Drumming in Dades Gorge

Dades Gorge, Morocco

Yesterday morning, after spending the night in the hotel where David Lean stayed during the filming of Lawrence of Arabia, we crossed the dried up river bed into the old village - a UNESCO world heritage site.

A lot of the village had been rebuilt for the filming of the movie, but as we discovered walking around, what was rebuilt was what could be seen from afar. Everything else was still a little bit falling apart. All the buildings are made of rammed earth - similar to adobe, and when it rains the walls have an unfortunate tendency to melt. We got to see the inside of one of the towers of the kasbah (fort) and then walked all the way up to the top of the hill. From the top we could see the arena they had created for the filming of gladiator.

After recovering from our very hot walk, we drove east, into the valley of the roses, then the valley of the kasbahs, and finally into the dades gorge. The gorge is spectacular. The sides are made of red rock, which has been carved into strange brain like formations in some places. The floor of the valley is green - there are lots of fig and olive trees, as well as fields of potatos, wheat, mint, and other plants I couldn't indentify. The fields are small, but they make use of every inch of land, and it's all very intensivly cultivated.

After finding a place to stay, mom, Ian and I were walking along the road and we saw a threshing machine that was getting hooked up to a tractor. Since it was taking a while we walked on and then when we walked back by it they were feeding wheat into the machine.

As we stood there watching one of the women working motioned for us to help them carry the wheat to the machine. When we actually started to help, they looked very surprised and pleased. I guess it was a kind of dare or joke, they didn't think we could actually help. After a few trips to the machine the woman told mom to stop, I guess we were overloading the system.

At dinner that night (we were the only ones staying in the hotel) we asked the guy who broght us dinner, who is a trek leader most of the time about the thressing machine. He told us how easy it made the process. Now they could separate an entire family's grain from the wheat in two or three hours instead of the day or two it used to take them with a mule walking in circles over and over and then throwing the hay into the air.

At dinner William asked about drumming, because when he had stayed at the place 10 years ago, guys had been playing drums after supper. So the trek leader guy found a couple of guys working in the hotel to play the drums. Then they got mom and Ian, and later me to give it a try. The drums they gave me were heavy and kept slipping, but it was really fun. At one point the hotel manager came out and played for a while.

My camera and the computer are now over their argument and are talking again, so hopefully there will be some photos soon

Old tiled buildings

The past two days have been days of old buildings. Yesterday we went to a palace that took 20 years to build by the Saadians, and then 12 years to strip by the next ruling group. Now the tops of the walls are filled with nesting storks. The word for stork in arabic (or at least moroccan arabic) is el clack (not spelled like that) because of the noise that they make. Their nests are huge. The palace is also home to a mimbar of the oldest most famous mosque in the city. The mimbar is made of wood with elaborate carving, and was done in the 1100s in andalusia, and then shipped in parts. It's been restored and was taken out of the mosque in the 1960s.

We also went to the jewish quarter, saw the old cemetary and a fake cynagogue and were scammed. It reminded me of my worst experiences in egypt. Yucky

Today we visited the Marrakesh museam, the Ben Youssef medresa, and this domed building that was an abolution fountan and was surrounded by an elaborite hydralic system, although since the description was in french, and kind of technical, mom wasn't quite sure how the system worked. The museam is in an old restored house of someone who must have been very wealthy. It's build around a spectacular tiled courtyard, which has been covered for preservation purposes. The museam does have exhibits, but what's most interesting is the building. I can't really describe it, you need photos.

A medresa is a theological school. Contrary to reports in the american news, when Barak Obama visited a medresa, he was visiting a school, not a terrorist place. This one also has an amazing tiled courtyard, topped by carved plaster and then carved wood. Around the courtyard are rooms for the students. All the rooms are off of mini, two story, court yards. They're about the size of a small dorm room. It was really neat to be able to walk into all the rooms, and get an idea of what the school could have been like.

