Wie bitte?

Here's how I spent my Valentine's day:

Slept in until about 10 in the morning. Took my time getting ready and ate breakfast.

Left my dorm at around noon. Got on U-bahn and went down to Ringstrasse, which is a street that circles around the Inner district. The OK program did a walking tour of the city, which I missed since I am not in the program. So I thought I would just do it myself. Ringstrasse has most of the important buildings in Vienna, i.e. Parliament, Rathaus (City hall), and Museums Quarter. All the buildings were big and beautiful, and there was ice skating in front of the Rathaus. I thought I would feel lonely walking around by myself on Valentine's day, but instead I learned an important thing- I enjoy my own company. I was alone but not lonely, even when I saw couples ice skating hand-in-hand. All this week, I was constantly asked why I didn't join the OK program. At the time of registration, it was because I knew I had a whole semester to do all those things myself. But as people continued to ask, I began to get worried- did I really want to do all that by myself? My stroll taught me that I don't mind it. In fact, I had fun.

I ended my walk with a visit to the Natural History Museum. For some reason, it's a must-do for me. If I'm gonna do museums and the city has a natural history museum, that's the one I almost always choose. None can quite live up to the standard that New York's Natural History museum sets, but this one was OK. Because it was Valentine's Day, I sent myself a "be mine" card in the form of a Melange coffee and Apple Strudel. It was delicious.

By then though, my feet were in dire need of rest, so I hopped the metro back to my dorm. Instead of going in though, I took the bus that gets me from the metro station to the dorm and stayed on past my stop, just to see where it went. It was useful, as I found several bigger and better supermarkets on the line. Again, because it was Valentine's day, I bought a bottle of wine and some Milka chocolate. =)

I ended my day with pizza, sharing the kitchen with some Pakistani guys who were making a traditional meal. They let me try it and I told them how we really don't all ride horses in Texas. My roommate and neighbors then finally got home, bearing gifts in the form of more wine and more chocolate. An hour later, other exchange students had joined us and we stayed up late just chatting, drinking wine, and eating chocolate.

All in all, a lovely day.

Aufwiedersehen Türkei!

A lot has happened since I last updated.

First, I left Izmir. I spent my last week mostly hanging out with my family and seeing friends. The Thursday before I left, my family had a farewell dinner for me, with all the neighbors. It was really wonderful but sad at the same time. The tears started when the serenader in our banquet room sang a Turkish song that meant "Don't forget me" and my mom told me not to forget them. Of course I wouldn't. Even some of Tugce's friends that I had met were emotional and sad that I was leaving, including guys. Turkish people are so expressive, so it made it that much sweeter and difficult to say goodbye. In any case, I promised everyone I would see them again, so I will work hard to keep that promise. I am thinking of going back for a week in summer to enjoy the beaches and see everyone.

Secondly, I spent an exhausting but fun day in Istanbul. My family took me to the airport at 6:00am(!), where we met Julia and her family. After some more sad goodbyes, we boarded our plane and arrived in Istanbul at around 8:30. It was a whirlwind tour but way worth it. We saw the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, walked in the Underground Cistern and saw the Medusa Heads, haggled with shopowners in the Grand Bazaar (we even sat down and had some tea with one of them), tried lots of Turkish Delight at the Spice Market, strolled along the Golden Horn and saw the Bosphorous Bridge from afar, and became hypnotized by the Whirling Dervishes show. Our hostel was amazing, every single person we met was nice and interesting, and the weather was perfect. I was dead tired by the end of the day but had an amazing time.

Finally, I arrived in Vienna. There were some problems with my check-in so I haven't yet settled into my flat/dorm. I'm currently staying with my Austrian buddy and her boyfriend. They have both been to Texas (the boyfriend studied at UTSA), so they didn't ask me about cowboys. ;) They're really sweet, but I feel bad that they had to take me in like this. Tomorrow though is when the German course starts, so I'll be leaving early to take an assessment test and then pick up my key. The weather today was really cold and rainy so although we ran around a bit, we didn't really do any sightseeing. But I have time. =) Also, I ordered my lunch in German. The waitress and my buddy complimented me because they say not very many people like to even try speaking the language while they're here. The Viennese transportation system already has me swooning, since the one in Turkey was so complicated, and it's nice to have a working knowledge of the language.

Çok Güzel

Fun fact: Cell phones in Turkey are really, really expensive. The cheapest you'll find is at least 300 lira.

I had a fabulous weekend. Here's what I did:
- Went to a dance club to celebrate the end of final exams with AIESECers. It was a lot of fun, and I was happy to find that I like Turkish music.
- Arrived in Pamukkale to one of the prettiest hotels I've seen.
- Swam in a thermal pool and used the mineral-enriched mud as a beautifier. =)
- Took a Turkish bath.
- Saw a bellydancing show! It was just one girl and it wasn't as authentic as I would've liked, but still, it was pretty cool.
- While the parents enjoyed their high school reunion, us kids hung out in our hotel room, drinking Efes and talking all night. The best part, though, was when around 1 am, my host mom and Julia's host mom came to our room, pulled some Efes they smuggled into the hotel (the hotel's alcohol was really expensive) out of their purses, and hung out with us. They're awesome. =)
- Walked around a huge ancient city, Hierapolis.
- Saw Pamukkale and the white travertines, which also held thermal water. It was really beautiful. And it was my host family's first time seeing it too, so that was fun. Tugce and I climbed around in them, enjoying the warm water.
- Went to a Turkish village. Everything I ate after breakfast on Sunday was grown and made by my host father's uncle. It was absolutely delicious. Later, I also got to taste freshly milked milk, warm and with sugar. It was also really good.

