the mysteries of college and a REALLY long entry

Classes "officially" started on Monday. My first class (Advanced Russian) was Monday morning at 10. Being the punctual American student that I am, I was up by 9 and out the door by 930. Since the school is only about a five minute walk from my house, leaving early is only slightly unnecessary. I arrived early enough to have some simit for breakfast and acquaint myself with the general layout of the building. At about 950 I found my classroom and waited outside. No other students were milling around, so I started to get a little concerned. The hour came and passed; no one showed up. I waited almost half an hour before leaving. Maybe the professor had sent out an email declaring class canceled for the day? I tried to check my email at the computer lab, only to find it locked up. Defeated, I returned home and was determined to try again on Tuesday. I spoke to an employee in the International Office who seemed to think this was normal; since it was the first day of school, maybe people were still coming back from holiday or were busy moving.

What a stark difference from the States! The first day of school isn't necessarily "important" as far as receiving information, but it is typically attended by all. We meet teachers on the first day and receive the syllabuses for all the classes. It's usually the earliest opportunity to determine whether or not you'll /like/ the class or the teacher. Apparently here, the first day of school isn't nearly as important! What a strange idea.

Since the campus wasn't very far from my house, I didn't feel particularly put off by the lack of class. I decided that the next day, Tuesday, would be far more successful. So, in a similar fashion, I woke up early on Tuesday morning. I ate my simit and sat outside my classroom waiting for any sign of life. Again, the hour came and went; still, no one showed up. I didn't wait half an hour this time! After about fifteen minutes had passed, I declared my class "empty" and left. I had intended to get some things done while still on the campus, but none of the teachers I needed to talk to were around, the computer lab was full, and the library wouldn't let me use the computers there. Again, defeated, I returned home.

Normally, a student would be rejoicing at having two extra days of summer! Don't get me wrong, I definitely enjoyed my empty days. The only problem is this: I'm terrified that this Russian class will be far beyond my current language level. I was hoping to take a 'test drive' on the first two days. If it was too difficult, I'd be able to drop it and try to take a different level or a different class altogether. Next week is the add/drop week, but Monday and Tuesday are both holidays. So, I won't have the class at all before add/drop, and I won't know if I'll be successful in the class. Most likely I'll be fine, but I don't want to paint myself into a corner with no chance of escape!

Wednesday was a much more successful school day; I had two classes, and both were attended by the students AND the teachers! My morning class, Turkish language, will most likely be my easiest class. Most of the students have only had a little bit of Turkish. Apparently Erasmus provided a month-long intensive language course, so the majority of the class is too advanced for the beginning section but well below my own level. It will be a great chance to brush up on my grammar, so I'm very excited. I think the teacher might be a great resource if I run into trouble in my Russian class. Not only is she a language teacher, but she knows Turkish and English well enough to help me with both.
The majority of the class is from Germany. I shouldn't be surprised by that, I suppose. Turkey and Germany have a relationship similar to that of Mexico (or, I suppose, much of the Latin world) and the States. Just as many students in the States take Spanish and vacation in Mexico (at least in Colorado!), many Germans take Turkish and visit Turkey. I'm told that even in Germany, Turks are regarded in a similar light to Latino/a immigrants in the States. I can't say for sure whether that's the truth, but I hope it isn't. I think immigrants in all parts of the world are receiving an unfair knee-jerk reaction by nationalist populations. What do I know, though? It's just my impression.

But anyway, back to classes. My Turkish class is mostly German, with one Czech and one Dane and myself. The three of us mostly stick together; we were lucky enough to bump into each other a few times around school and around the city, so we're pretty well acquainted. It's nice to have some almost-friends!

Jessi, the other American student, has been really a great friend lately. We have two classes together. It's nice because I can bounce ideas off of her without having to think about what words I use and how quickly or slowly I speak. We have Balkan Politics and Turkish Politics and Foreign Policy together. Yesterday was the Balkan Politics class. At this point I'm so tired of writing about school, so I won't go into much detail about it. It will be a lot of reading, but we only have it once a week. The teacher is excellent, and while the class is mostly foreigners, I'm excited to have some Turks in it as well. Even after just the first day, my understanding of nationality versus ethnicity has really evolved. It's really a line of thought that I'm exploring on my own, but listening to some people discuss their ethnic background in relation to their current nationality was really interesting.


I can't believe I'm writing this much. It's absurd! But I haven't had my laptop with me for the last few days, and I apparently have a lot to say.

Yesterday, Kaan took the day off and moved us into the new house. I can't wait to get some pictures of it! It's so big. Something like it in the States would easily go for $600 or $700US. We're getting it for 550TL, which ends up being about $375US. Absolutely unbelievable. The street is pretty quiet, except at night, when the teenagers all come out to shout at our window. It's close enough to the main road that coming and going is easy, but far enough away that we don't have a lot of traffic noise. There is a mosque practically next door, which makes sleeping a little difficult (but at 5am, it's alright. 5am is one of those times that you practically can't NOT sleep, no matter what you wake up for). There's a beautiful old church right across the intersection. I don't know if it is 'working' exactly, but it's nice to look at. The building itself is pretty old. There's a tag near the door for an electric company with Arabic script/numbers, and an address for Constantinople. I'll take a picture of it; it's really neat. The apartment has these huge ceilings which will make changing the light bulbs very difficult. We had quite an adventure trying to hang the curtains. We ended up having to put a 5' ladder on the couch in order to reach the curtain track. I was terrified, but Kaan, being the little macho man he is, fearlessly scaled our creation and got our curtains hung. I'm not a big fan of curtains, but in a city like Istanbul, where everyone is living so close to each other, they are completely necessary.

Things with Kaan are going pretty well. He works a lot, so I spend a lot of my time sitting at his cafe. Generally it's quiet and relaxed, so I don't mind passing the day here. I often read or surf the net. Plus, I get all the tea I can drink for free! You can't beat that. I wish he worked a little less, but there isn't much I can do about that.

His day starts around 8 or 830, when he comes to open the cafe. He works alone until around 12, when the only female employee, Gül, shows up. At 1, another worker comes. The three of them work until around 5, when the next guy arrives. Kaan gets off at 8 or 830--a 12 hour day. He works for an abysmally small amount of money but seems to enjoy his work enough to not complain. I'm always concerned how we're going to make it on his small income, but I trust that things will work out. The fights we have are about his smoking and my wanting to pay for everything. I find it amusing that most couples fight about not having any money, while we have some money and fight about who gets to pay for things. I end up winning most of the time, but I know it pushes his buttons that I'm the one with extra money and he can't provide for me. It's another thing I don't really understand; I chalk it up to being not only an American, but an intelligent and independent woman. I don't feel pressure to adhere to the stereotypical gender roles of a relationship! But since Kaan and I are different people, living in different societies, and working off of different backgrounds and experiences, I don't expect that he will so easily shed the standards of society. Oh, intercultural romance.

Today, Thursday, I have absolutely no plans. I'm supposed to be settling things into the house, unpacking and so on. I really don't want to though! I'd rather sit around and type novels to my audience of 7. Perhaps later I'll be productive.