On our way to the famous buildings we passed a guy who was doing the carving in plaster, He had a square of it, and he was chipping out the design with what looked like a screw driver. He said it took him 5 hours for a square that must have been 6 inches on a side. I can't even imagine how much work went into the tiled mosaics, and carved plaster and wood in these buildlings. And it's not just in the fancy buildings. Many doors we've past while exploring have also been carved.

Tomorrow we rent a car (hopefully with air conditioning) and head off east to the village where lawrence of arabia was filmed

Orange juice in the square of all squares

Marrakesh, Morocco

First I would like to say that the orange juice here is fresh squeezed amazingness, especially when you can get it for 30 cents a glass. On the down side, orange juice will never be the same again.

We got to Marrakesh by train and to the edge of the old city (medina) by taxi. The petit taxis here are tiny - you can only fit three people in each if you try, so we always have to take two. There are no cars allowed in the medina, only bikes, motor bikes, and donkey carts. But let me tell you, that creates quite enough excitement on the streets, and when you're being passed by a motor bike and a donkey cart on a narrow street, it gets a bit tight. Motor bikes also seem to come flying out of passages all along the side of the more main streets.

We're staying in a riad, or restored court yard house in the medina that's quiet, provides breakfast, and is air conditioned!! It's very hot here - yesterday it was 100 F. As William says though, at least it's dry heat.

The main attraction of Marrakesh is the main square of the medina (spelling is escaping me right now). It's an open area that's kind of shaped like an L. Durring the day there are lots of people, donkey carts, motor bikes, carts, etc crossing it. Set up in the square are lots of carts selling fresh squeezed orange juice (amazing, see above). You have to make sure they squeeze it fresh for you instead of pouring it out of a bottle though. There are also dried fruit carts, guys selling herbs with horns and other magical things set up on their tarps, snake charmers that play a loud and obnoxious double reeded instrument, and more things that escape my mind for the moment.

The day is fantastic, but it's night that's really amazing. Out of nowhere come these food carts with their associated metal picnic tables, and they take over the part of the square that is the official square part. There are guys selling fish (a long way from the ocean) lamb, sausages, and salads. Other booths sell snail soup, another harira, and some sheeps head. Mom noticed that the signs for sheeps head area all in arabic - no tourists at those booths. The orange juice booths are still on the other part of the square. The snake charmers had left, to be replaced with (judging from last night) story tellers, ladies doing henna, drummers, guys in drag dancing, fortune tellers, a guy dressed in a crazy costume, and then the smoke from the food booths drifted over, making it the much more um whatever the proper word is. And it's mostly locals. It's like what you could imagine in the square in europe or the middle east and then square or cube it. Take visions from orientalist dreams and you might be half way there. As my brother was trying to figure out all day yesterday, how do you describe this place to someone who's never been there.

We also went into the souks (markets). I found a new bag, since the zipper on my trusty red one has died. And I tried on athletic shoe knock offs, decided not to get them, and then the guy offered me 2,000 camels for my hand in marrage. 3 days in morocco, and already the first one. Of course, mom said no.

Fish, lamb, chicken turtles?

Casablanca, Morocco

My family (Mom, William and Ian) and I arrived here yesterday after taking a direct flight from JFK. As we were checking in for the flight we were amazed at how much baggage we were checking, and were rather amazed when all of ours managed to get here. Then we were picked up from a guy from the hotel at the airport, and somehow all four of us and our large 6 bags managed to fit in his mid-sized car (with the help of a broken bungee chord). On the roads, Morocco is no different than Egypt and slightly worse than Turkey. There was no point in painting lines on the road. And pedestrians beware! - the car or motorscoter always has the right of way.

We're staying in a hotel in the newer French section of town. When they became a colonial power in Morocco, they decided they didn't like the small windy streets of the medina, so they built the ville nouvelle. We've done a lot of walking around, and it has some very impressive art deco buildings. They also built a huge art deco cathedral. Now it's used for plays, concerts, and currently a modern art exhibition. As usual, Ian and I, after being told we could, climbed the staircase to the roof of the church. The stairway was full of 50 or so years of pigeon guano, and there were some pigeons roosting at the top. The view was great - we could see all the way to the ocean. When we got down, the caretaker laughed at us, and poured the contents of his water bottle over our hands to rinse off some of the guano. We also saw a strike by the postal workers that was in progress. The old post office has a very impressive tiled front.

