"Blonde moment for a Brunette"

There are two things that are said for a person to fit into this country -- learning the language and the transportation system. For the past month and a half that I have been here, I have been able to pick up enough Turkish to get me what I needed. For the transportation system, it took the hard way for me to learn. When I say transportation, I am not referring to the Dolmuş or the Taksı, I am referring to the underground Metro. As a whole group we go to Taksim to finally pick up our transportation cards that we have been dying to get. Having this card allows us to ride the metro and the buses, which are a lot easier then hoping on Dolmuş to Dolmuş. As each person in the group received their cards we all split up and do their own thing for once. I decided to head back to campus because earlier that morning, I had spent forever waiting for my residence permit at the police station. My advisor told me specific directions several times, therefore I felt as if I knew how to get back to campus. Did I? Absolutely not. Instead of simply walking down the stairs as told, I thought to walk all the way down the street walking in a complete circle for an hour. Finally I found the Metro stop, swiped my transportation card and stepped onto the Metro.  It was my belief that I was going to just go straight from Taksim to my destination; but boy was I wrong! I grabbed myself a seat and sat for about thirty minutes without realizing that I am a complete moron. The metro that I was on would have never made it to where I was wanting to go. I had sat there for thirty minutes going back and forth, back and forth to the place I had just been and to a place that was right next to it. During this time, I had wondered why I was the only one still sitting there when the other Turkish men and women had gotten off the first time. I couldn't help to laugh that I had sat there wasting my time because I was so unfamiliar with where I was at and didn't know how to get to where I wanted to go! 

"Where are you from? Here. Your Turkish? Evet.... (laughs) You speak well Turkish."

280 liras for a weekend? At first I was hesitant but now I know that the amount of money could not even begin to describe the weekend I had. Cappadocia, which is an ancient region for early Christianity was where we traveled to for three days. To me, all I really enjoyed of this region was the fact that every stone reminded me of the Grinch's Whoville. Thursday night, 90 international students along with our Turkish mentors loaded the bus and prepared ourselves for a 10 hour long bus ride. I personally was not looking forward to this but it actually ended up to be a ride that I will never forget... making new friends and unforgettable memories! Finally we arrived at the Dadak Thermal Spa & Wellness Hotel, which was absolutely amazing -- any place filled with a sauna, heated and a cooled pool will have my heart! That Friday we had a chill and relaxing day which gave us time to swim, mingle and get rested for the Disco night. After a long night of dancing and a late night swim, I was definitely regretting it the next day when I was forced to get up at 8 AM and get ready for a long day of touring different places with 90 inpatient students. First sightseeing at Goreme and Avanos then a delicious lunch, and lastly a clay and pottery workshop. As walking through the Pottery place looking at every unique plate, bowl, and many more, a man that works there stops me and asks-
      "Are you Turkish" (Which not to mention was probably the 15th person that has asked me that)
      "I said "no""
      "Well, do you know any turkish?" Bread?
      "Ekmek"
      "Okay good, Water?"
      "Su"
      "Money?"
      "Para"
      "There you go, that's all you need to know -- Bread, Money, and Water." Haha

Even though it was such a drawn out and tiring day, I wouldn't have traded those experiences for anything! Sunday morning we packed up and had our last breakfast at the hotel then went to the Panoramic view filled with pigeons and an indefinable view. We went to a beautiful winery called Turasan Wine, which is one of the most well known winery's in Turkey. Lastly my favorite part of the day was when we came across a camel, where we were able to ride him for 10 liras. My friend Emily and I payed, and after an adventurous ten minute ride I get off to get a close up picture with the camel. I didn't even think twice to come close to his face, when barely noticing that he was eating and enjoying his meal. As a friend was about to take the picture of me close up of me kissing him, the big guy comes at me as if he's about to eat my face. When I say this was a picture perfect moment... I meant it.

Merhaba -- Istanbul so far!

Hoş geldiniz (Welcome) Well where do I even begin? I am a little late on writing this, but for the past ten days that I have been here I have been nothing but busy. Even though these days have gone by so fast I realized that I've already done so much more then I had expected! From the dolmuş' to the beautiful city of Taksim, I must say that Turkey is something I never could have imagined. The first day we arrived here in Istanbul, we walk outside to freezing weather and drizzling snow.. not prepared for that one bit! We came to the  campus of Koç University (pronounced coach) and I instantly fell in love; it was like no other school I had seen before! We settled in and headed to Sarıyer, which is a small area with shops, restaurants, and anything else you can think of. After a long day of traveling, I was one of the few that was still full of energy so we decided to go to Taksim and check out the nightlife... let's just say that nothing can compare to the bars and clubs that they have here! For the next week we had orientation which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it was a chance for the exchange students in our group to bond and learn each others personalities. For Kaitlin's 21st birthday the group got ready and we went to Taksim for the night! We had shots at Montreal Shotpera, which is a tiny bar where you're able to order 30 or more different shots of anything you want! After we had our shots we went to a rooftop bar and danced all night long, looking through the glass windows at an indescribable view! The next couple of days we had little things to do around campus and then finally all of the exchange students gathered and we headed to the old city called Sultan Ahmet and walked around all of the historical places. Walking through the city we had lunch, visited the one and only Grand Bazaar and tried the most delicious drink called Sahlep, a milky taste but hard to describe what was actually in it! Ten days I have been here and all I can say is that things definitely worked out for the best! I had my heart set on going to Egypt but to be honest I couldn't imagine being any where but here in Istanbul! Like Mike Rhima would say, "I am living the life" -- It has been a dream to do everything that I have done and things can only get better from here! Thank you for keeping up with me and I hope you continue to hear more about my journey, xoxo!