Merhaba!
So this blog title translate to This Week!
Pazartesi ve Salı: These days I didn't really do much, just school and home mostly. It is really nice though and I appreciate these days because I have time to relax. But not much happene.
Çarşamba: This day was awesome. After school we went as a group to volunteer at an underprivliged childrens center. While we mostly played games, it was really nice to interact with them and it was really fun.
Perşambe: Thursday was so much fun. I went out with my host sister and her friends for İftar. It was great to meet all of her friends and they really liked me and I really liked them. It was such a fun evening and that made me really wish I was staying here for a year and going to a Turkish high school, but I am in no way complaining. The amount of time I have been giving here is amazing. It's just hard not to wish it was longer.
Cuma: On Friday, after school I went shopping with some of the other Americans to Kosa Han, the İpek pazar. It was great to go shopping and I got more gifts for my family and friends. I think I am going to bring back an entire suitcase of gifts for people, either way I need another one because my one is already overweight. But anyway, shopping was fun and Kosa Han is çok güzel.
Cumartesi: This day I slept in and went to a cousins house for İftar. İftar in the evening was really fun because I am starting to speak more Turkish and am able to understand way more. I am still a beginner, of course, but my Turkish is a million times better than it was before I came. I really don't want to leave Turkey, I want to stay and become fluent in Türkçe. Oh well, it is what it is. After İftar we went to our summer house and then we went home. I got home at 1:30, slept for two hours, woke up at 3 for kahvaltı then slept until nine.
Pazar: On Sunday we went to Yalova, which is a town about an hour and a half away from Bursa. It was by the sea and so pretty. We only stayed there for a few hours, though. We then went food shopping, went to our summer house for İftar then a few hours later came back home. It was a good and relaxing day. There was a lot of driving, though.
That was pretty much my week. I know I didn't write much, and believe me, I could've written way more. I am just trying not to spend too much time on the computer. All in all it was a really good week. I can't believe that in less than two weeks I will be back in the U.S. This is really crazy. I also didn't write much because things here are more or less normal and I have settled into what is more or less of a routine here.
I love it here and I love Turkey. This truely is an experience of a lifetime and I am going to spend this next week and a half learning as much as I can and seeing as much as I can.
Till next time
-Sarah
Monday, July 29, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
Half Way There
So, as you can tell from the title, I have been in Turkey for three weeks and have three weeks left.
My blog entry today is going to be about last week.
Monday- On Monday I went to school, like normal. School is normal at this point. It is constant and doesn't change along with lunch. Anyway after school I went to a bizarre to go shopping and get present for my family and friends, unfortunately I didn't bring enough money, so I'll just have to come back. We got home around four and then watched T.V until we went to my host Uncle's place for İftar. My host family and extended host family is great. They are all so nice and my little host cousins are adorable.
Tuesday- On Tuesday's we have peer language tutoring at a park. After this I walked around Bursa with my host sister and her friend. This was way better than it sounds. We just walked around Bursa for an hour or so. Bursa is so pretty and it was so much fun. I really want to go exploring\shopping again before I leave, so I will have to make that a priority.
Wednesday- This was a really interesting day. After school we took a bus to İznik, which is about an hour outside of Bursa. İznik was so pretty and we also had some time to go shopping. It was wonderful. However my host sister didn't come because she had English class. We got back to Bursa at 8 in the evening and I took the bus home. The bus didn't stop where it usually stops, meaning I got slightly lost. I use the word slightly because I had a general idea of where I was. Again this seems totally fine, but it was getting dark and it was after the evening call to prayer meaning a lot of people were having İftar, so there weren't a lot of people on the streets. I made it back home safe, but still I was so nervous and scared I wouldn't make it back.
Thursday- I can't really remember what I did on Thursday after class and peer language tutoring. Sorry.
Friday- On Friday after school, I came home and after my sister finished her homework we watched films until İftar, it was a muh needed relaxing evening. I also went to a mosque with my host family during prayer time. This was a very interesting experience. I can't really describe it, but I'm glad I went.
Saturday- On Saturday we had the option of going with the group to a seramik studio. It was so much fun! We got to paint our own pots and it was really cool to see a very traditional art of Turkey. I am also excited to see how mine turns out. After that we went to the sinema and then we went home and I did my homework. It was a very fun, but also a very long day.
Sunday- Yesterday my host family hosted this big İftar party at our summer house, so we spent all day getting ready. The party itself was fun and I got home at 1:30 in the morning. I fell alsleep for about an hour and a half, but generally here I am staying up so much later. Hopefully that will make that will make the first few weeks of college easier.
All in all these three weeks in Turkey have been amazing and I can't wait to see what these next few weeks will bring. Also I will post pictures when I get back, as I didn't bring my own computuer.
Till next time,
-Sarah
My blog entry today is going to be about last week.