We found our way into the market - fish, turtles, lamb, whole chickens complete with feet, lots of amazing fruits and vegetables, and fish restaurants. Nothing is better than fish that is freshly caught about a mile away, freshly cooked, and eaten with one's fingers.

While drinking coffee, we realized that if we were going to see the big mosque in Casablanca, we had to do it right then, because the last tour was starting in 20 minutes, and the mosque would be closed tomorrow for Friday prayer. The mosque is the third largest in the world, built in the late 80s, and I think it would have been better if the king had used the money to feed his people, but the building is impressive. It can fit 25,000 inside and 80,000 outside. It reminds me of the vatican in that way - room in the courtyard for thousands that can't get into the main building. We walked back through the old city, past lots of shops, and the garbage dump. Crossing the major street back into the Ville Nouvelle, the difference was clear.

The Adventure Continues...

I have a plan of sorts. I am going to Morocco the third week in June (ish). If I am accepted to the JET program (I'm an alternate now to go teach English in Japan) I will return in time to leave. If not, I will stay abroad and find a job and such. So, after I leave the country, as is now my custom, I will once again begin posting. Oh goodness

Istanbul, Turkey

I've been really bad about this blogging thing. I swam across the bosforus!! We went on a boat trip this past saturday, and climbed up the castle on the asian side and then had an amazing lunch and then got to swim across while doging the tankers. It was about 30 minutes in choppy water, and at the end it was all I could do to climb up the ladder into the boat. But it was a really amazing experience

Class is going well. I know the past and present tenses, the forms for can you do something, and let us do something as well as all of the cases (of which the accusative is the most annoying). I had an hour long conversation with my friend Cat and a ceramics seller on Friday, which was super exciting. And watching movies I find myself understinding a lot more.

Last night we went to a concert to hear this pop star named Yalin (although there's not a dot on that i). It was held in an outside ampitheater and it was a bunch of fun. And it was exciting because we had been listening to his CD, so we knew some of the songs that he played. And he also played an obnoxious maroon 5 song, but it was crazy how like them he sounded. and for the first half he had a purple velvet couch that he sat on.

I've started my shoppping. If you have any requests of things that you'd like from Turkey you should send them my way and I'll see what I can do. Back to my odev (homework). I really want to get to the future tense!

Abreviated turkish version typed on an american keyboard

Gecen hafta sonu bogaz turuya gittim. Bogaz'da Asya'dan Avrupa'ya yuzdum. Kucuk balikle meze yedim. Dun aksam konsere gittim. Konser cok guzel, ve dans ettik. Sarkici adi Yalin. Bu aksam arkadaslarimle ben patlicanle domates pisirdik.

Ders iyi gidiyor. Oretmenlarim cok iyi. Ders kitabi cok ilginc, ve resimlar var. Benim en sevdim sozcuk gezmek.

Turkiye'den ne istiyorsunuz? Simdi odev yapiyorum. Cok odev var.

And the Winner is....

ITALY! May the team with the best ice cream win. I went with Jason, and he's fluent in Italian, so we were rooting for Italy. And the game was very exciting. I may end up a football fan yet.

whoops

Istanbul, Turkey

So I guess I said I would write and it's been kind of a long time. But I haven't been slacking! There's been lots of Turkish. We've done compound nouns, temporary and permanant posession, location, there is/there is not sentences, and there have been lots and lots of words. Some of them I find more exciting than their english counterparts, so I use them alot. My favorite word right now is salatalik, which is for cucumber.

Other things besides class...yesterday we went on a field trip to the asian side to this place where they make really good yogurt. And it was good. (Yogurt is a turkish word by the way). I had some balli yogurt (yogurt with honey). The day before that a bunch of us went with our TAs to get baklava. And that was also yummy.

