here we go again

On September 2, 2009, I will be embarking on the second half of a grand adventure.

It all started in 2006 when I decided, as a junior in high school, to spend my senior year abroad. After a few unexpected turns of event, I ended up studying in Turkey for the ten month academic year. The year was full of adventure and education; upon return to the US in July of 2007, I had become a certified turkophile, gobbling up whatever opportunities I had to read about, talk about, think about, and revisit the country as often as they were presented.

Now as a junior in college, I've been given the chance to study abroad for a second time. For much of my final quarter of sophomore year I considered studying in Russia; after all, I am a Russian major and could really benefit from the time spent immersed in Russian language. As the application deadline drew near, I began to weigh my options. While spending my year in Russia would have been a wonderful opportunity to improve my language skills and confidence, my heart was set on studying again in Istanbul.

So here I am, a month away from my flight and from the beginning of another sort of college experience. I'll be staying with my long time on-again-off-again love interest Kaan (we're off-again, if anyone is interested) in an apartment near one of the campuses of Istanbul Bilgi University. I'll be taking a slew of international relations classes, Advanced Russian, and maybe even Kurdish. The plan is to learn as much as I can, without sacrificing my free time and energy.

Here's why you might find this blog entertaining:
You might be one of my friends or family members perplexed at my continuing travels to Turkey and eager to decode my fledgling curiosity with such a complex country and culture.
You might be a student considering a study abroad experience or one of my fellow travelers looking for a way to stay in touch.
You might find amusing the dynamics between kaan and myself, especially if I go more into depth about him.
You might enjoy my anecdotes of college life, of living in a small apartment with an even smaller Kurdish man in a shady part of town, of trying to maintain a shred of privacy and normalcy in a city of 15 million.
You might even be pleased to watch some youtube vlogs that I hope to film, illustrating not only some of the beauty of Istanbul, but some of the more mundane and ordinary sides of life in the city as well.

So now, who am I?
I'm a third year student at the University of Denver. I'm an International Studies major, Russian language major, and Religious Studies minor. I don't know what I want to do after college. I'm a vegan and intend to stay vegan as long as I can while abroad. I'm a dread head, a nappy girl, and a bit of a hippie. I'm a worrier; I'm currently worried about not having enough money to eat and getting stared at for growing a head of dreads. I'm sure when I get there, I'll start to worry about classes and getting around. I'm beginning to develop a concern about the campus situation; Bilgi has three campuses across the city. I'll be living close to one campus, but what if my classes are at another? Hopefully all will be well.

Some names you might see popping up in this blog:
Margaret, my sister at home in Colorado
Roy, one of my best friends in Colorado
Anthony, another friend in Colorado
Cameron, a friend from DU who will be studying in Russia and China, each for a semester
Kyle, another friend from DU who will be studying in Denmark for a year
Jenn, yet another friend from DU who will be studying in China for a semester

I can't fathom that I'll talk about these people much, but here they are just in case.

In my month remaining, I need to renew my scooter insurance, cancel Netflix, and pay tuition.
I'm leaving tomorrow for Seattle, which may be the birthplace of my new vlog. I'll be there for a week, visiting a friend with whom I went to Turkey in 2006/2007 and getting my dreads maintained by lish.

On that note, I should finish laundry and packing. Stay tuned for more updates as I prepare for my exodus to Turkey, as I battle incompetent airline companies and suitcases that refuse to zip shut, and, of course, the whole purpose of this blog, my impending doomschool year abroad.