First off, I want to apologize for it taking me so long to actually start my blog. Things have been mildly hectic since arriving and lacking Wi-Fi made trying to blog a little difficult. Since things have started to settle a little bit and Wi-Fi has now been found, I am hoping to be more consistent with my updates.
I have now been living in Izmir, Turkey for 8 weeks and so far, so good. Here is a bit of what has gone on in last little while.
Week 1 (Oct.14th-21st)
After a bit of a delay with my visa, I left for Turkey on October 14th from Kelowna. I didn’t exactly have the most direct flight but it was kinda cool checking out all the different airports. I flew Kelowna-Vancouver-Seattle-Frankfurt-Munich-Izmir, grand total of just over 24 hours travel time. I ended up meeting up with another Canadian student from Castlegar in Seattle, who was on her way to Istanbul so we got to fly to Frankfurt together, which was nice in the way of having someone just as nervous and excited as I was to talk to. I arrived in Izmir at around 11:30 at night and my first adventure was trying to find a bathroom. I walked into the stall and right away had my first “nothing is better or worse, just different” experience cause all that was there was a porcelain hole in the ground with a plastic blue bucket full of water. Needless to say, it was an experience.
At the airport I was greeted by a swarm of people. My host parents, host cousins, who are also Rotary exchange students (Amanda from Brazil and Emily from New York), host aunts and uncles, Anil (friend of my host sister Ahenk who is on exchange in New York) and my Rotary coordinators all came to meet me. It was a tad overwhelming, but also really nice knowing there were so many people that were happy for me to be there. I met my host brother Ahmet, who is twenty-five years old, once we got to my host parents’ apartment.
 | ||
| Emily, Amanda, Me and Anil at the airport Bright and early the next morning, I was picked up by a bus to join all the other exchange students for a weekend in Kușadasi to see Ephesus and Mother Mary’s House; both of which are major historical landmarks in Turkey. Mother Mary’s house was really neat and had a very relaxed atmosphere throughout the gardens and the actual house. It is said that the water in the garden has healing powers. As well, the garden has a wishing wall which allows visitors to write down their wishes to Mary on a piece of paper and attach it to the wall.   The following day we went to Ephesus, which honestly is a highlight of Turkey that may be tough to beat. We walked throughout the ruins and although most of the info signs were in Turkish, I was able to catch some of the tours that were being given in English, which was a major help. My favorite part was the Library of Celsus, which apparently used to hold over 12,000 scrolls during ancient times.  The rest of my first week was a bit foggy and mainly consisted of sleeping and attending my first day of school. I am attending a private school (which means I get to wear an epic uniform) along with one of the American exchange students, Haley. I’ll explain a bit more about school later on. Week 2 & 3 (Oct. 21st – Nov.4th) My second and third weeks were mainly spent trying to get used to the area and the general fact that I was Turkey. Every Saturday, all the exchange students get together for Turkish lessons that are sponsored by Rotary and after we normally go out for lunch and explore the city a little bit. Anil spent a day showing me around Gaziemir, which is the part of Izmir I am currently living in. It is a little far from the city center and about 45 minutes from my school, but it seems like a close knit community and is apparently one of the safest in Izmir, so to me, I think it’s perfect. We walked around and tried different Turkish foods like sheep intestines (really chewy) and mussels stuffed with rice (super random). Interesting experience for my taste buds, I must say. For Halloween, all of the exchange students got together at the Ataturk Museum in Alsancak (major part of the city) for a party. We all dressed up and just ate, danced and got to know each other a little better.  Weeks 4 and 5 (Nov.4th – Nov.18th) The weekend of the 4th-6th of November consisted of a major Muslim holiday/ festival called Bayram, which is a holiday that celebrates the story of Isaac and Abraham and how Abraham sacrificed a sheep instead of his son. The main purpose is to visit with old friends and relatives, as well as pay respect to relatives that have passed away. My host family and I went to a Muslim cemetery, for which I had to wear a scarf. It was nice to be able to experience the religious part of Turkish culture first hand; however the scarf was a little bit difficult to keep on properly. While at the cemetery, visitors go to the graves of their loved ones, wash the headstone, lay flowers and pour water all over the grave. They then read from the Koran and pray. After that, we drove to a village about 30 min from Izmir to visit with my host mum’s parents. The village looked smaller than it actually was because apparently it has a population nearly three times that of Salmon Arm. It was really pretty and surrounded by hills and olive trees; a welcome change to the hustle and bustle of the city.  Part of the celebration of Bayram is that families sacrifice a sheep and then eat it later in the day. Needless to say this was a very new and interesting concept for me and, although very culturally enlightening, it taught me to never pet my dinner beforehand because it makes it almost impossible to eat later.  