snow and a palm tree...
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
mmm, mashed potatoes...
thanksgiving in DUBLIN was lots of fun!!!
Tea and Scones with cream and jam is a Must!! (Also glad to be back in a country where it is appropriate to put milk in my tea:)
Christ Church
I think this was the Dublin Castle....sorta looks like a castle I guess...
View of Dublin and the Liffey
Tea and Scones with cream and jam is a Must!! (Also glad to be back in a country where it is appropriate to put milk in my tea:)
Statue with bullet holes remembering Irish Independence
Christ Church
I think this was the Dublin Castle....sorta looks like a castle I guess...
While Noho cooked I made napkin turkey namecards!
The Meal
the day-after Irish breakfast!
and Guiness!! (noo, Guiness was not part of the breakfast)
thanks to the delicious cooking and company of noho, jkwan, and mairtin!!
*i'll work on putting pictures complete with people on my flikr account soon...
Sunday, November 15, 2009
syllabi
well, i don't go to parties or have fun exciting adventures in istanbul to document, but i do spend a great deal of time going to school and this is what i do at school everyday...:
the syllabus of my life:
Archaeological Theories: Next semester we will actually recieve hands on training in a new archaeology lab which they are setting up, but for now we are focusing on the philosophies, intellectual developments and theoretical underpinnings of the field of archaeology. We have read articles about New Archaeology, processualism, post-processualism, Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, hermeneutics, Binford's theory of 'man's extrasomatic means of adaptation' (or something like that), and Ian Hodder's postmodern refutal and full acceptance of everyone who has an opinion, even the goddess worshippers.
Cultural Heritage Management: This semester we have been focusing on site management (as oppose to next semester where we will be studying more museum studies). We've looked at lots of examples of management plans from Turkish Arch. sites to the plan for Stonehenge. Guest lecturers come from various fields in the industry have come. So far we've covered conservations issues in Turkey, architectural restoration and preservation in Egypt as well as by the Germans in Pergamon (Turkey), the Turkish laws established for historical site preservation work, technological advances in digital restitution and augmented reality, and finally the importance and digital developments of database construction. Lots of fancy jargon but also some really interesting theoretical issues that are often hard to deal with in the real world which can be based on popularity, politics and money. It is always important to stay optimistic and positive!
Anatolian Civilizations: So far we have studied the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and are just beginning to study the Early Bronze Age of Anatolian Civilizations. Due to the specific interests of our current teacher I have a feeling we won't make it to the Hittites, Phyrgians, Greeks or Early Romans. And next semester, somehow, we will be covering Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Its a lot of history for one geographic area, not to mention for one class.
Ancient Greek: I have been reading Xenophon's Anabasis. Back in late 400s/early 300s BC a man named Xenophon, originally from Athens but with strong loyalties to Sparta, went off as a young man to help Cyrus a persian prince try to overthrow his brother. On the way down from the west coast of Anatolia in Sardis, Cyrus amasses his troops and lets the hired greek armies do a little pillaging along the way. There is also a bit of hunting by the generals in the Arabian Desert of ostriches, bustards, gazelles, and wild asses. The battle does not go so well, so the Greek troops split, and take the road north meeting the kurds and armenians along the way and eventually making it to the black sea coast. From here they can march and take boats through Byzantium (Istanbul) and back to their lovely homeland across the Aegean sea. Its a real classic of a travel narrative.
The other day I also had a unique opportunity of looking at recently found mosaic byzantine inscriptions and seeing how far my greek knowledge could actually go in the material world. Not going to quit my day job, but it was a lot fun and a good learning experience.
Turkish: Merhaba! Siz nasılsınız? Ben iyiyim. Şimdi Koç Üniversitesin'de öğrenciyim ve Sarıyer'de oturuyorum. Sarıyer İstanbul'da. İstanbul çok büyük ve çok kalabalık ama çok güzel! Siz ziyaret ediyor musunuz? Görüşürüz!
