One week of Turkish delight

Hello hello!

I spent this past week in none other but the transcontinental city of Istanbul, Turkey!

It was full of so much culture and experiences and much Turkish food.

Sunday we flew from Hamburg airport at 10 or 11 (I can't remember), and arrived in Istanbul around 3:30 their time. We got to our hostel, a nice hostel a couple blocks from the Bosphorus, the Blue Mosque, and Hagia Sophia, and then went out to eat dinner.

We ate at a bazaar and it was a mix of things from meat, to pita bread, and lettuce on the side.

Monday we went to a newspaper called "Today's Zaman," (who also copies in Arabic), and talked to a Turkish Journalist on what it's like being a journalist in Turkey. After we were finished there, the group disbanded into their own separate groups, and the people I was with, five girls from my class plus a couple extra, all went to The Grand Bazaar. We shopped around, and a Turk told me I looked like I was 13. I glared at him in return. I bought four pins for my Rotary blazer, and then we all walked back to our hostel. Well, we attempted walking back to our hostel but it took a couple tries getting lost. That seems to be the mantra of my year abroad.

Tuesday we went to the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cistern, and the Taxim area. We got "the best ice-cream," up there, and afterwards I went shopping with two girls from my class. Let me tell you - Istanbul was blissfuly inexpensive compared to Denmark. That evening two of the classes in Istanbul went to a Dervish dance, which is kind of like a religious, ceremonial dance, and then we all went out to dinner. At midnight, a couple of us went to McDonalds and ordered Sundaes. So now I can say I've been to McDonalds at midnight in Istanbul.

Wednesday my class went to the HDP which is an up and coming Kurdish party in Istanbul, who advocates for democracy. We went up to Taxim again after we were finished talking with HDP, got Starbucks, (see left for picture of my new Turkish name), went shopping again, and then we listened to a Danish journalist speak on life in Istanbul. Well, really my class listened, I kind of spaced out.

Thursday we went to an international Turkish high school. It was really cool, and reminded me very much of an American high school. It brought along some nostalgia with it. I was told that if I went to a public, Turkish speaking school, that it wouldn't be the same structure or English proficiency, and that it would be a lot different.

On Friday we went and watched Friday's prayer, got a döner kebab for lunch, and then went into a catholic church. I got Starbucks walking back to the hostel (See below right for picture of my second Turkish name), and then we all chilled before going out to dinner as a whole class for our last night in Istanbul.

I got my third Starbucks on the way back from dinner, and although I don't have a picture of the way they spelled my name, it was pretty...interesting. I'm stuck between saying this was the farthest off I've seen my name, because technically it's not even a name, or closest to my name with the most out of this world spelling. The last two times I got Cris or Kris, which, technically, those are names. Just not my name. This time, I got "Grays," (or Greys, I couldn't decipher between the e and a.) Grey's anatomy fan, perhaps?

And then Saturday we flew back, which is where I got my fourth and final Starbucks, and swapped genders for a couple seconds. This time, I was named "Chris," the boys spelling of Kris. (See below left for picture of gender swapped Turkish name.) So there you have it, if you have a really common name, but think the misspellings of a coffee barista are funny, just go to Turkey.


Also- for anyone who cares to know, I booked my return flights. I will be back in Seattle on July 2nd, two hours after I leave London Heathrow airport (gotta love time differences), and three ungodly layovers later.

I suppose we'll soon see if all these summers of staying up to unholy hours of the morning and getting no sleep pays off, because after these following three flights I will have been awake for nearly thirty six hours.

What better way to push your body to extreme limits than travel? But I mean, what else is exchange for.

In and out,
Vi ses!

I have a host family- the trilogy.

Helllooo!!

In general: I just spent the last week volunteering in a school for special education children. It was very interesting, and the U.S happens to be even more iconic to these children I met than I ever imagined it could be. My favorite question: "have you met one direction?" I also went to a school party, made some småkager (cookies) with my host sister, more specifically snickerdoodles which we burned, ANNNNND *drum roll please* switched host families for the LAST time.

It's been about a year since I wrote my first "I have a host family blog," a year I thought I'd never get through, seeing as how I was still waiting for Denmark to come. It's been about three months since I wrote my last blog about switching to my second host family. And thus, this is my third, and final host family blog.

And thank God this was my second to last time packing, because I'm pretty sure with each time I pack I get worse and less organized than the most recent time. I mean I'm not kidding, I had more clothes than I could fit in my suitcase (literally, and I don't say literally figuratively this time), and even though the more I packed away, the less clutter I had in my room, everything still managed to look messy.

I am living very close to my first host family in this third family, and can bike to school again which I actually am happy about as long as I don't get soaked in the rain, which really is not a rare occurrence. It's actually how I soaked my phone.... I know actually I say I'm happy to bike again now, but the forecast for me saying "I hate biking" while biking and huffing and puffing again up Denmark's many hills (it's NOT a flat country those are all just a wheelbarrow of LIES) is 100%. Call it a very conditional happiness. ;-)

My first host dad actually once told me he thinks I'm "getting used to my bike because I'm not coming home so tired and out of breath anymore." I decided that laughing would be my best shot, because what I didn't tell him is that I really just walked up one of the side hills that nobody drove down, and hopped back on my bike again when I got to the main street so nobody saw me walking.

ANYWAY- back to my host family. I have two host brothers, 15 and 16, and a host sister who goes to the same school as me, who is 18. They also have two cats, so sorry mom - you'll be sneezing for a while until I do laundry once I get back to the United States. One of the cats can open doors (from both directions) as well. I've been told that in the middle of the night he may sneak into my bedroom by opening the door by himself. And if he wants to leave, well he opens it again and leaves.

I am really excited to have a house full of siblings again, I hope this will be a fantastic end to a fantastic year, and I am more than confident that this family will be a fun and welcoming family to spend my last four months on exchange with.

Oh! And before I end my blog! I went to a Katy Perry concert live in Herning! It was amazing! The one thing the other exchange student and I noticed though, is that when Danes go to concerts, they don't cheer. Or sing along. Or stand up. Or dance. They only cheer for a couple seconds when the artist finishes a song, starts a song, or comes on stage. They all just sit still and... listen (even when the artist gives the next verse of the song to the audience to sing.) Maybe its a cultural thing... maybe it was just this concert.

Anyway- I'm ready to make the finishing touches to my exchange year, a year that feels like it just started, and I sure hope that these next four months feel as infinite as my first four months did.

In a week I'll be off to Istanbul with my class, so I'll also be blogging on that. I suppose all these new blogs make up for my lack of blogs from Christmas to February. It can only mean I'm keeping good and busy in my last four months here? :-)

Vi ses! :-D