I went to Bursa with the sufis last weekend. We went to all the important sufi sites and then they sang songs and prayed in them. It was very interesting, although I felt a little bit out of place. Bursa was very nice but very hot (cok sicak). The ulu camii was especially interesting because the middle dome is glass and it has a big fountain in the middle. I also got to see Ali Kahn (the son of Aylin and Kubi) which was very exciting. He's just as cute as ever, and when I said a few words of turkish to him he got really excited and started talking to me for the first time ever.

Mom and William were back in Istanbul for a few days and I got to see them which was very exciting. One day we went over to a professor's appartment and had tea. The professor was someone they met at the conference. His wife had chicken pox, which was sad. But they were very nice. We had an excellent dinner at a fish resturant under the galata bridge. They had eaten there before and all the people remembered them. And I asked for napkins (pecete) and got them which was very empowering. I've used the word a lot since. And the next night we ate at Devali, which looks over the sea of marmara and has amazing food. And then mom gave me her debit card, which means I've been able to get money. Which is always a good thing.

I think it's been a long time. I went to a Turkish punk rock concert - the band's name was Athena. And the next night we went on a party on a boat. I'm having difficulty remembering other things that we've done, but there have been a lot. And there are always new turkish words...weather words, food words, clothing words, family words, words, words words. Excitement

Day Two

Istanbul, Turkey

The second day of classes has come and gone. We're moving fast, and the four hours of class I have in the morning pass quickly. My teacher is really nice. On the one hand there are so many words it's hard to get all of them, and on the other hand I almost want to have class over the weekend because I want to talk to people now. I'm hoping that in a week I'll be able to actually make sentences and maybe have a semi-conversation. Today we did telling time, and numbers, including three digit numbers, as well as more of what we did yesterday, and we started with how much.

After class I went walking with Meghan, one of my roommates, so that she could get a plane ticket to fly to the east. And then a bunch of people were hanging out in our common room when we got back, so we joined them. And there was tea, cake and jam and cherries. The dorm here is set up with suites. Each suite has a number of bedrooms which are just big enough for a bed and a desk. And then there's a kitchen, bathroom, and a room with a table, chairs and two couches. It's definitely the nicest dorm I've stayed in.

Tonight we walked down the (very steep) hill to Bebek and found a cute place to eat. It was very yummy. And they gave us magnets. We walked by the water for a while. And then came the downside - going down a steep hill means going up that very same steep hill. We got up to our dorm in 15 minutes and I think I must have been bright red by the time we got here. Time to do my homework and learn these words

Classes Begin

Istanbul, Turkey

So I'm in Turkey. The DC orientation was not that helpful but I got to meet all the program and stay in a fancy hotel. There was a lot of walking around DC and we went to the state department to hear one of the assistant secrataries talk.

For the first few nights we stayed in a hotel in Ortakoy. It was also a fancy hotel. But I was in the only room without two beds, and so I had to share a bed. The first day here we did a tour in the morning and went down into the cistern. Lots of the other museams were closed though because it was a Monday. We went to the kapili carsi and had some food. And then went up to ARIT to have more orientation and get maps and Akbil. That night four of us went up to Taksim to explore and walk around.

Unfortunatly, on the bus ride back from Taksim my wallet was stolen. Grrr. So I had to cancel my debit card and credit card. Fortunatly, all the people in my group are really nice and have offered to lend me money until I can get a new card.

Class started today. There was an introductory lecture (the fourth orientation so far) and then the beginers (like me) left and everyone else took the placement test. Our teacher didn't use much english. The books we got are exciting though. They're in color and have a story. These foriegers are supposed to find a copy of a hittite tablet that's somewhere in Istanbul. They get clues that are in Turkish, so they have to learn Turkish. There are also Turkish people and some bad guys. Most of today we did very basic stuff - hello, nice to meet you, how are you, etc. We seem to be moving pretty fast. We're supposed to get through volumes 1 and 2 of this book in the next 7 weeks. Time to go do my first homework assignment

A New Adventure!

