Bronchitis/moving/Renan is coming to visit!-Dec. 9, 2004

I am getting over a bad case of bronchitis. I’ve had an obstinate cough for the past few weeks so I finally went to the doctor and got some meds. I’m finally feeling better though. The doctor cost 60 M TL (approx. the same in CDN dollars, a bit less) and 40 ML for the meds.

I moved last week with a new family for a month since Mehmet’s parents are coming to live with them for a month. The new family, Esma and Mehmet, are really nice. She used to work for Carbone Lorriane also. They live in Maltepe, a district on the Asian side near the sea side. It’s a pretty cool location actually. Lots of shops and great for walks too. Last night I saw the new Bridget Jones movie, sigh, she is so funny. Renne Zellweger rocks! Hugh Grant and Colin Firth aren’t bad too ;)

Renan is coming on Saturday. It’s gonna be a fun packed week. The plan is to go around Istanbul for a few days and then on Tues night head to the Aegean side to the towns of Denizle, Pamukkale,Ephesus and Izmir. Christmas is so close by. Christmas carols are playing on the radio here, surprisingly and some malls have Xmas trees and lights. It falls on a Saturday this year, which is so convenient. Merry Xmas to you all!!!! I wish I could go home for Xmas for a week and see you all. Miss you. Hugs and kisses.

Eskişehir-Nov.20-21

This weekend we went to visit our friends in Eskisehir, a university town of 500 000 six hours away from Istanbul. It was Andressa’s (Brazil) going away party and also cultural night which featured her Brazilian presentation and Waldo’s on Mexico.



Did you know Brasilia is the capital of Brazil and tequila comes from the agave plant not cactus? Well the party was great and we were 30-40 people. Thanks to Andressa and Waldo for organizing the Latin fiesta and for preparing all the yummi snacks and drinks. The thing that made the weekend really unique though was that it snowed! Which sucks normally right right…except unless you are a crazy Canadian ooorrrrrr are seeing it for the first time. We had 6/7 trainees that were seeing snow for the first time so it was pretty exciting. The usual feeling of dread that I get when seeing the first snowfall of the winter was replaced by childish playfullness. And play we did, continuous snowball fights and even our own beautiful snowperson! Despite the fact that we were extremely unprepared for this weather which resulted in cold foreheads, hands and soaked feet, the snow was fun.







Back in Istanbul it wasn’t as bad, untiiilllll today (Nov. 22). I mean today it looks like a regular snowy January day in Canada, and sometimes I forget that I’m in Turkey, until I hear the chants and bells which mark the call for prayer and am quickly brought back to reality. I knew it would get cold here and that it snows, but I really thought it was only for a short period of time and so silly me, I didn’t bring any of my beautiful winter clothes with me. The snow’s not that bad though, and I surprised to say, brings a certain level of comfort and coziness. The only thing that I am kind of frightened of are the road conditions. Driving in Istanbul can be an adventure on to itself and sometimes you can feel like you are on a roller coaster ride holding your breath. The addition of snow….will be interesting.

Election/Halloween/Music-Nov.5.2004

Quite a lot of things have went on the past few weeks. Let’s see…the ELECTION. I haven’t been bombarded with media coverage so aside from the occasionally watching British CNN and checking canada.com, I haven’t kept up with the daily nitty-gritty of election04. Well, anyway so I guess it was expected.

Daylight savings time, gotta hate that. Yup it gets dark at 5:30 on this side of the globe too. Ramadan is halfway through. We had a holiday last Friday, Nov. 29th, the day Turkey was established and ceased to be the Ottoman Empire. And so the Turkish flags are being proudly displayed as well as the images of dear Mr. Atatürk. The end of Ramadan is in two weeks and we will have 2 days (15/16) off, so a 4 day holiday, woohoo. What Turkey doesn’t have though is Halloween. So I’m curious to hear who y’all were and what y’all did for this great festivity. My next Halloween will definetly have to have a Turkish theme though…..belly dancer? Damn, those outfits are HOT!

