FRIDAY!!!! It doesn't matter where you are in the world, Fridays are AWESOME. And it's casual dress day. Hallelujah.

Even though it was the best day of the week, it was an uneventful day. Let's see, my work day consisted of a few invoice entries, watching football, and a party. There were 2 high school trainees working for my company. It was like a vocational internship, or so that's what I understood from what people said. Today was there last day. So basically I chilled and worked on my Turkish skills while eating cake.

It was a fairly uneventful day for me, but everyone else was super busy. I was very excited to see everyone's pictures! I was not able to share all of them with my co-workers because of their busy schedules today. From what they saw, they liked them too! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! I'll keep you posted as to what they say come Monday :). And again, I really appreciate all of your help with this project!

 

View from the stairwell window of my office building

We're only human

If I continue to have days like today every day I will master this language in no time! I got to work a little earlier than normal this morning so I went to talk to one of my bosses who speaks English fluently (there's one other, and some of the regular employees). Our first topic of conversation was how I lost my meal card. He reassured me that it wasn't a big deal and I shouldn't worry; we all make mistakes and forget things. He then proceeded to challenge me to speak Turkish for at least 1 hr every day. Well, the competitive side in me jumped out; I'm not one to turn down a challenge. After lunch was the perfect time to start. I casually asked about buying bus tickets. Before you know it, all of the employees had stopped working in order to give advice. We were having real conversations! One thing lead to another and then we were looking up pictures on the internet of places around Turkey. The conversations eventually shifted to family. I spent the rest of the afternoon showing everyone pictures from home.

The ride home from work went well. I must admit, I have the best bus driver ever! He reminds me of the stereotypical, Italian (no he's not really Italian) grandpa. He's crazy, but he would do anything for us.

Joy and I with the bus driver

When I got back to the dorm, I talked to my dad long enough to figure out there was another problem with my banking in the U.S. NOTE: Make sure that ALL of your banks know you're abroad! Oops. Guess I forgot to do that. After half an hour of translation mishaps and 23023028309823 phone calls I finally got it sorted out (I'm proud to say that I cried during only 1 of the phone calls. It was a culture shock frustration moment - it's not easy explaining your banking stupidity in a foreign language!). Here's a shout-out to all of my Turkish friends who helped me out :). THANK YOU.

Michigan and Istanbul are extremely different places. Different languages, different customs, different personal hygiene standards. I'm not in Kansas anymore, Toto. But these 2 places are also very similar. Maybe the house landed in Idaho?

Michigan and Istanbul Comparison/Contrast

Weather
SIMILARITY (S): I never check the weather at home, nor do I check the weather here.
DIFFERENCE (D): At home I don't check the weather because it always changes. I never check the weather here because it's always the same.

Sports
S: Pure addiction. People get hyped up over any game.
D: United States wins.

Transportation
S: Who doesn't like to drive fast?
D: Turks don't care about traffic laws (if there's any)

Shoes
S: Both cultures have impeccable taste
D: Since Turkish women are generally smaller, they have smaller feet. Thus the shoes are smaller. Apparently drag queens aren't too popular over here...

Pictures
S: Everyone likes to look at pictures! whether it's family, the ocean, food, trees.
D: ... (none that I could think of!)

This is normally the part where I end the entry. Today, though, I'm going to end in a different way. When I was looking for pictures of home, I didn't have very many good ones. I tried to google some pics from the U.S., but those pictures don't have any meaning. I am asking You (yes YOU) for help. PLEASE send me a picture that means something to you. It can be family, friends, scenery, your favorite tea pot, etc. I DON'T CARE. I want to share with my co-workers what's special to us in America. I think this is the best way for me to share the U.S. with them. There are guidelines though!
1. I do NOT appreciate spam
2. IT MUST BE APPROPRIATE (rated R photos are a no-no)
3. When you send your picture, please put in the subject line "(your name here)'s photo for Emily"
4. Send it to nerdgirl_09@hotmail.com please and thank you!
5. The deadline is preferably 2 am Eastern Time (That's 9 am Turkey time). If it's later in the day, that's ok. I just want to show people at work tomorrow.  *If you need more time, e-mail me saying so! I completely understand :)

I like forward to seeing what you come up with!

