Friday, August 13, 2010

Phase 1: Internship status = complete

Today was the last day of work; I made it! I survived an entire summer working at a company in a foreign country. As boring as it was, it was an amazing experience. Learning how to work in that environment efficiently wasn't easy, but I pushed through and made it work.
What I Learned from G.F.:
- Turkish
- How factoring works
- fortune telling
- Vulgar words/slang
- how to make Turkish tea and coffee
- Turkish customs
- Turkish mannerisms

After work I went with the coworker who first showed me around the office, Aybuke. She is one of the nicest ladies I have ever met. Because it is Ramadan, she and her husband are fasting. They invited me to eat the evening meal, iftar, with them and then head to the Ramadan festivities in their neighborhood (at night during Ramadan there are a lot of carnival and fair type activities to go to). It was great to be a part of their family for the night - one day they will make great parents! Aybuke made a home-cooked meal of soup, some kind of chicken and pea mixture, pasta, and dolma along with bread and baklava for something sweet. Simply delicious. The fair was also a lot fun, and afterwards we drank Turkish coffee. They then drove me home. It was a great way to end my internship with G.F.

Entrance sign

We ate macun, a traditional candy. It is taffy like but softer. First you start with a plain stick.

Then you wrap the candy around the stick in layers.

 Last step: enjoy! Afiyet olsun!


 
Turkish version of a tilt-a-whirl. Of course it's a whirling dervish!

Live music

Aybuke and I

1 comment:

  1. If the whole University thing doesn't work out, or the Frugal Traveler, maybe you could be on "The Price is Right!"

    ReplyDelete