But where to start?
I'm laying here on my uncomfortable purple twin mattress wishing it was my Princess and the Pea style bed back at home. Back at home where I will be frighteningly soon. I leave Istanbul in 10 days. 10 days left in this city that has been my home since January. Almost FIVE MONTHS I've been here in Turkey living, studying, enjoying, learning, experiencing, growing, adventuring, making friends, making memories, being homesick, and wishing this time abroad would never end. As of late, when I casually think of returning home, I picture my uncomfortable purple twin mattress, my four white walls, and my very limited closet selection. However I realize that soon I will be returning to my real home in Sturbridge with my parents and my sister and my dog Bailey. I can't help but tear up when I think about seeing them in person again and getting to give them all big bear hugs! UGH I am so excited to be reunited. But then I think about leaving the CIEE family I've formed here and the tears really start to build up. (Just to re-cap, CIEE is the program through which me and 35 other American students enrolled to Koc). I've come to love each and everyone of my CIEE crew here and a bunch of direct-enroll exchange students as well. We all embrace one another unconditionally. We know all of each other's triumphs and weaknesses. We share every bit of juicy gossip, crazy stories, brilliant ideas, and insider tips. At the beginning it seemed as if some cliques were forming within but they all faded out quickly when everyone realized how awesome everyone is. I can honestly say I've spent significant time with each and everyone of the students in my program and I cherish all of them.
Some of my friends have already flown back to the States. Henry was the first to leave last Saturday morning and Maddie left later that afternoon. Morgan and Stuart both leave tomorrow. Some people have three days left, some have a week, I have 10 days, and some are staying here deep into the summer.
This is a photo I took of the impromptu group that gathered for Maddie's goodbye brunch...
...so now to change the subject so I actually don't start crying. This photo reminds me of something else I wanted to rant about: WATER. (You see all those empty plastic water bottles on the tables?) I am so thirsty all the time especially since the sun has decided to come out and blaze us all because there is no where to find water on campus anymore. At the beginning of the semester there were tons of water coolers scattered around campus, my favorites were the one in S dorm and the one near my classroom in CAS. There was at least one water cooler on each floor of each academic building and they were all usually full. However by the end of the semester they have all either been removed, broken, or abandoned. Sometimes you can find a water cooler but there is hardly ever any water in it. The worst thing is that there is this fancy water cooler in the STD center (aka Student Center) which is hooked up directly to the water main with a built-in filter but about a month ago this broke and was never fixed (or I think it was turned off due to lack of water bottle sales). So now I am forced to buy these plastic bottles of water daily. And those are also hard to find. They have vending machines all around campus but since the "drought" oftentimes there is no water bottles left in them to buy (or sometimes the machines just steal your money and don't give you any product). I find myself resorting to the non-potable tap water more and more frequently these days. It tastes like chlorine.
The water situation really makes me appreciate America. America where we have free water, free speech, sarcasm, and can laugh at ourselves when we screw up. America where people hold the doors open for you, have personal space bubbles, know how to wait in lines properly, and aren't afraid to speak up for themselves. Before studying abroad I was not patriotic at all but now I love my country, I love my people. Everything makes sense when you get to take an outside perspective. Thus, I CANT WAIT FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY. I'm gonna buy so much red white & blue stuff its ridiculous... I've been eyeing this pair of American flag high-top Converse.
Where are you from?
AMURIKAH!
Oh, but where is your lineage traced from?
Honey I'm as American as they get, you can trace my roots back to the Mayflower fleet.
But I'm getting ahead of myself here talking all about the USA when I am still fully a resident of Turkey. A country to which I have grown a deep connection. The other day I realized that for however large and diverse Turkey feels it is actually only the size of Texas. The entire land mass of Turkey (783562 km²) is only 1.13x the size of Texas (696200 km²). Turkey is beautiful. There are mountains such as Uludağ, there are beautiful coasts such as ones surrounding the Mediterranean, there are crazy strange rocky landscapes, rolling hills, rivers, lakes, fields of wild flowers, and the list goes on and on. Turkey has so much history, too much to mention. Turkey has a rich and semi-modernized culture. Turkey has insane national pride. The language is funky and cool. The people are trustworthy and conservative. I can brag about Turkey all day long.
**CLICK HERE** (and then click play) AND WATCH A CHEESY VIDEO SHOWING TURKEY'S BEAUTIFUL ENVIRONMENT
However the biggest downfall to Turkey is their government. Free speech still isn't a reality. Their "democracy" is rigged. They gas peaceful protesters. And their priorities are all out of wack, spending billions building a third Bosphorus bridge when their country still doesn't have potable tap water.
This is an image I stole from my mentor's facebook. The crowd gathered in Taksim on May 1st in demonstration for the Turkish national holiday "Labor and Solidarity Day" got tear gassed by the police. This holiday is supposed to celebrate the middle working class... it is known for protests. "They may demand better conditions for skilled laborers and union workers, or protest the government's policies. If the demonstrators gather in unsanctioned places, the police may try to disperse the crowd."
On a better note though this is Taksim on any other day of the year! Bright, happy, and full of life...
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