Just one of those days

I wouldn't consider today to be a bad day. Mildly sucky and disappointing, yes. Bad, not quite. I woke up just fine at the normal time and did the normal routine. Then before you know it, time has run out and its time to go. We didn't leave too late, just a few minutes after what we normally do. As we're walking out of the front gate of the dorms I realized that I forgot my camera. I ALWAYS bring it with me wherever I go. As I was pouting while walking down the street, I see that the dress I was wearing is completely wrinkled; I forgot to iron. At this point it doesn't really matter because 2 cars had already honked at us, and there was no way I could fix it. The bus ride went well. Too well actually since we got to work 20 minutes earlier than normal. We decided it was ok to chill at a cafe to kill some time. I got to work a little later than normal, but it was definitely an acceptable time to show up for work.

Within the first half an hour of being there, I was given work. They really figured out the advantages of having an intern around to do all the crappy work. I put invoices into the database. It didn't take me long to figure out how much it sucks if you forget an invoice or type in the number wrong (by accident of course!). In a stack of 200 invoices, you have to double check all of the numbers and make sure they're in the computer correctly. After finishing a couple of sets of invoices, I went to lunch with a group of co-workers. We drove in a car (I think it's the companies...I have no idea though). The gentleman who gives me all of my work was driving, and I went to the garage with him. I figured we were just meeting everyone else there. Without thinking I got into the front seat only to find out 2 min later that we were picking up our bosses in front of the building. I definitely felt bad about it because of seniority stuff. My co-worker that was driving said not to worry about it though..I still did.

Hah we went to a restaurant called Gaga. Anyways, for lunch they gave me a card to charge meals to so I don't have to pay. Guess who couldn't find their card at lunch? Hint: it's probably the same person who thinks they threw it away by accident yesterday at lunch. One of the guys paid for me with his card. After lunch we headed back to the office, where I finished up another set of invoices. While I was waiting for the metro I overheard some people speaking English. Not just any English, AMERICAN ENGLISH!!!!! I introduced myself, and we started talking. The two men work at the Consulate here in Istanbul. We had a really nice talk about Istanbul and sights around Turkey. Now, when I take the metro I go from ITU-Ayazağa to Levent. This is 3 stops. The 2nd stop, however, is 4 Levent (I have no idea why it's called that). I was so excited to talk to them that I heard "Levent" and so I ran off the metro. Stupid me didn't check which Levent. I got off the metro one stop too soon. Then I had to wait for the next train.

After I got off the train at the RIGHT stop, I went to the grocery store in Metro City called MMM Migros. Ok so I've noticed that some of the grocery stores in Turkey weigh your produce and print a sticker before you pay, like a deli. Maybe that do that in America too, but I've never seen it before. So I was trying to buy apples and I saw the scale. Well I'm pressing all kinds of buttons but nothing's printing out. I asked the man at the meat counter for help. He didn't understand what I wanted so he called for reinforcements. That guy didn't understand me either. Luckily some random lady was enjoying herself watching me struggle and finally helped me out. They just weigh them at the check-out, like Meijer. I also wanted to buy bread. I asked the breadman which was the best kind. He gives me this spiel about something or another in Turkish concluding with "You're pretty. Where are you from?" I eventually left Migros with my necessities and headed to the bus.

The walk home was fairly uneventful, except the normal honking and stares. We just laugh at them.When I got to the dorms, the security guard, Ayhan, gave me my cargo (hahaahaha..that's a funny word to use. I think of cargo as bulk shipments not a tiny box). CONTACTS!!!!! I realized that I forgot my extra pairs as I was taking the pair I had with me on the plane. It was by far the best part of my day.

Even though I left my camera in my room, I took some pics when I got home from work.

 

Özyeğin University Dorms! My building is the one straight back through the gate

 

Cargo - I got it, Mom!

  

Normally I'm opposed to room pics on the internet. Everyone keeps bugging me so here y'all go!

Things I've epiphanied (? say it out loud and maybe it will make sense) today:

1. Make the best out of any situation. Just because one minor thing happens doesn't mean your whole day has to go to waste. I can't just call my mom every time something doesn't go my way (haha I guess I can always e-mail her ;)). I have take care of myself.

2. "Good" personal hygiene from the general population of the United States is probably the thing (this discounts people!) I miss the most. You know it's going to be a rough day when you can smell the man 3 OPEN steps ahead of you on the escalator at 8:15 am.

