Avrupa Yakası

I went to the European side for the fırst time in a month. I really felt like a tourists. Look how different everything is here. Wow, a tourist! These were some of the thoughts going through my head as I made my way to Taksim. Once in Taksim, I could see the location where one week ago a crazy guy blew himself up in an attempt to kill police officers. No one died, and recently the organization originally accused for the attack (and the one that the bomber belonged to), claimed that they had nothing to do with it and condemned the events. It's very encouraging that the PKK is taking a more peaceful approach to their opposition to the Turkish government. However, radical offshoots such as the Kurdistan Freedom Fighters, may continue to pose a significant threat. More thoughts as I was walking.

Istiklal Caddesi, Taksim, at sunset.

Then I met up with Nayat. I hadn't seen her in July. What happened? We used to hang out all the time. I guess we both just got swept up in our own lives on our own continents. Anyway, that just left us with more to catch up on.

In Cihangir after tea.

After tea in Cihangir, we went for a drink at a bar in Nevizade. Nayat told me about how she quit her job but then was offered a hefty raise should she rejoin. She did and life went on. Then she started some regular extracurricular activities such as taking a drawing class and also a flamenco class. I told her about my job, Sonia and my plans for the next few months.

I must be explaining something! Not sure what though.

Credit to Nayat for choosing a cool place for us to talk.

Can you tell that it's Carlsberg and not Efes?

After some beer, it was time for me to go to a meeting arranged by WPI for alums and guidance counselors in İstanbul to get together and talk about the school. I walked from Nevizade to Tünel, then across the bridge from Karaköy to Eminönü. I remember listening to Nik og Jay - En Dag Tilbage and thinking about how wonderful the air and the view were. I got to the restaurant where the meeting was to take place. I found Michelle from the admissions department at WPI. We had met once before quite a while ago. We were soon joined by a couple of others. In the end, our group was small, but we enjoyed talking about Turkey, WPI, Turkish students' interest in WPI, WPI's interest in Turkish students, and several other topics. 

I arrived at home late but feeling like I had a good day. It was nice to get out for a change and revisit the European side, though I feel much more comfortable on the Asian side. Another highlight was that I understood most of the Turkish I heard throughout the day. It seems I am absorbing the language a lot for how little I have been studying it. This is encouraging, but really I should resume studying.

For now, I'll resume studying the back of my eyelids before starting a long week of work in the morning. This week is full of goodies though...

Monday: nothing
Tuesday: Going to the Tuesday bazaar to buy some supplies.
Wednesday: Stig and Anna come to visit me from Denmark!!
Thursday: I race home from work to hang out with Stig and Anna!
Friday: I get paid, then run to the bank, then race home to hang out with Stig and Anna!
After Friday: A week of vacation!

More on that week of vacation soon. It's gonna be sweet.