I've just finished packing one of my two bags, so that tomorrow I can leave on another adventure. This one is much more planned than the other ones. But I have no idea what to expect. If I haven't told you, I'm going to Istanbul to learn Turkish. It's with the Critical Language Program which means it's your tax dollars at work. I'll be at Bogazici University for almost two months, and during that time I'm supposed to learn a years worth of Turkish.

First though, there's an orientation in DC. The dress code is business casual, because part of the orientation is meeting an assistant secretary of state. And we get to stay in a fancy hotel. I'm really nervous...it's like the first day of school.

I guess I should finish packing. I'll write more when I actually get to Turkey.

If it were a year ago I would be on a plane right now, flying over the atlantic ocean for an adventure that would last six months and include 26 countries. As it is this year I am at home, in school, and not going further than Wisconson for the rest of the semester. It's been a very weird week, mostly because I did a play in the same space during the same weekends both years, but this year I wasn't getting ready to go after strike. And while my feet are getting itchy and part of me would like to drop out of school and go somewhere, the other part of me is also really happy where I am now. And I know that I am really lucky to have traveled as much as I have been able to.

For me today seems much more to define the end of a year than new years eve did. While last year seems so recent, it also seems so far away because I think I've changed a lot in the past year. I'm happier now than I was last year, I feel like I appreciate where I have more, and I have a better idea of what I might like to do with my life. Spending that much time alone, I learned how to be happy within my self, instead of always relying being around others to make me happy. I discovered (or maybe rediscovered) my love of maps, and learned the best way to know a city is to walk around it for days. And maybe most importantly I have more faith that things will work out; that it's okay for plans to change, or to not have any plans.

While I went alone, I didn't travel without the help of others. So I feel like I need to thank all the people who I haven't specifically thanked. Thanks to my mom who was always supportive, and whose worrying I feel must have kept me safe. To William, who was always supportive, gave good advice when I was tired and hungry, and kept mom from worrying too much. To Ian who let me kidnap him and didn't complain when I had to visit doctors. To dad for calling me. To Margaret and Peter, Richard, Anna, Rashmi and Subir, Sahar and her parents, Gamze, Hasan and Umran, Ulgen, Ceren, Aylin, Kubi and Ali Kahn, Erol and Reidar for taking me into their houses and making me part of their families. To Canguzel, who provided the connections to my sufi family. To Efdal for showing me around and having rooftop adventures. To my sufi family for making me feel the I belonged. To Richard who helped me when the atms hated me. To the french students in Bulgaria that let me stay in their dorm room. To all the strangers that gave me directions when I was lost. To Anne for eating lots of ice cream and wanting to see everything with me. To Emily for meeting me on a dark corner and drinking in the square with me. To Henry and Megan who happened to be abroad and run into me. To everyone that operates an ice cream store, an internet cafe, a bookstore with a bathroom, or a public transportation company. To everyone in eastern europe, turkey and egypt (with the exceptions of a few sketchy guys in egypt) that I met.

"Not all those who wander are lost" Some of us like the road, and any new destination is exciting.

back home

Chapel Hill, USA

I just thought I'd let anyone still reading know that I got home safely. The last couple of days in Turkey were a little bit crazy but still good. I went to a couple of sufi gatherings and did my christmas shopping. And then I left Monday morning, although at 1:30 in the afternoon, not at 9 in the morning as I had thought. So it was good that I got it mixed up that way instead of the other way around, but I still felt stupid. It was snowing on my way to the airport! There were no missed flights, and no lost bags and they didn't discover the honey that I was bringing back so I have to say it was more sucessfull than the last time I tried to enter the country. And no I did not get bird flu.

I think that I have a good amount of interview data, documents, and statistics and now I just need to wade through the documents and statistics and write it up. Easier said than done I guess. If you want to read the finished product you should let me know after April 21st.