After the sacrifice, my host brother, host dad and other extended family went for a walk around the village and near the mountains. The area reminded me a bit of Kamloops mixed with Osoyoos and was quite relaxing in a way. When we got back, we had lunch which consisted of bread (of course), salad and a stew of sheep lung and tail. I tried it and it tasted really irony, almost like when you bite your lip or tongue and it isn’t bleeding but it tastes like it might be. I couldn’t finish the entire bowl, and I honestly felt bad, but my stomach couldn’t hack it. During those weeks, Anil and I went to a part of the city called Balçova, which has a major shopping center called Agora. We ended up seeing Paranormal Activity, which sadly was in English but had Turkish subtitles. We also walked around the mall and to my surprise I was able to find a few stores that are also back home, such as La Senza, Starbucks, Banana Republic and even Claire’s. I was also able to find a book store that carried a few classics which was a great end to the whole day.  Week 6 and 7 (Nov.18th – Dec.1st) These 2 weeks were extremely busy. Rotary had organized a trip to Ankara from the 18th-20th and a trip to Cappadocia from the 24th-27th. The trip to Ankara was an interesting yet enriching experience. We left Izmir in the evening and boarded a train to Ankara with a travel time of about 17 hours. On the train were all of the exchange students living in Izmir as well as about 80 other Turkish students who were sponsored by Rotary to go to the capital as well.  The train we were on was a little retro and allowed us to experience the beauty of Turkish toilets on a moving train. All of the exchange students sat in the back of one train car and throughout the trip there we all scattered out and talked about anything and everything and eventually crashed literally everywhere. We had people stretched out across seats and even people sprawled out on the aisle of the car. Once we arrived in Ankara we were all on a pretty strict schedule. We first went to the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. We were lucky to be able to participate in a wreath bearing ceremony which involved the soldiers guarding the mausoleum, laying a wreath donated by Rotary below the tomb of Atatürk and having a moment of silence. It was a somber event but it allowed all of the students to get a sense of how important Atatürk truly was and still is to the people of Turkey.   After, we went and visited the National Turkish Assembly as well as another building that was its previous location.  After a few more stops that expanded our knowledge of Turkish history and the life of Atatürk, our tour guide took us to a mall so we could all just relax and grab some food for the train ride back. After an epic hunt for fresh fruit, converse shoes and a last minute Starbucks run, we made it back to the bus just in time to head to the station. One thing that I have learned while in Turkey is to always carry spare change, because in a lot of public buildings such as train stations and rest stops, you have to pay to use the washroom. I’m currently still getting used to that. Once we got back on to the train, all of the students were trying to find ways to pass the 17hr trip for the second time around. After much deliberation, and being the creative exchange students we all are, we decided to take hold of our entire train car and have a mock wedding. All of the exchange students played a role, with everything from a pastor to a rabbi and even an eccentric mother-of-the-bride. We had the Turkish students as an audience and although we were blocking the aisle, I think the train staff got a pretty good kick out of our ingenuity.  Once we got back to Izmir, everyone was absolutely beat; however for me and Emily, the day wasn’t over yet. Amanda, Emily and I were all picked up from the station by Amanda’s host dad and after Amanda was dropped off, he told us that since her birthday had been while we were away, we were all getting together later in the day to celebrate. He ended up taking us to Emily’s host family’s house, because it was the closest. We both got to relax and actually ended up falling asleep on the floor for a while. Amanda’s birthday party was pretty big, with almost every member of all 3 of our host families and all of the Brazilian exchange students attending. Although being exhausted from the weekend, it was nice meeting the family and spending the afternoon together.  The next weekend was the Cappadocia trip. Now I want everyone to know that this was one of the most anticipated trips for me and many of the other exchange students. Cappadocia is about a 16-17 hour bus ride from Izmir and is an area that is not only full of incredible history and stories but also a bright and captivating culture that was an exciting reminder to all of us why we chose to come to Turkey. We left Izmir late Thursday night and drove the whole way through, stopping every two hours for breaks. On the trip, we had one of our Rotary district coordinators, as well as an amazing tour guide that truly made the trip amazing. Once we got to the area we were going, which is in eastern Anatolia near the city of Nevșehir, we had breakfast and then went straight to our first stop, Ihlara Vadisi Orenyeri or the Ihlara Valley. The Ihlara Valley is considered a very important religious location as it once was a safe haven for early Christians and was also the home of multiple monasteries during the 4th century. We ended up walking down a set of stairs that led to the bottom of the valley and walking along the trails while visiting the remains of the ancient churches. Inside many of the churches, ancient art remained visible and the structures were still in beautiful condition. We walked to the end of the valley which took us to an area with a pond and a surprisingly large population of ducks. We stopped and had an amazing cup of apple tea and then headed back up the set of stairs.   