I have gained an enormous respect for immigrants in the past few days. It is SO HARD to live in a country filled with people who don't speak your native tongue. SO HARD. Hard to eat, to travel, to get a phone, to use a phone, to buy anything whatsoever, even to ask for help with the things you don't have the vocabulary to do. At my University, everything is in English, but classes don't start for two more weeks or so, and I live a good 10-15 minute bus ride from campus. I live in a non-tourist area, too. This means that most people don't speak a blessed WORD of English. Not even "yes" or "no." I've been fortunate enough to run into a few English-speakers who've taught me some valuable phrases, but things are still crrrrazy hard. I've decided to skip taking Ancient Greek and take some Modern Turkish instead just so that I can cope around the city! Ha ha...
Still, this doesn't prevent me from admiring my surroundings. In spite of the stress of trying to figure out the bus system and find a cheap phone, things are going pretty well. I'm adjusting very quickly. Now, I just need to go and visit a few exotic places! :)
Campus is stunning, by the way. (Well, there are three campuses technically, but I'm taking classes on the South Campus, so that's the one I think of as "campus.") I have pictures up on facebook if you'd like to check them out, but it's hard to really summarize it with a few photos. It overlooks the Bosphorus and really takes your breath away. I can't imagine how a person could ever live in such a remarkable place and ever forget how amazing it is. I don't think that I ever shall. :)
I've already made several friends; people are really nice here! :) I mostly hang out with one of my roommates, Hajera, a girl from New Jersey, so we usually share in our adventures and friend-making. We've been fortunate enough to have only met one shady guy so far, and he was deterred from any additional shadiness with a firm "NO, we don't want to sleep over at your house!"...hahaha... Everyone else has been darling.
I want to visit some unique places, though!! So far, we've only been to Taksim and our Uni. Ideas?
I find it interesting to observe responses to me being American: NO ONE CARES!! Ha ha! And no one has heard about the Pastor Terry Jones incident at all. Most people seem pretty chill about religion. You do hear the call to prayer announced five times a day and some women in scarves, but it isn't extreme. In fact, it's just like America is with Christianity: most people are Muslim, but few make a big deal out of it. We are all very much the same, aren't we? :)
This does, of course, beg the very touchy question: what is religion really? A social construction? Truth? A fabrication? Right and wrong? The same thing through different cultural lenses? It's one thing to ask this in the comfortable luxury of your own culture, but once you enter into another one, you've finally got a basis for comparison. Hmmm...I'm still pondering it a bit...I'll get back to you after I mull it over a little more...
Lovelove,
-Kate
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