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

The end is near!

This morning Joy and I went to Ozyegin University with a de-briefing meeting with the international office. We talked about what would make the internships better. Joy and I gladly gave our input on what went well - the companies were great! - and what went wrong - the dorms are in the hinterlands. We also arranged our departure times for next week. I can't believe we will be going home; it feels like we just got here.

I have made really great friends here in Turkey. Joy, my roommate, has been my best friend here. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate. It's great to have someone to go on adventures with. For example, today Joy said that we were going to cross the extremely busy street instead of taking the pedestrian bridge. This shortcut would cut off about 10 min of walking up and down stairs and across bridges. I agreed that this would be a good idea. Well, we crossed all of the lanes to get to the other side and realize that we have to step over a fence. Of course I was wearing a skirt. Joy said, "it's ok, no one's looking!" as she flings her bag in front of my crotch to make sure that no one would see anything. The only people that saw anything were the Muslim women behind me also crossing (but wearing pants...).

It's also great to have someone to gossip with. Our bus driver, as cute and sweet as he is, refuses to turn on the air conditioning. Now, it's 40 C outside (that's 104 for you Farenheiters!). I told Joy today to ask him to turn it on. She responded in her innocent Asian accent, "I wouldn't ask. I would just say 'Bitch turn it on!'". I laughed the rest of the ride home.

Good-byes have never been easy for me. Tomorrow is the last day of work (I think I might have mentioned in an earlier post that yesterday was my last day. I apologize for the confusion, but because I am not traveling that much this weekend my boss and I decided that Friday would be my last day). It will be bittersweet. No, actually it will only be sad. Girisim Faktoring has become my family, and I will miss them greatly when I return to the states. Most likely, I will cry. I'm just praying that I remember to wear waterproof mascara.

10 Figures to think about

1 hr till bedtime

2 days till the weekend AND then work is OVER

3 cups of tea a day - that's a conservative amount here!

4 is the number of days I have to pack my suitcases after I'm done working

5 number of times I have visited the Grand Bazaar

6 liters of water have been consumed today. I am happily hydrated!

7 days until I'm in the U.S. again

8 number of hours I'm supposed to work every day

9 number of hours I avoid working (this includes walking slow through the metro stations and praying the service bus goes slower)

10 weeks of interning!

I can't believe it's only Tuesday

Thank goodness that:
1. it is my last week of work
2. I'm going home in 8 days
3. there is a new intern to socialize with
4. I live no where near the Jersey Shore

Today was just another day at Girişim Faktoring.  I spent the day thinking about what I need to do before I leave and getting to know the new intern. Any previous boring days would have been less boring if he had started to work there sooner, but it's been fun nonetheless. I've also been increasing my slang vocabulary, which is entertainment for everyone. I've learned a lot of new words in the past few days that I should have learned when I first came!

I have also been spending my time trying to catch up on American pop culture. Yes, I have submitted to the Jersey Shore phenomenon. That show has caused a deduction from my IQ points, but it's one of those addicting reality shows which is why I screamed when my computer wouldn't play the last 5 min of an episode. In the end, it played again, and I was able to enjoy the drama-filled fist-pumping guido show once again.

Ramadan starts tonight. That means that many (practicing) Muslims will be fasting from sunup till sunset - no food or water! I am not participating; it is too hot not to drink water. Otherwise I would be more willing to try it for a day. This is also the reason (I'm hoping) that Joy and I heard a gunshot. We'll learn tomorrow I guess!

Hodge Podge

It's always the laziest of days that I forget to post. I am deeply for not posting about my boredom yesterday. I literally spent the day in my room, playing on the computer. I didn't have much cash, and I didn't want to go all the way to Kadikoy to get cash.

Today was no different. Work was EXTREMELY boring. I want work to keep me busy, but there is none. Everyone is busy with their own stuff, especially because a few people from the office are on vacation (they have to pick up the extra work).  Thus I spent today looking up computer games that I used to play growing up. It turned out to be a lot of fun...for about 5 min. At least another intern started today. He wasn't very talkative, but at least there was someone else to join in the misery.

My boss said my last day could be Wednesday. SCORE! He said then I could have time to do a little more traveling if I wanted. I don't really have the resources to do more traveling, but I really want to go to a beach. I would love to see the Black Sea, but the Black Sea beaches close to Istanbul are somewhat dangerous. The waves and undertoes are pretty strong (as told to me by my boss). Apparently there are lifeguards; caution should still be taken though. Well, luckily enough to get tan you don't need to get in the water. There are buses that runs to those beaches every day, so we'll see. My friend invited me to go to Alanya, but it is far and rather expensive to go there. It's also obnoxiously hot, as in you don't go outside between the hours of 11am-4pm. You'll melt like the Wicked Witch of the West. I haven't made any decisions yet, but I'm working on it and will let you know when I do!

View from Utku's apartment in Ankara

Mahmut Paşa Street

Fountain in Üsküdar

Yarn in Kürkçü Han

Things I'm Looking Forward to in the States:

-Seeing my family
-Washing Machines that will actually wash my clothes
-Sausage with Pork
-Driving
-Hanging out with my friends
-Free water

Bazaars: the best and worst parts of Istanbul.

You never know what to expect when you first walk inside of the Grand Bazaar. Sometimes the salesmen are nice, sometimes they're jerks. You can find the perfect store and buy from them once only to return 2 weeks later to have the opposite luck. I have been there when it's packed, when it's "empty", and when there's enough people around to go unnoticed.

Today was one of those all-out-determination days: I was going to the bazaars, and I was going to get what I needed (presents for my family!). When I first got to the bazaars I started looking. You just have to quickly graze with your eyes at the merchandise - if the salesmen catch you, you're a goner! The salesmen will immediately bombard you with questions and convince you to just look. They do their jobs well, those salesmen. I wouldn't mind it as much if I could bargain. I am by far the worst bargainer in the world. I like definitive prices, and if it seems way too high for my liking I leave. If it's a somewhat reasonable price, then I can normally lower it from there. It helps if the salesmen thinks I'm pretty because then I can get him to fluctuate the price more. For example, today one of the salesmen went so far as to ask me on a date! As cute as he was, I didn't go. Not because I didn't want to, but I fell asleep from 6-9 pm. Thus I missed it (oh well). At least I got a good deal from him!

After I went to the Grand Bazaar I set out on a missin to find the Yarn Bazaar, Kürkçü Han. It took asking about 5 or 6 different people directions, but I found it eventually. It was a tucked away section of crafters shops. It was mostly fabrics with a couple of yarn stores and a few bead/sequin places as well. I went there searching for gifts for my mom, and boy! is she going to enjoy what I got. I love you, Mom, and it was worth roasting in the sun for 45 min desperately trying to find.

Posting only works if you press the button!

I woke up this morning realizing that my post was still in the editing box on the  computer; I had forgotten to actually post the thing! Not that anything exciting happened yesterday...

Everyone at work was extremely busy. No one had time to talk or to give me work. I literally sat at my table the entire day surfing the web and reading my book (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). It's a gooooood read so I didn't mind.  That's all I did last night as well - play on my computer and read. I actually fell asleep reading. I'm excited to come home and go to the library and check out a bunch of books!

There are book shops here, but the books are in Turkish. Actually there is a man who comes into the office selling books. People don't shoo him away, they want to hear his prices. I found the process very peculiar because that doesn't happen in the U.S. That salesman would never even make it through the security checkpoint!