Monday- On Monday I went to school, like normal. School is normal at this point. It is constant and doesn't change along with lunch. Anyway after school I went to a bizarre to go shopping and get present for my family and friends, unfortunately I didn't bring enough money, so I'll just have to come back. We got home around four and then watched T.V until we went to my host Uncle's place for İftar. My host family and extended host family is great. They are all so nice and my little host cousins are adorable.
Tuesday- On Tuesday's we have peer language tutoring at a park. After this I walked around Bursa with my host sister and her friend. This was way better than it sounds. We just walked around Bursa for an hour or so. Bursa is so pretty and it was so much fun. I really want to go exploring\shopping again before I leave, so I will have to make that a priority.
Wednesday- This was a really interesting day. After school we took a bus to İznik, which is about an hour outside of Bursa. İznik was so pretty and we also had some time to go shopping. It was wonderful. However my host sister didn't come because she had English class. We got back to Bursa at 8 in the evening and I took the bus home. The bus didn't stop where it usually stops, meaning I got slightly lost. I use the word slightly because I had a general idea of where I was. Again this seems totally fine, but it was getting dark and it was after the evening call to prayer meaning a lot of people were having İftar, so there weren't a lot of people on the streets. I made it back home safe, but still I was so nervous and scared I wouldn't make it back.
Thursday- I can't really remember what I did on Thursday after class and peer language tutoring. Sorry.
Friday- On Friday after school, I came home and after my sister finished her homework we watched films until İftar, it was a muh needed relaxing evening. I also went to a mosque with my host family during prayer time. This was a very interesting experience. I can't really describe it, but I'm glad I went.
Saturday- On Saturday we had the option of going with the group to a seramik studio. It was so much fun! We got to paint our own pots and it was really cool to see a very traditional art of Turkey. I am also excited to see how mine turns out. After that we went to the sinema and then we went home and I did my homework. It was a very fun, but also a very long day.
Sunday- Yesterday my host family hosted this big İftar party at our summer house, so we spent all day getting ready. The party itself was fun and I got home at 1:30 in the morning. I fell alsleep for about an hour and a half, but generally here I am staying up so much later. Hopefully that will make that will make the first few weeks of college easier.
All in all these three weeks in Turkey have been amazing and I can't wait to see what these next few weeks will bring. Also I will post pictures when I get back, as I didn't bring my own computuer.
Till next time,
-Sarah
Monday, July 15, 2013
Weekend Trips and Cutural Differences
Merhaba!
First of all this week has been great! The longer I am here the more I love it.
Now I would like to aplogize for my last entry. I realized I didn't say much, but I really had to go to school. But don't worry, everything here has been great.
First of all this week has by been really good. But I am going to talk about the weekend.
Over the weekend we went to Troia (Troy) and Çanakkale. Çanakkale was really fun. It was a long trip, though. Çanakkale is a very important town where a lot of Word War I battels took place. It was really great to see all of this history up close. However like I said it was really long. At midnight we took a seven hour bus ride there and came back to Bursa at midnight Sunday.
On Sunday my host family ans I visited Uludağ. The mountain in Bursa. Again it was so much fun. We just went exploring. It was great and I took lots of pictures!
This place and this experience is truely amazing. I am so so glad I have this amazing opportunity. I am also sorry because I can't\don't have time to write about everything that has happened. I will maybe try writing about everthing that has happened this week next week. Although since Ramadan\Ramazan has started I have been over to a lot of people's houses for İftar- or the breaking of the fast.
Since I have been in Turkey for two weeks here are some cultural differences I have noticed:
1. Call to Prayer:
This is absolutely beautiful and yes it does play five times a day.
2. Food:
Obviously the food here is different, but it is not just that. There is so much food here and people offer you so much it is ridiculous. Along with this Turkish tea is served at every meal. I love Turkish tea so much. I don't know how I am going to live without it in the states.
3. Ramazan:
For those of you who don't know Ramadan- or Ramazan as the Turks call it Ramazan- has started. This means people are going all day without food or water. It is really amazing and I can't imagine what it would be like to fast for an entire month. Anyway, this means İftar, the breaking of the fast. Along with İftar there is also drumming in the street at 3 a.m to wake people up for breakfeast. The drumming is actually reall cool and I like it a lot.
4. Driving:
The driving here is a lot more crazy and crossing the street is jay walking when there is no trafik. Mom don't worry I am safe and completely fine.
5. Time:
This is realated to doing stuff. Turkish time is much more relaxed and sometimes people will say they will do something and we'll end up doing something else. I actually really like this. It's fun to just go with the flow and I love waking up and not knowing what is going to happen. It's great.
That's about all for now. Tomorrow I will take the bus by myself. I am really excited. I will also sort through pictures when I get back to the states.