*this post has not be edited fully so please pardon any mistakes*
the syllabus of my life:
Archaeological Theories: Next semester we will actually recieve hands on training in a new archaeology lab which they are setting up, but for now we are focusing on the philosophies, intellectual developments and theoretical underpinnings of the field of archaeology. We have read articles about New Archaeology, processualism, post-processualism, Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, hermeneutics, Binford's theory of 'man's extrasomatic means of adaptation' (or something like that), and Ian Hodder's postmodern refutal and full acceptance of everyone who has an opinion, even the goddess worshippers.
Cultural Heritage Management: This semester we have been focusing on site management (as oppose to next semester where we will be studying more museum studies). We've looked at lots of examples of management plans from Turkish Arch. sites to the plan for Stonehenge. Guest lecturers come from various fields in the industry have come. So far we've covered conservations issues in Turkey, architectural restoration and preservation in Egypt as well as by the Germans in Pergamon (Turkey), the Turkish laws established for historical site preservation work, technological advances in digital restitution and augmented reality, and finally the importance and digital developments of database construction. Lots of fancy jargon but also some really interesting theoretical issues that are often hard to deal with in the real world which can be based on popularity, politics and money. It is always important to stay optimistic and positive!
Anatolian Civilizations: So far we have studied the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and are just beginning to study the Early Bronze Age of Anatolian Civilizations. Due to the specific interests of our current teacher I have a feeling we won't make it to the Hittites, Phyrgians, Greeks or Early Romans. And next semester, somehow, we will be covering Byzantine and Ottoman periods. Its a lot of history for one geographic area, not to mention for one class.
Ancient Greek: I have been reading Xenophon's Anabasis. Back in late 400s/early 300s BC a man named Xenophon, originally from Athens but with strong loyalties to Sparta, went off as a young man to help Cyrus a persian prince try to overthrow his brother. On the way down from the west coast of Anatolia in Sardis, Cyrus amasses his troops and lets the hired greek armies do a little pillaging along the way. There is also a bit of hunting by the generals in the Arabian Desert of ostriches, bustards, gazelles, and wild asses. The battle does not go so well, so the Greek troops split, and take the road north meeting the kurds and armenians along the way and eventually making it to the black sea coast. From here they can march and take boats through Byzantium (Istanbul) and back to their lovely homeland across the Aegean sea. Its a real classic of a travel narrative.
The other day I also had a unique opportunity of looking at recently found mosaic byzantine inscriptions and seeing how far my greek knowledge could actually go in the material world. Not going to quit my day job, but it was a lot fun and a good learning experience.
Turkish: Merhaba! Siz nasılsınız? Ben iyiyim. Şimdi Koç Üniversitesin'de öğrenciyim ve Sarıyer'de oturuyorum. Sarıyer İstanbul'da. İstanbul çok büyük ve çok kalabalık ama çok güzel! Siz ziyaret ediyor musunuz? Görüşürüz!
*this post has not be edited fully so please pardon any mistakes*
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
sunday morning breakfast...
eggs, bread, tomatoes, carrots, cheese, chocolate, and juice.
tea and coffee.Sunday, November 1, 2009
what music to listen to?
i wonder if there is a website, sort of like pandora, where you could put in the time of day, the weather outside, and what you are presently doing (eg. homework, cooking, reading, etc.) and it would come up with the perfect playlist for you to listen to...
if there isn't, there should be...
okay, back to 'doing' my homework and listening to the rain....maybe some carla bruni?
if there isn't, there should be...
okay, back to 'doing' my homework and listening to the rain....maybe some carla bruni?
