Her very own special post.

All is right in the world because even though we are on separate continents, I still make Stella laugh so hard that she cries and then vomits.  

P.S. Stella, I think there might be something in your teeth.

Back at home

Today is my fourth full day back in the US, I have not unpacked my bags, my room is an utter disaster, and the weather is so cold that it is insulting.  However, it is nice to be in a place where my clothes fit the climate.  I got a really warm coat as a late Christmas present, which would be overkill in Istanbul, even though everyone there claims that "we normally do have a winter, this is just unseasonably warm!"  Note to people that believe that Istanbul experiences winter:  Maybe you are right, but compared to what I have been experiencing when I step outside in Massachusetts (which is not even northern New England-- so really I can't complain) I am compelled to laugh at Istanbul's version of winter.  Nice try.  Better luck next year?

My wardrobe isn't the only thing that fits in in New England.  Guess what else does?  My height, my skin color, my hair color, my eye color, my interest in sports and the outdoors, my name (kind of), my religion, my language, my sense of humor, my music taste...  So maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit.  New England isn't really that homogenous, it's just that I seem to fit in a lot more here than I do in Istanbul.  I know that is a no brainer, but it's something that has never been so apparent to me until now.  I spent the last couple days visiting friends at Williams, and it made me realize how much of a product of my environment I am.  I am so similar to so many Williams students.  I'm not saying that is a bad thing, because on the whole all Williams students should have certain fundamental similarities: intelligence, social competence, and a good work ethic.  There are exceptions, of course, but I would say that the Williams admissions office tries hard to accept applicants that display these three characteristics in some way or another.  But the applicants are a self selected group, and they see something in Williams that they like.  For me, I think one of the most salient reasons I chose to go to Williams is because it seemed familiar and comfortable.  

Fast forward two years, and compare my first semester at Williams with my first semester in Istanbul.  At Williams, I quickly found a group of people with similar backgrounds and shared interests that became my closest friends.  In Istanbul, I met no other American girls from the Northeast that do college sports.  They were probably there somewhere, but we didn't find each other, and I am glad we didn't.  I felt unique in a way I had never felt before, and I made friends unlike any I have ever had.  I can't deny that it was comforting to come home to Massachusetts and blend into the grain, settle back into my old habits, and feel average again.  I have roots here, whether I like it or not.  One thing that I worried about when I was in Turkey was finding my place and being accepted.  I wondered if I was kidding myself by trying to be happy as an outsider in such an unfamiliar environment.  However, when I expressed this to one of my new Turkish friends, the friend said "Why try to fit in, when you are meant to stand out?"  This question really stuck with me, and it ultimately helped me decide to spend another semester in Istanbul, continuing to live outside my comfort zone in a culture with which I will never be able to identify.  While I can put forth my best effort and try to appreciate Istanbul and Turkey in a more profound way than most Westerners do, I will never be able to blend into the crowd in Istanbul like I can in Massachusetts.  Call it what you will, claim that I just like getting attention, whatever.  The important thing is that I kind of like being the outsider once in a while, and I think that after a month of re-immersing myself in the winter in New England and regaining some perspective on what it is to feel cold, I will be ready to be a foreigner in Istanbul again.  It's refreshing.  

This guy is cool

What do you get when you take three American girls, three Turkish guys, some really mellow music, and the "throw caution to the wind" attitude that saying goodbye to Istanbul gives you?

Some excellent new musical knowledge that I need to share with you!  What did you expect me to say?  Get your mind out of the gutter.  

Anyway, one of my Turkish friends played us some music by the Turkish-Armenian folk artist Arto Tunçboyacıyan. I strongly recommend you check out the video we watched.  Don't just watch the first 20 seconds, either.  It gets really good in the middle.

Kind of winning something

I'm in the midst of packing my room up and moving out of the Superdorm. Finally! Thought I'd share with you some Turkish pop, which is inspiring me while I organize. This song is played everywhere. The artist is Tarkan, and he is huge here. This is really the only song of his that I know, I am ashamed to say. And I'm sorry if it makes your ears bleed.

In other news, this past Sunday I ran a 14 km race called "Geyik Koşuları", which means "running deer" or something like that. It took place in the Belgrade Forest, which is about 20 km north of Istanbul. The Bogazici rowing coach decided that it would be a great thing to do instead of our normal Sunday morning practice. Seven of us went, and I was the only girl that showed up. The weather was wet, the air was cold, and the attitudes were skeptical (except for mine of course). When we registered, we were given fancy little electronic wrist bands to wear that would record our time at every check-point. It was legitimate.