Hope to update in a week!
Görüşürüz
-Sarah
First of all this week has been great! The longer I am here the more I love it.
Now I would like to aplogize for my last entry. I realized I didn't say much, but I really had to go to school. But don't worry, everything here has been great.
First of all this week has by been really good. But I am going to talk about the weekend.
Over the weekend we went to Troia (Troy) and Çanakkale. Çanakkale was really fun. It was a long trip, though. Çanakkale is a very important town where a lot of Word War I battels took place. It was really great to see all of this history up close. However like I said it was really long. At midnight we took a seven hour bus ride there and came back to Bursa at midnight Sunday.
On Sunday my host family ans I visited Uludağ. The mountain in Bursa. Again it was so much fun. We just went exploring. It was great and I took lots of pictures!
This place and this experience is truely amazing. I am so so glad I have this amazing opportunity. I am also sorry because I can't\don't have time to write about everything that has happened. I will maybe try writing about everthing that has happened this week next week. Although since Ramadan\Ramazan has started I have been over to a lot of people's houses for İftar- or the breaking of the fast.
Since I have been in Turkey for two weeks here are some cultural differences I have noticed:
1. Call to Prayer:
This is absolutely beautiful and yes it does play five times a day.
2. Food:
Obviously the food here is different, but it is not just that. There is so much food here and people offer you so much it is ridiculous. Along with this Turkish tea is served at every meal. I love Turkish tea so much. I don't know how I am going to live without it in the states.
3. Ramazan:
For those of you who don't know Ramadan- or Ramazan as the Turks call it Ramazan- has started. This means people are going all day without food or water. It is really amazing and I can't imagine what it would be like to fast for an entire month. Anyway, this means İftar, the breaking of the fast. Along with İftar there is also drumming in the street at 3 a.m to wake people up for breakfeast. The drumming is actually reall cool and I like it a lot.
4. Driving:
The driving here is a lot more crazy and crossing the street is jay walking when there is no trafik. Mom don't worry I am safe and completely fine.
5. Time:
This is realated to doing stuff. Turkish time is much more relaxed and sometimes people will say they will do something and we'll end up doing something else. I actually really like this. It's fun to just go with the flow and I love waking up and not knowing what is going to happen. It's great.
That's about all for now. Tomorrow I will take the bus by myself. I am really excited. I will also sort through pictures when I get back to the states.
Hope to update in a week!
Görüşürüz
-Sarah
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
About These Past Two Weeks
Merhaba!
I am safely in Tukey!!!!! Sorry I have not posted sooner I wanted to wait to ging tet setteled. So I am just go to start from the begining.
Orientation:
So getting to D.C was a bit of an adventure. Long story short my flight to Chicago got delayed three or four times, but everything worked out in the end.
Actual orientation was so much fun. It was really nice to meet everyone, even though we did spend all of our time in hotel meeting rooms. It was also nice to meet the China kids.
Paris:
Before actually making it to İstanbul we had a five hour layover in the Paris airport. It was suprisingly fun, but also tiring because all of us were sleep deprived. But I tried macroones for the first time and they were delicious.
İstanbul:
We got in to İstanbul Saturday evening and on Sunday we went sight seeing and to the Eyptian Bizarre. It was much fun. On Monday we went to a security briefing at the U.S consolate and then boarded a fairy to Bursa.
This past week:
Has been great. My host family is so sweet and school going well. On the weekend we went to their summer home and it was so nice to spend time with them. Everything here is great so far. There is a post I want to write about culturlal differences that I have noticed, but that can wait because I have to go to school.
I just wanted to update this for anyone who reads it.
Görüşürüz,
-Sarah
I am safely in Tukey!!!!! Sorry I have not posted sooner I wanted to wait to ging tet setteled. So I am just go to start from the begining.
Orientation:
So getting to D.C was a bit of an adventure. Long story short my flight to Chicago got delayed three or four times, but everything worked out in the end.
Actual orientation was so much fun. It was really nice to meet everyone, even though we did spend all of our time in hotel meeting rooms. It was also nice to meet the China kids.
Paris:
Before actually making it to İstanbul we had a five hour layover in the Paris airport. It was suprisingly fun, but also tiring because all of us were sleep deprived. But I tried macroones for the first time and they were delicious.
İstanbul:
We got in to İstanbul Saturday evening and on Sunday we went sight seeing and to the Eyptian Bizarre. It was much fun. On Monday we went to a security briefing at the U.S consolate and then boarded a fairy to Bursa.
This past week:
Has been great. My host family is so sweet and school going well. On the weekend we went to their summer home and it was so nice to spend time with them. Everything here is great so far. There is a post I want to write about culturlal differences that I have noticed, but that can wait because I have to go to school.
I just wanted to update this for anyone who reads it.
Görüşürüz,
-Sarah
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