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
food and dead ducks...
first of all I am very appreciative of Turkish mothers. Especially those of my friends and roommates who come and cook for their daughter (or son) and friends. And then they stick around to clean our kitchen and dishes!? Also fathers of roommates who send gi-normous boxes of multiple kinds of borek for the entire house. I should/would have taken a picture of all the delicousness if i hadn't been overwhelmed by the supply of food for my breakfast, and which lasted almost a full week (for 6 girls mind you). It was a lot of food. If it ever happens again I will be sure to photodocument it just to prove it happens.
also, today, while checking up on my supposed mailing address...i found out that my 'street' or 'road' is called, in translation, something like 'butcher's meadow place.' this name might explain why a classmate of mine witnessed a woman carrying a dead duck down the road and disposing of the guts, etc. in the middle of the street. There are also a lot of cows and sheep, in addition to some meadows, down the road. it's good to know with all this abrupt, modern developing projects that some things will remain the same...
morning traffic in the meadows of the butchers
Saturday, October 17, 2009
life changes...
in addition to the very large changes that may occur in one's life when you move abroad there are also many small changes that only you may notice. Some that i have noticed lately are:
- i now put yogurt on EVERYTHING, especially pasta. it is delicious.
- and for the first time in my life i have wanted, and thus went out and bought, a yellow article of clothing. never EVER in my life have i ever worn yellow, by choice. and its a strange, muddy yellow color too. i'm not sure if this change has any positive or negative conotations, but i do find it extremely curious. it's just a plain pullover, v-neck sweater by the way. and i did buy the same sweater in brown as well, just to offset the novelty of the yellow sweater. i didn't want to completely abandon my comfort zone of clothing choices.
- i now put yogurt on EVERYTHING, especially pasta. it is delicious.
- and for the first time in my life i have wanted, and thus went out and bought, a yellow article of clothing. never EVER in my life have i ever worn yellow, by choice. and its a strange, muddy yellow color too. i'm not sure if this change has any positive or negative conotations, but i do find it extremely curious. it's just a plain pullover, v-neck sweater by the way. and i did buy the same sweater in brown as well, just to offset the novelty of the yellow sweater. i didn't want to completely abandon my comfort zone of clothing choices.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
this is my life...
first i wake up in my bed and in my tiny room...
then i can open up my window and look at my view...
then i walk down the hall past my living room...
then end up in the kitchen for breakfast...
and if i have time i can eat breakfast out on my balcony...
then i walk out of my apartment complex...
and wait on the corner for my minibus to school...
then i go to class...
the end.
for now.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
pictures...
a few more pictures from the summertime...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11710788@N07/
photos from my current life are in the works...
p a t i e n c e i s a v i r t u e
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11710788@N07/
photos from my current life are in the works...
p a t i e n c e i s a v i r t u e
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Affirmation...
it's nice to find reasons to support doing what you want to do. I found the following on the back of an out of date tourist map of turkey a few weeks ago:
CULTURAL HERITAGE IS FRAGILE
The world's cultural heritage is like a big puzzle. Each monument, each object, is an irreplaceable part of the overall Picture which gives us insight into our origins, our development and our lives today. It helps us to understand and appreciate other cultures. Each discovery, each new interpretation adds to the puzzle and makes the picture clearer. We must ensure the protection of every single piece today, so that future generations may have the opportunities to enjoy the puzzle.
Many people are not aware that our cultural heritage is under stress from natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, and from slower acting processes such as pollution and human actions. Even the most innocent gestures such as collecting ancient pieces of pottery or mosaics as souvenirs have a destructive impact if repeated by thousands. Touching an object of stone, metal or textile leaves traces of grease, acid or sweat on its surface. Climbing a monument wears down the structure underneath and can dismantle it. Writing or engraving names inflicts permanent damage. Strolling around narrow crowded places with bulky bags or backpacks might knock over an object or scratch a mural painting and ruin it. There are countless ways in which one can unknowingly contribute to the destruction of cultural heritage.
In 2020 there will be 1.6 billion visitors per year worldwide. Let us raise awareness of this issue so that we may join together to protect and enjoy the diversity and richness of our cultural heritage.
