Something new every day...

Istanbul is fairly Westernized as far as cities go-- you can find a McDonald's or a Starbucks anywhere, and they eat more french fries here than people do in the States. But if you're feeling adventurous, there's always something Turkish to try.

Yesterday I had my first ciğ kofte. Technically this means "raw meatball;" the name comes from the way these used to be made, as raw meat kneaded for a long time instead of being cooked. With the stricter food safety regulations put in place in preparation for EU membership, however, ciğ kofte is now strictly vegetarian. It's actually a spread that you eat in a wrap, though I got a free sample wrapped in lettuce. It was spicy, with a texture like mashed potatoes, and quite good! If you ever have the chance to try it, though, don't look at it too hard-- it's not the most appetizing meal I've ever eaten.

Church, Chocolate, and Public Transportation

As many of you may have noticed, yesterday was Easter. Though churches aren't as common in Istanbul as they are at home (the country is literally 99% Muslim, after all), there was a church nearby my mom's hotel that had an English mass. It was interesting to see the diversity in the congregation-- Catholics and non-Catholics, people of every ethnicity and nationality.

We met some of my friends after church for lunch and finally tried tavuk göğsü, a Turkish dessert made of chicken. It's very sweet and very sticky; in fact, most of the Turks here don't believe it really has chicken in it! Definitely an experience, but I'm not sure I would try it again.

Since my mom's going to be on her own in the city for a couple of days while I'm in class, I showed her how to take the tram down to Sultanahmet, the old city with lots of must-sees like the Blue Mosque and Topkapı Palace. We made it down there successfully, but it was too crowded to see anything. The lines were all so long that the museums would be closed by the time we made it inside!

We made it back to Taksim in one piece-- we even got seats on the tram both ways! After a quick stop at the Spice Bazaar we headed back to find a chocolate cafe nearby the hotel some friends had told me about. They had raved about this place, and they were right! We shared a chocolate cake and some fruit and fondue-- I can't wait to get back here! A loonnng bus ride later, and here I am, back on campus, catching up on my neglected homework.

Annem Istanbul´da otuyor!

So my mom is here in Istanbul! I´m staying with her at her hotel about an hour and a half by bus from my school. I´ve actually been quıte busy with homework and rehearsal for my upcoming dance performance, but be sure to ask her about her adventure to the Hagia Sofia today-- it seems she had quite the experience! But it´s been nice to catch up and show her how I´ve learned to get around the city. And now she fınally understands how frustrating it is to use these crazy Turkish keyboards!

We´ve got a bit planned for the rest of her week here, so keep reading to hear about our adventures!

Conversation Group

At the beginning of the semester, I signed up to be an English tutor for the students in the pre-freshman year language studies program, the year that many students here take to make sure they can cope in fully English-language classes. Today I finally started my first conversation group! We'll be meeting once a week to chat in English, just to give them some practice speaking differently than they might just chatting with their friends or in class.

Since it was just the first week we didn't talk about anything in particular; I wanted to get a feel for their particular language skills. They were actually more curious about me than willing to talk-- where was I from, what my major was, what I did for spring break. But it's a great group so far-- three girls-- and I think we'll have an awesome semester. Let me know if you have any fun conversation starters!

Dinner and a Movie

My friends here and I have been wanting to make dinner for quite some time-- today we finally did it. Pasta, broccoli, and chicken-- delicious and ordinary. Awesome.

We had a bit of an adventure trying to get the ingredients in the grocery store. While I know many food words in Turkish, I don't know how to differentiate between tomato sauce and paste except by guesswork (we guessed right). And good luck trying to find spices in a mini travel dictionary. We were stuck trying to smell the spices through the wrapping and guess if they'd go well with tomato sauce. But in the end, we succeeded in creating a perfectly ordinary dinner. Yay us.

As promised, some pictures

London Eye on a cloudy day... it wasn't as dreary as it looks.



Helpful hints for the tourists! This is by St. Paul's Cathedral; the shadow is a bus driving by.



That's actually quite a striking picture... which I of course framed carefully and intentionally...



Couldn't resist!

Final Musings on London

I just wanted to take a post to wrap up the loose ends of my London trip, especially since there's not a whole lot going on here at school.