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday….I started to like Turkish pop. Ya just like all of a sudden, funny how that happens. I never disliked it, but I didn’t love it, it was just different. I heard a familiar song on the Turk music video channel and really liked it and then proceeded to watch this channel and liked ALL the songs they played. It was a great moment. I’m even so ambitious as to hope to be able to sing along at the discos in a few weeks. So who were these great artists….check it out:

Mustafa Sandal
Serdar Otaç
Kenan Doğulu
Tarik Mengüş
Ceza
Abidin - (ooo who by the way lives in my neighborhood, Ataşehir, and my host family has seen him a few times at the local grocery store, guess I gotta start going for ‘groceries’ more often hehehe)
Tarkan – and of course I can’t have any kind of list without the almighty Tarkan!
Gülşen

For those of you familiar with the Turkish pop scene and want to add to this list, bring it. I’m especially keeping my ears open to Turkish rap…

Monica

Bursa-Oct.18-19 2004

This weekend we went to Bursa (about three hours away) for Szymon’s (a crazy Polish trainee) good bye party.



There were about 12 of us that came from other cities. It was really chill, laid back. İt was nice to get away from the big city and go to Bursa. I guess Bursa doesn’t get many tourists cause man, everyone stareeeeed at us. It was really funny cause they had this really amused expression in their eyes. I felt like the foreign paradeWe should have waved and smiled or something. Some ppl approached us and we spoke with them, where are you from, how do you like Turkey…….

There’s about 1 million ppl there and about 10 trainees. We visited some mosques, smoked some kooka/shisha (water pipes or nargile and they say here).


The best part though was definetly the night at the club, Çaçaron. There was live rock band and singer had a voice like Shakira. Us, foreigners, were about 30-35 ppl. It was so much fun. I think we danced for like 5 hours straight. We also mingled with the Turkish ppl and all danced together. They played all kinds of music. Even MC Hammer and Snow! I was all over that.



İ tried ishcambe which is intestine soup with garlic. And İ mean garliiiiiiiiic. And they bring a garlic soup bowl in addition to which you can add more garlic and so I did, mostly to mask the taste of the soup, which just tastes like fat. Hehehe most ppl eat it late at night after the bar. Quiet the experience. My poor roomates. The next morning ppl could still smell my gross garlicy breath. For all you Canadian foks, man, if you think shawarma is bad, you ain’t tried nottin’ yet….

Istanbul Oct. 9-10

This was relazing weekend. Saturday night we went over a co-worker’s house, Önder. He prepared dinner for us. We ate manti (like tortellini but with meat inside, you put yogurt over it), regular kofte and chi kofte. Chi kofte in interesting because it is raw kofte grinded with grains and many spices

Apparently, I had the unspiced version and it was freakin hot hot hot. He grinded the spices for a long time, almost an hour I guess. Then you roll the pieces with lettuce and put lemon on it. İt was good. My face was burning from the spices.


The next day, we ran a marathon. Well not really ran, more like walked. Every year they close the Bosphorus bridge and some roads for a 7 km marathon. İt was really cool because it is the only day you can walk on the Bosphorus. We didn’t actually walk the whole way but took a cab after we walked off the bridge. Good thing too cause my knee was freakin killing me. İt was nice though, full of ppl and we even got medals and t-shirts for the occasion.

Antalya-Oct.2-3

Well the last three weeks have been great. Two weeks ago İ went to the beach! It was 12 hours away along the Mediterrean coast and it rocked. Antalya is a popular resort town. We saw the ruins of the ancient city Perge old stadium (Aspendos) where they used to have those gladiator shows, for example. There were 20 trainees and about 5 Turkish Aiesecers. Everyone was really fun and great. İt was my first time meeting the other trainees. The weather was amazing, almost 30 degrees.


We also went to a Turkish rug factory where the rugs are hand made by the women in the village. The silk rugs were especially amazing and Turkish rugs have the reputation to be among the best in the world.


We stayed at a hostel called ‘The Tree House’ and it was literally, a tree house. Hehhe it was really cool. The next day though was the best. So relaxing. After we walked through the ruin of Olympus where, by the way, I saw the place were Pegasus was supposedly born. Well the beach rocked! And we had a yatch party for a few hours. Just chillin on our little yatch. The DJ blasting the music, lots of dancing. It was perfect.

Week #2: Getting the hang of it, slowly

I am getting used to Istanbul, seeing the city little by little. My work involves mostly paperwork, writing letters, faxes and occasionally talking to a customer by phone. I like the workings of the export department. Later on this week, I will help in the import department. They actually import raw materials from all over, not just France. Some materials are from Canada.

