Rotary Trips SOLC2013 #4

As an exchange student in Turkey, the Rotary (the organization I'm sponsored by) gives me and the other exchange students in my district many opportunities to travel around Turkey.  For instance, we have had trips to Izmir, Kusadasi, Ephesus, Istanbul and Capadoccia thus far; and in the future we will have the chance to travel to Bursa, the Greek Islands and Athens, Pamukkale, Bodrum, Marmaris and Northeastern Turkey.  Today I sent an email to one of our Rotarians to sign up for Northeastern Turkey trip and I'm excited to see places so rich in history.  Eastern Turkey has a lot of places full of Turkish history, and also a lot of religious history.  I'll be able to see many mosques, cathedrals, churches and even the spot in which Noah's Ark apparently ended up after the flood. I'm really excited to go on these tours with Rotary, I always have so much fun with the other exchange students in my district and enjoy every second I have being with my friends and exploring the beautiful country of Turkey! We talk about our exchanges, and share things about our own cultures, and always just have a good time in general. We have two gatherings this month, to Bursa and Pamukkale (which I'm especially looking forward to- I recommend Googling it if you don't know what Pamukkale is, it's so beautiful) so I'll be sure to keep you up to date on how those go.

Exchangers in Capadoccia

Turkish Tea SOLC2013 #3

Over the past six months, (yes, six. I can't wrap my head around it either) I've had at least 300 cups of Turkish tea.  In Turkey, I drink tea at least once a day.  Whenever I'm a guest at someone's house, even if I'm only stopping by for 15 minutes, I'm always offered tea.  Every time I go to a restaurant, I always get tea after my meal.  I have tea every morning at breakfast.  I have tea at least twice a week at school.  I have tea when I sit around watching TV with my host family in the evenings.

Today I had tea three times.  Twice at breakfast, and then another at a little lake side cafe my host family took me to.  I've come so accustomed to having tea so often that tea is one of the top things on my "Things I Will Miss About Turkey When I Return to America" list. This list is only in my head, but, also over the past 6 months, my thoughts have shifted from "I miss..." to "I will miss..." It's really quite strange.  But, nonetheless, I love Turkish tea. I'll be sure to bring a bunch of it home with me for everyone to try!

Me and my Turkish tea

Slice of Life Challenge 2013

My mom, as many of you may know, is a 4th grade teacher.  Once a year, she challenges her kids to participate in the "Slice of Life Challenge" that is organized by a pair of bloggers, who happen to be teachers, who she follows.  Basically, Slice of Life is a challenge to write a little snippet about your life every day for the month of March.  So... I'm going to try it out.  I don't know if it'll work, but apparently my posts were good examples of SOLC writings, so they can both be my day one writings.

Now for day two!

It's day two of the SOLC and... I don't know what to write about.  Five minutes ago I Googled "I don't know what to blog about."  Well, honestly, I Googled, "ii dont konw what to blog about"  I had a few typos in there.. Oops.  Anyways, after reading a few blogs about what to blog about when you don't know what to blog about, I read about writing about your life NOW.  Not yesterday, or tomorrow, but now.  Well, right now I'm sitting on the couch, watching "O Ses Turkiye" (The Voice- Turkey) and I'm exhausted!!!

Today, I went to the cinema to see Gangster Squad.  The only English movies at the theater were Gangster Squad and Les Miserables, and because Les Mis is about ten hours long, I went with the action packed gangster movie! It had Ryan Gossling... so I liked it.  (Jeesh, I'm TOO tired right now...)  So, I was on the other side of Bursa to see the movie, and I had to take the metro home.  I was riding the metro with my other foreign friend, and we were speaking English, and I ended up singing quietly to him.  On the metro.  At that point the 14 year old boys sitting a few feet away from us started saying (in Turkish) "Oh, look! They're foreign!" Then his brilliant friend asked, "Are they speaking Spanish?" It made me laugh. I then got off the metro because I had to switch trains and I didn't like other people talking about me right in front of my face.  I then returned home and now I'm ready for bed!  Tomorrow I'm going to a nearby city with my host family, so hopefully I'll have something to Slice of Life about.  Also, I'll start writing before 12:30AM and I won't be exhausted before I even start writing. Now... it's bed time (finally)!  Iyi geceler ve tatlı rüyalar herkese.