3. I need to try even harder with the language. It's simply irritating that I don't know enough random words to hold an interesting conversation. It sucks not being able to converse with my co-workers. I GOTTA GET THIS S*** DOWN.

4. Be yourself. The past couple of days I've tried pretty hard to fit in with the Turks. It's actually really silly of me. I didn't want to be rude to anyone, nor did I want to offend anyone. Now I know that in order for me to have the best possible trip I need to be Emily Jo Reimann. Starting now, I am no longer going to try to "fit in" (I was born to stand out :)).

 

Karia. 

I'm glad she's chewing the leashes and not my feet!

Ohh the joys of being an intern

They've finally figured out that I'm under their control. I am officially doing bleepwork for the rest of the summer. It keeps me busy, and if I'm there I might as well do work. Today I entered checks and invoices into the database, and I stamped checks. It was fun-filled excitement. NOT. On the bright side, my co-workers love to talk and to take breaks. It's always a good time learning Turkish through these conversations as well as teaching English! In other words, it was just a normal day in the crazy city of Istanbul.
Random Pics for the day:

This one's for you, Dad. This is what causes my grief and stress at work

These are for you, Mom. There's a cemetary by the dorms. Color!

And I'm loving the BMW symbol.

Hahahahahaha a restaurant in Kanyon Mall

View from the bridge by my office. That's my metro stop in the building on the right!

There are stray dogs all over Istanbul. This is outside of my office building.

I've finally conquered my head cold! Sooooo, during my down time I've been checking out more sights to see. I took this past weekend off of doing anything too crazy. Now I'm ready to see the world again :).

HAIL!

According to m-w.com, hail is defined as:
1 : precipitation in the form of small balls or lumps usually consisting of concentric layers of clear ice and compact snow
2 : something that gives the effect of a shower of hail
3 : to precipitate
4 : to pour down or strike like hail

5 : - used as a salutation

6 : - used to express acclamation

7 a : salute, greet b : to greet with enthusiastic approval : acclaim

8 : to greet or summon by calling

9 : an exclamation of greeting or acclamation

10 : a calling to attract attention

11 : hearing distance

There are pretty much 2 distinct "hail"s. The first deals with the precipitation. It was hailing outside. Or While I was rowing on Belleville Lake, hail fell from the sky. Most people are familiar with this definition. In fact, it translates fairly easily because of the weather. At the same time, does it really hail everywhere? I have been in Istanbul for almost 2 weeks now, and I have yet to see hail. Actually, I don't ever see hail at home either. Nor do I ever see so much money! Today at work I registered checks into a database for my company. It was long, tedious work. There was nothing exciting about it. I learnedI still feel good about contributing to society though. On the walk home from work, a truck honked at me, or tried to hail me. Normally I ignore such behavior. Today was a new day, a different day. I figured it would be ok to look just once at the perpetrator. So I did. They, there were 2 men in the cab of a truck, stared at me. I stared back. Then I tripped. 

The second refers to a salutation, to salute. Hail! to the victors valiant or I need to hail a cab. As a wolverine I KNOW what this word means in this set of the definitions. But how do I explain what Hail! in this context means in a foreign language? I tried all imaginable synonyms. I even used it in a sentence. I, of course, was wearing proper UM apparel when the security guard says to me, "Emily, hail. Ne demek?" My brain immediately starts racking for words. I wanted to just bust out The Victors, but he didn't even know where Michigan was let alone that there was a university there! Nor does he speak English. I'm sad to say that after about 6 min of scrambling through the dictionary and asking bilingual students, I couldn't find a proper translation for the word hail that doesn't have to do with the weather. I am still working on a translation for him. 

Regardless of whose hailing whom or whether you're in Turkey or face-planted in the ground trying to explain the word wherever you go, go blue!

Ahhh, the comforts of shopping

I've been in Istanbul for a week and a half, and I already know where 4 of the 5 major shopping malls are (there are of course more than 5). It's good to know where you can just relax and have some retail therapy. Shopping malls are shopping malls whether you're in Jackson, MI or Levent, Istanbul. Joy and I figured out the route to take to get to Metro City, the mall right next door to where she's interning. Kanyon mall is a 2 min walk away, but it's got more expensive stores. We went there to look around. Istinye Park is the shopping mall where I eat lunch (I haven't had a chance to shop there yet). Capitol is a mall on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, about 5 or 10 min from the university dorms. It's an older mall. The last mall I know of is the mall in Pendik, near the airport. I haven't been to Capitol, nor have I been to the mall in Pendik...yet. So anyways, we took the minibus to Üsküdar where we rode the ferry to Beşiktaş and then got another minibus to Levent. It was a fairly uneventful trip, which I'm definitely not complaining about. We didn't buy anything unnecessary either :).