My first weekend here was awesome. I met up with Salih, a former Aiesec member. We took the ferry through the Marmara Sea to the European side, to the very touristy and historical district of Sultanahmet, named after Sultan Ahmet. This district is always full of tourists. The European side of Istanbul has so much history. We hit up the major touristic attractions: the Blue Mosque; the Haghia Sophia and the Topkapi Palace.

The Blue Mosque


It’s not actually blue, but got the name from the blue coloured tiles inside. As you probably know, to enter a mosque you have to dress conservatively and enter without shoes. So they conveniently provide plastic bags to carry your shoes (unfortunately the stinky smell of foot odour permeates the mosque), and blue wraps to put over your head to cover your shoulders and chest if you are wearing a tank top and for your legs if you are wearing a skirt/shorts. I was wearing a short sleeved shirt and jeans and so was dressed ok.

It is very beautiful and free of course to enter. The bell on top rings five times a day as a call to prayer for Muslims. Outside there are water taps to rinse your feet after you leave.

http://www.guideistanbul.net/sultanahmet.htm

The Haghia Sophia (Divine Wisdom)

Constructed during in 537 AD, less than a century after the fall of Rome, the Haghia Sophia was a church. When Sultan Mehmet II conquered Constantinople in1453, he remade the church into a Mosque. When Turkey became a republic in 1934, the Haghia Sophia was declared a museum.

http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=107563

The Topkapi Palace


The palace not only provided the housing for the ruling royalty for than than three centuries during the Ottoman Empire, but was also a command centre and a pleasure dome. With many different rooms and areas to visit, the one area that I regret not visiting is the Harem (it was extra to get in). The Harem is the area where the concubines lived. Eastern European girls were preferred for their fair skin. It was forbidden to make slaves of Muslims and so they had to be either Christian or Jewish.

http://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Ext/palace.html

I am lucky in that I can pass for a Turkish person and so I paid Turkish prices. 3,000,000 lira as opposed to 15,000,000 liras. I recently figured out that one Canadian dollar equals one million Turkish lira. Ya, it took me a few days but it feels good to know the price of things now and their value. That is the cost during the low season, but in the summer that price doubles.

At night when we took the ferry back to the Asian side, there was some kind of festival. There was a performance by a Turkish singer and people were randomly dancing in the crowds. The music was from the Black Sea; I guess the only way I can describe is that it sounds kind of gipsy like. A large group of people were doing the Black Sea dance where you hold hands in a circle and do various steps. It looks like so much fun. I gotta learn. I spotted a few cuties in the crowd too.



Other observations
F&B
Hmmm let’s see. Yes. Heheh I thought that I would be drinking stupendous amounts of coffee and was kind of worried, but it is not so. Actually I am drinking less than normal. In the morning and afternoon tea is provided. We usually have a cup of coffee after lunch. Nescafe is readily available (instant coffee).

There are so many cafes here it is amazing, especially when they overlook water. You can linger for hours. Backgammon is provided. I learned how to play on Sunday when we went to Ortakoy. It’s kind of like Chinese checkers.

I have been noticing that eating with your fingers here is not common. Even for finger foods like pizza and chicken wings. I don’t know if this is widespread but are my observations so far.

Earthquakes

Yesterday (Sept. 29, 04), Istanbul experienced an earthquake along the Marmara Sea so it was closer to the Asian side (where I live). It was a 4.2 on the rictor scale. I was stuck in traffic and didn’t feel anything but people left their apartments and were on the street. The company provides a bus shuttle service for the managers. I took it yesterday. Normally, it takes about one hour to get home using the shuttle service (mine is almost the last stop) and it took 2 hours. The traffic was so insane. I got home at 8pm (the work day is 8:30-5:45 (freakin long). Experts say that is the first in a series and they are expecting a huge one in the next 50 years. In 1999, Izmit (the city where my work is) was devastated by a 7.2 earthquake.

Oh and I watched one of the Turkish teams play Manchester United in soccer. They are crazy about soccer here like most other Europeans. MU won 6-2.