-International Organization for Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ICCROM)
CULTURAL HERITAGE IS FRAGILE
The world's cultural heritage is like a big puzzle. Each monument, each object, is an irreplaceable part of the overall Picture which gives us insight into our origins, our development and our lives today. It helps us to understand and appreciate other cultures. Each discovery, each new interpretation adds to the puzzle and makes the picture clearer. We must ensure the protection of every single piece today, so that future generations may have the opportunities to enjoy the puzzle.
Many people are not aware that our cultural heritage is under stress from natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, and from slower acting processes such as pollution and human actions. Even the most innocent gestures such as collecting ancient pieces of pottery or mosaics as souvenirs have a destructive impact if repeated by thousands. Touching an object of stone, metal or textile leaves traces of grease, acid or sweat on its surface. Climbing a monument wears down the structure underneath and can dismantle it. Writing or engraving names inflicts permanent damage. Strolling around narrow crowded places with bulky bags or backpacks might knock over an object or scratch a mural painting and ruin it. There are countless ways in which one can unknowingly contribute to the destruction of cultural heritage.
In 2020 there will be 1.6 billion visitors per year worldwide. Let us raise awareness of this issue so that we may join together to protect and enjoy the diversity and richness of our cultural heritage.
-International Organization for Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ICCROM)
Monday, August 31, 2009
...part 3...
...Wednesday morning we jumped on another minibus, though this time from the bus station, not from under the bridge, and it was a bit bigger and newer. The bus took a similar scenic route farther South to the ferry out to Bozcaada, a small island off the coast in the Aegean. We made the 11.00am ferry
to arrive on the island at about 11.30am. Having done no research, all we knew about this island is that there were beaches and wineries and a big castle, but unfortunately we had no details about how to actually get to any of these places. The town had wine stores but few people knew enough English to get us past the stores and to a winery or vineyard, and that included the man sitting at the tourist booth who handed us our map of the island. However, we prevailed and found a bus to the beach we had heard of: Ayasma. And the beach was beautiful, as well as crowded and the water was extremely calm yet completely frigid, some may say refreshing.
When we finally had enough of the hot sun and the cold we decided it was late enough in the day to go try and find some wine to drink. After trekking around to the big, fancy winestores we finally walked into a smaller, adorable wine shop where a real Turkish man immediately began pouring us glasses of their wine to test. And there was an order to the madness, we ended up tasting every bottle...from the white wine to the sherry. Çok güzel! (i.e. delicious!)
At 8pm we got back on the last ferry and then took the bus back to Çanakkale and our hostel. Friday morning we did indeed get back on the bus, this time with all of our luggage, and made it back to Bozcaada by noon. Met by our trusty and pleasantly unexpected tourguide...we left our luggage at the hotel and headed off to the fortress. Luckily our tourguide spoke enough English and was proud of the history of his hometown so that he gave us an excellent tour of the fortress and explained many of the different buildings.
Next it was off to the 'fabrika' or the factories where they actually produce the wine:
Then, finally, it was back to the beach for more sun. That night we had some delicious mezes, wine and fish by the water before we were exhausted and headed off to bed. The next morning, on Saturday, still with no set plans, we wandered about the town a bit and had some lunch. By the way, lemonade in Turkey often has mint in it which is delicious! and often there is so much mint your lemonade will be green...
After which we decided we might as well take advantage of our vacation time and headed back to the beach, though this time we went to a different one. Sulubahce was not at all crowded which made up for the slightly less quality of beach and the water was still just as 'refreshing.'
From there we were headed back to Çanakkale and then on a 1am bus back to İstanbul. We made it to Cafe Nero in Bebek around 8am...exhausted, still sandy, content with life, and much more tan than we were on Monday.
to arrive on the island at about 11.30am. Having done no research, all we knew about this island is that there were beaches and wineries and a big castle, but unfortunately we had no details about how to actually get to any of these places. The town had wine stores but few people knew enough English to get us past the stores and to a winery or vineyard, and that included the man sitting at the tourist booth who handed us our map of the island. However, we prevailed and found a bus to the beach we had heard of: Ayasma. And the beach was beautiful, as well as crowded and the water was extremely calm yet completely frigid, some may say refreshing.
