Trip to Ankara and Cappadocia

          Last week, all of the YES Abroad and NSLI-Y kids got to visit Ankara and Cappadocia for orientation and a visit to the US Embassy. The other kids here in Aydin and I took the train to Izmir Tuesday morning and got to the city around 12. We spent a few hours hanging out with the volunteer who met us and then met the NSLI-Y kids and headed to the airport with them. It was a lot of fun getting to talk to the NSLI-Y kids again and here how their experiences have been so far. Unfortunately, our flight got delayed, but it gave us plenty of time to talk even if it did keep us from eating dinner until 10 that night. We arrived in Ankara around 9 and were greeted with miraculously cool air as soon as we stepped out of the airport. After all of us living in cities that are still so hot for so long, we were thrilled with a change in temperature. We drove to the hotel and got dinner and then spent the rest of the evening catching up with the YES kids who we hadn't seen since Istanbul and just hanging out. 

This is actually from the night before we left but my host mom made roasted chestnuts. It was a proper Christmas carol except that it was the middle of October and it was 80 degrees outside. 

          Wednesday was our day to travel around Ankara so we had a fairly early start to the day. Me and my roommates were really hoping there would be American breakfast in the hotel ( I was hoping for some Fruit Loops and maybe a waffle) but there was no such luck, so we stuck to our Turkish breakfast. We hopped on the bus and headed to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, which was very cool and had a lot of interesting history about the area. As we were leaving, a huge group of people with a lot of security was arriving and it turned out that it was a very important person from an Asian country ( I'm sorry but I do not remember who they were or where they were from). We then walked to Ankara Castle and got to explore that which was really cool. The view from the top was amazing and the sheer size of Ankara took my breath away. After that, we headed to Atatürk's Mausoleum. The architecture of the whole place was beautiful and we got to look through the museum as well, so I learned a little more about Atatürk. We then headed out to lunch and went to the US Embassy for a security briefing and meeting. The information was received wasn't all that interesting or really anything we hadn't heard before, but it was still cool to go. After we returned to our hotel and spent the rest of the evening hanging out and exploring Ankara some. 

There were a ton of carvings like these all in one room. It was super cool to imagine them as the walls of buildings thousands of years ago and to see them all in one place. 

Another stone carving. So many of them were amazingly detailed and well-preserved. 

The view from the top of Ankara Castle. 

                   The Aydin Girls. 

Me with the other side of Ankara in the background. It was a pretty crazy sight. 

All of the YES kids at the castle. 

The main part of the Mausoleum where lots of important ceremonies are held and where Atatürk's tomb actually is. To tell you how much Turks love Atatürk, I told a girl at school that I really enjoyed the Mausoleum because it was very beautiful and interesting and she responded, "Of course it was. It's Atatürk." That basically sums up their feelings. 

 

          Thursday was mostly spent on a bus as we drove from Ankara to Cappadocia, which is about a 4 hour drive. On our way, we stopped at the Salt Lake, which was incredibly beautiful but really hurt your feet after awhile of walking in it. We had lunch and then headed to our hotel where we had the first of many orientation sessions. After a dinner at the hotel, we hung out for awhile before going to bed because we were all exhausted. 

For some reason, there was this random chair in the middle of the lake. I guess it was for taking pictures like this. 

The whole lake reflected the sky, so it seemed like it went on forever. 

          Friday and Saturday were basically the same with us orientation in the morning and evening and sightseeing in the middle of the day. We went to some really cool places for lunch that served more food than I though possible and got to stop at some really cool places. We also got to go to Uçhisar Castle and to a pottery place where we watched them make some pots. One of my favorite parts of the orientation was them reading us a summary of what they expected had happened in our first 6 weeks here and I got to smile back on all the memories I've already made. We also wrote letters to ourselves which they will mail to us in 6 months. I can't wait to read that when I've been here for almost 8 months and see how far I've come. We also played some pretty fun games and just got to spend a lot of time catching up and talking about various problems we are having and how to solve them. 

