tatil bitti
Well, today is the last day of my spring break. This weekend has definitely been a memorable one.
Friday was a full day.
I woke up early to go to Europe with Yasemin and Erim as they were on their way to school. I got on the metro and rode the entire length of it to Taksim. There, I waited in Starbucks for Laura to arrive and enjoyed a cup of earl grey tea. I just love seeing how they spell my name on the cup. Here’s my favorite one by far.
Lurin. Haha.
Living in the big city… Starbucks has become a bigger part of my life. But hey, just because it’s an American company does not mean I’m not getting a cultural experience. I mean, I order in Turkish and the sandwiches are made with black olive paste. Hmm. For a second, I couldn’t remember the English for olive. That’s fun.
Anyway, Laura showed up and we had some breakfast at this random place on Istiklal caddesi. Then, we walked from there all the way to Sultanahmet. We entered the garden area at Topkapı palace and found a nice spot in the grass among the tulips. And we just sat down, chatted a bit, listened to music, and people-watched. The weather was nice. A bit chilly, but nice.
Istanbul has a tulip festival every year. There are tulips everywhere in the city. It’s a definite sign of spring’s arrival. Now if we can just get some warmer weather up in here, that’d be super cool. :)
Laura and I went to the Grand Bazaar later. Just to look around, soak in all that we’re able to be a part of here. We had coffee and a tiny dessert at Mado and then went to meet her parents at their hotel. They didn’t arrive for a good 45 minutes so we sipped on some çay and talked until they walked in. I was glad to finally meet Laura’s parents. We squeezed in to the incredibly crowded tram and left for Ortaköy shortly after their arrival.
In Ortaköy, we found Logan, Conor, Amanda, and Alex and I went with them while Laura took her parents to do a little last minute shopping before dinner. The five of us went to a little restaurant where I had a margarita pizza. Then, we met up with Laura and her parents at a restaurant where they were enjoying some tasty lahmacun. After they finished dinner, Laura said a last good bye to her parents, as did we all, and then we walked to Kuruçeşme to stand in line for the Maroon 5 concert. :)
I stood in line with them, but ultimately, I knew I would have to wait for Yasemin and her friends to arrive so I could get my ticket from her. Besides, I was with them tonight, not the exchange students. So, as they began to let people enter the arena, Logan and I waited outside for our people. :) Conor, Laura, Amanda, and Alex went ahead. The arena was awesome. There was an incredible view right on the Bosphorus. Open air, no seating, just standing among the thousands of people. Perfect atmosphere for a concert.
But, before the concert even started, there was a bit of an emergency and I spent the entirety of the concert in the back away from the crowd… with a very very sick friend.
I may have lost my jacket that night, but I certainly gained an experience I’ll never forget… I feel like telling the whole story would make an excellent blog post, but it’s probably not worth it.
After the concert, I found my host dad and everyone and we hopped in the car and made our way to Seben’s house. I let out a little about what had happened and then I crashed on the couch. My host mom woke me up, we went home, I took a long, hot shower and went back to sleep in my own bed.
Well Maroon 5, I’m told you were very good.
The next morning, I woke up with my host mom and Yasemin and we left for the gym. Yoga time. We’ve been doing yoga almost every weekend. It’s instructed totally in Turkish, but it’s not too difficult to follow along. And it’s always a nice, relaxing time for us. Usually we stay to do cardio after yoga, but today, I had to hurry back downstairs to get dressed. The exchange students had to be at the Rotary Assembly for the rest of the day. I got in my semi-formal clothes and ran back upstairs. My host mom handed me a sandwich from Starbucks and 40 liras for the taksi that was on it’s way to pick me up. Kiss good bye and I was off to Dolmabahçe to meet with the exchange students living on the European side. We waited for a while as Dilek was running a bit late. But when she arrived we got in the service bus and began the fairly long journey to an outer area of Istanbul called Pendik. The Asian side.
The Rotary Assembly was a gathering of all Rotarians in the district. The exchange students followed Dilek’s lead and set up a table covered with our foreign goodies. One guy really liked my Texas flag and pins. Aight dude.
We didn’t prepare an introduction or anything because we were told that we wouldn’t have to speak. But, we were put on the spot and called up to introduce ourselves and tell them about our experience here in Turkish. Which was fine, but I have trouble speaking in front of people when I’m speaking English… Gah, that was scary for me. And I wish I could have prepared and showed them how much I really have learned. But that’s ok. What can I do sometimes? ;) It was fine.
After that, I bothered the very busy Aslı to get some pins for our blazers. Then, we headed out as the Rotarians prepared for the big ball dinner thing. Something we weren’t invited to. Haha. Most of us went to Taksim to hang out with the Rotexes at their bar for a little while. Then, I went with my friend Fejir to Kadıköy. We boarded a ferry boat around 10 pm. My host parents were waiting there for me when I arrived. I was freezing in my short skirt, high heels, short-sleeved shirt, and light cardigan. My host mom reminded me that she told me to bring my jacket. And I agreed, feeling a little silly for not grabbing it earlier that morning. From there, we began the search for a parking spot, which ended up being a good long distance away from the bar, but it was fine. I couldn’t really feel my feet at that point anyway. ;) Oh boy, did I have some blisters and bruises this morning.
The bar was located at what seemed to be a high school… And I believe it was. Which was different, considering it’s illegal to have alcohol on school campuses here in Turkey at any time of the day. Haha, but it was fun. My host dad was meeting up with his high school friends. My host mom said she never met any of them so it was a little strange for her. I was glad that I would be the only person she knew because it was good to just spend some time with her. We had some drinks and watched the goofy 18 year old boys dancing like maniacs on the dance floor while most of the adults just sat, talked, had a cigarette and a few drinks. We laughed and danced in our seats, talked and enjoyed the music. Some of the Turkish songs I knew. So, my host parents and I sang them together. :) Haha.
And now, I’m sitting here writing this post on a lazy Sunday. Despite certain events, I’m glad to say that it’s been a good weekend. Heck, it’s been a nice break. Back to school tomorrow. There’s just not enough time left. No time in the world would ever be enough. But, I can’t express the peace I have about life right now. It’s a good feeling. And there was one thing I made sure to be clear about in my Turkish introduction to all the Rotarians at the assembly. I told them I loved my Turkish family. I said how much I’ll miss them. Ailemi çok özleceğim. But I love that I still do have time. And it’s going to be the best time of my life. As if this hasn’t already been great enough! It’s getting even better.