I did, however, buy some groceries while we were out. I realized that the lady at the market down the street from me took advantage of my foreigner status and overcharged me for the off-brand nutella! That's the end of our business together. 

RECAP (IN NUMBERS) OF TRIP THUS FAR:

Clothing items purchased:  2
Chocolate and hazelnut spreads tested: 4 
Band-aids used because I'm accident prone: 7 
Bottles of water purchased: 10 <-this is low because I started to refill at the office :)
Consumables tried: 20ish   
Number of cars that have honked at me: 129837923023497932 
Seeing historical sites and enjoying life: Priceless

ABD!!!!

That's right, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri vs İngiltere. Ending my day with some football was the way to go. I've finally put my toes into the water of Istanbul nightlife.

I spent the earlier part of my day lazing around trying to recover from my illness. Around 3 pm my roommate, Joy, and I left the dorms to meet up with one of the internship coordinators from Özyeğin University. We went to Beşiktaş and Ortaköy which are on the European side of Istanbul.

We walked around for a bit then stopped for refreshments.

 

We ate börek, cheese wrapped pastries fried,

 

and we had our first Turkish beers!

 

One of the topics that came up in conversation is normal size of people from around the world. The internship coordinator, Hande, is from Turkey. I would consider her a normal size American. She was maybe 5'9 so a little taller than the recorded average. She definitely wasn't overweight but maybe on the roundish side. She said she was big for Turkey. Joy is from Thailand. I would consider her average height and skinny, but she is considered big for Thailand as well. I never really thought about size like that before. I mean, I know I'm tall and whatnot, but I've seen taller. I've seen fatter. It's not a big deal to me; I don't really care. Looking around, what Hande said was true. The majority of the Turkish people we say were shorter and skinnier.

Afterwards we met up with another internship coordinator and some students from the university. We ate traditional Turkish cuisine. I can't remember the names of the food we ate, just what it was. We had lamb ribs, rice, tea, stuffed eggplant, some other spiced lamb meet, bread, more tea, and some kind of sweet mashed up grain thing. They also served ayran. I tried it again, but it still just doesn't set well with me. Its basically spoiled milk...NOT ok. I think maybe if you like yogurt you might like it, but I like regular (and by regular I mean skim) milk. I sometimes have problems with eating cheese because it's MOLD. I certaintly don't eat cottage cheese which is half way through the process or yogurt. That is one thing I am missing dearly: MILK. I am also missing water. You aren't supposed to drink the tap water here because it's unsanitary. You buy purified water from the store. It's cheaper than the U.S. but it definitely adds up over time. I feel dehydrated a lot of the time especially because it's hot too. I told one of my friends that back home I easily consume 5l of water a day. Here, I drink maybe half of that. That has been hard to adjust to. Joy and I have also noticed how much people stare. In the U.S. it's considered rude to stare. Here, it's a way to catch someone's eye to start a conversation. This is both good and bad. It's bad because I don't want to talk to 99% of the people that stare. It's good because as American you WANT to stare but it's rude. Because here it's not so bad, you can stare at the people you want. I realize this makes me sound like a creeper, but I think it's true for most people. Everyone's wanted just a longer look at someone for some reason, so here's an opportunity. I must admit that I normally don't stare back unless I'm wearing some shades.

Some of the people from the university and I went to a bar to watch the Americans entrance in the World Cup after dinner. One of the students was spewing pure hatred for the U.S. At first I laughed, but then it kept going and going. It got old pretty quick. That's my home, dude! I don't rag on your country like that. He later apologized saying he didn't mean most of the stuff he said. Hmmm...so much for future outings together ;).

Today made me realize how different American culture is from Turkish culture. Sure, we're all people just trying to live our lives the way we see fit. So what if we like potato chips or Lady Gaga or even if we walk around half-naked? I'm proud of who I am and where I come from. On that note, the U.S. better freaking win their upcoming games in the World Cup. ABD all the way!!!!!!