cats outside and asked if he would order the pizza for us. He was incredibly patient with us and ordered the pizza for us in under 5 minutes. We had more trouble when the pizza arrived. Neither of my cards worked, which apparently can happen a lot. We ended up scrambling together the money. I don't know if the pizza was actually good in reality, but it tasted mighty tasty after everything we went through to get it.
After eating, Ali and I just hung out and talked for a while before reading and going to bed. Saturday was a bit of a blur. Ali and I woke up around 11 and her friend came over shortly after. We spent the next seven hours sitting on our balcony talking, drinking, and violating the boy in the apartment across form ours with our eyes. Ali's friend is British so it was nice that the entire conversation was in English. She has lived in Istanbul for two and a half years so she had a lot of helpful information. Apparently they have mosquitos in Istanbul. I have a new bite everyday. I think I may be allergic because all of my bites become incredibly red and swell up. By the time I leave here I will be one big mosquito bite. Ali's friend told me where to go to get some medicine to help. After sometime another boy came out of the apartment across from ours and began speaking in Turkish to us. Ali and I had no idea what he was saying but her friend did. He was quite entertaining. He was listening to music and pretending to sing along and play the guitar. We hung out with him and his friend for a while and then realized we needed food. We were feeling lazy so we ordered pizza again. We got our neighbors to help us so it didn't take too long. We went to bed semi early because we wanted to get up early to go to the markets. Ali and I got up early and went to get some breakfast. We went to a place that sells "borek". Borek is a filled pastry. We had cheese in ours.

Borek.
 Note: This picture is from Google Images. I just can't be that person who takes pictures of her food.

 

 

All of the food I have had here has been really good. Turkish people love bread which is wonderful for me. They also like meat (obviously this does not include pork products) and yogurt. I have had at least three dishes with yogurt. The yogurt by itself is absolutely disgusting. I bought some the first morning I was here and had to spit it out. Turkish people like food really sour, or at least I think they do. The yogurt does not have any sugar in it. They also have this drink that is literally whipped yogurt. I tried that with one of my meals and could not bring myself to finish it. Aside from the yogurt everything I've had has been delicious. I think my favorite dish is "iskander." This is basically meat and bread in a sauce with yogurt. (When mixed with something the yogurt isn't that bad.)

Alright back to Sunday. After eating our delicious pastry we went to a market the have every Sunday. I can't remember the name of it, but it is in kind of a sketchy part of town. It was only a ten minute walk and we had to go down a very steep hill. Before you we got to the market I noticed the smell of urine, how delightful. The apartments in this part of town have not been taken care of very well so the neighborhood isn't as nice to look at. The market itself is great though. It would be the equivalent to a flea market in the states. They had everything from clothes to food. I bought some sheets for my bed because mine didn't fit. I also bought a ton of fruit. I got a kilo of plums for 1.25 lira. That is like 75 cents. What a steal! I also bought some dish soap so we could clean the few bowls and glasses that we have. After the market Ali and I came home and played cards on the balcony. We are old. We go to bed early and spend our Sundays playing cards... She taught me how to play Contract and I taught her Canasta. I think we ended up playing for at least 2 hours. There really isn't anything to do in our apartment except for watch cats so it was nice to play cards. I like that we don't have a TV or internet in the house because it forces me to do other things and I don't feel like I'm constantly tuned into something. With that being said, I do hope we get internet at some point so that I can Skype with people back home. Well I am going to read and then hit the hay. I want to be on time for work tomorrow. I think I was supposed to be at work on Saturday but I didn't go. Whoops!

I live in Istanbul?

