The week of October 19th-26th, the week after I returned from my week of orientation, was a really, really tough time for me. It was definetely the worst week I've had since I've been here for a lot of different reasons. It was just a regular week of school, although it was actually my first full week of school since I started school over a month ago. That Wednesday, we went to the university here in Aydin to visit with some professors who our liason is friends with. We met several different professors and got to see a lot of the campus while we were there, and we also got to meet with the staff in the international office there which was very nice. That weekend, I attended a wedding which was very fun and you can read all about that in my last post. As far as why it was a bad week, there were just a lot of things that piled up and made things less than great. Between feeling really sick the entire week, missing the other exchange students and the easiness of our orientation week, being very frustrated with my language skills, and just plain missing my friends and family, it was a rough week. It was the first time that I have seriously wanted to go home since I arrived here. But this week has been much better and all thoughts of going home and of homesickness have disappeared.
A really beautiful sunset one night. I've always loved sunsets and the ones I've seen here have not disappointed with their beauty.
This week was much better than last week. On Monday, the other exchange students in Aydin and I visited a private school just outside of Aydin and a new school having its opening on the outskirts of Aydin after school. I really enjoyed talking to various people at both schools and getting to tell them a little bit about my experience so far and exchange programs in general. After both visits, we went out to dinner and discussed how things have been so far and any issues we have had. Tuesday was only a half day of school because Wednesday was Republic Day, so I spent the afternoon relaxing and napping. Wednesday was Republic Day so we didn't have school at all so I mostly spent the day around the house although I did go to a cafe for a bit with my sisters. Republic Day is basically the Turkish version of 4th of July, except it is much more focused on Atatürk and the fact that he made Turkey a republic than 4th of July is. I plan to write a more detailed post about Atatürk and Republic Day soon but I will say that there were Turkish flags everywhere. Giant flags hung over almost every street and on every government buildings, including every school. Nearly every person had a flag hanging off their balcony and they hung outside almost every store as well. Thursday and Friday were just regular school days, although exams have started for all my classmates so I now get one class free every day while they take those. One great thing this week was I felt as if I had finally made a small breakthrough with the language. I still can't handle group situations with more than one person talking at a time, but if it is a one-on-one conversation, I can usually get the drift of what they are saying and respond well enough that they can understand me. Even though I am far from being comfortable speaking or even somewhat proficient in this language, even a small improvement like this is a cause for celebration for me. And my small progress in the language is where the quote from the title comes into play. Even though I am still far from being where I want to be, I have come so far since I arrived in this country. I have to remind myself of this sometimes to keep from getting too down on myself. I'm proud of the progress I have made in the short time I've been here, and I hope that by the time I leave this country, I will be where I want to be, but for now, I'm just happy not being where I was when I arrived.
Not being in the US for Halloween was stranger than I thought it would be purely because I knew it was Halloween but I certainly wouldn't know looking around. In the US, I can always know that I will see people dressed up everywhere and that there will be no shortage of candy. But Halloween isn't really celebrated here, so I didn't see any of that like normal. I did go to Leah's (one of the other exchange students here) house on Friday afternoon to try and fix my computer and Priya (another exchange student here) came over also , so we had a Halloween "party" together. And by that I mean we ate bread with peanut butter and chocolate, listened to music, and talked, but I still had a great time and enjoyed my Halloween. However, Halloween kicked off the holiday season, which almost every exchange student says is the hardest part of the year. I know that I will make it through it, but I have no doubt that it won't be easy.
There were giant flags like this over most streets and on most big buildings.
One of the apartment buildings across the street from mine, covered with Turkish flags for Republic Day.
A dessert that one of our neighbors brought to us this morning. Apparently it is a small Muslim holiday today during which you make this dessert and take it to all your neighbors. It was delicious, so I have no complaints.
The Cokes here also have different names on them, but all the names are in Turkish, which I love. This was my Coke from lunch one day this week.
I found tortillas at the store today. They look a little wierd, but I might just have to pick some up and make my family quesadillas sometime.
A brief list of other things that have happened that I didn't already mention:
- I've realized that not being very good at the language can come in handy in awkward situations. We had the election for school president last week and when the girl I didn't vote for asked if I voted for her, I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I just said I didn't understand what she had asked, even though I did.
- Being an exchange student, you get asked some pretty strange questions. This week, one of my classmates came over and asked, "Have you done squats?" And that was it. I couldn't figure out whether she meant recently or ever or what, so I just said yes.
- At the cafe I went to on Republic Day, there was a Tex Mex section of the menus that had enchiladas and quesadillas. I didn't try it because I figured Mexican food in Turkey probably is pretty sketchy, but I was just excited to find some. Plus, hearing my sister say, "Tex Mex ne demek?" (What does Tex Mex mean?) and having to try and explain it was pretty funny.
- People here are hilarious about the cold. Despite the fact that it still gets into the 70s almost every afternoon, people have started wearing full on parkas with gloves and boots. I thought New Mexicans were wimps about the weather, but we are nothing compared to this.
- My blog went over 1,000 views this week. It still amazes me that anyone wants to read my rambling and I want to thank everyone who does. I love that people at home are getting to hear about my crazy adventure through this blog.
That's all I can think of for now! As always, thanks for reading! Have a wonderful week wherever you are! Hoşçakal!
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