On staying in a hostel: I loved getting the chance to meet new people-- I met lots of British people, an Australian, a French girl, a couple Germans, a handful of Spaniards, and one really cute South African guy who sadly only stayed one night. But it was really interesting to hear everyone's stories and see why people decide to come to London, or why they travel at all. But it did make me realize that although I do love traveling, I don't want to still be moving around when I'm 50. You kind of get the feeling that some of the older people who come through the hostels don't have a permanent home, which I definitely want, though maybe not quite yet.

On my first trip to a left-driving country: So I almost got hit by cars or bicycles many times. I kept forgetting which way to look and stepping into traffic; fortunately, the busier streets in London had handy directions on them noting which way to look.

On navigating the Underground: All in all not as difficult as I had expected. The stations are in pretty logical positions, and it's possible to get just about anywhere without too many changes. There was, however, a fair amount of construction to spruce the city up for the Olympics next year, so there were a fair amount of delays. I guess that means I'll have to take another trip back someday to see the new and improved stations!

I was going to post some pictures along with this by my internet connection is being kind of sketchy and I don't want to push my luck. Next time for sure!

Return to Turkey

Here I am, back in Turkey. The difference between London and Istanbul was clear as soon as I got off the plane. I decided to take public transport back since the last time I shared a cab from the airport it cost upwards of 80 lira ($50) total. The Istanbul metro is quite different from the London Underground; less seats, less direct. In fact, it took me about as much time to get back from the airport as it took me to get from London to Vienna. Crazy stuff.

But I really am glad to be back in Turkey. It's nice to get into my own bed at night, to get back into a routine. Now I just have to prepare for midterms!

Greenwich

On the advice of my dad, I decided to go down to Greenwich for my last day in London, which has to be one of the best decisions of my trip. The weather was beautiful, once again, and Greenwich has a lovely large park perfect for wandering. It houses the Royal Observatory, home of the Prime Meridian; I didn't get to see the actual line because it cost ten pounds and I'm a poor student. But the building was quite nice from the outside!

I also saw the Queen's house, a small palace built for James I's wife though it wasn't completed until the time of Charles I. It's a World Heritage site, the first example of classical architecture in the country. It's the perfect size for an afternoon; big enough that there's plenty to see, but not so large you get lost in it. The house was built for more intimate gatherings of the queen and her companions, and is pretty close to where the palace once was.

I also visited the National Maritime museum where I heard a fascinating talk about Britain and the Suez canal given by a Scotsman. As an international relations student, I have of course heard of events such as the Suez crisis of 1956 but it was interesting to hear from the British perspective.

Between the two museums I had a late lunch-- my first fish and chips! It was at a restaurant owned by a Turk, coincidentally, but I think it tasted pretty authentic. It was delicious, anyway, and I ate it too quickly and burnt my tongue. Fortunately, there was an ice cream shop down the road.


The view from the observatory-- it's on top of a hill in the middle of the park so you can see quite a lot.


Springtime at the Royal Observatory!


The Queen's House

Pig No Pig

Another fantastic day here in the UK. It was quite warm, probably up in the 70s-- warm enough for me to walk around in a t-shirt, anyway, which is pretty darn warm. Lots more walking around, but not as much getting lost. I'm starting to get the hang of things, which is hardly unexpected since tomorrow's my last day.

I went to the famous Tate Modern this afternoon, and saw some Picassos, some Jackson Pollacks, and a Monet, among other works. Even just being in the Tate was kind of crazy, it's definitely a must-see for any London trip.

I decided to take the opportunity to do some walking today since I didn't really have any time-sensitive activities until the evening. One thing about the Queen's Walk along the south bank of the Thames-- it's crowded! Especially now, I imagine; the London Marathon is in a couple of weeks, and you can't step out anywhere without seeing dozens of runners. I admire their stamina, my feet are sore from just walking!

My mom sprang for me to see a show tonight. Instead of going to The Lion King or another such show available in the States, I decided on Betty Blue Eyes, a new show about rationing in post-war Britain. It sounds pretty dry, but it had a great cast, great songs, and a funny story, totally worth seeing.

I had a bit of an adventure on the way back from the show as my underground stop was unexpectedly out of service and my hostel is off the map I carry in my purse, but I found a map at the station and successfully navigated my way back.