When we finally had enough of the hot sun and the cold we decided it was late enough in the day to go try and find some wine to drink. After trekking around to the big, fancy winestores we finally walked into a smaller, adorable wine shop where a real Turkish man immediately began pouring us glasses of their wine to test. And there was an order to the madness, we ended up tasting every bottle...from the white wine to the sherry. Çok güzel! (i.e. delicious!)
Granted these were just test size sips of the wine, but by the end of our testing we were carrying on quite a conversation with the Turkish man and putting to good use his little English, our little Turkish, and our very helpful Türkçe/English dictionary. Long story short, by the time we finally left the shop we had met the vineyard owner (a very jolly, older man), bought a bunch of wine, and had been convinced to come back the next day and promised the arrangement of a hotel room so that we might stay friday night on the island. And seeing as our only set plan was to spend Thurs. night back in Çanakkale and then get back to İstanbul by Sunday...we had Friday and Saturday still at our disposal...and we hadn't seen everything we wanted to on Bozcaada yet...it was an offer that was hard to refuse...
At 8pm we got back on the last ferry and then took the bus back to Çanakkale and our hostel. Friday morning we did indeed get back on the bus, this time with all of our luggage, and made it back to Bozcaada by noon. Met by our trusty and pleasantly unexpected tourguide...we left our luggage at the hotel and headed off to the fortress. Luckily our tourguide spoke enough English and was proud of the history of his hometown so that he gave us an excellent tour of the fortress and explained many of the different buildings.
Next it was off to the 'fabrika' or the factories where they actually produce the wine:
Then, finally, it was back to the beach for more sun. That night we had some delicious mezes, wine and fish by the water before we were exhausted and headed off to bed. The next morning, on Saturday, still with no set plans, we wandered about the town a bit and had some lunch. By the way, lemonade in Turkey often has mint in it which is delicious! and often there is so much mint your lemonade will be green...
After which we decided we might as well take advantage of our vacation time and headed back to the beach, though this time we went to a different one. Sulubahce was not at all crowded which made up for the slightly less quality of beach and the water was still just as 'refreshing.'
Finally we said goodbye to our new friends, grabbed some dinner, and got on the last ferry.
From there we were headed back to Çanakkale and then on a 1am bus back to İstanbul. We made it to Cafe Nero in Bebek around 8am...exhausted, still sandy, content with life, and much more tan than we were on Monday.
...part 2...
...after Troy we headed back to Çanakkale for the evening and wandered around the older neighborhoods:
by the old military fortress:
and then had dinner by the water:
by the old military fortress:
and then had dinner by the water:
and then, the next day...
finally a real vacation...part 1...
Last Tuesday night Paistey and I headed off on a night bus to Canakkale down on the Asian side and the coast of the Aegean, at the entrance to the Dardanelles. Wednesday, early, early morning we arrived and then checked into our hostel and took a nap. After much deliberation we decided to brave Troy on our own, without the help of a 60lira tourguide and tourbus. It worked out well enough, we found the minibuses underneath the bridge down the road, grab some breakfast, and took a scenic drive down to Troy.
and then...
Monday, August 24, 2009
Counting the ships going by...
I'm starting to understand what Orhan Pamuk meant exactly when he described counting the ships on the Bosphorous. Counting becomes a very subconcious activity, one I'm not sure I could or would do on purpose. But sitting here in Bebek in a coffee shop all morning, staring out the window to rest my eyes from reading or typing, I find I have counted about five large oil carriers. All of which have been sailing North to the Black Sea, to Russia. Of course I have not acquired, and doubt I ever will acquire, the knowledge of the specific type and names of each ship. Yet I have learned this summer that when a ship seems extra large and immerging from the water so a great deal of the red painted bottom half is showing, then the ship is probably not carrying oil. And often when returning from the North, and sailing South to the Mediterranean, the ships will be fully submerged in the water with only the tip of the black rim above water, thus weighted down with oil.
