It Depends...

Hello again!

So, a quick run down of where I left off last time.

After arriving at Koc University, I was taken to my temporary room. Apparently the heat in the main buildings hasn't been turned on/ isn't working quite yet, so all of the exchange students are being placed in temp locations. I met my temp roommate, who is an exchange student from Italy. From there, she, I, the other exchange student (a guy from the Netherlands) and two Turkish students headed off campus to find dinner. However, our first stop was a Turkish grocery store. As we roamed the store, looking for the basics, my new exchange friends and I joked about how unprepared we felt to be shopping for groceries already. I then proceeded to break a plate, by sending it crashing to the floor. My mentors started laughing, and hid it under the display. Of course it would be me... But at least it got people laughing a little more.

From there, we drove down the hill that Koc is located on, and past the sea that borders the main town we are closest to. It is an incredible journey at night, with the city lit up, and people coming back and forth. Suddenly, we stop, and one of the mentors said that we had arrived where we were going to have dinner. It was a Turkish McDonalds. No joke... My first Turkish meal was at a everyone's favorite American establishment. Except, this one delivers (on moped, of course) and serves a McTourc, or a pita with Turkish-style meat.

After we finished and headed home, it was already well past 10:30, or more than 30 hours since the last time I had slept. So, my roommate, Michol and I went to our room, where we proceeded to unpack a little, set up internet, chat and get ready for bed. Turns out, we are both interested in politics, so we discussed that for a whole, as well as the differences between American and Italian universities.

Today (Tuesday) we had to meet the other exchange student and our mentor at 12noon. So we slept in a little, and then got ready for our day. After meeting the staff at the exchange student office, and getting a tour of the student center, we sat down for Turkish lunch at the cafeteria. (This place's food is so good, TDR looks bad... Which, I know isn't hard... But still...) From there, we ran around campus doing a million errands, back and forth from the housing office to the bank, to the exchange office, to the student center, to the finances office... etc... From there, our mentor left the three of us, and instead of resting (like he suggested) we decided to find our way to the town directly at the bottom of the hill that Koc is on. So, we found a bus, and proceeded to walk around the town, finding a pair of gloves for one friend, and an adapter for another. From there, we found a place to have our first glass of real Turkish tea! We then headed back up the hill to the university, to meet the new exchange students arriving.

Two more Americans arrived today, one of which actually goes to American. But, she is a PhD student, so I had never met here. After lots of introductions, and a quick game of 20 questions (where are you from, whats your major, why are you here... etc) we decided to head out for a very traditional Turkish dinner. The place was fantastic, and the food was incredible!!! We started with a cheesy dip for bread, pickled cucumbers and cabbage and dolmes. From there, I had a chicken dish with rice. Fantastic! After, we all had tea or Turkish coffee.

After dinner, we returned to campus where we played fooseball, and randomly decided to had to Taxim, which is the equivalent of Addams Morgan, only bigger, fancier, and and more fantastic. We ended up at a pub, and sat around for a couple hours just chatting and getting to know one another. After that, we headed back to the university, and here we are now!

But now, it's late, so I should head to bed... That's all for now!