Fun-Filled February!

Man, the fun just doesn't stop around here, huh?

I guess I should give you a quick update on what I've been doing post-Europe 2012, right? I mean, it's not like it's all cupcakes and bonbons or something. 

So the new term started, first of all. And please believe me when I say I was so excited to come back, because I really missed my students and Balıkesir and teaching. This term, I was fortunate enough to have my Speaking classes split into four, more manageable groups as opposed to the two giant groups I had last term. The best part of this is that it allows me to make them do weird things in class, and wouldn't you know, they're still putting up with me six weeks into term.

As soon as I got back to Balıkesir, however, I was back on the road to Istanbul for a best friend weekend with no other that Mr. Robert Lyon III!

In addition to going to the Blue Mosque and Ayasofya, as usual, we also went to the Spice Bazaar (also known as the Egyptian Bazaar), where Rob was solicited poison to feed to his mother-in-law.

Don't be fooled, all poison.

We also went to Topkapı Sarayı, which was commissioned by Sultan Mehmed II and served as the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for over four hundred years. In case you didn't know, Sultan Mehmed II is responsible for the whole "Istanbul, not Constantinople" business, in that he conquered the business out of it.

We even had some European tourists take poorly positioned and very awkward photos of us!

This is my "not impressed, Istanbul" face.

After taking one more Myspace picture for good measure...

... we explored the Ottoman imperial jewel collection, as well as the Imperial Harem, which was very cool. However, because educational signage is limited and they wanted to charge me fifteen lira for a map, I don't really know what I took pictures of.

The Courtyard of the Eunuchs, to which
Rob replies, "EUNUCHS?!"

Some important room or something.

After Topkapı, we went to the Basilica Cistern, or the "Yerebatan Sarayı" in Turkish. The Basilica Cistern is one of many found underground thanks to the Byzantines, and in my personal, very educated opinion, it was super cool. Maybe it's because it's a little different from other historical sites in Istanbul, or because I've just seen some of them so many times, but I might venture to say it's one, if not the, of the coolest places to go in Istanbul. Plus, while we were there, all of these archaeologists/fancy people were taking measures/doing cool sciency stuff, which made me very jealous.

The Basilica Cistern also has two columns whose bases are reused blocks of stone carved with the face of Medusa. Allegedly, they are turned on their side and upside down to negative the power of the Gorgon's gaze, which would turn dudes to stone, but historians and archaeologists think that the one laying on its side because it was the right size to support the column above. Thanks to history, the magic of everything can be removed.

Another first for me was visiting Süleymaniye Camii, which was commissioned by Süleyman the Magnificent (like, the OG of sultans) and designed by Mimar Sinan, his chief architect and the chief architects of the next two sultans.

Süleyman the Magnificent, you can imagine as per his name, was a pretty impressive guy. He conquered a considerable amount of Eastern Europe as well as the majority of the Middle East for the Ottoman Empire; he was also known as "The Lawgiver," because he more or less laid down a legal framing that would not only shape the Ottoman Empire, but would also be used centuries after his death. Fun fact: at the time that Süleyman and the Ottomans were doing battle with the Catholics, the Ottomans kind of became buddies with a lot of blossoming Protestant movements in Europe who were also sick of the Papacy. Anglicans, Anabaptists, Quakers, and even Jesuits found a safe place to come to in Istanbul where they could worship their religion of chose freely. Check that out!

And also, because I'm an adult now with a job that pays me real money, I decided to get one of the strange "Ottoman" lollipops people are always making/selling in the Sultanahmet area. It was very cool to watch, but it was a lot of work to eat. I'd say the return wasn't entirely worth the effort, but the ones the make in Bursa have peanuts in them, so you know I'm going to make that happen the next time I'm there.

Finally, we ended our best friend weekend with dinner at Sirena on the Galata Bridge. Because Rob made a friend as he was trying to get to our hotel at one in the morning, we scored some free goodies while Rob got a very cultural lesson in Turkish dancing.

Look at him, getting so cultured.

The next day, we headed off to get Rob to the airport after a very super best friend weekend. Thanks for coming, friend!


That same week, I was met with much success with one of my lesson plans I had for that week.

I have to say, I had been waiting for this day when it seemed like it could be a reality... I successfully taught my students how to play Apples to Apples!

They're just as excited as I am!

They all said they really liked, and I don't think they were just being nice, so that's awesome. Some classes like it more than others, some were willing to speak English the whole time, and some were more or less indifferent to the whole thing, but that's because they're indifferent to everything, not just Apples to Apples.

Just a sampling of some of my favorite people in Turkey!

And just as I got resettled into Balıkesir, we were back on the road for our mid-year review in Ankara! The fun really, truly never stops... neither do the endless, eight-hour bus rides.

Incidentally, we were leaving for Ankara on the same day that all of the soldiers were leaving their cities to go to training (I think), and there were bands playing at every otogar we stopped in.

Just a typical Thursday in Balıkesir, no big deal.

The main highlight of our mid-year review, aside from seeing people we hadn't seen in months, was the talent show some of our very talented fellow ETAs participated in. We had folk music, joke-telling, photography-showcasing, and original scores written in Turkish.

The one talent that I think we all identified with during the talent show, however, was my pal Ryan of the Antep crew and his songs about being a yabancı in Türkiye. I can't figure out how to insert it into this blog post, but have no fear, it is totally going up on this bizzlog. Not that you'll find it funny if you don't understand it, but hey, it's all part of the yabancı experience.