Well this weekend I am off to Antalya, a nice city on the Mediterranean coast about 12 hours away. There’s a beach! I’m so psyched. I will finally be able to meet the other trainees and Aiesec members.

Hope you all have a greeeatt weekend!

THE FIRST WEEK

The Arrival
I did encounter several problems before I got here, or I should say, along the way, that included missing a flight (oh Monica is right) and thus my luggage taking off elsewhere. Luckily, they were found and brought to me and I also got to fly first class for the first time and whoever said that first class was the only way to fly was right. So, I arrived very late on Sunday and of course was really tired from all the travelling (20 hours).

Now let me back up a bit. For those of you that don’t know, I am here in Turkey for an internship for six months. Yup, through Aiesec, an international student run non for profit internship organization. I got a job in Istanbul. I am working in the export department for Carbone Lorraine, a French multinational specializing in electric motors and carbon products.


I have been here for a few days now and am getting the swing of things. Istanbul is a city of 15 million people. That is overwhelming in itself for those of us from small towns like Ottawa. Heck, for any Canadian really. It is the only city in the world located on two continents, the European side and the Asian side. The two sides connect through a bridge the Bosphorus Sea. If you are thinking that the traffic must be insane, yup you are right.
Housing
I am living here with a host family. They are very nice people. Olcay (pronounced Oljai), the wife, works for Carbone Lorraine also in the accounting department and Mehmet, the husband, works for a huge telecommunications company. They have a four year old daughter, Elif, who is super cute. We live in Atasehir which is on the Asian side in a very nice two storie apartment. Houses are uncommon here in Turkey and are very expensive. Now by houses, I mean villas. Most people live in apartments.


The Company
The company is located about a thirty minute car drive away. It is a small company here with about 50 people and most of them are in the manufacturing, production departments. The Turkish office services the Middle East. It has clients in countries such as Saudia Arabia, Iran, Syria, Kazakistan, UAE, Ubakistan. They speak in English with international clients. The raw materials are imported from France and other countries, manufactured in Turkey and then sent away to wherever. I learned today that in Muslim countries (besides Turkey) that the days off are Thursday afternoon and Friday. They work Saturday and Sunday. My work is a pretty relaxed atmosphere. I have my own desk, computer and phone. I’m learning at a good pace here. I am the second trainee the company has taken. The one before left in July and was from Brazil. The hardest work related adjustment has been the loong work days: 8:30-5:45 (not including commuting time).

Food and Coffee
In Turkey, the company provides lunch to the employees. Lunch is less than an hour. The food is very good. Usually, soup is served, a meat dish and a side plate; there is a small salad bar and desert. It sounds like a lot but but you need quite a bit to last until dinner time which is usually around 7pm. Turkish coffee has an excellent reputation world wide and for a good reason. The coffee is actually imported but the method of preparation is Turkish. It is served expresso style with the coffee grinds at the bottom and a layer of foam on top. The coffee is considered not good if it is served without this layer of foam. After you finish drinking the coffee, you place the bottom plate on top of the cup, swirl it counterclockwise three times and flip the coffee cup and let it cool.

The pattern in the cup is then used to tell a fortune.

I had mine told the other day from a coworker. It is a fun practice and the patterns that the coffee grinds make are actually pretty interesting.


Perceptions
Most people have the wrong perception of Turkey, because it is primarily a Muslim country. However, it is very much a secular country and the large cities are very cosmopolitan. For example, you can see some women wear head scarves and others not, some dressed very European and stylish and others more traditional. Although it is banned to wear headscarves in univerisities and government buildings, the choice is a personal one. Also, unlike other Muslim countries, Turkish people drink alcohol and many people smoke cigarettes (a lot of ciggies). You can pretty much smoke everywhere. I had some raki the other day actually which tastes just like Sambuca or black licorece. It is mixed with water which makes it appear a cloudy white colour. Pretty potent stuff, it’s alright but I still prefer beer and wine. I haven’t had time to do much touristy stuff yet. I will this weekend for sure. So far so good. I am attempting to learn Turkish. Damn, it’s hard.

Here's a preview:
thank you - teşekur ederım (ş pronounced sh)
I don't understand- anlamadım
good evening- iyi akşamlar

Well, I hope to get a website up sometime in the next few weeks. And definetly more to come soon.

Monica