Our super cool restaurant from the first day. We were underground which was pretty cool. 

One view from our restaurant the second day. 

Part of our meal the second day. There were a bunch of other courses too. 

Another view. It was really pretty. 

The view from part way up the castle. 

Me and Leah at the top of the castle. It was so windy at the top, it felt like you were going to blow away. 

                      Uçhisar Castle. 

Priya got to try to make a pot at the pottery place. 

The cutest Turkish coffee cups I've ever seen. I really wanted to buy one, but I didn't think it would make it home in one piece in June. 

          Sunday was our biggest sightseeing day, but unfortunately, it was very cold and there was a freezing wind, so it was a bit unpleasant to be outside. We went to one of many underground cities in the area that people would hide in when the area was under attack. The many different a floors and rooms were incredible to me and the different safety precautions they had amazed me since it was built so long ago. We then went to an open air museum with hundreds of churches from hundreds of years ago. We only visited a few, but the art inside was incredible and much of it was still in excellent condition. I had a very good time trying to read the signs in French, but it was really cold so I was ready to be on the bus again. We then got lunch and drove about an hour to Kayseri. We dropped the YES kids who live in Samsun off at the bus station and then headed to the airport. The Kayseri airport is by far the smallest airport I have ever been in (as far as I could tell there were only 2 gates) so security was quick and we got on our flight with no issue. We flew to Izmir and then got on the train back to Aydin. It was super crowded, so we stood the whole 2 hours but it was nice to be back with my host family and back in my new home. It was strange to me that I had missed a place that I had never even been 6 weeks ago, but I did and I think that's the beauty of exchange. 

One of the rooms in the underground city. 

Some of the churches at the museum. 

          Overall, I had a wonderful time at orientation and I loved getting to see some more of this beautiful country I get to live in. It's nice to be home now although I do miss getting to talk to all the other exchange students all the time. I will hopefully post again this Sunday. I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for reading! Hoşçakal!

 

Bir Ay!

          For those of you who don't speak Turkish, the title of this post is One Month! And yes, crazy as it seems, I have been in Turkey for a month! It was actually one month in Turkey last Sunday, but today is one month since I arrived in Aydin and started living with my host family, so it works. Because of Bayram last weekend, I didn't make a post so this is just going to be about what I've been up to for the last two weeks. 

          Last Monday, we had 2 new students in my class which was exciting for me because I wasn't the only new one. Granted they were both Turkish and can actually speak, but still. I also had my first religion class which was a bit terrifying because I felt uncomfortable saying that I was an atheist but I wasn't going to lie and say I was religious and that was just a kind of deep conversation for me to try to get into in a language that I don't speak. I also had PE and as anyone who knew me in the US is aware, I do not like PE and I was very happy when I finished having to take it last year. But it turned out that I actually do have to take it here, but we are basically not expected to do anything, so I used the opportunity to work on the language and try to make some friends. Tuesday, Priya and I met with our liaison (it got me out of history which is always a good thing) and talked for awhile about our experiences so far. We also went and met our principal who was new and didn't know that there were any foreign students. Wednesday was the first day of October which was very shocking to me because time is passing so quickly. I just couldn't believe that it was suddenly October, especially when it is still in the mid to high 80s everyday here. Thursday was my host sisters birthday so we celebrated that with some insanely delicious cake and some family time. Also on Thursday, Priya and I had to give short speeches just introducing ourselves, but considering it had to be in Turkish, this was a bit stressful for us. It actually ended up being a really cool experience because everyone would clap and cheer after every sentence we said in Turkish. I knew immediately that it was one of the moments from my exchange that I am never going to forget. I wish that I had a picture or a video of it because looking out over that giant crowd of people as they all clapped for me made me feel so included and like I belong here. It also made me realize just how much I have changed in just one month on exchange. I went to prep for5 years before coming here and in all those years, I was never brave enough to make an announcement during an assembly. And yet, less than 2 weeks into school in a foreign country, I got up in front of my entire school and made a speech, in my second language. That is just proof of how different I have already become and I can't wait to see how much more I will change. 