I Could be a Millionaire! SOLC2013 #1

I'm currently watching Turkey's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and the last question was something along the lines of "What was the event in 1969 that took place in New York that included the music of Jimi Hendrix and [others that I didn't read in time]?"  I was like, "Ah! I understand! The answer is Woodstock!"

The man guessed Octoberfest.

Awkward Exchange Moment #256

Today my host mom and I were driving home from visiting her daughter's dance studio, and when we got home we rang the doorbell to get into the apartment building.  In apartments, as you probably know, you have to ring the bell that corresponds to your particular apartment, then the person there can unlock the door from their apartment, then you walk to the apartment door inside the building, and ring a second bell to get into the house.  In my apartment there's a video camera next to the doorbell outside that way the person can actually see who is ringing the bell from all the way outside.  With all this being said, my host mom and I were ringing the doorbell to get inside.  Now, I must tell you, my host mom is a pretty silly person, so we decided it'd be funny to ring the doorbell (my host dad was at home) and cover the camera and make funny "HO HO HO" sounds and saying things like "MERHABA!!" in crazy voices.  So we did this once, we heard that he was there due to faint sounds from the microphone  but he didn't let us in.  Hmm... So we rang again, this time showing our faces and just cracking up.  Again, he clearly acknowledged us because we could hear noises from the microphone  but no answer.  My host mom look at each other, then look in the parking lot for his car, and think maybe he's not actually home.  So, we unlock the door the old fashioned way with a key, then walk up to the apartment.

To our surprise, my host dad is sitting on the couch, and we were like, "Where were you? Didn't you hear us ringing the bell? We were making funny noises!" He was very confused, he had no idea what we were talking about, and then he realized something.

We accidentally rang the neighbor's bell.  And not just any neighbor's bell.  The neighbor that we're not particularly friendly with and don't talk to...

We then all laughed about the situation for about two minutes straight, nearly all of us in tears.

Ancient Ruins, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Football Games

So, I've realized that I haven't really posted anything about what I've done since about Christmas.  I've let you know a few bits and pieces here and there, but nothing too big.  I kind of wish I was better at this "blogging" thing.  I want to post more often, but somehow find myself constantly busy, despite the fact that the stack of books I've read over the past six months keeps growing and growing.  Anyways, I want to give you a quick update of what I've been doing, and how I've been doing over the past month or so.

So... soon after Christmas, was New Years.

Riad and me

Riad and me dancing like Turkish people

New Years was seriously, a really great night! I went to a party with Riad and his host family with a few other Rotary families.  We got to count down the new year in a foreign language, then attempt to sing and dance along with all the Turks. Turks really know how to have a good time. :)

The rest of January was mainly going to school, and well, school is school.  It wasn't too exciting.  I read a bunch. 

The last week of January and first week in February was a semester break from school! So, I got two weeks off of school.  For a few days the first week I went to Manisa and I stayed with my friend from Canada.  It was so much fun! One day her host family took us to a village where they make a lot of Nazar (evil eyes) things, then to a horse farm, and then we drove up a mountain, where I had a stomachache and we got a flat tire.  It was quite an adventure.  Another day, I went into Izmir to see my friends there. The last full day I had, which just happened to be my 18TH BIRTHDAY, I went to Ephesus, and I got to meet up with one of my friends back home from Ohio, then went to have dinner at a restaurant with my exchange friends who stay in Izmir.  Being with my exchange friends is really great.  I don't get to see them very often because I'm in Bursa, about five hours from most of them, but whenever I get together with them I always have a blast.  I know there are a few students in my group who will probably be my friends for a really long time, and I'm really happy I had the chance to spend a few days with them this month.  

