How's
Turkish life?
This
is the number one question I've gotten from people back in the
states, so let me try to explain to you exactly what Turkish life is
with a list (it's really just the easiest way to do it)!
1.
Turkish life is bread. A whole lot of bread. Americans can't even
start to comprehend the amount of bread we eat here. Bread with tea,
bread with fish, bread with potatoes, bread with salad, bread with
pasta, and on and on and on. Bread is the bowl, the plate, the fork,
the spoon. It holds everything together, while adding flavor and
body. Like the tortilla in New Mexico for those who are familiar with
it. No Turkish meal is complete without bread.
2.
Turkish life is çay (tea). Again, Americans cannot imagine how much
tea we drink here. You become immune to the caffeine eventually,
because there isn't really anything else you can do if you want to
get any sleep.
3.
Turkish life is coffee. But not weak, watery coffee. Turkish life is
rich, sweet, thick, strong coffee that hits you like a wall of
energy. It is the awkward feeling of drinking too far into the cup
and getting coffee grinds in your mouth (my parents laughed at me
when I did this the night I got here).
4.
Turkish life is the Ezan (Call to Prayer) calling the people to get
up and do something for God. The sound, even if you aren't religious,
resonating in your soul and calling your mind's attention every time.
5.
Turkish life (Kayseri life for this one) is the big apartment
buildings next to the small side streets and crushed together stalls.
It is the brand new schools in the neighborhoods of run down houses.
It is the west meeting the developing world.
6.
Turkish life is the beautiful homes on the sides of Mount Erciyes.
The little tiny streets bordered by garden villas crawling with
vines. It is the apple trees blooming with fruit and the berry bushes
offering their riches to all. Driving here today with my family
made me feel like I was in Italy. It looks like a classic Italian
movie come to life.
7.
Turkish life is covering my hair when we went to the cemetery to
visit my family's lost loved ones. Listening to my grandfather
reading the Arabic words to honor the dead.
8.
Turkish life is learning what is expected as a teenage girl in the
household. Learning how to make coffee and learning how to serve it
properly (the men are served first). It is also accepting this role
in the household, because you are here to learn about the culture,
not change it.
9.
Turkish life is having people pinch your cheeks and kiss your cheeks
endlessly, and loving every minute of it. It is also visiting friends
or family on a whim at 10:00 at night and eating more food, and yes,
drinking more çay.
10.
Turkish life is the unspoken knowledge that when it's cold outside,
even if it's sunny, you don't wear sunglasses.
11.
Turkish life is taking your shoes off before you enter anyone's
house.
12.
Turkish life is getting a week off for Bayram (more about that next
week) and going shopping with your mom to get new clothes for the
festival.
13.
But above all Turkish life is life. You don't want to wake up in the
morning, you almost fall asleep in school, you listen to American
music (really popular here), you listen to Turkish music (also really
popular here!), you laugh, you cry, you hang out with friends, you
have lazy days, you have exciting days, you have a family, and you
live. Yes, it's Turkey. Yes, if I was on vacation everyday would be
new and spectacular. But I'm not a tourist. Turkey is my life now,
and life will go on no matter where you are.
I
hope this paints a good picture of what Turkey is so far to me! I
love it. I love the things that are the same, and I love the things
that are different. I love the things that make me feel at home (like
pulling into a Shell gas station), and I love the things that are
completely new (like wearing a head scarf).
Life
is good! So with that, I bid you farewell until next time.
Iyi
geceler and iyi Bayramlar!
Xoxo,
Izzy
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Bir hafta (one week)!
Merhaba!
It's official. I have been here in Kayseri, Turkey for one week. It's been a crazy week of adjusting to Turkish life (hayat Türkçe). I have met so many family members and friends, messed up while speaking an unbelievable number of times, discovered the craziness of Turkish drivers (I was almost run over!!), stopped to listen to the Call to Prayer (Ezan) everytime I could, and realized that Turkish breakfast (kahvaltı Türkçe) might just be the best thing in the world. I have kissed everyone's cheeks, had my cheeks pinched, and blinked (an endearing action that Turks do) at everyone. I have learned that if you don't want more tea, don't finish the first cup, because (çünkü) if you do you will get more, and I have drunk so many cups of Turkish coffee (kahve Türkçe) that I don't think caffeine will ever affect me again. I have had my ups and downs, but overall I couldn't be happier with the place I am in right now. I could explain every little thing that I have done, but that can wait. Instead I am going to focus on one thing: school (okul).
