Saturday afternoon

I look forward to this moment all week. When Saturday late afternoon arrives, I go to a favorite cafe, sit outside, order a sandviç and a beer and write to friends, make plans, get organized.

A long Sunday

I got up at 6:30 to go rafting in the Sakarya province with my friend Gökhan. It was my first time rafting, and I had a great time despite the weather being off-and-on rain. The bus carried us about 2 hours east of İstanbul into the luscious green Black Sea countryside of Sakarya/Düzce.
We had a big breakfast and then the instructor gathered us around for vital instructions, in Turkish. I remember trying to link alarming phrases like "en önemli..." (the most important...) with what they described. Gökhan translated the essentials to me, though I understood 80% of it without his help. I was quickly briefed on all the command phrases the guide would give when we were out on the water. These were simple things like go forward, stop, hold on, and get down.
Out on the water, I became a quick friends with the others on the raft. I was good at following the instructions, but the guy in front of me could not always hear them. I had his back during the whole expedition. I would relay the instructions to him and once or twice, I held him in the boat when it looked like he was going to fall into the rough water. A real camaraderie developed between the 6 of us. We took turns leading the others in chants and songs. We splashed other rafters as they passed, or we passed them. We even developed our own team solute. No one in our boat fell overboard, but at one point while we were camped out in the calm water, another boat was entering the rough water nearby and lost two members. They were ok, but it was quite a sight. In the end they described it as being exhilarating.

At the end of trip, which lasted almost 2 hours, we changed out of our wetsuits and had a big lunch. We socialized for a while and relaxed. I didn't find the experience all that exhausting because the river did most of the work. Yet most of my friends we really tired. Still, I welcomed the long bus ride home as an opportunity to rest and listen to music. I got to talking with the two girls sitting behind me, who happened to be the ones who had taken a spill during the expedition. We selected some of our favorite songs and then exchanged mp3 players. This is something I like to do often with Pınar. It turns out that we (Pınar, as well as Nayat and Sezen pictured below) all have similar tastes in music. The time passed quickly yet the day felt long. In the evening, when I was back at my apartment, I gave a call to my friend Emir. We had been planning to meet for beer. We met up at a favorite location on Barlar Sokağı (the street with the bars). At one point, the power on the street and the local region went out. It was almost completely dark which was kind of nice because our conversation felt more private that way. Also, seeing Barlar Sokağı lit only by the Moon but still busy with people was a beautiful sight. For 23 minutes it was like this. A candle was brought to our table. We continued to share anecdotes and observations well into the night.

When I went to bed, it was hard to believe that this was the same day that started at 6:30 in Ataşehir and took me so many places.

anticipating

This weekend is going to rock. Friends, football, and rafting are on the docket. There is the Champions League Final. One thing that interests me is that anyone in the US can watch this game on TV. I think it is on Fox. This is the first time in history we get to watch the Champions League Final on national TV. I think the executives were hoping for Lionel Messi and Barcelona to be contenders in the final match, however that is not the case. Still, I hope a lot of Americans tune in.

Rafting. I got invited by a new friend to come rafting this Sunday. I can't wait. Strangely I never did this before, and I am excited to give it a try. The cost is about $75 for transport, 2 meals, and the rafting. Sounds pretty good. And I am also excited to meet up with Gökhan and meet some more of his friends.

I love Fridays so much. I'm outside in a favorite cafe. I am recovering from the last of a minor illness with a chicken sandwich and some ayran.
İstanbul is beautiful now. The bees have been busy with the flowers, but you cannot see them. You can only see their work. I wish they would show themselves at some point to take the credit. There are flowers in every color except blue.

I miss my friends, even the ones in İstanbul. This city is too big sometimes. If you are near or in a far realm, give a call sometime.

Visitors, Residency and Work

This week has brought me a special treat. I got to visit with Rick Vaz and Chrys Demetry from WPI. They were making a vacation to Greece and decided to pay a visit to İstanbul for a few days. We met for a chat and an awesome meal together. They filled me in on their travels and experiences while I also answered some of their questions about the life and culture here. It was so surreal to see non-Turkish friends of mine here. In my mind, this city is like my little world that is all mine. Like a kind of island that I discovered in which I now move about. But it was so nice to see Vaz and Chyrs. I greatly enjoyed hearing about their first impressions of İstanbul. Their observations consisted of many things which I noticed when I first came but had since forgotten about when I got used to being here. It was a really great time all together. A part of me wanted to accompany them on their tours and explorations for the following couple of days, but it will be much more exciting for them to go through the city on their own. Still, I drafted up a small list of essential phrases and information. I wish them the best. It was a special feeling to have visitors. At one point, after the meal, the waiter asked if Chrys was my mom. We all laughed and I told him that she is my friend. But I thought, how great would that be? If my mom visited me here :)

A minor yet interesting additional feature of visiting Vaz and Chrys was that it brought me to the heart of Sultanahmet where their hotel is located. This is a place that I have been avoiding at all costs because it is overrun with tourists and worse, Turks who make a lot of money off of tourists. When I was looking for the hotel, I asked a guy at a cafe if his cafe had wireless. He spoke to me differently than how I am used to here. He tried to speak English and sell me a watch. I was confused but I ignored the comment. He told me his cafe didnt have wireless but the neighboring one did. Then he tried to get me to pay him for telling me this information. This kind of thing is not Turkish at all. Any real Turk helps a person find a place they are looking for without asking anything in return. He also wanted me to tell him the password to the wireless after I was done at the cafe. This guy was just trying to take any advantage that he could of a seemingly helpless tourist. I flipped out on him, in Turkish. He backed off and I left in a different direction. I found a cafe where the people were real Turks and my experiences in Sultanahmet from that point were all wonderful. A little later when I was trying to find Vaz and Chrys's hotel, I asked a shopkeeper for directions. He gave them, and they were a bit long and complicated. I thanked him and started to leave when he asked me if I really understand everything he had just said. I told him "Yes, I really understood everything. Thanks and have a nice day." He smiled broadly and complimented me on my Turkish. I really felt great by this. Apparently in Sultanahmet, nobody expects a tourist to know anything! But I am not a tourist and with each passing day I feel less like one. This leads me to my next bit...

The other exciting news of this week is that I got my residency permit!
This took me so much time and effort but I finally got it. I feel more... official. Also I feel a greater sense of belonging. What it really means is that I can live here for a year (before I have to renew it... a much easier process than what I went through this time), and also it means I can get a work permit. This is huge because now I can get a real job. That having been said, I am exploring two job prospects right now. One would be assisting with communications for a trading company in their exchanges with foreign, English speaking business partners. The other job would be working at a fancy preschool, teaching English to 4-5 year olds. They are complete opposites of each other, but I kind of like each one in its own way. It might be possible for me to work part time at both, but at this point I really can't say for sure if I will work at either one or for how long. In other news, I am getting requests to tutor in English. This I think is the funnest for me and the most flexible hours-wise. I'm still in the process of arranging it. Opportunities seem to be presenting themselves to me all the time now and it is really encouraging. I met a new friend who is starting with his father, a renewable energy company. So who knows what will happen.

You can be sure I'll keep you posted about it though :)