Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to let you all know that Bailey and mom are safely in Istanbul. They arrived at the hotel around 12 and spent the day in a sleep deprived state! The hotel is really nice and the staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. We didn't do to much today, but we walked around the neighborhood and had a nice dinner on the rooftop of a local hotel. The view was awesome! We're planning to visit my campus and Bebek tomorrow morning/afternoon before our Turkish cooking lesson at 5.
Talk later,
Brett
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Exams and More!
Hi All,
Hope everyone is doing well. I think Springtime in Istanbul has finally arrived. Not only are the flowers blooming, but my nose is running and my eyes are bloodshot! Gotta love allergies. Springtime here has been beautiful, everything that I already thought was spectacular is so much better in the warm and most importantly, dry weather. Hopefully the nice weather is here to stay. Although, as I scan the weather reports its forecasting rain tomorrow.
Anyway, I've been fairly busy with school related activities. Last week I had three mid terms and I have another one this coming Friday. I'm also trying to get ahead in writing the three papers I have due on the last day of classes in May. I don't want to have to think about work while Mom and Bailey are here! I'm one of the few exchange students who really has to focus on grades and classes. For most, the grades they receive here will never appear on their transcripts, but mine do.
On Friday night I ventured out with a few friends to Reina, one of the "hippest" and most popular night clubs in Istanbul. While I had been to a few so-called clubs in the city this was definitely the real thing. The club is located on the European side with a terrific view of the Bosphorus Bridge. I can't adequately describe the club, but it was HUGE. Multiple levels with several restaurants and bars all rolled into a giant club. I had to look it up online to get more information, but it can hold about 2500 people. Clubs aren't really my thing, but this was a surprisingly really fun time. Needless to say, I got back very late and had a leisurely Saturday. I think the biggest thing I miss from my daily routine here is the gym. In Glastonbury or in Boston, the one constant of my day was always going to the gym. I don't know why, but I love going. I love having that one or two hours of my day where I can be in my own world. There's a gym at the university, but I've only been a few times. It's relatively small (but then again every gym is small compared to BU) and it is INCREDIBLY hot in the room. You also have to pay every time so I haven't gone too much. Instead, I've been taking long walks everyday. Luckily, I've been able to keep up my endurance by walking up the massive hills from Bebek to the University. Taking these walks keeps me sane!
On Sunday, I was invited to go on a Bosphorus boat tour which is something I've wanted to do since I arrived, but the opportunity keeps eluding me. Yesterday, I could not go because I had to be in my room in the afternoon to register for classes at BU for the fall. I'll have to hold off for a couple weeks and do the boat tour when Bailey and Mom are here.
So I know I've talked a fair amount about the stray cats and dogs around, but I have a couple interesting stories about both. I've adopted one of the dogs on campus and have named him Buster. Buster is a mix and I'm thinking he's part black lab and bernese mountain dog. I really have no idea though. I'll try to get a picture of him up soon. Unfortunately, about 300 pictures on my camera were accidentally deleted. For the first couple weeks of classes, Buster would greet students at the gate leading to the university. Eagerly awaiting students dropping their crumbs, Buster would patiently sit. At first, I ignored the dogs as I wasn't sure how healthy they are. I've since been assured that they are fine (Let's hope so!). Even still, I limit my interaction with Buster to a few back rubs and his daily treat: a sesame bagel type thing (shaped like a bagel/pretzel and sold on the streets for about 60 cents) that I buy on my walk to class. Some might say that I'm probably harming him, but after seeing what these dogs eat, they can stomach anything.
As for my cat story, I was taking a walk after registration yesterday and came across a woman on one of the streets leading from campus down to the water. She was speaking frantically to me in Turkish and of course I had no idea what she was saying. Luckily, she quickly switched to flawless English and told me to look inside the sewer grates along the side of the road. Sure enough, in one of them was a small black and white cat. I have no idea how the cat managed to get inside the grates as there was no hole and most of the grates were bolted closed. I was able to pry loose one of the grates about 20 feet farther down the street and we coaxed the cat out. The cat seemed really frightened, but happy to not be trapped! I think that counted as my good deed for the day!
