Food Times!

Classes started today and I think I'm going to like it here. Other than the professors having the propensity to speak Turkish until told otherwise, the day went quite smoothly. I won't get to take Java because of a scheduling conflict, but I still have other options. This is what my schedule looks like so far:

International Negotiations,

Nations & Nationalism (have to get permission because it's MA-level),

Urban Economics,

Beginner's Turkish (which they don't have teachers or schedules for yet.. hopefully it'll fit), and

MATLAB Programming OR Photography.

Not bad, huh? A little less schizophrenic than its last incarnation. My classes are Monday to Thursday and the latest one finishes at 4 or 5 pm, which is nice and leaves lots of time for reading and studying (and travelling, perhaps??).

I am feeling a bit alienated from the people here. I guess normal people would call it being lonely, but I don't really feel alone, just that there's no one around that I know very well or identify with very closely yet. But I think that will come with time. I've also emailed the pastor at the church I want to start attending and a recently-migrated family that goes there too, so I think linking up with them will do me a world of good.

There's an email I need to write, but I'm having some trouble with it - mainly because I don't think I'm the best person to be writing to this person, even though I'm more than well qualified to do the job. It's just.. a situation I'd hoped I would be able to get away from more easily, but as it stands now something does need to be said. Hopefully I'll still be able to insert some distance there to make things better for the both of us. Nuffsaid.

I made myself all my meals today, and I must say I'm very proud of that! Even with surprisingly few resources and supplies, I managed to do it and even enjoy it. I'll need to start a list of more foods & dishes I can attempt. This is going to be a really fun part of living on my own!!

I also introduced my roommate to peanut butter today - we put it on an apple & shared it (by the way, it's really tricky to cut an apple up with a plastic knife!!). She liked it!! That made me really happy. More culinary adventures to come!

Tiny Lizards and Large Bugs

While I was spending time walking back and forth between my locked dorm and the dorm management office, I looked down and noticed that there were very small lizards on the path every now and then - approximately the size of grasshoppers, but a little longer. Then, I noticed a beetle that was much fatter than any Canadian beetles. So it seems that their insects are larger than some amphibians here, which I find interesting.

I met a TON of people today: international students, my new mentor, Turkish students, my roommate, and her friends. After a day of taking care of registration, banking, bus-riding, conversation, etc., a Turkish student asked me if there was any major discernible difference between Canadians and the Turks. I didn't have an answer ready, but I think that for me, the most obvious one is the smoking. It's a HUGE thing here - everyone smokes if they're outdoors. Even in the dorm rooms, where in name it is prohibited, they don't enforce it (and apparently the smoke alarms don't pick it up if you open the window). So I think that spending time with people might take some getting used to for my lungs.

One thing that I like here is the tea! What I've had of it - the cheap versions, they tell me - tastes a lot like Orange Pekoe, which is actually one of my favourites. The people I've asked can't really tell the difference because smoking has murdered their taste buds, but this is my opinion. Not that I drink a lot of tea, but I find it similar. It sure does stain your mouth and tongue though - yuck!

I can't wait to start learning Turkish. I keep hearing it spoken all around me and I understand barely a word of it, which is frustrating sometimes. I'm here for two semesters, so I know I'll pick it up quickly if I work at it and practise as much as possible.

My roommate is Emine (almost rhymes with "Emily") and she is very nice, if a little quiet (even compared to me!). (Interesting tidbit: she was listening to Iron Maiden at one point on her laptop.. HAHA!!) Her friends are very nice though, and she is thoughtful, accommodating, polite, and hospitable towards me. I think I've got it good.

One item of due note: no one I've met so far is religious at all. I'm hoping that I'll find someone to go to church with, maybe an exchange student, but I don't know of any yet. Tomorrow is orientation for international students though, so perhaps I'll find someone - I'm praying for that. I also want to enrol quickly and start going to classes. Sounds strange perhaps, but I do love school, and I have a feeling that's going to be one of my favourite activities here. I need to plan for any vacations/travelling I'm going to do soon too; maybe I'll find people to travel with tomorrow. But that's another day.

The Day Before Tomorrow

So I'm leaving tomorrow, huh? Well, I think I'm ready - mostly. Except that this morning I managed to wake up with a crippling fear. Of what, I can't put my finger on exactly, but it's like my future is sitting on my chest, trying to suffocate me. I guess I knew this would happen sooner or later.

I think I do a good job of anticipating the questions people will ask about my leaving: What will you do while you're there, Will you miss me, Why Turkey. I also do a good job of repeating the answers to everyone who asks me without lamenting that I have to say this all again. But there are some that I have substantial difficulty answering: What are your friends going to do without you, How is your mother going to cope, Exactly how are you feeling right now. For the first two, I can give a vague or approximate answer, but usually give a sarcastic one. For the third, I'm often at a total loss. I could probably show you if I could do a Matrix-type thrust to your chest causing you to fly backwards, suspend in the air for more time than should be allotted, then crash down onto the floor with the breath vacant from your lungs. That would about describe it, I think, but can't really be summed up by "a little bit nervous" - which is the usual answer I give. It's not that I'm lying, I just feel that language ill-equips me to deal with your question.

If I don't let the future suffocate me, I may just get to live in it. Will it be worth it?