This is a blurry picture of the first bridge across the Bosphorous in Istanbul that I took from a taxi. I haven’t taken ANY photos of Istanbul except that one, and this one of some of the buildings:
I will take a lot more over the next few weeks. Sam is coming, and so is my dear friend Liz and we’ll be tourists and I’ll take my camera everywhere, and I also got my phone working enough to take photos (hence the ‘vintage’ look.) Oh, and you should all thank Becca who kindly reminded me that I’ve been on hiatus.
I’ve been really busy though!
I’m learning Turkish through Ankara University’s Language School(TOMER) in the mornings, then running around with the girls in the afternoons, and trying to fit in a semi-social life and keep up with the latest episodes of Glee and get ready for the least Christmassy Christmas ever.
Update: Glee is not very good. Girls is equally addictive and soul-destroying and makes me want to yell at people. Game of Thrones is very good. True Blood is ok, but I think mainly because after 5 season I’m pretty invested in it. Boardwalk Empire is good. And Mad Men is no longer very good but I like looking at all the pretty 60sness. I’m looking for a new series to watch in my downtime, any suggestions? Muhteşem Yüzyıl is pretty good but entirely in Turkish so I get tired watching it. But oh, the intrigue of the Sultan Suleiman and his hareem! (You should all totes check it out – it’s played in 52 different countries!)
Anyway, so Turkish classes are going. I was going to say pretty well, but I don’t feel like I am any more capable of speaking Turkish than when I started. But I can write and spell now, and understand the grammar far better. I have a lot of vocab I need to learn, and I think next month I’ll just try and find a more conversation based course to do rather than an academic one. It is a good course but because I skipped the first level I struggle with the vocab more than I should. My teacher is awesome; she is this crazy Turkish girl with peroxide hair and very fashionable clothes who stops the class every thirty minutes for a cigarette break and has decided that me and Liz are her favourites. (Which means she uses us for every example in the class, and takes delight in making fun of Liz.) The other students are a mixture of Turkministan, Greek, Turkistan, Jordanian, Ethiopian, Chinese, Korean, and Morrocan. And then there is Liz (American girl who came and stayed with my Turkish family for a month and is here for a yearish on a music fellowship) and I who giggle too much and get away with answering in English rather than Turkish. I think a lot of the other students are learning so they can study and work here.
Monday night I had THAI FOOD. OH MY GOD, PROPER SPICY FOOD THAT DOESN’T HAVE TOMATOES IN IT. OR MINCE. I do like Turkish food, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever spent this long eating one kind of food before. Anyway, afterwards Liz invited me to a classical music concert, which I was a little unsure about. Years of studying classical music has led me to the conclusion that it is beautiful, and I really enjoy it, but quite often do not wish to sit in a draughty hall for two hours to fully appreciate it. But it was going to be Turkish classical music which was intriguing and without asking much more about it we went to the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall where it turned out the whirling dervishes were doing their thing in memorial of Rumi’s death. It’s a lovely venue, but wow, was I not prepared for how mesmerising the whirling is. Photos courtesy of Liz, but I don’t think a photo could ever capture how entrancing the sufi are.
Other than that I haven’t been up to much that I can think of as being particularly interesting to talk about. I go out on Sunday nights because most of my friends have Mondays off, and going out usually involves going to bed at about 8 or 9am, which i appreciate because I never quite got used to the start-drinking-at-5, bed-by-11 thing in London. It’s usually pretty busy most nights in Taksim, and going out with locals means not spending a fortune in tourist bars. I still find the public transport a pain but don’t often resort to a taxi out of sheer stubborness. (I walked to school the other morning after my akbil card ran out of money and I couldn’t get a bus – it took an hour and a half.) (I got lost.) Walking is a bit of a novelty for most Istanbulites I’ve noticed – I get tooted at a lot and pavements here are for dogs to lie on, advertising boards to be placed in the middle of, or cars to park on.
It also rains New Zealand-style pretty much everyday but with less wind. I now own an umbrella. It is awesome, and I bought it from the oldest umbrella shop in London town, James Smith & Sons. Look at the foxy handle!
It’s also getting much colder. Down to 4-8 degrees most days. The family were going to go skiing for Christmas (the girls get time off school because of the many foreigners attending) but it had been unseasonally warm for this time of year and there isn’t enough snow on the fields in Bursa. Speaking of Christmas, it doesn’t feel at all like Christmas. not even a hint of Christmas flavour except for the big shopping malls dousing themselves in fairylights. The other night I peeked out the window and the neighbours had wrapped their pine tree in lights though so that felt kind of special. I’m not that fussed about Christmas, but it is one time of year I feel a bit homesick for family and friends. Though I do love London at Christmas. So pretty!!
Oh yeah, I went to London for a weekend to catch up with people, attempt to get my residency visa reinstated, and start my TESOL course. It was wonderful. I didn’t get my visa reinstated though so it looks like it will be holidays ever more. It felt so nice to be able to speak English and ask for directions, and know exactly where the bus was taking me, and be sarcastic and have pop culture references fly around with no confused faces. Also, I got to eat Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Thai, proper pizza, pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, avocado, flat whites, cider, good cheap red wine, porridge, and a number of other delightful things I’ve forgotten the taste of. So happy…
Last month was Kurban bayram, or Eid….. A cow was killed for the family on the farm, but we didn’t participate in the ceremony. I wouldn’t have known at all except that when we arrived the meat was all in pieces in four big bin bags on the kitchen floor – unexpected to say the least!
I spent the first few days with Sarah until the family came home and then we headed West to the farm they share with a few families. Horse riding, feeding the calf, and collecting eggs! A big breakfast on Saturday with the extended family included organic, homemade butter, cheeses, fresh milk, tomatoes, cucumbers and chillis from the garden, menemen (a tomato-egg dish), homemade peach jam, honey and fresh bread. Beef stew and rice for lunch followed by a new baklava that looks like a bird’s nest with pistachios in. Here are some pictures of the girls riding a horse with no protective gear on, and no saddle:
Mmm, another brain dump post. I do apologise! I will try and do an nice orderly tourist-friendly post for next month after I’ve actually experienced being a tourist in Istanbul!
Merry Christmas to you all, love and öpücükler!
x