I have no plans to leave the country again...although I recall thinking that in August and I was gone again less than 6 months later, so I probably won't be writing much this semester. Thanks for reading.

the rooftop adventures of Efdal and Katie - part II

İstanbul, Turkey

I had my last interview today. It was with some officials who work for government of the greater municipality of Istanbul. And since Istanbul has a population of maybe 15 million, they influence the lives of more people than the governments of some countries. Anyways, since the people I was interviewing didn't speak english Efdal kindly agreed to come with me to translate. Waiting in the 6th floor office with a great view for the guy to get back from lunch Efdal asked if they might let us go up to the roof to take pictures. I told him to ask, but only after the interview so they wouldn't get mad.

The interview went really well, Efdal is a really good translator and they talked to me for an hour and a half or so. And then, they did let us go up on the roof. No ottoman chimney's on this roof, but it had an amazing view, and the sun was setting which made it even better. After a couple of weeks spending hours a day on busses and getting frusterated with the city, all I needed was one look from the rooftop to remember that it is one of the most (or maybe the most) beautiful cities in the world.

On the way back to the asian side we visited on of Efdal's friends. The first time we visited him I whacked my head on his very short doorway. And he still remembers me by that it seems. Anyways, this time in addition to his workroom I got to see the room where he puts his finished artwork which was amazing and really peaceful.

The research is done. There offices are all closed this weekend and then I leave. Hopefully I have enough information.

oh the library

İstanbul, Turkey

Today was one of those very frusterating days. It mostly has to do with my trip to the library, more specifically the Atatürk library in Taksim. I managed to find it easily which was exciting, and then after asking people found the small room with the İstanbul collection. So far, so good. The librarians didn't seem to speak any english, but the student of one of the librarians did and so they gave me the catalogue (or book listing the titles) and let me look through it. I found a bunch of things that looked interesting after going through the entire catalogue. But then they closed for lunch and made me leave for a while.

Upon returning from lunch I figured out their shelving system and found most of the things I wanted. After skimming all of them I had decided that 5 were really good. But at that point I had already spent 4 hours there, which had used up an attenion span or two, was feeling ucky and couldn't concentrate, and didn't really have time (since I now have four more research days) to really read them and take notes. So I asked if I could photocopy things. Simple request right, the books are all available to the public, nothing private. So the nice old man librarian went off to find the form and about half an hour later I got it. They wanted not only my name and university and project, but my place of birth, the names of my mother and father and my passport number. Since I haven't memorized my passport number and I didn't have it with me they made dissapoving sounds and told me that maybe if I brought my passport in tomorrow they might let me photocopy some things. So I may be able to get permission to photocopy, and even if I do they might not let me photocopy as many pages as I would like. Darn the beurocratic library! gahhh!

My mother tells me that this is unfortunatly normal for doing research in Turkey, and that I have now been initiated. I guess that makes me feel slightly better. And apparently without knowing it I visited one of the hardest libraries for foreigners to get into when I was here last year and Efdal took me to the library at the Sulimaniye.

And I've just had two people call me because they heard I had a frusterating experience and one knows someone at the Atatürk library and is going to go back with me, and another has a friend that worked for the municipality that I can talk to. I guess maybe I'm getting back on the up part of the research rollercoaster. This is crazy. I really need another week. I think that toward the end of the week I'll finally have contacts in the municipality and then I'll have to leave. Ah well

Happy New Year!

Istanbul, Turkey

Happy New Year to one and all! I have a cold and so I haven't really done much at all in the past few days. For new years eve I was at Aylin's house and another family came over and we had dinner and watched a Turkish new years program and then they went to bed before midnight. So I stayed up and watched more tv (although this time in english) until about midnight when I switched back to the Turkish station to see the countdown. I'm not good enough with the Turkish numbers to count down in Turkish. There are some advantages to being in an appartment on the 14th floor of a building, one of which is that it gives you a great view of the city and the fireworks that people shoot off. For a while they were going off everywhere I looked. It was exciting since I love fireworks.

