YEMEK!!!!

Yemek=Food. The food here is good. No. It's simply divine. Since I've been in Turkey, I have become less picky. Shocker, I know. I have eaten so many things that I swore I would never even touch let alone put in my mouth. The service bus doesn't pick us, my roommate and I, at the dorms; there is a bus stop that is a 20 min walk away. On the way to the bus stop there is a pastry store, perfect for breakfast. This morning we decided was a good morning to try it out. I have no clue what I bought or what was in it, but it was delicious! Tomorrow maybe we will stop at the same place. I will ask for specific names/take pictures of the heavens-on-a-napkin. I must admit, I was nervous about food before coming here. I am enjoying it a lot, so you know it's good ;). For lunch today I also tried köfte, ground beef (or lamb, I had beef) mixed with spices like a meatball. It was interesting...for me it didn't compare to döner. It was still pretty tasty though. I tried this at Istinye Park, the large and rather fancy mall near my office building. I have also decided that I love tea. Love love LOVE IT. I drink at least one cup in the morning and maybe one cup in the afternoon. If I don't drink it in the afternoon I drink Turkish coffee. Yes, it's very strong but in a good way.

Work is getting better every day. Today I was assigned to read about factoring - what it is, what are the advantages, how it works, etc. It was interesting for maybe the first 5 min. Then I had to find more in-depth information which got a little bit repetitive and boring. When I was done reading, I decided that it was a good time to look up some Turkish grammar. Today was past tense day. Tomorrow will be a review and maybe future tenses (I found an EXTREMELY helpful website: http://turkishlanguage.co.uk/ ). As much as I want to, I will refrain from putting up sticky note signs that say the Turkish words for objects around the office. My co-workers are very excited to help me out and answer any questions I may have (and to practice their English too!).

I still have a cold. I'm getting better, but it still sucks being sick in a foreign country. Luckily I drink enough tea for a small family so I should be better in no time!

This is Park Plaza, my office building.