The First Sunday... and Monday.

Our first Sunday in Balıkesir was fairly chill. We did a lot of hanging around in town and in our apartment. We found a bookstore in town, but we didn't stay there longer. However, this is a perfect segue into introducing my new plan as to how I'm going to learn Turkish. 


If you know me (which I hope you do, because why else would you be reading my blog? Just kidding, you can totally read my blog!), you might recall that I have a strong propensity for all things Harry Potter. Therein lies the secret code I need to crack the most widely used Turkic language. Don't tell J.K. Rowling, but I found PDF copies of the books online and I put them on my Kindle to further assist me in my cause. (I'm still bitter about not getting my early invite to Pottermore.) 

I can feel the fluency already.

Unfortunately, I didn't find any Turkish Harry Potter just yet... should have gotten them in Ankara like I had planned. Oh well. I'm not only interested in getting the Turkish versions of Potter to better my Turkish and make me a transcontinental Potter fan; I'm really interested to see how fabricated English words like "Diagon Alley" and "Quidditch" translate. Nerd status? You bet your bottom dollar.

However, I did find another of my favorite adolescent book series (I mean, it's not like I read anything else anyway) which I'm thinking would also be interesting to read. I know I have a few friends who'd be interested in them as well. (I won't shout you out here guys, no worries.)

I'd like to stress how much I looked like a creep taking pictures of children's
literature in this Turkish bookstore. All for the sake of this blog. But can I get an amen for my boy Rick Riordan?!

Also, we mark this first Sunday with our first trip to the mall in Balıkesir, which is (debatedly) named Yaylada. Once again, I failed to find a watch that I like... this has been my goal for roughly two weeks. I did, however, get my hands on a blow dryer and some pide, which is more or less Turkish pizza.

I had to physically restrain myself just to get a picture before I wolfed this sucker down.

"I'm Russell Guajardo, and I support this pide."
(Just kidding, he didn't say that. But it probably would have made that pide even more delicious.)

This was the sixth attempt on my part to get a picture of Greg mesmerized by this McCafe dispenser. Less mesmerized by the fact that he found it in Turkey, more by the fact that it was all in Turkish.

We also came back to Cafe Ramon for a Galatasaray game, but I think I've put most of my support towards Fenerbahçe, especially since Beşiktaş LOST last night. We'll see. I still have nine months to make an executive decision.


Prior to watching the Beşiktaş game at Ramon's, we had a meeting with the Rector of our university. He's like the Donald Farish of Balıkesir, but with a mustache and no beard. Oh, and he's Turkish. Minor detail? Additionally, we were given out own office (!!!!) and hung out around town with some of our co-workers, where we had a remarkably interesting and hilarious discussion on football and how the Smurfs are communists.

We also established that the creation of Smurfette has something to do with original sin.

Oh also, yesterday was my first official day of being employed by Balıkesir University. It consisted of me meeting a class of forty-five first-year students, being left alone with them for about eight minutes, and then being told they're not even my students anyway. I'm actually starting my classes today, which consist of one class for about four hours. I'm not entirely sure what to talk about for four hours. Thank goodness it's syllabus week? That's a bad attitude, but-- oh wait, I don't even have a syllabus. Okay then. This should be REAL fun.