So without doing much of a warmup, we all lined up to race 14 km, or about 8.7 miles, over the hills and through the mud patches of the forest. I hadn't run a race since high school, and as I sloshed my way through ankle deep mud and barreled down hills with minimal control over my legs, I reminisced about the glory days of SPS cross country. The competition was tight for the first 4 or 5 kilometers, at which point the pack started to spread out. I managed to cruise along at my own pace without having anyone breathing down my neck for most of the race, and I crossed the line in 1 hour and 21-ish minutes. This was better than I had expected to do, given the conditions, the terrain, and the amount of training I had done for this race (none)!

It turns out that I beat most of my teammates, I came in third overall for women, and I came in first for my age group (18-29 year olds). I guess this is where I have to admit that no one else registered in my age group. That meant that the other two women that beat me were thirty or above. Sweet. So here I am, getting my first place medal! They also gave me a 50 lira (approx $32) gift certificate to a sports store in Istanbul as a reward for my efforts.

I was lucky enough to get credit for my third place finish, too. Sadly the first place and second place winners did not show up to collect their prizes, so I stood on the third place stand. By myself. Super cool. On the bright side, I got another 50 lira gift certificate to the same sports store. So now I can buy 100 lira worth of merchandise next time I'm in Istanbul. Wooo!

I had massive blisters on both of my feet and about a pound of mud in my shoes, so walking was difficult after the race (not to mention the next day). However, with my medal and my two gift certificates, I think things turned out pretty well in the end!

Oh, you know, just hanging out in third place by myself.

biraz düşünce

On January 20th, five days from now, I will be flying back to Boston. Exams are finally over, so I guess it's time for some reflection on my past semester. And because I like to make lists.

Things (some unexpected) that I have gained an appreciation for since living in Istanbul:
1) Sleeping past noon. Because why not? Don't ask questions.
2) If I was not fortunate enough to sleep past noon, taking a nap for several hours later in the day.
3) Wearing my glasses outside of my room. I never do this at home, but for some reason (see above) I have started putting less effort into... everything?
4) Kanye West's new album, and on a completely different note, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.
5) Findik ezmesi. Like peanut butter, but made with hazelnuts and sugar. Eat it by the spoonful, put it on bread, use it as an exfoliating moisturizer, whatever. It's all good, and by good I mean delicious.
6) Fresh baked bread. Really soft on the inside, crispy on the outside, preferably warm. Not sliced, because tearing it with your hands is just so satisfying.
7) Beyaz peynir. This translates to white cheese. It's basically feta, but better than what we have in the US. And I eat it almost everyday in one way or another.
8) Throwing random Turkish words or phrases into my everyday speech. I guess this isn't that unexpected bir şekilde.

5 months ago, I thought I would be doing the following in Turkey:
1) Eating baklava all the time. It's true, I love baklava, but there are other delicious things to eat too.
2) Taking the ferry to the other side of the Bosphorus. I've only done it a couple of times, because there is so much stuff on the European side, and less on the Asian side. No offense, Asia.
3) Hanging out in Sultanahmet by the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. Turns out that's only a good idea if you are a tourist, and even then it's questionable. Future tourists of Istanbul: Sultanahmet is cool, but it's not the only thing to see. And people are much less annoying in other areas of the city (generally).

5 months ago, I had no idea that I would be doing the following in Turkey:
1) Picking up and moving the cats that have jumped up on my desk in the middle of class.
2) Rowing in a single, especially on the Golden Horn. I still can't really believe I did that.
3) Studying. To be realistic, most Americans that study abroad do very little work. I haven't really had that experience. Thank you, neuroscience!
4) Getting offended when served tea in a ceramic mug. Who do you think I am, a Westerner?
5) Worrying about where the next toilet paper roll is coming from.
6) Conscientiously trying NOT to look Russian.

Things about my life here that I will never get tired of:
1) Hearing the call to prayer. If I go a day without hearing it, I get a little bit disturbed.
2) The amazing view of the Bosphorus that I see when I'm walking to class on South Campus.
3) Drinking çay after every meal, mostly as an excuse to just sit and enjoy the present company.

Shut up and learn.

It's 2:40 AM on a Saturday, and seeing as I have two exams this afternoon, I saw it fit to update my blog. I've spent some good quality time in the Bogazici University library recently, and I thought I'd offer some anecdotes about what makes it so... unique.