That's all for now. Talk soon.
Love,
Brett
Hope everyone is doing well. I think Springtime in Istanbul has finally arrived. Not only are the flowers blooming, but my nose is running and my eyes are bloodshot! Gotta love allergies. Springtime here has been beautiful, everything that I already thought was spectacular is so much better in the warm and most importantly, dry weather. Hopefully the nice weather is here to stay. Although, as I scan the weather reports its forecasting rain tomorrow.
Anyway, I've been fairly busy with school related activities. Last week I had three mid terms and I have another one this coming Friday. I'm also trying to get ahead in writing the three papers I have due on the last day of classes in May. I don't want to have to think about work while Mom and Bailey are here! I'm one of the few exchange students who really has to focus on grades and classes. For most, the grades they receive here will never appear on their transcripts, but mine do.
On Friday night I ventured out with a few friends to Reina, one of the "hippest" and most popular night clubs in Istanbul. While I had been to a few so-called clubs in the city this was definitely the real thing. The club is located on the European side with a terrific view of the Bosphorus Bridge. I can't adequately describe the club, but it was HUGE. Multiple levels with several restaurants and bars all rolled into a giant club. I had to look it up online to get more information, but it can hold about 2500 people. Clubs aren't really my thing, but this was a surprisingly really fun time. Needless to say, I got back very late and had a leisurely Saturday. I think the biggest thing I miss from my daily routine here is the gym. In Glastonbury or in Boston, the one constant of my day was always going to the gym. I don't know why, but I love going. I love having that one or two hours of my day where I can be in my own world. There's a gym at the university, but I've only been a few times. It's relatively small (but then again every gym is small compared to BU) and it is INCREDIBLY hot in the room. You also have to pay every time so I haven't gone too much. Instead, I've been taking long walks everyday. Luckily, I've been able to keep up my endurance by walking up the massive hills from Bebek to the University. Taking these walks keeps me sane!
On Sunday, I was invited to go on a Bosphorus boat tour which is something I've wanted to do since I arrived, but the opportunity keeps eluding me. Yesterday, I could not go because I had to be in my room in the afternoon to register for classes at BU for the fall. I'll have to hold off for a couple weeks and do the boat tour when Bailey and Mom are here.
So I know I've talked a fair amount about the stray cats and dogs around, but I have a couple interesting stories about both. I've adopted one of the dogs on campus and have named him Buster. Buster is a mix and I'm thinking he's part black lab and bernese mountain dog. I really have no idea though. I'll try to get a picture of him up soon. Unfortunately, about 300 pictures on my camera were accidentally deleted. For the first couple weeks of classes, Buster would greet students at the gate leading to the university. Eagerly awaiting students dropping their crumbs, Buster would patiently sit. At first, I ignored the dogs as I wasn't sure how healthy they are. I've since been assured that they are fine (Let's hope so!). Even still, I limit my interaction with Buster to a few back rubs and his daily treat: a sesame bagel type thing (shaped like a bagel/pretzel and sold on the streets for about 60 cents) that I buy on my walk to class. Some might say that I'm probably harming him, but after seeing what these dogs eat, they can stomach anything.
As for my cat story, I was taking a walk after registration yesterday and came across a woman on one of the streets leading from campus down to the water. She was speaking frantically to me in Turkish and of course I had no idea what she was saying. Luckily, she quickly switched to flawless English and told me to look inside the sewer grates along the side of the road. Sure enough, in one of them was a small black and white cat. I have no idea how the cat managed to get inside the grates as there was no hole and most of the grates were bolted closed. I was able to pry loose one of the grates about 20 feet farther down the street and we coaxed the cat out. The cat seemed really frightened, but happy to not be trapped! I think that counted as my good deed for the day!