        Priya and I with our coordinator. 

         My host sisters birthday cake. 

My piece of cake. It doesn't look that good but it was truly one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten. 

          Friday was our first day of break for Bayram. My family spent the weekend in Marmaris, a small tourist town on the Mediterranean, and I absolutely loved it. Friday evening, we took the short drive and I had a bit of a realization during that drive. We turned a corner and I caught my first glimpse of the Mediterranean just as the sun was setting, turning everything pink. It truly took my breath away just how beautiful it was. I glanced at the clock and realized that if I was at home, I would be in school Doug the same thing I've done for so many years and instead I am here getting to live my dream ( and for free, no less). When we turned that corner and I took in the view, I was squished in the backseat of the car with my 3 sisters as everyone sang along to the radio and I realized how lucky I am that this is actually my life now. This thought stuck with me throughout the whole weekend and I still remain in awe of how incredibly lucky I am. We arrived in Marmaris where we were greeted by our grandparents and then, we promptly got dinner which made me very happy. Saturday was the main day of Bayram, and you can read all about what my family did in my last post. It was funny because the whole atmosphere of Bayram felt so much like Christmas back in the US. The whole weekend, people stopped by and called to wish everyone a happy holiday and family came and visited throughout the weekend. On Sunday, we went swimming in the Mediterranean which again hit me with a thought of just how different my life is now. That night, we went shopping and ended up staying and listening to some really good singers at a coffee shop for quite awhile. It was so nice just to spend time with my host sisters and listen to some really good music. Monday we went swimming again and just hung out with our family and a super adorable little boy who came up to our apartment for awhile. Tuesday, we had to go home, which was sad because I always hate leaving the ocean but I discovered how classy Turkish bus trips are ( they give you food and drinks and each person has their own TV. It's nicer than most domestic flights in the US). Marmaris is very much a tourist destination, so there were a lot of people from all over Europe there, and many from England. I very much enjoyed hearing English spoken by a native speaker again, and the fun accents certainly didn't hurt. 

The sunset over the mountains as we            drove into Marmaris. 

I was wearing Illini socks one day. It made me think of my family in Illinois. 

Me with the Mediterranean Sea behind me. I wish we could go back!

Me and my host sister. 

          It was so beautiful there. 

The little boy I bonded with. I wish I could have brought him back to Aydin as well!

      

                    Happy Bayram!

          We had a very short week of school after Bayram since we didn't start until Wednesday which was very nice. This was the first week that I really felt like my Turkish was starting to improve and I actually enjoyed trying to talk with my classmates during breaks. On Wednesday, we finally went to get our residence permits which give us permission to live here for the rest of the year. We were technically supposed to get our permits within a month of arriving here, but we didn't have some of the papers we needed so we were a little late. So on Wednesday, Priya and I got to leave school a little early and go and pick up the other YES students in Aydin. We also got to look around their schools a little while we waited which was fun and interesting. We got some really wierd looks since we were both in our uniforms and neither of the other school wear uniforms. We finally headed to the police station and filled out some forms. We then waited for over an hour before being told that we couldn't get them that day and would have to come back the next day. So on Thursday, we went back to the police station and although it took several hours, we were able to get our permits and we are now legal to be here! 

What happened when me and Priya had to wait after school to go to the police. I have about 10 more just like this. 

          I mostly just studied and hung out with my family on Saturday. On Sunday, we spent the afternoon at my family's summer house in Kuşadası, which is a small resort town about an hour from Aydin. We swam in the Aegean which was very fun, but it was very windy so it was very rough. We stayed there for a few hours and then started back to Aydin. On the way back, we stopped in the fish market in town to pick up some fish for dinner. Although it smelled pretty bad, it was pretty fun to watch everyone buying their fish and the sellers cutting them up and weighing them. Last night's dinner was interesting because we each got our own fish and it was still a complete fish when it got put on your plate. You had to pick the bones out and pull off the head and tail. Needless to say, it was not one of my favorite meals but it was certainly a different experience. 

