It's been a hectic couple days, so I've fallen behind on this thing. I'm going to catch up three days as quickly as possible, attempting a tad of brevity.
February 6:
Sarah and David and I awoke in the apartment at 9:30. They packed up their stuff and we went out for breakfast. We found a little tiny shop run by a couple of old ladies. Their food was cheap, it was simple, and it was delicious. I got an omelette with cheese, the other two got an assortment of things. All wonderful.
We next hit up Galatas tower, built in 528 by Byzantine emperor Anastasius Oilozus as a lighthouse, and reconstructed in 1348 by the Genoese. It is the worlds oldest tower that still allows visitors inside.
The view from the top was incredible. Views of Sultenahmet, the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus, and Asia were stunning. Worth the 12 lira entrance fee. We made at least three laps of the balcony before heading back down.
David and Sarah got their things together and took a cab to Kabataş. I left before them and went to Taksim to get a pass for all of us on the bus. I met them at Kabataş.
We got on the bus and headed up to the Superdorm. At the Superdorm we were met by some of the women who work with us on the program, including our professor for the class the whole program takes together. I didn't get names down yet, because they're Turkish names and thus unfamiliar.
We were given sheets, a comforter, and an Ethernet cable. We were even given a little stove burner and some pots and pans for our kitchenette. I brought everything up to my room.
There was a lot of get-to-know-yous going around, with everyone finally meeting each other. We had some time to kill until 6:30, so a few of us decided to wander campus.
It was David, Sarah, and some new people: Genevieve, Ellen, and Ben (from Weston, CT). We wandered forever through campus, then down an incredibly steep hill by a cemetery to the Bosphorus. We walked along the Bosphorus for a while to Bebek, a wealthy neighborhood on the water. There we got a small snack before heading back to the dorm.
The walk up the hill back to the dorm was a 30-minute cardio stairmaster exercise routine. It's absurd how steep and lengthy the hill is. David and I are only half-jokingly considering using a daily walk up the hill as an exercise plan.
At 6:30 the group met in the lobby and headed out for dinner. We went to a place up the street, where we were served mantı, a Turkish specialty. Basically it's ravioli in yoghurt, but so much more than that. I also tried Ayran, a salty diluted yoghurt drink. I enjoyed it, the other two people who tried it did not.
After dinner several of us went to get our passports and met Sarah, our program director, who brought us to her brother-in-law's cell phone shop, where we purchased cell phones at reduced rates. However, due to a recent 100% tax on phones, my crappy Samsung cost 180TL ($100). Good thing A) I can sell it back at the end of the semester, and B) it's super cheap to pay for service on the phone.
Those of us still at the phone store later went with another Sarah (this one is the girlfriend of the brother-in-law) and her boyfriend and his friend to a hookah bar, where we smoked for a while and played Backgammon, a favorite in Turkey.
Early start the next morning had us going to bed a little after midnight.
February 7:
9:30 we all met downstairs. There are 19 people on our program.
We were all led down to the University for pre-registration. I was the first person to sit at the desk to pre-register. I didn't have an information sheet (no one did), so I got one and filled it out. Then I didn't have a copy of my passport yet (they had collected our passports to make copies earlier that morning). When they gave us that, I didn't have a copy of my visa. So I had to run to the copy center and get one. Then I didn't have all 6 passport photos I needed (5 left over from Kiev, since I needed two for the Superdorm housing contract and I gave one to Jonas). So I had to run back to the copy center for that as well.
When all was said and done, I was pre-registered. Which only allows me to register for classes at a later date. But I am now a fully enrolled Boğaziçi student.
A few of us went to deal with minor problems with our new Turkish cell phones, then we stopped a few stores over for lunch, at a place called Orfan, I think. David and I got the Lahmacun, a Turkish delicacy. It was delicate, and delicious. And amazingly cheap. A fair amount of food, filling, for 2 TL ($1).
At 2 we had to be at a crash course in survival Turkish, which lasted until 5. Ceyna, our teacher, was incredibly helpful, answering any and all random ridiculous questions we had.
After the class, most people stuck around the area. Isabelle, one of the girls on the trip, and I, ventured downtown to Sultanahmet for dinner.
It took an hour in the bus due to traffic to get to Kabataş, and another 20 minutes for Sultanahmet. Then we wandered for a while and finally settled on familiar ground, at least for me.
We ate at Home Made, the restaurant those Canadians took me to maybe a week ago. It was a delicious dinner. I tried köfte, Turkish meatballs. I'll definitely be having those again.
We got back to the Superdorm around 10:30, and I crashed. Sleepy time.
February 8:
10am several people met downstairs. Emily (a Bridgeport, CT native) organized it. We went to a little bakery/cafe in a mob for breakfast. The food was, again, wonderful and cheap. Everyone was satisfied.
11am was our second Turkish class, another 3 hours. Also helpful.
3pm was a two hour excruciating orientation presentation. Good God, it was terrible.
5:30 was an international students dinner. It was 25TL for a ticket, but I didn't pay and slipped through and fed off of friends plates.
Back to the dorm, relaxing.
9pm several of us met in the lobby to go to an international student welcome party at Taps, an American-owned microbrewery (one of 2 in Turkey apparently) in Bebek. It started at nine, but as one of the girls said, "we gotta show up fashionably late to show everyone how cool the Duke program really is."
We walked down the hill to Bebek, and found Taps in about 20 minutes. It was crowded, loud, and massively overpriced. My beer was 13 TL, a cocktail was 27 TL. I got a beer, and after about an hour, Isabelle and I were fed up with everything and left. We got a cab home for 5.29 TL. Got home around 10:30
I fell asleep after 11:30. Had to pack for tomorrow's trip. We're off to foreign (Turkish) lands tomorrow with the Duke program.
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