'Paistey'(i.e. Rachel) and I are currently staying at our friend 'Pascal's' (i.e. Can/John in eng.) apartment near Bebek as of last night. We left with him this morning when he went to work so his father could have some time to work in the house. Last week we had spent housesitting for the CatLady of Robert College. I have to say, as much sneezing occured while living there, the numerous pets did do a very good job of replacing the numerous campers we had become used to hanging around us everyday for the previous seven weeks. Paistey laughed at me when I started calling the cats by Campers' names....well, we didnt know they're actual names, so it was good I called them something and usually they were campers I liked. Today Paistey and I are spending the day in Bebek. She has some travel writing to finish for her job and I'm just wasting the day away with uploading pictures, net-surfing, facebook-stalking, and reading. We've been at Cafe Nero all morning, its about time now to change locales though and maybe get some lunch. Then its very possible that we'll be at Starbucks for the remainder of the afternoon. Thats how these chain coffee cafes get you -- free internet, lack of observant waiters, and real coffee and cappucinos. As much as I enjoy a good Turkish coffee...the Turks are not so good at straight coffee or espresso drinks. They will either offer Nescafe (instant coffee) or 'Filter Coffee' which is often way too weak. Therefore Starbucks and Cafe Nero bring in the business.
My registration for school is next week and the following week I should (hopefully) have my housing settled. Not sure where I'll be living next week, but for the remainder of this week I think Paistey and I have come up with an excellent option. Tomorrow night we'll be catching a bus overnight to Canakkale on the South coast of the Dardanelles, the strait between Asia and Europe at the entrance to the Aegean from the Sea of Marmara. When we arrive on Weds. we are planning on doing a tour of Troy and possibly Gallipoli on the North Shore. Then on Thurs. we'll catch a ferry to the island Bozcaada at the mouth of the Dardanelles. The island is supposed to be gorgeous, and it can't be all that bad if its in the Aegean:) I just can't wait to really get to a beach! It never feels like a complete summer, especially a summer spent so close to the Mediterranean, with a relaxing day at the beach (without 100 kids to be responsible for) tanning and eating and drinking local wine. Friday we'll mosy our way back to Istanbul, possibly stopping along the way, possibly not. Then I might be going to another football game friday night, though I'll have to switch my loyalties because it is a Besiktas game and not a Galatasaray game...(just as long as its not a Fenerbahce game, hah).
well, enough of my rambling for the time being...off to lunch somewhere...
'Paistey'(i.e. Rachel) and I are currently staying at our friend 'Pascal's' (i.e. Can/John in eng.) apartment near Bebek as of last night. We left with him this morning when he went to work so his father could have some time to work in the house. Last week we had spent housesitting for the CatLady of Robert College. I have to say, as much sneezing occured while living there, the numerous pets did do a very good job of replacing the numerous campers we had become used to hanging around us everyday for the previous seven weeks. Paistey laughed at me when I started calling the cats by Campers' names....well, we didnt know they're actual names, so it was good I called them something and usually they were campers I liked. Today Paistey and I are spending the day in Bebek. She has some travel writing to finish for her job and I'm just wasting the day away with uploading pictures, net-surfing, facebook-stalking, and reading. We've been at Cafe Nero all morning, its about time now to change locales though and maybe get some lunch. Then its very possible that we'll be at Starbucks for the remainder of the afternoon. Thats how these chain coffee cafes get you -- free internet, lack of observant waiters, and real coffee and cappucinos. As much as I enjoy a good Turkish coffee...the Turks are not so good at straight coffee or espresso drinks. They will either offer Nescafe (instant coffee) or 'Filter Coffee' which is often way too weak. Therefore Starbucks and Cafe Nero bring in the business.