Before departing for Türkiye we talked to a lot of YES Abroad Turkey alums about school. What they told me painted a very clear picture in my mind of what I should expect. Most of that picture was completely shattered once I got there. Not in a bad way, just shattered.
The first thing they told us was to expect everyone to want to talk to us, everyone to want to be our friend. One of the YES Abroad girls last year attended my school, so I think they are used to Americans now, because Tommy and I weren't a novelty at all. They stare at us and we hear whispers of our name while walking down the hall, but we are not bombarded with questions or Facebook friend requests, and we don't have a million different people asking us to eat lunch with them. It is like we are new students, but nothing extremely special. That's not to say they are mean. Everyone has been extremely welcoming. In Turkey we stay in the same classroom with the same people all day, so it's very easy to connect with those people. The downfall of this, however, is that you don't have the opportunity to meet people in different classes like exchange students do in the U.S. Oh well! When talking to the Alums, they told us multiple times that personal space is not a thing here. You can't fully grasp that idea until you have someone peering up into your face shouting at you in Turkish and pinching your cheeks. This happened on my second day of school when I was introduced to one of my classmate's friends. It was a little alarming at first, but I just accepted the fact that this might happen all year, so I should learn to take in stride.
There are three alarming things about school. The first, and the least alarming, is that fact that we are allowed off campus for lunch. We can seriously walk to the mall or any of the surrounding restaurants to eat before class starts again. That has been awesome so far, and I have eaten really yummy Turkish food. The second, and a little more alarming, is the fact that uniforms are in a state of transition. Last year halfway through the year uniforms were abolished, but, due to parents protesting it, they were brought back this year. My school, however, doesn't really care what you do, so half the kids wear the correct uniform, half the kids where another uniform, and about an eighth of the kids don't wear any uniform at all. Personally, I am going to wear the uniform. Not because I care about following the rules, but because most of my shirts, though pretty conservative for U.S. standards, are too revealing for school. Being able to throw on a uniform will save my life (and my relationship with my host mom). And the last surprising thing about school, was that girls are allowed to wear head scarves. Since Atatürk, head scarves have been banned in schools and government offices, but due to the changing government and the more religious tract it has taken, that law isn't as enforced anymore. I have come to Turkey at a really interesting time. A time where things are changing. Whether for good or for bad, I am not the one to say. I am simply a third party watching it unfold.
So, I will leave ya'll with a little story about an embarrassing moment of mine, because really, what's an exchange year without absolutely mortifying moments? Many of them. We have P.E. every wednesday. It was my second day of school. I had looked through my clothes to try and find a suitable outfit, but all of my normal sweat pants were dirty (my one pair :P ). The only exercise pants left were my skin tight, brightly colored, flowered yoga pants. Yes. You read that right. That would be slightly embarrassing in the U.S., so talk about embarrassing in TURKEY!! And as if people weren't already staring at me enough for being green eyed and light haired, you can imagine the kind of looks I got wearing those. So anywho, at first it was going ok, no one said anything. And then one of the girls in my class came up to me and whispers "umm, the teacher says don't wear those next time". There was something about the fact that he had told her and not me that made it that much more embarrassing. I was sure glad to put my jeans on after that. My mom did my laundry today, so that won't be happening again. Ever. Anywhere. Ever. You just have gotta laugh when these things happen!
Well, that's it for now. I am going to the Police Station with the other YES kids tomorrow morning to get our residence permits, so I should get some sleep. Here's a quote from me pertaining to spending a year abroad!
"When you are having a bad day just put on your happy face, and you will soon find that the mask has become reality."
