I am doing well in Istanbul. Other then the usual frustrations of language barriers, cultural differences, etc. I am extremely happy. Actually, I am happy regardless of my frustrations and am having a really good time.
For the past 2 weeks, I have been attending Turkish language classes on the Asian side of Istanbul. These classes will end this coming Wednesday, and I will return to school on October 1st. We are learning a lot of Turkish in a short amount of time, but I try to immediately put to use all the Turkish that I have learned that class day. One of the most useful phrases I have learned is quite basic: "Bu ne?" ("what is that?"). The words istiyorum and istemiyorum (I would like and I would not like) are also pretty useful. Usually, I study Turkish on my 1 hour ride home on the public bus from my Turkish course. I can now take public transportation home from my Turkish course alone!
I have finally learned what classes I will be taking at school. These are IB Math 2, IB English 2, Theory of Knowledge (philosophy/psychology type course), Italian III, and Art. I am especially happy to be taking Italian and Art. Italian because I have lost much of my Italian since moving to the states (I was born in Rome, my father is Italian, and I regularly travel to Italy to visit my family). I welcome this opportunity to improve my Italian, since I used to be bi-lingual but have lost much of my fluency and my Italian grammar is also not as strong as I would like it to be. I am also excited to take Art, even though I have never considered myself a visual artist. This is because I come from an Arts School in Rochester, and really miss the fact that the arts does not have much of a presence in my school in Turkey. Sometimes, I miss little things like walking into school and hearing the band rehearsing, or seeing the drama majors rehearse their scenes in the hallway. However, I am happy at my Turkish school. The people are very nice and with effort on my part, I feel I will be able to make friends there. There is one other exchange student at my school. Her name is Tiffany and she is from Florida. We are not in the same class though.
Family life is also good. My host family is kind. I am still trying to adapt to life in their family, as it is much different from life in my family back home. I am currently trying to get my host family to help me enroll in a belly-dancing class. I have told them how much I would like to dance while in Turkey, but not much action has been taken on this issue. I am frustrated with this, but expect to ask Rotex for help.
I am starting to notice cultural differences as well. The one that strikes me as the most different is how the Turks plan and treat their time. Time is always in flux. Time is not always dedicated to a task, the time to complete a task comes of its own accord. This is a lot different then our culture where if you have an important thing on your agenda to do, you usually make a plan of when it will get done and do not feel at ease until it has been accomplished. I also never know what the plan is for that day. My host parents and other adults make plans, and usually I am not informed until the last minute. For example, I found out that I was going on a day sight-seeing trip with my host family and their friends 15 minutes before it was time to go. Another time, I met my host mother's cousin at my host mother's cafe and woke up the next morning to find her at our house. It turns out she was going to be staying with us for a couple days. Usually something that you would be given advanced notice about in our culture....Turks also dont always tell you when the plans have changed. Sometimes, I have been ready or waiting to go, only to find out that we are not leaving until 1 hour later or not leaving at all. My fellow exchange students and I like to share our stories about this, and we enjoy laughing it off.
I am also busily working at my college applications. I have an application due this Wednesday!!!! It is a special application called Questbridge that if you are accepted, you receive full tuition scholarship to one of America's top schools. I am interested in Amherst, Haverford, Williams, Brown, and Wesleyan, but have not made my final ranking yet. I have been making final edits of my essays and emailing my mother, guidance counselor, and teachers in the States to make sure everything is in order. Doing college applications while abroad is quite challenging and draining. Another obstacle that is quite difficult to navigate: my host family does not have internet at their house. In order to use the internet, I have to bring my computer to my host mother's cafe. This is hard because I have things I need to do (like college correspondence, blog updates, and sending my Rotary counselor a monthly update), but can not always do these when it would be most convenient for me- like before I go to bed or when there is down time at home. Using the internet is hard ball to juggle: I do not want to be all the time on the computer while at my host mother's cafe, but I also have things on the computer that I want and need to do. At my Orientation Weekend final dinner with the host families, I asked my exchange chair to help explain to my host parents that I was applying to college and needed to be on the computer more often. At least I can be thankful that my college situation has been explained to my host parents so they know the reason for my increased time on the computer. I am also trying to study for 2 SAT II subject tests that I will be taking on October 10th in the midst of all other things.I have never been the one to not be busy with 1 million things.
Next month, I will go to my first Rotary meeting. My Rotary counselor is in Spain until the end of the month and has requested that I wait until he returns to go to my first meeting. My Rotary club is on the the European side of Istanbul. Even though the travel time will not be short, I am glad that Rotary meeting will also give me the chance to spend time on the European side. I am anxious to get to know European Istanbul more, since I live on the Asain side and spend most of my time here. I have expressed to my host family that I would like to attend my Rotary club meetings every week. I enjoy being active and would like to become involved in some of the volunteering and projects that my Rotary club does. This earned me a taken aback reaction from my host sister and host family. "Why? You only have to go one a month.", they replied. I feel frustrated sometimes with the fact that my host family does not always seem happy that I want to get involved (dance and Rotary meetings). I understand that we are different though, and have to adapt and be flexible with each other.
Sightseeing I have done: Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, Galata Tower, Buyukada (one of Istanbul's Islands). All beautiful and stunning.
I also enjoy taking note of all the handsome Turkish men I come across. My friend Mathilda (English exchange student from France) enjoy spotting them out together when we are walking to the bus from out Turkish course. We have agreed that the best place to find them is at cafes, because most waiters are male and are usually quite attractive. Maybe to attract tourists....In any case, they are good looking! My first taxi ride was with a handsome young Turkish driver who was driving rigorously on the highway (100 kmh!) on the highway and through the maize of Istanbul streets. I felt like I was in a movie. It was a little nerve-racking, but very sexy.
Once I am less busy with college stuff, I will work on learning to cook some of the dishes in Turkish cuisine. Borek, Lorlu kurabiye, and various other are on my list. I am lucky that my host mother has a cafe. A wonderful place to learn how to cook! My friend Selcan (who works at my host mother's cafe) and my host mother have told me that they would teach me how to make Turkish dishes! I am very excited for this!!!
And now....back to studying at my host mother's cafe....
Take care everyone!!! Gorusuruz!
~Chiara
No comments:
Post a Comment