My registration for school is next week and the following week I should (hopefully) have my housing settled. Not sure where I'll be living next week, but for the remainder of this week I think Paistey and I have come up with an excellent option. Tomorrow night we'll be catching a bus overnight to Canakkale on the South coast of the Dardanelles, the strait between Asia and Europe at the entrance to the Aegean from the Sea of Marmara. When we arrive on Weds. we are planning on doing a tour of Troy and possibly Gallipoli on the North Shore. Then on Thurs. we'll catch a ferry to the island Bozcaada at the mouth of the Dardanelles. The island is supposed to be gorgeous, and it can't be all that bad if its in the Aegean:) I just can't wait to really get to a beach! It never feels like a complete summer, especially a summer spent so close to the Mediterranean, with a relaxing day at the beach (without 100 kids to be responsible for) tanning and eating and drinking local wine. Friday we'll mosy our way back to Istanbul, possibly stopping along the way, possibly not. Then I might be going to another football game friday night, though I'll have to switch my loyalties because it is a Besiktas game and not a Galatasaray game...(just as long as its not a Fenerbahce game, hah).
well, enough of my rambling for the time being...off to lunch somewhere...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
pictures...
i am slowly but surely updating the photos on my flikr account when I have an extra moment, enjoy...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11710788@N07/
ps. there are photos of turkey from this year on there, you just have to be a member/friend/family of me to be able to see them, so let me know if you want the invite.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11710788@N07/
ps. there are photos of turkey from this year on there, you just have to be a member/friend/family of me to be able to see them, so let me know if you want the invite.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Go Galatasaray!!!
Monday, August 17, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Asia...
So, if you didn't know Istanbul is a very, very large city split by the Bosphorous which divides the small European side of Turkey from the large Asian side (i.e. Anatolia). Anyways there are lots of ferries 24/7 between the two sides as well as multiple bridges. The ferries make it quite convenient to jump over to Asia for dinner some nights and sometimes you get really beautiful photos of the European side at sunset complete with the minarets of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, etc. 
Sunday, July 26, 2009
camp milestones...
First session of camp ended on friday with a big eco-fair. It was fun to see all the kids performing and exhibiting everything they had been working on all session. But of course it was also sad to see all the kids leaving and not always getting a chance to say goodbye before their parents drag them off.
Also a bunch of counselors are leaving including my roomies Balto and Jersey, it's all very sad. I'm not very good at adjusting to new people.
Getting a whole new batch of kids tomorrow morning. Have to start all over again for the next three weeks. Should be interesting though, one of my new campers is the twin of one of my old campers, and that boy was super special...I'm extremely curious to meet the twin.
oh, and we had yet another boat trip friday night...craziness, off yah...
I need to sleep so I'm ready for the revelry...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
life again...
wow, crazy to realize I'm going to be here for two more years. I'm not used to being somewhere for more than 6-9 months. I have a feeling though that Istanbul and I are going to have a great time...
yesterday I went with some friends to go see the first mosque designed by a woman. The mosque is located on the Asian side near the neighborhood of Uskedar and was extremely beautiful inside. Then in the evening a large group of us went up to the home of one of our Junior Counselors. Gorgeous house complete with a pool and backyard couches and the food was delicious and filling. All in all a pretty nice day. I haven't decided what I will do today except that I still need to see the new Harry Potter!!! But right now I should probably find myself some breakfast...
yesterday I went with some friends to go see the first mosque designed by a woman. The mosque is located on the Asian side near the neighborhood of Uskedar and was extremely beautiful inside. Then in the evening a large group of us went up to the home of one of our Junior Counselors. Gorgeous house complete with a pool and backyard couches and the food was delicious and filling. All in all a pretty nice day. I haven't decided what I will do today except that I still need to see the new Harry Potter!!! But right now I should probably find myself some breakfast...
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