After lunch we went to one of the many underground cities that are located in Cappadocia. The City went down about 4 stories and proved that the people that used to live there, were much shorter then all of us. The caves were incredibly well built and included areas once used for wine making, cooking and storage. There were air ventilation systems as well as ways to access water and resources that were above the surface.  The next day, four of the Brazilian exchange students, Amanda, Karine, Guilia, Leticia and I woke up at five to go on a hot air balloon. This was an amazing opportunity and really was a great start to our last day in Cappadocia. We all got up in the balloon and, although it was a bit chilly, the views of the area were stunning.  Once we got back to the hotel and met up with the rest of the students, we set off for the Goreme Open Air Museum. This outdoor museum is home to volcanic rock formations that up until the late 1950’s were home to many eastern Turkish groups. Like the Ihlara Valley, this place played a large role in protecting early Christians from prosecution.   The walls of the insides of the formations are covered in different works of art dating back to ancient times, the Ottoman Empire and then a touch of modern art, left by visitors over the years.  The rest of the day was left to exploring the area and before heading back to the hotel, we all went to a traditional Turkish potter and watched how everything was created. All of the pieces were incredible works of art and it was easy to see just how much effort and time was put into creating such beautiful pieces. Early Sunday morning we began our trek back to Izmir. We left early because our tour guide had wanted us to make a few stops along the way. The first was an old rest stop for caravans that used to travel between the east and western parts of the Turkey. The second was Mevlana Muzesi or the Mevlana Museum which was in the city of Konya. The museum is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Sufi mystic also known as Mevlâna or Rumi. The area is also famous for being the training area and home of Dervish or whirling dervishes.  After our stop, we went for lunch and were lucky enough to see part of a Turkish wedding reception. The bride was dressed in a very poufy wedding dress and just before entering the building she threw a pot on the ground. Now this was not just a gentle toss. This was a hardcore, determined, “I’m- going –to- break- this- thing-into-a -million pieces” kind of toss. Once we were all on the bus, our Rotary coordinator explained that in many small villages in Turkey it is a tradition to break a pot and the number of pieces that it breaks into represents how happy the couple will be. With that kind of pressure, I understood why the bride gave the pot a solid heave.   Week 8 (Dec.2nd – 12th) After both trips, I took the week after pretty easy. On the 2nd of December, all of the exchange students got together to celebrate American Thanksgiving. I was lucky enough to be able to spend my thanksgiving back home, but having it a second time with everyone here was incredibly fun. We all made different foods that were popular in our home country or something we ate at thanksgiving. I made apple crisp, some of the Mexican students made a casserole, some of the Brazilians made a special kind of bread and Maggie, a student from Oregon, had the big job of making the turkey. It was a very special evening and really brought us all closer together. We have all begun to see ourselves as having 3 families: our Turkish family, our family back home and our exchange student family. Saturday consisted of Turkish lessons and on Sunday I went on a bit of a search for more ways to get involved around Izmir. I went to Alsancak early in the morning and ended up checking out a church. It is the oldest church in all of Izmir and the building is home to an Anglican Church as well as an International Church. Since I had nothing else planned, I decided to check both out and maybe meet a few new people. After the Anglican service, I ended up meeting a few adults that have been living in Turkey for many years. One of the ladies, who is originally from Tennessee, actually took me out for lunch and we chatted about cultural differences between Turkey and North America and shared some funny experiences we have both had so far. It turns out that she helps out with a wheelchair tennis program in the city and asked if I might be interested in helping out later on in the year. Right off the bat, I answered yes, and I am greatly hoping that it all works out. On December 7th, I went to my first Rotary meeting. The meetings are about half an hour away from my house and like back home are held in a hotel. There are two other students in my club, Christina from Mexico and Morgan from Kentucky. However, on that day, we also had Amanda visiting so that she could give a presentation on Brazil. The Rotary club was very welcoming and although communication was a little bit of an issue, I felt very comfortable with everyone. I asked if it was possible to attend meetings more often and one of the club members said that after January 15th, I will be able to attend as often as I would like. So this leads us to this past weekend. On Friday, my host mum and I went on a search for a gym. As much as I love being in Turkey, food plays a big role and not being as active as normal was starting to drive me a bit nuts. Since finding a soccer team has proven rather difficult and since most girls at school are not really into athletics, I decided that a gym or something would be a good idea. Turns out there are three gyms close to my house, a dance studio as well as an aerobics class. Needless to say, I think I am pretty well set. Friday night, Anil and I went to Agora and saw a movie and then wondered around as I searched everywhere for a copy of A Christmas Carol, which sadly, I never did find.  Well that concludes my epic long first blog entry. I promise to not make another entry this long while I am here in Turkey cause eight weeks can get a little wordy. 
|