I think it is finally settling in that I am actually living in Turkey. It still seems very surreal and I think by the time I get used to everything it will be time for me to leave. Yesterday at my internship I continued to keep myself occupied by surfing the web. I think one of the guys who works here eventually saw the boredom on my face. He gave me a book to read about the history of Istanbul. I almost finished the 200 page book. It was interesting, but a little tedious to read. After work, the guy I live with, Ilhan showed me around Istanbul. I am going to get lost a lot in this city. It is huge and everything looks the same. We walked around the main streets and then went to the Galata Tower. This tower was built in 1348 and used to be the tallest building in Istanbul/Constantinople. The tower itself is beautiful and quite impressive. At the top of the tower I could see all of Istanbul from the European to the Asian side. Ilhan pointed out every landmark that I needed to see during my stay here. I think I could spend all 3 months just traveling around this city. I took pictures with my iPhone at the tower but none of them do any justice to the beauty of this city.

view from Galata Tower

After the tower we went and got beers at a Heavy Metal Club. It is nice to know that heavy metal is appreciated everywhere. Apparently a lot of people go to this bar because the beer is cheap, and it was. The Turkish beer is called Efes. It was good, not the best thing I have had, but it was very drinkable. After drinks we went home and hung out with our other roommate. It is so nice to go home to someone who speaks English and can understand some of what I am going through. I was telling her about my first day in the office and how difficult it was that I don't speak Turkish. She has been here since March and understood completely. I eventually went to bed and found it difficult to stay asleep. Hopefully I will get used to all the noises. Today I was woken up at exactly 5:30 by the call to worship. Throughout the day there are five call to worships which is pretty cool. I still haven't quite gotten used to them and I'm taken aback every time I hear it.

Today at the office I found out a little more of what I will be doing. Apparently they didn't want to overwhelm me yesterday so that is why I didn't have any work. I did my first interview today. Well it was kind of an interview. I just spoke to someone in English who is interested in doing the WAT (work and travel) program. From what I have gathered I will be conducting Skype interviews with Turkish college students that want to spend their summer break working in the USA. I will assess their English skills and suggest jobs that I think would be appropriate for the amount of English they speak/ their personality. Most of the jobs these students will be working are entry level positions in amusement parks, hotels, and restaurants. I will also lead a speaking club twice a week to help the students with the interview process, and conversational English skills in general. It seems like it will be a lot of work, but I think I will like it. Hopefully next week I will be able to start the interviews.

I survived 24 hours!

I have officially spent 24 hours in Turkey. Last night after hanging out with my roommate I decided I needed to get some sleep. I found it very easy to get sleep, but I woke up often. There are just so many noises here that I’m not used to. It’s like being in New York City. It also doesn’t help that a village of stray cats live next to me. I was warned last night that if I left my window open the cats would eventually find their way into my room during the night. I don’t think I want to risk it, but one of my windows won’t close all the way so I may just have a surprise in my room one of these days. This morning I woke up at 8 and got ready. I left the apartment to go get some water and fruit. I have been advised to not drink the water here which means I need to stock up on bottled water. I came back to the apartment and waited for Ilhan to get ready and we headed to the office. I think I can say hands down that today has been the most unproductive day I have ever had at a job. After I arrived at work they showed me the desk I will be working at and gave me a computer. They also gave me a brief explanation of what I will be doing and set up a Skype account for me. After my “orientation”, I was left to do what I wanted. Well at least I think I was. Everyone here speaks Turkish and only a few people speak English well so a lot gets lost in translation. From what I understand there is not a whole lot for me to do because there aren’t any students that have applied for the program yet. This could be completely wrong, but that is what I am going with. Unfortunately I still have to be at the office despite there being nothing to do. Today I sat at my computer and looked at Reddit, Facebook, NPR, and then Facebook again. I have been updated on all the big news from the debates regarding Syria, to the actors chosen for the film 50 Shades of Grey. Basically I did a lot of hard work and I am pretty sure that this office wouldn’t run without me... Hopefully there will be more for me to do soon. The nice thing about my office is that it is located in the center of the city in what is called Taksim square. I can look out the window and see hundreds of people walking down one of the main roads. There is also a café across the street where I have been doing an impressive ampeople watching. There are over 12 million people that live in Istanbul and quite a few tourists so there is a lot to look at.



I think the biggest struggle I will face here is the language barrier. There are quite a few people who speak English, but not everyone does. At the office Turkish is the only language spoken unless someone wants to speak directly to me. I find myself sitting and listening a lot even though I have no idea what people are saying. I try to see if I can pick up anything, but it’s pretty useless unless they are saying “hello” or “how are you”. Hopefully I will start to pick up some of the language. Apparently the last intern learned very quickly. Today I ate lunch in the office with some other people. It was nice and a little strange to me. They spoke only in Turkish and would look at me to see if I understood, which I obviously didn’t. We had some type of green beans and pasta. The thing to do here is to eat pasta with ketchup and mayonnaise. It seems disgusting but I tried it and was pleasantly surprised. I don’t think I will continue to eat this concoction when I return home, but for now it is okay.