       

The "beach" by the Aegean. It was basically all rocks on all sides. 

The beautiful sunset over the sea last night. 

A cute little street in Kuşadası. This kind of street is everywhere in the little resort towns here and they are exactly what I imagine Greece looks like. Plus, I knew my mom would love a picture of the gorgeous bougainvillea. 

          We leave tomorrow for orientation and a visit to the the U.S. embassy in Ankara and we will be returning Sunday night, so I may or may not post next Sunday. Thanks for reading! Have a great week! Hoşçakal!

Kurban Bayramı

I just want to warn everyone that this post may be a little graphic as it is about the sacrifice of animals. If you are squeamish or uncomfortable with that topic, I would not suggest reading this. 

          This past weekend, the Muslim world celebrated Eid-al-Adha, the holiday of sacrifice, known as Kurban Bayramı in Turkey. Everyone in Turkey simply refers to this holiday as Bayram, and since that's much easier, I'm just going to call it that for the rest of this post. All of this information is based on how it works in Turkey, but the practices are fairly similar throughout the areas where it is celebrated. Bayram began on Friday, October 3, with a preparation day and then the actual holiday lasted from Saturday, October 4 through Tuesday, October 7. Bayram celebrates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son when God asked him to, so tradition is for all Muslim families who have the ability to sacrifice a sheep, cow, goat, or camel depending on where in the world you are. Everyone that I saw here in Turkey was sacrificing a sheep, so that seems to be convention here. On Friday, it wasn't surprising to see a sheep in the back seat of the car next to you or people leading their sheep through the streets of the town. For most non-religious Turks, Bayram now serves as just a vacation because we had Friday through Tuesday off of school. However, Muslims have very specific things that they are expected to do for this holiday. Prayer is a very important part of the holiday, which I saw firsthand when I walked past a mosque and saw that the entire inside was packed as well as the overflow space outside and all the lawns around the mosque. There was something really beautiful to me about that many people all gathered together celebrating a very important holiday to them. Another important aspect of Bayram is that you are expected to keep 1/3 of the meat of the animal you sacrifice for yourself and your family, give 1/3 to your neighbors, and donate 1/3 to the poor and needy. The sacrifice part of Bayram is very important to Muslims and found it very interesting when my sister told me that she dislikes watching the sacrifice but that it is their duty as Muslims to do it. 

          I believe that my family sacrificed our own sheep, but I was not present for the actual killing. However, I watched our neighbors skinning and removing the meat from their two sheep and I watched my family cut up the meat from our sheep and that was more than enough for me. After the sacrifice, my neighbors hung up their sheep on a tree and cut off all the skin along with the head. Then, they cut off the various edible parts of meat and put them in buckets to be prepared for cooking. I watched this while my host parents and grandmother cut our meat up to be cooked. There was a tray with all of the internal organs and multiple buckets filled with various other meats. All of the internal organs were cut into little pieces and cooked up together while the other meats were cut into chunks and strips and fried up. 

One of the huge buckets of meat in my host family's home on Saturday morning. There were at least 2 others just like this, filled to the top with meat. 

Some of the meat frying up on the skillet. The amount of meat that was cooked that day is still mind blowing for me. 

The pan of internal organs. As I watched my host dad cut up the liver, I was having unpleasant flashbacks to a certain biology lab last year. 

          The whole time my family was cutting the meat up all I could think was please do not save me out any special internal organs. As my sister pointed out the sheep's heart to me, I just hoped and hoped that they weren't going to put a piece of meat on my plate, inform me that it was a heart, and then expect me to eat it. Turks have a tendency to give guests what they consider to be the best parts of the food, which the internal organs are considered to be, so this was a very real fear. 

          After a long while of cutting and cooking the meat, we had lunch. I personally was not a huge fan of any of the meats I ate. I found that the regular pieces of meat tended to be very tough and often still had fat or veins in it, which was a little gross for me. The internal organs were all very chewy and I just was not a fan of the taste. I chose not to ask what part of the sheep I was eating during the meal because I really did not want to know but I am fairly certain that I ate stomach, which surprisingly was my favorite thing. 