Ok, that was supposed to be my condensed version, but oh well. =) Sadly, I leave at the end of this week. =( But I got the week off from the schools, so I'll get to just hang out and have fun.

Numbers Rhumba All Day Long

Fun fact: The Turkish invented yogurt. They eat it with literally everything.


So, update on school #2- thumbs down. I cannot figure out why it's in this AIESEC program. Not a single person speaks English- the kids, the teacher, the principal (ok, she can say some introductory stuff). This wouldn't be a problem, except that I am bored out of my mind. For 6 hours, I sit down and try to play with kids who don't understand anything I'm saying, nor can I talk to the teachers to pass the time. They occasionally just walk out of the room to talk to each other, leaving me with kids who have no intention of listening to me, or talk on the phone. Don't get me wrong- they're nice, and if we could communicate I would probably like them, but as I am there to teach my culture and language, that's impossible to do when no one would understand me.

Rant over.

I have yet to go a day without some Turkish person talking to me in Turkish, thinking that I am Turkish. Today it was an old man. He wanted to know if I lived in Bornova and to tell me I was beautiful. It was really awkward, since when I told him I didn't know Turkish, he continued talking to me, then enlisted a translator. Apparently the words, "Turce bilmiyorum (I don't know Turkish)" don't mean anything. Like people think I'm lying. Because they keep talking. It's only when I stare at them blankly that they realize I really don't know Turkish. Anyway, all the women around me showed me sympathy with small smiles and a shake of the head. Clearly, glaring at people when I catch them staring at me and staring intently out the window isn't enough to say, "Don't talk to me."

Gobble Gobble

Fun fact: Turkey calls itself Little America. And their President, Little Bush. They are wishing for a little Obama.

I saw a "Turkish" movie today- Despero. Yes, it's American. But it was completely dubbed in Turkish, without subtitles, so I didn't understand a word. My review? It looked cute. Either way, I got to spend some time with my host mom and host little sister (Tugce was at the AIESEC office). We're slowly learning to communicate with each other.

With my mind already tired from trying to make sense of the movie, we rode the minibus home. During this, the bus driver suddenly yelled something in Turkish. Everyone around me who was also standing suddenly ducked down and kneeled on the floor. A few seconds later, I followed suit. There had been a little road rage incident immediately preceding this, so I was confused and a little nervous. I knew neither Beste (little sister) nor my host mom could explain what happened, so I remained confused. It turns out (another fun fact), minibuses aren't allowed to carry standing riders, so whenever they pass a police car, everyone standing has to duck. Apparently the Turkish aren't very keen on following laws.



Since I spent most of my day at home, I thought it fitting to post a picture of the view from this wonderful place. =)

Maşallah

Fun fact: The burkha has been banned from government places in Turkey for over 100 years.

Yesterday I fell down in the streets of Izmir.

Other fun things I did this weekend:
- Finished work at school #1. Still waiting to see what, if any, school I will be going to next.
- Accepted a car ride from Tugce's neighbors whom I hadn't met. It was pouring rain, and they saw me walking off to the bus stop. They didn't speak English, and I don't speak Turkish, but somehow we arranged for them to take me to the center of town to catch the bus. It was nice.
- Hung out with AIESEC people and attended my first meeting in a foreign country. Both fun. Except I didn't understand a single thing in the meeting.
- Went to a beautiful seaside resort area of Izmir, Cesme. Izmir is huge. I keep forgetting that. Cesme was beautiful. I won't forget that.
- Met my host grandparents. They were cute. =)

Overall it was a good weekend, except for the fall and the fact that my stomach has been really uneasy. I really don't feel very good. I'm supposed to start work at my new school tomorrow, but I will stay home and rest instead.

Blow, blow, blow the balloon

Fun fact: There were at least 21 earthquakes in Turkey today.

Of course, the day isn't over yet. But only 2 of them rated over a 3.0 on the Richter scale. Still, that's a lot of moving Earth. (Don't believe me? http://www.koeri.boun.edu.tr/scripts/lst9.asp It's in Turkish, but you'll get the gist.)


In other news, tomorrow is my last day at this particular school. I really like the school and the teacher, but I'll be glad to not have to travel an hour and a half back and forth everyday. If they find the ingredients, we'll be making Rice Krispie Treats for my "traditional" American food. If not, it'll be more singing and yelling.

One of the other trainees that got here a couple days before me has already been sick twice. I haven't gotten sick at all. That makes me feel proud of myself for some reason.

Tomorrow I will attend my first AIESEC meeting in a country other than the U.S. Already AIESEC U.S. is a sad, sad attempt at what AIESEC should be. I'm sure tomorrow will confirm that. Meetings are always followed with an activity of some sort, i.e. dinner, bar, movie, etc. I'm excited to see everyone I just met again.

Turkish words I learned today: bebeğim- baby/babe, türkçe bilmiyorum- i don't know Turkish, şerefe- cheers!, and hacı - kind of like "brother" but not in the sibling sense.