may love…
This has been a very great time. Feeling confident and pushing my limits. Exploring as far as I can go. Quality time with important people in my life. I love this.
And there’s been so much to unravel in this city. Last week, some of us went to an old historic fortress right next to the second bridge on the European side. It’s called Rumeli Hisarı. We climbed a zillion steps to touch every end of the enormous castle. The history was so tangible. We practically breathed it in. All the while, fast city life pressed on outside of the still and stable structure. The irony within Istanbul is remarkable.
One evening last weekend, some of us spent some time in the French Quarter near Taksim. It was just a fun night of music and talking and friends and even a little dancing. I didn’t even know that area existed. I hope I never finish exploring this place. The joy in the discovery is just too satisfying.
On Saturday, the Atasehir Rotary club threw the inbounds a birthday party. For all of us. :) We took a bus to a horse barn on the outskirts of the city. Though we didn’t ride horses, the weather was beautiful. And being the exchange students that we are, we kept ourselves plenty entertained for the several hours we were there. Some played football, dodgeball, volleyball. Others explored the area and found a creek that really wasn’t all that impressive. We tried jumping pictures and failed miserably. The Rotarians sang happy birthday to us, cut a cake, and gave us each a Turkish pottery bowl as a gift. For the first time in a while, we felt a little special. Thanks, Atasehir Rotary, for thinking about us. :)
Mother’s day was an awesome day. In the morning, we woke up and gave my host mom her gifts in bed. Then, Erim, Yasemin, and I crawled in to bed with her, laid there, and talked. It was so sweet. The boys left and we girls had a nice little breakfast outside on the balcony for the first time since summer. Then, we got ready and left for my host aunt and uncle’s house for a BBQ. We played ping pong with my host cousins and they made a nerf gun war. Dinner was fast approaching so we left for my host dad’s mom’s house. Time spent there was nice. We ate dinner and watched an episode a Turkish Survivor. Riveting. And I ended up falling in to a deep sleep on the sofa next to Yasemin. I really enjoyed that day. The kisses from my host mom were continuous and the love was so apparent. I love watching parents love on their kids. It makes my heart so happy. It’s almost as if I feel ready to be a mom… almost. Not quite. :) hahaha.
When ever I get a chance, I’ve been spending some time in Uskudar. It’s about an hour and a half from my house, but fairly easy for me to get to. Just one mini bus and a dolmus. I really like the area. Sitting on the rocks by the water has become my favorite way to kill time. I read, listen to music, and just watch Europe from the other side move about its day. I was taught how to play tavla or backgammon there. I like the industry. It’s a fishing market over there. And I even tried my first kokoreç (look it up :)). I enjoyed it. My time in Uskudar has always been so nice. I can’t believe I’ve lived here for over 8 months and just now discovered its awesomeness. A great thing about living in this city.
Today was a great day. Spent with my sweet sister, Yasemin, and in her favorite part of the city, Bebek. Well, we woke up around 9 and made ourselves some breakfast consisting of olives, tomatoes, white cheese, bread and jam. It’s my favorite for sure. I usually like to have eggs as well, but we didn’t have any today. Oh, and my host dad’s homemade fruit juice. Perfection. Anyway, we made breakfast, watched an episode of Friends, cleaned her room, and got dressed. Then, we made our way to Bebek. The weather was beautiful today. All sunshine and in the 60s. We had lunch. Shared a fajita! And it was surprisingly delicious. A little different than our traditional Tex-mex, but tasty nonetheless. Then, we got a scoop of ice cream and walked the length of the Bosphorus in Bebek. The breeze by the water provided the perfect atmosphere as we walked and talked and took pictures. Then, I just had to have a cup of coffee. We sat outside and talked some more as I sipped my coffee. I was so happy that Yasemin was having a good time. She told me we should do this more often and I totally agreed. I’d take her out anytime. I love spending time with her. There’s nothing much sweeter than that.