Shannon and me at the horse farm

On February 1 Shannon made cinnamon rolls with her host mom, then at midnight for my birthday we stuck a candle on one and we had a little party!

My friend Emma and me at Ephesus!

The rest of the break I mainly just spent hanging out with my host family or exploring Bursa with Riad. On the last day of break, I switched host families, and moved in with the Ermutlu family.  Riad and I just switched host families, so I knew this family pretty well before I came.  To my surprise, the amount of stuff I own here in Turkey has nearly doubled over the past few months.  Anyways, here's a picture of my new host family and I:

New host family

I really am enjoying my new host family, and my host mom are having a lot of fun cooking together! I taught her how to make chocolate chip cookies, and then she taught me how to make stuffed grape leaves. Mmm :)

Me making making cookies

IT TASTED LIKE AMERICA. IT SMELLED LIKE AMERICA. IT WAS AWESOME!

Learning new things is fun!

So.... I think two weeks ago, I went to a wedding on Saturday for the daughter of my Rotary Club President, then on Sunday Riad and I went to a Bursaspor soccer game.  

Host moms!

Riad and me

My host mom teaching me how to dance like a Turk

BURSASPORRRRRR

Before the soccer game Riad and I had some nice Kofte Ekmek (Meatball  Sandwich) 

Last week and this week there's been an AIESEC program at my school with international university students coming in to give presentations to English classes.  AIESEC is basically international non-profit organization that lets students do various interning and leadership training internationally and it's all run by young people, which is extra cool!  So, last week we had a boy from Indonesia, and this week there is a girl from Egypt, both accompanied by a Turkish student.  It's been really neat to be with these students, and I've had fun getting to know more people and learn about more cultures.  I'm ready to go to Egypt and Indonesia now!

Yesterday, Riad and I gave presentations IN TURKISH to a Rotary club in Inegol, a city about an hour from Bursa.  It was our first time presenting in Turkish, and it didn't go terribly!  The club president even gave us some nice gifts that represent his city and Rotary club at the end. 

In this picture, I'm awkwardly like, "this is my first time speaking Turkish to a lot of people. I'm an exchange student!"

And in this one, I'm like, "LOOK! IT'S AMERICA :))))"

I feel like there's something else I want to share with you guys... but I can't think of it right now. 

OH!!!!

Today my host mom and I were going over the Rotary schedule for the next few months, and I have some pretty exciting Rotary trips and things to do ahead of me.  With my family coming to visit me in the summer, and various Rotary trips all over Turkey, I'm really excited for everything ahead of me.  I'm not so much excited with the fact that I'll be sitting in Ohio in about four and a half months, but I'm REALLY looking forward to the next four and a half months I have here in Turkey. I'll keep you up to date with all my trips as soon as I know more! Now I'm going to go get ready for bed, and hopefully I'll be updating again soon!  Iyi geceler :)

So ya know...

So, do you remember when my last blog got a virus or something about 4 months ago? Well I just copied some of the old blog posts into this blog.  I didn't get all of them, and I didn't copy the pictures, but they're finally here on this site. There might be random extra letters or random parts missing from when I copied them from my WordPress account, but I think you'll get the gist.  I know I'm due for a proper blog post soon... but today I'm really tired and am now going to bed... but, I PROMISE one will be on it's way soon.  I have one almost ready, and another one in my head at the moment.  Iyi geceler :))

Also, here's a birthday shout out to my cousin, Markus! Doğum günün kutlu olsun :)

Turkglish

So today at dinner, my host dad was trying to tell me that if I were still hungry, I could get more food, but instead he awkwardly told me in half Turkish, half English, so we came up with a new language, Turkglish. I don't know if that's the official name for half English, half Turkish, but it's the official name in the Erdoğan household. I'm really good at Turkglish.

Happy Sunday

Happy Sunday everyone!