And now because it is a new year I feel the need to be political (something I've left out of my blog). Friday I met up with a guy that is an activist in Istanbul as well as a graduate student working two jobs on top of that. He and others have been working for five months to organize the European social forum, and then they hope to have the first Turkish social forum in November. They are talking to farmers and workers all over the country and getting them involved. But he told me that they can only do so much unless the US changes its policies. The words he's like to share with people in the US - "break it, smash it!" - *using nonviolent means*. Talking to him and hearing his energy and enthusiasm was really inspirational for me, because sometimes I forget that activism is more than sitting in meetings and talking about process without ever doing anything. And it gives me hope, that if we can all leave our egos in last year, that we could really make enough changes in the US to let the people in Turkey (and everywhere else in the world) make changes in their countries. Talking to him also reminded me that activists in the US are not the only ones. We often fault leaders in the US for putting us in places where we don't belong because we are supposed to right the wrongs of the world, remove the dictators, etc., but as sometimes I think that as activists we also forget that people are organizing in other countries too. We Americans are not the only ones trying to change the world, people across the world are trying to change the world and we can be more effective if we remember that.

And I know I said it once, but I think I'll say it again...Happy New Year!

the rain in spain...

İstanbul, Turkey

It's been raining all day and I left my umbrella at what I currently call home. So I got very wet which I'm sure didn't help my fight not to get this cold. But me and my flintstones vitamins will prevail! And tomorrow I shall bring my umbrella when I go out.

I had two interviews today at Boğaziçi university. One was with an old friend of my mom's and one was with the professor of one of my advisors. Yay for connections. I'm currently trying to get an interview (or maybe more than one!) with people in the municipal government. Keep your fingers crossed! I really need to actually talk to someone in the government here.

Yesterday I talked to a professor at Marmara Unıversity. They have lots of different campuses in İstanbul, and I thought I had found a bus that went to the right one, but it turns out it was the wrong one. Fortunatly I was going there from someplace else and so asked directions and some very nice women put me on the correct mini bus and I got to the correct campus. And the interview was really good.

Nothing really exciting going on though. I spend lots of time on busses going to interviews, waiting for interviews, and sleeping and that's about it. But I did find the english language books in the Boğaziçi bookstore today which was very exciting. And I would recommend Good Omens for anyone who hasn't read it. Stay dry

I didn't get lost!!

İstanbul, Turkey

I've returned to İstanbul, and it makes me really happy. I took the bus from Ankara on Monday. Since this wasn't the night bus, and I was awake I actually got to see what it looks like from here to Ankara. There was snow on the ground most of the way, and most of it is mountainous, or at least hilly. As the trees have no leaves the mountains/hills look like they had thinnıng hair that was standing straight up so you could see their very white scalps. Anyways, it was a pretty trip. And I've discovered that if they show action movies it isn't really necessary to understand Turkish.

On arriving at the bus station I had to take a taksi to Aylin's house. I had forgotten what it's like to ride in a turkish taksi. Almost as good as a roller coaster (although I've only ever been on one roller coaster). But they are crazy crazy drivers.

Alikan (Aylin's son) is now two and a half, and while still the cutest kid ever he has entered the terrible twos, which seems to be a little bit trying for his parents. The cat is still an attack cat, and seems to like feet, which reminds me of dillon. The bed I slept in before is gone and now they have a couch that pulls out into a bed. It's very comfy.

I went to the kapılıçarsı (grand bazaar) today to visit Hasan. I managed to find a bus stop, get on a bus that took me to Kadıköy so I could take the ferry to Eminönü as planned. No getting lost or getting on the wrong bus! I have also continued my tradition of buying the best cookies ever to get bus change. It was so exciting to be back on the ferry. I can't really think of any good words. Hasan is doing well, and sitting in his shop (he sells carpets) I felt like I'd never really left. I also visited Murat (he sells brass and copper stuff) and had a slightly one sided discussion about why americans move out of their family's houses at 18 or 22 and how that leads to people feeling more isolated.

