Language Barrier

I fell asleep last night to the sound of Germans discussing theology. This city continues to astonish me.

(I have this thing about foreign languages. The thing is that I hate not knowing them and thus forcing others to communicate in a way that accommodates my ignorance. So I've decided what superpower I want: universal language knowledge.)

This morning I woke up to the sound of a cat desperately scratching and meowing at the door to be let in, followed shortly by the Muslim Call to Prayer (the latter was less pleasant). My university campus is sufficiently far from any town that one never hears it. Both of these sounds forced me to remember that I was not at home but instead staying at my friend Sabrina's apartment in the Old City. The time display on my cell phone was wrong - Daylight Savings ends here a week earlier than in Toronto - to my great relief that I would not be late for church for the second week in a row. Walking to church in the company of three other Caucasian girls might have indicated to the locals that we were all from the same place, when in truth I as a Canadian was in the company of an Englishwoman, a German, and a Swede. This city continues to astonish me.

Pastor Benjamin spoke eloquently of a matter I've been contemplating for a while, like he was speaking to me alone. Caroline and I discussed how Christian individuals might go about seeking God's guidance when looking for employment in the secular world. I'm sure that neither of us is quite certain as to how the two intersect. Over lunch at the Union Han I met two fellows speaking French, one from Madagascar and the other from the Congo, both studying for degrees at Istanbul Technical University. They've been here for four and three years, respectively. I found myself envying their trilingualism (at least, they may know more). This city continues to astonish me.

Not being myself an official church member, I left what then turned into their annual meeting and joined a group of girls going out for dessert. Three I had met before: one British, one Turkish, one Slovenian. Of the other two, one was Kazak, the other also Turkish. We walked along Istiklal to yet another restaurant specializing in desserts, stopping periodically so Luba (the Kazak) could purchase a few things before returning home in a few days' time. I selected a beautiful piece of cake from the display: white with pink cream layers, strawberries, and pink chocolate shavings on the top. I had not had a cake that delicious in a long time. It was overwhelmingly sweet (which I love) and yet tart, increasing my enjoyment of it exponentially with every taste. I will have to have more soon less I perish from want of it. We passed our plates around and everyone got to taste everyone else's choice. (Mine was by far the best. Just sayin'.) We chatted about many things, had the waiter take a few pictures of our table, and exchanged emails and names for Facebook purposes. True to form, I was again the youngest one there, but I discovered I share the same birth date (month and day, not year) as the second Turkish girl! I've never met anyone with the same birthday as me and was quite pleased to finally know one. This city continues to astonish me.

After we disbanded, I left with Zirve (the Turkish girl I knew from church) as she was returning home to study too, but she for her GRE exam next week. She is applying to various international universities to obtain a PhD in biological sciences of some sort (genetics, I believe). We chatted pleasantly on the subway, exchanging thoughts on school, sports, food, etc. She left and I continued on, returning to my room and the clean laundry I had washed the previous day before leaving for Sabrina's birthday party. Unable to account for the boundless happiness, ambition, and satisfaction simultaneously coursing through my limbs, I proceeded to write this. While it has helped to ferment these feelings in my mind, I still can't ascribe them to any one person or element of the day. And just now I realize that this is a glimpse of the beauty that Christian fellowship affords us no matter how far we wander. This city continues to astonish me.

My Soliloquy

To grad school or not to grad school--that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler for the mind to suffer

The weight and burden of outrageous courseloads

Or to take arms against a sea of schooling

and by opposing...join them? To live, to sleep--

No more--and by a sleep to say we end

The naptimes, and the thousand natural cycles

That flesh is heir to. Is a fatigued lifestyle

Devoutly to be wished? To wake to read--

To read--perchance to learn: ay, there's the rub,

For in that wealth of stacks what insights come

When we have shuffled through enormous texts

Must give us pause. That's the respect

That lends ambition to so much of life!

For who would bear the lack of social time,

Th' professor's long and proud lecture series,

The pangs of papers due, the marker's delay,

The incompetence of offices, and

That long, patient path to merit one takes,

When he himself might his living make

With a Bachelor's degree? Who would bear

To toil and write all through a wakeful night,

But that the dread of missing something great,

The Ivy-covered country, from whose bourn

No imbecile returns, confounds the will,

And makes us rather seek those goals we have

Than be confined by what we know naught of?

Thus conscience does immobilize us all,

And thus the naïve lack of resolution

Is sicklied o're with a pale cast of doubt,

And applications of great importance

With this regard their completion recedes

And cannot name a program. -- Soft you now,

The fair Master's Degree! -- Friends, in thine orisons

May my choice be remembered.

Ugh, I need help with grad school: should I go? If so, where and for what?