Xoxo,
Izzy
It's official. I have been here in Kayseri, Turkey for one week. It's been a crazy week of adjusting to Turkish life (hayat Türkçe). I have met so many family members and friends, messed up while speaking an unbelievable number of times, discovered the craziness of Turkish drivers (I was almost run over!!), stopped to listen to the Call to Prayer (Ezan) everytime I could, and realized that Turkish breakfast (kahvaltı Türkçe) might just be the best thing in the world. I have kissed everyone's cheeks, had my cheeks pinched, and blinked (an endearing action that Turks do) at everyone. I have learned that if you don't want more tea, don't finish the first cup, because (çünkü) if you do you will get more, and I have drunk so many cups of Turkish coffee (kahve Türkçe) that I don't think caffeine will ever affect me again. I have had my ups and downs, but overall I couldn't be happier with the place I am in right now. I could explain every little thing that I have done, but that can wait. Instead I am going to focus on one thing: school (okul).
Before departing for Türkiye we talked to a lot of YES Abroad Turkey alums about school. What they told me painted a very clear picture in my mind of what I should expect. Most of that picture was completely shattered once I got there. Not in a bad way, just shattered.
The first thing they told us was to expect everyone to want to talk to us, everyone to want to be our friend. One of the YES Abroad girls last year attended my school, so I think they are used to Americans now, because Tommy and I weren't a novelty at all. They stare at us and we hear whispers of our name while walking down the hall, but we are not bombarded with questions or Facebook friend requests, and we don't have a million different people asking us to eat lunch with them. It is like we are new students, but nothing extremely special. That's not to say they are mean. Everyone has been extremely welcoming. In Turkey we stay in the same classroom with the same people all day, so it's very easy to connect with those people. The downfall of this, however, is that you don't have the opportunity to meet people in different classes like exchange students do in the U.S. Oh well! When talking to the Alums, they told us multiple times that personal space is not a thing here. You can't fully grasp that idea until you have someone peering up into your face shouting at you in Turkish and pinching your cheeks. This happened on my second day of school when I was introduced to one of my classmate's friends. It was a little alarming at first, but I just accepted the fact that this might happen all year, so I should learn to take in stride.
There are three alarming things about school. The first, and the least alarming, is that fact that we are allowed off campus for lunch. We can seriously walk to the mall or any of the surrounding restaurants to eat before class starts again. That has been awesome so far, and I have eaten really yummy Turkish food. The second, and a little more alarming, is the fact that uniforms are in a state of transition. Last year halfway through the year uniforms were abolished, but, due to parents protesting it, they were brought back this year. My school, however, doesn't really care what you do, so half the kids wear the correct uniform, half the kids where another uniform, and about an eighth of the kids don't wear any uniform at all. Personally, I am going to wear the uniform. Not because I care about following the rules, but because most of my shirts, though pretty conservative for U.S. standards, are too revealing for school. Being able to throw on a uniform will save my life (and my relationship with my host mom). And the last surprising thing about school, was that girls are allowed to wear head scarves. Since Atatürk, head scarves have been banned in schools and government offices, but due to the changing government and the more religious tract it has taken, that law isn't as enforced anymore. I have come to Turkey at a really interesting time. A time where things are changing. Whether for good or for bad, I am not the one to say. I am simply a third party watching it unfold.
So, I will leave ya'll with a little story about an embarrassing moment of mine, because really, what's an exchange year without absolutely mortifying moments? Many of them. We have P.E. every wednesday. It was my second day of school. I had looked through my clothes to try and find a suitable outfit, but all of my normal sweat pants were dirty (my one pair :P ). The only exercise pants left were my skin tight, brightly colored, flowered yoga pants. Yes. You read that right. That would be slightly embarrassing in the U.S., so talk about embarrassing in TURKEY!! And as if people weren't already staring at me enough for being green eyed and light haired, you can imagine the kind of looks I got wearing those. So anywho, at first it was going ok, no one said anything. And then one of the girls in my class came up to me and whispers "umm, the teacher says don't wear those next time". There was something about the fact that he had told her and not me that made it that much more embarrassing. I was sure glad to put my jeans on after that. My mom did my laundry today, so that won't be happening again. Ever. Anywhere. Ever. You just have gotta laugh when these things happen!
Well, that's it for now. I am going to the Police Station with the other YES kids tomorrow morning to get our residence permits, so I should get some sleep. Here's a quote from me pertaining to spending a year abroad!
"When you are having a bad day just put on your happy face, and you will soon find that the mask has become reality."
Xoxo,
Izzy
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