It must be said: Istanbul is an inherently disorganized city.
Not that this is necessarily a bad thing by the way, just different.
When I first arrived, I thought I'd go stark raving mad when it came to the "have an organized environment" part of my brain. Between the masses of people, the eternal traffic (it never goes away, just becomes more or less intense) that makes it virtually impossible to know your ETA at any point in time, the crowded buses that challenge the average person's coordinating and body-squishing skills, the frustratingly complex nature of doing anything that involves an official organization (i.e. getting a student discount transportation pass, which means waiting for a month until they finish making our student ID's and then going clear over to the other side of the city with various forms of ID and information), the fact nothing nothing starts/arrives on time, and a million other things, I felt like I was being pulled through a rushing river of crazy.
You see, Turks differ significantly from Americans in that they have the following mentality: why change something if it basically gets the job done? The more efficient solution is not usually sought as urgently as it is in America. Now, this has both its ups and its downs. The down is obviously the fact that it's less efficient: it takes me more time and effort to do everything. The up, however, is a subtle but marvelous thing. The Turks ENJOY life. Their perspective is that spending all of one's time and effort trying to make any given system eternally more efficient is a waste. Why reinvent the wheel? Sure, there are more updated wheels out there, and we'll get to 'em eventually, but for now, it's fine with me, and if it ain't fine with you, then just deal with it. :)
Honestly, I was really frustrated at first, but now, I love it. It seems more...real, I guess. A REAL way of living life.
But a more succinct update, please! :P Life is good, the city is stunning, MY CLASSES ROCK, my profs are ingenious, the salsa scene is huge and amazing, the lindy scene (yes, there is a lindy scene in Istanbul) is small and amazing, and the people are incredible everywhere. I have had my share of creepy Turkish guys (as all of my friends at home faithfully promised I would :P), but they have caused me no harm and only provided amusing stories for later. :)
Ah! But I must fly! This is the first weekend I haven't spent exploring Istanbul, so that means it's the homework crunch day. Heeeerrrreeee we go! :)
xoxo,
-Kate