SO CONFUSED.

Taksim Church?!

I'm going to go finish my readings immediately after posting this, I promise!

Friday was my practise day for finding the church I was told about. I had vague directions and instructions on how to get there via Istanbul's crazy transit systems, but I really didn't know what to expect. I knew that the church was inside the Dutch consulate building, which was on the main street in Taksim. Now, to tell you about Taksim, essentially it is the place most of the exchange students have been partying at every night - and I do mean every single stinkin' night since we arrived here and they found out about it. It's a long and wide pedestrian street with lots of shopping and bars/clubs. Realizing this, I knew I would want to explore it during the daylight hours. So, I left campus and it took me about an hour and a half to get there by transit, but I only had to transfer once. Halfway there my phone battery died (it figures). Anyway, I arrived there and picked what appeared to be the main street to explore. I was told to look for a certain side street, but I walked for what seemed to me a really long time without finding it. (I had been a little distracted by all the people and shops, so I also thought I had walked past it.) I turned around and decided to check them again on my way out of the street. I picked a random side street to walk down, just to see what it was like, and it was the most non-street-like street I have ever walked upon. It was an alley, at best. A narrow alley that was like walking down a steep hill then up the other side, only to find an equally sine wave-esque (not to mention dirtier) street where it ended. After snapping a few cool pics of it, I headed back and eventually out of the main street. I figured I might as well check the other big streets in case I was wrong, but not one of the others had the red trams running down them, which I was told would be my clue. So back to the first street I went. Walking, walking, and walking some more. Just when I had almost given up (and the sun had almost set), a little bit past where I had turned around previously (again, it figures), I located the correct street, the Dutch consulate, and the little door in the alleyway that would welcome me, at a more appropriate hour, to my destination. Triumphant, I returned to the main street.

Unfortunately, it was now mostly dark. Many of the shops were still open, so I made sure to turn in to several of them to explore and feel more safe. I did stop at a good souvenir store to get postcards for everyone back home and a fridge magnet for our collection at home (it's a tradition). I was curious as to why there were so many men in formal business attire walking along the street at well past 8pm; surely they were not just getting off work. I was now walking alone at night and about to find out. While waiting for some cars to clear from a perpendicular street, one came up beside me and started to chat with me. He introduced himself as Italian, and his friend as Turkish. He inquired after my name, my nationality, and my affairs while in Istanbul. I was as vague as possible while still trying to be polite and walk quickly. He declared that he simply must have a coffee with me and pointed to a small cafe. I authoritatively declined, said I must be getting back, and bid the gentlemen goodnight. Now I had a good idea as to their game plan. I proceeded to continue up the street, stopping in bright, open stores between bouts of quick walking. A large group of protesters marched down the street with big orange banners - they were in opposition to policies of the World Bank and IMF (International Monetary Fund), and were expressing their discontent on the occasion of an important summit taking place nearby. I had to wait for them to pass; we all did. Finally, I continued walking and the top of the street was in sight. Just as I was reaching the summit, a Turkish gentleman, in a business suit, came up beside me. He said, "Excuse me? You dropped something." I turned to him, puzzled - I had certainly not dropped anything. Without invitation, he added, "My heart." Fortunately I was too speechless to burst out laughing. Not only had I just fallen for one of the cheesiest pick-up lines known to English, but it had come from the mouth of an ESL - at best - Turkish "businessman" who was at least a head shorter than me, if I may add. (At least the Italian was approximately my height.) Anyway, after repeating almost the same avoidance-ridden conversation, I managed to ditch him at the entrance to the subway (which he probably assumed I would be taking - he was incorrect). So much for my adventures in Taksim. I promised myself I would never walk there alone at night again: a sound resolution. Upon returning to my dorm, my roommate was happy to see me in one piece and she and a friend had ordered pizza. And thus, my troubles and weariness were consoled.

My adventures yesterday consisted of an excellent island outing with the more adventurous (and less hung-over) exchange students, walking on Asian soil for the first time, and enjoying some fantastic Turkish ravioli in positively delightful company. Despite a long, arduous, traffic-ridden journey back; mission accomplished! And then today I returned to the church just in time to attend the 11am service (note to self: see if there's a 9am bus next week so to save my feet from aching again). (Oh, and also, do not expose so much leg next time. Not that modesty was lacking but that the amount of staring received was positively unbearable.)

As the final and most exciting note, this evening upon returning my roommate declared an express interest in Christianity. I said that I would love to talk with her about it and asked her to accompany me to church next week. She replied that she would like to ^____^ and so I am absolutely thrilled. She is a lovely person and I would sooner see her fall in love with Christ than do anything else. Oh, imagine what a year we'd have then!! Please be in prayer for Emine. =D