And now it's time for me to go to bed so I can get up and have new adventures for you all to read about :)

Two Churches and a Bus

I woke up to a rainy day this morning, so I decided to use the tour bus ticket I received from Sandy yesterday. It was definitely a good decision-- the live tour guide was pretty funny and although there was traffic it let me take lots of pictures from the bus. It took about three hours to get around the whole route hitting both sides of the Thames and crossing between London Town (the City of Westminster) and the City (City of London). In practice they're the same thing, but the City is where most of old London is (I think...). Anyway, I managed to get my bearings pretty well, snap lots of photos, and stay dry-- an excellent day.

I disembarked from the bus to swing by St. Paul's Cathedral-- gorgeous paintings, mosaics, and sculptures from the crypt to the dome. I climbed all the way up Golden Dome, an outdoor walkway with phenomenal views of the city. It was breathtaking in every sense of the word-- incredibly beautiful, but I was also terrified of dropping my camera or other objects (or self) off the walkway, and exhausted from the climb with was more than 300 stairs high. After hiking down, my legs were literally shaking so I stopped for a coffee break (ok, hot chocolate and carrot cake) before my next task, walking to Westminster Abbey.

While most museums in London are free, sights like St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey are not. My student wallet only held enough cash for one entry ticket so I devised the devious plan of attending Evensong at Westminster-- a choral performance, reading of scripture, and time of prayer that is free and open to the public. Tonight the choir was from a school, and the combination of the children singing and the magnificence of the Abbey literally gave me chills, it was completely indescribable. I also saw where Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin are buried; I was actually standing on Newton when I noticed the epitaph. Oops!

After the short service I headed back to the hostel early-- four finals and research due after the break means I really have to get cracking. But after the stairs at St. Paul's, the walking, and the rain, I don't know how much I'll get through before I fall asleep on this couch!

Here are some pictures; not all are from today, but this is the first day I've gotten them off my camera. Cheers!


Springtime at Parliament! There's a lovely park right by the Sovereign's entrance-- though not too close, of course


In case you're craving a taste of home, or maybe just some cholesterol


Westminster Abbey-- no photos allowed inside, unfortunately.



The infamous Tower of London


Big Ben striking six o'clock


The view of Parliament from Westminster Bridge over the River Thames

Windsor Castle

I took the train down to Windsor today-- an old friend of my mother's lives there, and I thought it would be nice to see a familiar face. I was able to use all my skills at navigating the Underground, Overground, and National Rail to get over, all through neighborhoods and pastures. There were even sheep and lambs-- it's definitely springtime here!

Windsor was lovely. We went to the castle, of course, since there's not a whole lot to do in Windsor. Besides, how could I go to Windsor and not see the residence of the reigning monarch?

The castle was suitably impressive-- state rooms and Rembrandts, china and chandeliers... there's a great view of the town from the castle as well.

I arrived back in London around five, and I decided to head down to the South Bank of the Thames to wander around. I had meant to go down to the Globe, but saw St. Paul's Cathedral across the river and just had to check it out. Unfortunately it was closed by the time I got there, but now I know where it is, and it was a lovely walk.

All in all, it was a great day-- good company, good food, and great sites.

And for a change, here's a picture of me!

I made it!

So after a pirate cab ride to the Ataturk airport, two passport stamps at the airport in Vienna, an 11 hour layover, and my first trip over the Channel, I arrived in London! I got myself a 7-day Underground pass right away, since otherwise it's five pounds per single ride!! So after several "mind the gaps" I made it to the hostel which is in a really cute neighborhood right by a subway station. I spent a couple of hours around town, but since I wasn't able to check into my room straight away I had to lug my laptop with me-- less than ideal. So now I'm here, my room is here, and everything's excellent!

Gorgeous weather here by the way-- definitely spring. Flowers and budding trees everywhere, and almost sunny skies. Loving it!

London, here I come!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while-- it was midterms week, not a whole lot going on. But now it's spring break, and I'm going to London! I've never been, and always wanted to go, ever since I saw the movie What a Girl Wants ages ago. I've booked my flight and my hostel, made a list of things I want to see, and I'm ready to go!

I'll try to take lots of pictures and post bunches, but don't be shocked if it's another couple days before you hear from me.

Au revoir!