Our lunch table with some of the meat on it. Much more arrived after this photo was taken. 

       My plate with most of what I ate. 

          Bayram was an extremely cultural experience and I am really glad that I was given the opportunity to witness it. Aside from the brief moment when I seriously considered becoming a vegetarian right then, I found it very enjoyable to spend the time with my family and to see the things that are important to them from a religious stand point. I also really enjoyed Bayram because after our lunch, various relatives and friends visited the house and stayed and talked for awhile and we also went and visited some relatives. Each place you went, you were offered food and drinks and often, the children were given money (always a good thing for a money conscious exchange student). People also called the house throughout the weekend to talk with members of the family. I heard and said the phrase "Iyi bayramlar" (essentially just Happy Holidays) more times than I can count. It reminded me a lot of the vibe of Christmas in the US. 

          My advice is that if you are traveling to Turkey, try to avoid doing it during Bayram. For one thing, the traffic and travel is very crazy and many of the tourist things you want to see may be closed. But I would also avoid it because no matter how open minded or not squeamish you think you are, you will find Bayram at least a little disturbing. We would never see something like this in the US, so it's a little frightening to look into your neighbor's yard and see 2 dead sheep laying on their ground. Although very interesting to see, it can definitely be a little disturbing, especially as an American. However, if this kind of religious event interests you, I definitely suggest trying to see a Bayram celebration, as it is fascinating in that regard. 

          Keep in mind that this post was all based on things I observed and a little bit of research and it may not apply to every celebration. I hope you enjoyed learning a little about this part of Muslim culture as much as I enjoyed witnessing it for the first time. I will hopefully be writing another post on Sunday about the last 2 weeks here. Thanks for reading! Teşekkür ederim! Hoşçakal!

My First Week of School (AKA What the Heck is Happening?)

          Merhaba! I hope that everyone has had a good week. A lot has happened since my last post. Last Thursday, the other exchange students here in Aydin and I went shopping at the Forums, which is basically our mall. It was a lot of fun to see everyone again and to talk with them about our experiences so far. We also went to Burger King and I got to eat some chicken nuggets that helped to make me crave American food a little less. I finally gave my host family the gifts I brought for them on Thursday night and it was wonderful to see how happy they made them. They loved looking at the pictures of Albuquerque in the book I brought and I loved telling them about my home. I also think I made my host father into the only Lobos fan in Turkey. Thursday night was also the first time that I really began to feel comfortable in my new home. We celebrated my oldest host sister's birthday and I felt very happy and comfortable as we sang and shared the cake. On Friday, I got to swim in the beautiful pool of our apartment complex. I went with one of my host sisters and really enjoyed it, although the pool itself was very cold so I mostly sat on the side. The rest of the day I worked on Turkish and hung out with my family until the evening when I called my parents for the first time since I got here. I started crying when I first saw them because it made me miss them more to be able to see them, but after I got over that, it was really nice to get to talk to them and I ended up talking with them for over an hour.
          Saturday and Sunday were very relaxed days for me and I just stayed home, studied some Turkish, and watching TV and hanging out with my sisters. On Saturday night, they made pizza and chicken nuggets for dinner as a surprise for me and it was such a wonderful surprise. Getting to eat American food was nice, but it also really made me appreciate them for doing something like that for me.
          Monday was the day that we were all hoping to start school, but they still didn't have our papers so I stayed home again. My sister and I went to the city center and shopped for awhile and I got my school uniform. After, we went to my school and I got the news that I would be starting school the next day. My host sister invited me to hang out with her and her friends so we walked around for awhile. We took the bus home and let me just tell you, Turkish buses are pretty terrifying. It was incredibly bumpy and we stopped very often, so if you aren't sitting, which I wasn't for part of the time, you are being thrown around and have to hold on very tight.

The street in front of my apartment when it rained one day last week. 