1) It closes at 10 pm. Compare that to the Williams College libraries, which stay open until... 2 AM? 3 AM? Soft core.

2) You have to show your ID every time you enter the library, and usually the ID checker looks like he or she will shoot the next person that walks in the door. Walking into the library is therefore kind of like Russian Roulette.

3) It is a pain in the butt to use the bathroom when you're in the library. When I'm at Williams I like to go to the bathroom as a kind of "study break," but here the bathroom is in the basement, it's always FREEZING cold, and there is never, ever any toilet paper. It's just generally a good idea to carry tissues around with you, wherever you go. After about four months here, I finally learned that. Today I was prepared.

4) Do not speak in the library. Seriously. Don't even walk loudly. And please keep your breathing to yourself.

4) There are signs all over the library offering inspirational quotes on wisdom and learning, just to remind you of the purpose of a library. As if you had forgotten.

5) I like to study near the reserves section, where they have tables with laminated pictures of famous intellectuals. Just a little bit of added inspiration. I like to sit at the Einstein table, especially when I'm working on neuroscience. Usually Dante's table is too crowded, and I would sit at Dostoyevsky's table, but seeing as I've never read anything of his I think it would make me a poser. Not like I've ever read anything of Einstein's, either. But where's the harm in trying to channel a little bit of his brain power during exam period?

Deep in thought with Albert.

For your supplementary reading pleasure...

Stella also keeps a blog, which is phenomenal although it hardly even pertains to Istanbul. However, there are a few true gems in here. Check it out.

MUTLU YILLAR! (Happy New Years!)

Happy New Year from Istanbul!

I'm still here. Classes officially ended yesterday, December 31st. The semester schedule (obviously) is very different from what we in the US are used to. Things I have to look forward to now that classes are over: Taking 5 exams. The fun starts with my Turkish exam on Monday. I should start studyingfor that... but in the mean time I'm going to fill you in on what I've been doing!

As you might imagine, Christmas isn't much of a holiday here. Most Turks are Muslims. That's not to say that there is no holiday cheer. The end of December is surprisingly commercial here, as well, but for different reasons-- it's New Years! There are lights up all over Etiler, the region of Istanbul I live in, and trees and shrubs on campus are covered in them. And there are some serious New Years sales going on, too. I have stolen some of my lovely Stella's photos to demonstrate the New Year decor, because I've been bad with the camera stuff recently. Also, Stella isn't my only friend, in case you were wondering. I do have other friends.... I think.

Apart from going to church on Christmas Eve, I spent Christmas pretty much like I spend any other Saturday in Istanbul. I even woke up at 7:30 Christmas morning to go to the boathouse with the crew team. I really struggled with that decision, but after some serious pondering on"What would Jesus do?", I decided that I would go to practice and not let my team down. I think Jesus would be proud. He always did stress the importance of early morning workouts, right? After practice, I went out to breakfast with some friends and watched Love Actually, which tries to be a Christmas movie but is really good to watch all year round. I skyped with my family, ordered Chinese takeout for dinner, and watched the Knicks play the Bulls. I don't usually pay attention to the NBA, but that's what my friends were doing, so I thought it wouldn't kill me to participate. Besides, they were wearing red and green for the occasion, and nothing says Christmas Spirit like red and green basketball jerseys!

New Years was outlandishly exciting. First of all, New Years Eve fell on the Friday that classes

ended. It was a perfect storm of reasons to party-- the end of a semester, the last hurrah before

several weeks of exams, and the celebration of a new year. Second of all, I went on a boat cruise

of the Bosphorus with lots of other Erasmus/exchange and Turkish students from all over Istanbul. It was a great idea in theory, but it was cold enough that I didn't spend much time out on the deck appreciating the fact that I was on a boat. I mostly tried to stay warm inside. But it was still outlandishly exciting. I think that's the best way to describe the night. Get it? Out-land-ish? Cause we were on a boat? Thanks, I know, I'm hilarious. Anyway, the boat cruise was great way to celebrate the new year with some of of the fantastic people I've met here. I have minimal photographic evidence, so again I have stolen pictures from Stella. See? I do have other friends! And they aren't just strangers posing for the picture. Although there were quite a few of those, too.

What a wholesome group.

Stella and I are sharing a moment, as usual.

So Mutlu Yıllar, everyone! Here's to hoping that 2011 will have as many exciting adventures as 2010. It'll be a tough act to follow!