Today started as a Lazy Sunday for me.  Sleeping until the early afternoon, having breakfast with my host mom, then cleaning up my room.  I like Lazy Sundays.  I then spent the much of the evening getting ready for  (something like) an engagement dinner.  We showed up late to the dinner because my host dad had to work, but I was told it was just a dinner and party for this couple's engagement, celebrated with their families.  My host mom asked me if we had the same thing in the States, and I said yes, but I don't actually remember. After the dinner, I returned home with my host family and we just hung out watching TV and taking silly photos and now everyone is getting quiet for the night.  I have The Princess Bride playing in the background, and am a very content little exchange student.

I don't know where I'm going with this blog post, I just wanted to write because I haven't written in awhile and I miss it... so here we go! This will probably just be an insane mishmash of thoughts, so... bare with me. Please. This might just turn into multiple blog posts.

As I said earlier, I don't even know if we have engagement dinners like that in the United States.  I don't know because I'm forgetting so much about America, and also I haven't been to an American wedding in about 10 years.  It's strange how I'm forgetting things, it's actually pretty bad.  For instance today, I sneezed. My host mom said, "çok yaşa," and I replied, "Sen de gör," and my host dad asked me what "çok yaşa" meant in English, and I said, "Bless you," and then he asked what the response is to it, and I blanked. I was like, "Thanks? Uh... You too? Yeah, thanks." It was too weird.  I'm forgetting things about my FIRST language and about my home sweet home. Lately I've had so many instances where people ask me what a certain custom is in the United States, and I just look at them and say, "I forget."  Also, I forget how to spell and my vocabulary is very small. Whoops.... But then again, I'm probably just blaming Turkey on my small vocabulary and inability to spell, because I don't want to face the truth.

Yesterday I watched "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations- Istanbul" and it was really fun to watch! I remember starting to watch it on Netflix before I left the States, but it was in the wee hours of the morning, and I fell asleep, so if you have a spare 42 and a half minutes, you can probably watch it on Netflix, but here is the link for YouTube if you don't have Netflix, or if you're like me and "Netflix is not available in your country yet." I think it shows Istanbul really nicely, and I agreed with many of the things shown on the program.  The ideas presented of Turkey being a mystery and surprising, and the expectations of Turkey being a "blank page" are absolutely right.  You will be able to see a bunch of different, but delicious foods on this show, and also the Taxi driver is absolutely HILARIOUS and he's so Turkish, it's wonderful. :)

I forgot to tell you the best part! Friday was our last day of school before our two week semester break. Yippee! There aren't as many long weekends in Turkey as there are in the US, so I've been looking forward to a break for awhile.  On Friday we only went to school until 11:30, then we were released early for our break. It's ACTUALLY crazy to think that I'm halfway done with school here.  I feel as I just stared, and I know the second half will fly by, which is also really crazy to think about. I don't have definite plans for this break, but I think I'll be going to Istanbul with my family for a few days, and hopefully I can get down to Izmir to see my exchange friends for a few days as well.

I know I have a little over a week until the midpoint of my exchange, but I really don't want to think about it.  Although my exchange hasn't been all fun and games, and I've had hard times, it's been pretty awesome.  I've met so many wonderful people thus far and learned so much, but I don't want it to be halfway over! I still have a lot more to see and do and learn, and I'm ready for it.  Hadi bakalim, Turkiye ;D (Roughly, "let's do it, Turkey")

These are some of my recent photos:

One of my teachers, three of my classmates and me right before our semester break!

My host mom and I after the engagement dinner. 

My host dad thought it'd be funny to take pictures in front of the mirror. So here is one. He's a funny guy  :)

Christmas Box

Hey everyone,

It's January 4, and I finally received my Christmas Box from America! It was filled with baking equipment I've been needing, candy, homemade cookies, a pair of boots, a Christmas sweater (we get sweaters every year at the Johnson house), my Christmas pajamas (we get new pajamas every Christmas Eve at the Johnson house), more socks and, of course, because my mother is Julie Johnson, books.  I was so happy to get my box, it was like Christmas in a box, packed with Christmas cookies and warm family feelings.  It was absolutely perfect. Thank you all. :) I also got things from both sets of my grandparents, so thanks to all of you as well!