That's all for now. Talk soon.
Love,
Brett
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Metro Card and ID
I think Spring is finally here! The past two days I have left my room for class wearing only jeans and a polo shirt. Unfortunately, it rained today on my way back from class so I was a little wet, but it was warm and that's a good thing! Tomorrow is supposed to be around 70 so maybe I'll break out my shorts. Not much has been happening here, but I figured I'd write about getting my metro card and finally receiving my ID card after being at the University for 8 weeks.
Public transportation in the city is really cheap. Taking the bus, ferry, tram, or subway costs a flat fee of 1.50TL the equivalent of a dollar in the states. Comparatively, I pay $1.70 every time I take public transportation in Boston and that's including the .30$ savings I receive for using a charlie card. As a student, I'm entitled to a student transportation card that makes riding public transportation practically free! I'm not positive, but I think I'm paying somewhere between fifty and seventy cents now that I have a student akbil (Akbil is pictured above. It's like a debit card that deducts money every time you take public transportation... Some buses won't let you on if you don't have the Akbil so its pretty important to get). Unfortunately, I had to wait until receiving paperwork from the school verifying that I was a student before getting the discount. I've had the paper for a few weeks, but for some reason I just hadn't gone to get the card. I think part of it was that transportation was so cheap I figured I didn't need to bother to get one. Furthermore, getting to the public transportation office to apply for the cards requires a bus ride through endless amounts of traffic, a 15 minute walk, and a 5 minute train ride. Excuses aside, I woke up Monday determine to get the card not only to save money, but also as a memento of the trip. Unfortunately, the weather Monday was terrible: cold, rainy, and windy. Nonetheless, I still decided to go and embarked on what turned into a 4.5 hour trip. First, I had to take a bus from the university to Taksim. The distance is not far, but the traffic in Istanbul is horrendous. What could have been a 20-30 minute drive in CT turned into roughly an hour bus ride. From Taksim, I had to walk about 20 minutes to the funicular train stop for a quick 2 minute ride to Karakoy another neighborhood of Istanbul where the transportation office is located. Once there, getting the card was really easy. I had to pay 5 lira for the card and then I put 20 lira worth of money on the card. When I finally arrived back in my room I was freezing cold and wet, but feeling pretty satisfied with myself. Perhaps having this student akbil will make me look less like a foreigner when I get on buses. Now instead of fumbling for change I can simply show my card and get on. I have a feeling that I'm still going to be recognized by everyone has an American!
This morning I walked into class and overheard a couple Americans talking about how they had just gotten their ID cards from the University. Ever since orientation, all we have heard is how crucial the ID cards are. ID cards are required to eat in certain dining halls, to print, to access the library, access the campus at night, and much more. At first, we were told the IDs would arrive by the end of February, then we were told the first week of March (by now we didn't believe any of these deadlines), and I had managed to mostly forget about the IDs until today. In the end, the IDs will probably serve little purpose while in Istanbul, but I'll be happy to keep the ID as a memento of the trip. The IDs are much cooler than my Boston University ID. See the pictures in the post for a visual explanation of why.
Not much else is going on here. I was going to go away this weekend to Bodrum which is located in the Aegean region of Turkey. Its supposed to be beautiful, warm, and its right on the water. Unfortunately, I decided that I have too much work to go. I have 3 midterms next week on Tuesday and Wednesday. I also want to get started on an essay so that when Mom and Bailey are here I don't have to do any work! Unlike the majority of the exchange students, my grades that I receive in Turkey transfer to BU and factor into my GPA. This means that I actually have to study and do well in my classes. For most of the Americans, they simply need to pass the classes as their grades won't show up on their transcripts. Nonetheless, I plan to do some sightseeing on Saturday (not sure where yet), work on my paper Sunday, and study for my tests on Monday.
Hope everyone enjoys the beautiful Spring weather this weekend. Happy Easter!
Love,
Brett
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