The mountains that make me feel so content when I look outside because it's just like at home. 

Ice cream from our shopping adventure to the Forum. This was strawberry ice cream and it was so unbelievably good. 

The fountains in the center of the Forum. 

The super pretty cups that my family serves Turkish coffee in. 

A super beautiful sunset last weekend. It reminds me of Albuquerque so much with the mountains and the beautiful colors and the clouds. 

          Tuesday was the big day for me. Now, I have never, ever been the new student. Every time I have started at a new school, everyone else has been new too. And then you added the fact that I can't speak Turkish and I look very different from everyone else in school and I was scared out of my mind. I put on my uniform and took the short walk to school with my host sister and walked up the stairs to my classroom. As soon as I walked in, everyone came over and said hello and was so excited to meet me. The rest of that day passed in a blur of people telling me their names, me immediately forgetting them, walking up and down the stairs more times than I can count, being hopelessly confused as teachers taught in rapid turkish, and feeling like I was going to melt in the beastly hot classroom with no air conditioning. The rest of the week passed in much the same way although it has finally started to cool off a little bit so I don't feel like I am melting all the time. I actually thought it was pretty hilarious because as soon as it got a little colder, everyone was wearing sweaters and jackets and saying how cold it was while I was just savoring not sweating for a little while. I think I have started to make some friends and all the kids in my class have been helping me to work on learning Turkish by teaching me words during class.

Me in my uniform before my first day. 

The view of the courtyard where we hang out during breaks from a window in my classroom. 

          Because I want this blog to be an honest representation of my year abroad, now I'll talk about the hard stuff. I was very homesick for most of this week, like to the point where I was barely keeping from crying and I really seriously though about how much I would like to go home. I was homesick because I couldn't understand anything that was happening here and I just felt completely alone here. Meanwhile, it was spirit week at home and so I knew that I was missing out on fun times at home and I kept seeing pictures while I was alone here. I got less and less homesick as the week went on, but there is still a little nagging sadness for me even now.
          This weekend, I have relaxed at home, hung out with my sisters and parents, and worked on Turkish. I think I am learning Turkish slowly but surely, but it is very frustrating for me to have so many thoughts in my head that I can not actually express because I don't know how.
           And now a list of other random things that happened that I haven't already written about and then some pictures:
1. I have fallen in love with pide, basically bread with meat and cheese baked onto it, which is good because it's eaten very often for lunch during school.
2. Breakfast is my favorite meal here because I get cheese, bread with honey, and some other delicious food like omeletes, pancakes, or French toast.
3. You can buy a full meal and drink for around 3 dollars here.
4. If you order kola at a restaurant, you can expect any soda, not necessarily a Coke.
5. Seedless grapes aren't a thing here and it scared me so bad the first time I ate a grape and their was something hard in it.
6. I have gotten so used to the call to prayer that it no longer wakes me up when it goes off in the mornings.
7. If the teacher doesn't care, students will sleep or have conversations while the teacher lectures.
8. My entertainment during lessons this week was watching people do double takes when they saw me as they walked by the classroom. One boy almost walked into the bathroom door because he was staring at me for so long.
9. It felt like fall yesterday for the first time because it was overcast and somewhat cold and it made me so happy.
10. My classmates are always so impressed when I use even super basic Turkish because they seem to think I know nothing. They were really surprised when I knew the word for 12.

A photo of me with my host sisters that was taken my first night here. 

It was Color Day at my school on Thursday so I wore this headband to support from afar. 

Some weirdly pink meat that was in a sandwich I had for lunch one day this week. 

That's all I can think of for now. I'm going to try to get into the habit of posting every Sunday but we will see how that goes. I don't know if I will be able to post next Sunday because it is Bayram next weekend and I am not sure what we will be doing. Also if you have any questions you'd like me to answer or specific things you'd like me to talk about in my next post, leave me a comment below. I also love any comment, so feel free to leave comments. Wish me luck for my next week of school! I hope you have a good week too! Görüşürüz!