And here's the real shock. I took the ferry back (yay!) and after getting on the wrong bus and then being sent to another where I realized I was being dyslexic I got what turned out to be the right bus. I got off at the right stop and found Aylin's building. I don't think I've ever gone some place for the first time in İstanbul and not gotten lost. Although now that I've said that I'm sure as soon as I walk out the door tomorrow I will be lost.

conferences and tea

Ankara, Turkey

I woke up this morning thinking that I had no plans, but as is often the case in Turkey that was not true for long. Standing in the hallway trying to wake up the mother (her name is Nesin) and older son walked past and told me that Belgin had been trying to calling all morning. Turns out she wanted me to go to a conference with her on Sufism and Women. So I put on some clothes and went. The conference was in this huge conference salon as they called it. There were four people speaking including Cemalnur, Dr. Gursoy, and an american guy. It started on standard turkish time (late) with the singing of the national march. I have to say that in terms of people singing along to there national anthem/marches Turkey defiantly beats America. It's in a range that most people can actually sing in with no bloody high notes. I felt a little bit awkward standing there though.

I'm sure that the conference was very interesting, but I only understood a fourth of it. When the american guy started talking it took me a minute to realize that he was actually speaking english. Aylin was translating for him which was very exciting. He went on about the women that had been close to the prophet, and took too long to make his point. He ended up making it as they were telling him he was out of time. When cemalnur spoke I could get the feeling of what she was saying, but none of the words. I think it helps that she talks with her hands.

Afterwards there was tea, because that's what's done and I got to see most of my sufi family. It was really nice to see them all again. And it was great to see the look on their faces because I hadn't told them that I was going to be there. Yay for my sufi family. I'm excited about going back to Istanbul and seeing all of them. In case you are wondering, I was adopted into a sufi group when I was in Istanbul in May and the teacher of the group is cemalnur.

They ordered pizza tonight for dinner. I think pizza here might be more exciting. They put corn on their pizza! And the um italian kind had secuk (turkish peperoni if you will) on it. And the mom (her name is made visne (sour cherry juice)! I guess I talk about food a lot, but I've decided that when I get back I'm going to figure out how to make some of the turkish food I really like.

It's Christmas eve, and although I'm going to have the whitest Christmas I've had in a long time it doesn't seem at all like Christmas eve. But I hope you all have been good this year and maybe santa will visit you. Because I still believe in santa; as my mother says santa is the people that love you. Happy christmas eve!

interviews oh interviews

Ankara, Turkey

I had three interviews today and they all went really well. Yay! I kind of don't feel like I should be talking about what people said in my blog though, so if you want to find out about them you can read my thesis someday insallah.

I'm now staying with a family that is friends with Canguzel's family. However, I am very bad with names, and turkish names are once again proving to be worse than american ones and so I know the daughter is named Ozge but I can't remember the names of the rest of the family. But I have to say that the four year old is really cute and I feel bad because I can't talk to him.

Anyways, today Ozge was very nice and came with me to all the interviews. And I got to meet her friends at this chinese resturaunt that also had sushi. She goes to an international school, as does her brother (the 16 year old one, not the 4 year old) so they both speak fluent english which is really nice. Some day I really will learn turkish!

While I was at METU (middle east technical university) I got to see Claire and Oktay which was very exciting. Claire (who is brittish but now speaks fluent turkish) is in the process of starting up a dissabilities probgram at METU which seems to be a challenge, but also very rewarding. Apparently it's the first program like this at a Turkish university, but now there is another one that is starting up as well.

At the state planning office once again I talked to a woman I had already talked to and then the man I was going to interview was very late. Ozge left and eventully he showed up at about 5:30. Apparently there was some problem with the licensing of his car and something and he had to wait 3 hours. He gave me a ride home after I interviewed him which was really nice of him. It was kind of funny though. The neighborhood I'm staying in is confusing, and so he stopped somewhere and asked for directions, which turned out to be bad. So he went back to the same place to try again. We did find it eventually, but the directions he got the second time were exactly the same as the first time, and still wrong.

I was very late getting back and so missed dinner, but they saved some for me. And it was manti!!! Manti is my favorite turkish food, or perhaps food in general by the way. If you haven't it's turkish dumplings in a yougurt sort of sauce and well, it's really good. And it was homemade! Yay!