Arrival in Turkey

I made it safe and sound to Istanbul. The trip was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I couldn't sleep much on my first flight which was unfortunate because it was 8 hours long. My flight from Zurich was much quicker and I was able to get in some shut eye. The first thing I noticed when I got off the plane was the stench in the airport. There was a whole lot of BO going on there. I originally thought I was the culprit producing the foul odor. However, a kind American informed me that a lot of Turkish people don't wear deodorant so I should get used to it. She said it was especially bad on public transportation. Getting out of the airport was fairly easy. There isn't a customs place like what I am used to in Istanbul. Instead there are two different areas. One where you pay $20 to get a Visa and another where they stamp your visa. They don't ask you any questions at either of these areas so it goes rather quickly. Before arriving in Turkey I was told someone with an Eduyork sign would be waiting for me when I got off the plane. As I exited the airport I saw a ton of people holding up signs, but of course there wasn't anyone there with one that said Eduyork. Luckily I had the numbers of the people who were supposed to pick me up. The guy I called said someone would be there within 20 minutes. Forty five minutes later a man named Ilhan arrived. Ilhan was very pleasant and spoke English so we were able to communicate well. He drove me from the airport to the apartment where we would both live. Being in a car in Turkey is probably one of the most frightening experiences. Everyone here is a terrible driver and it seems like there aren't any rules to the road. People get in between buses and drive on the side of the road. There is a lot of honking, but there aren't many accidents. I guess it works because everyone is equally bad at driving so they are always on the defensive. I hope I don't have to get in another car anytime soon.

 

Finally we got to the apartment, but parking was difficult. The roads here are fairly narrow and there isn't a lot of room to park a car. Ilhan was able to get someone who was parked in front of our apartment to move his van. The apartment is small with two bedrooms, a living room, bathroom, and a kitchen. It also has a small balcony off of one of the bedrooms. Ilhan lives in one room, a Canadian girl who is here teaching English lives in the other, and my room is the living room. Another American is supposed to come and we will share the room. The place is simple. There isn't really anything on the walls but it is colorful. My bed is I guess what we would call a futon. It is actually pretty comfortable. My apartment is in Taksim Sqaure which is pretty much in the middle of everything. Shops, restaurants, tourist attractions are just a few minutes away.

 



My room



 

My bed 

 

After dropping off my luggage at the apartment Ilhan took me to the office. It is actually just a two minute walk from my apartment. He introduced me to the office staff. I don't know if I will ever actually learn all of their names. Everyone seemed really nice and welcoming. After introductions they told me to make myself at home. I didn't know what that meant with regards to the office so I sat down in a chair. Ilhan and a few women began speaking in what I am going to assume was Turkish. It pretty much just sounded like gibberish to me. After twenty minutes of faking interest in a conversation where I had no idea what was going on, I was told I could leave and go home. This was a relief. The room felt like it was shaking and I desperately needed a nap and a shower. I went home and collected myself.

My office

When I woke up I realized my roommate, Ali, was home. I think I might have frightened her because I quickly introduced myself and began asking her a million questions. She was very nice and patient with me. She is an English teacher for a private institute here that teaches English to adults. She has been in Istanbul since May so she was a wealth of information. When I came home from the office I used the rest of the toilet paper and had no idea where to get more. Ali laughed at how unprepared the apartment was and took me to go get some more. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't come home. To be honest after the office I was freaking out a lot, a mean a lot. After speaking with her for a few minutes I began to feel better. Istanbul is an interesting place. You, can tell just by looking at the architecture it is filled with so much history. I think I am going to like spending the next three months here. Right now I am feeling a mixture of emotions: excited, happy, and overall uncomfortable. Hopefully I will start getting the hang of things and this uncomfortable feeling will go away quickly.