Dressing up the Digs

Hello, everyone!

All right, so, first off I would to offer a most sincere apology for the radio silence that characterized most of November. After the Antalya and birthday extravaganzas, many more exciting things continued to transpire, but the time/will/internet access to document them online did not always present itself at the correct times.

And, unfortunately, this post is not actually to catch you up on all of that. There is some serious photographic evidence that I believe is essential to presenting the delightful and individually entertaining tales of a late Thanksgiving celebration spent in Amasya and the Hamsi Festival of last week that we were fortunate to be able to share with another visiting American. So, those posts are to come, I promise. But Ali is in Istanbul this weekend playing ultimate frisbee with her peeps, and with her goes access to her camera...which has all of said photographic evidence on its memory card. Sooooo...feeling guilty and also full of Christmas spirit, and remembering that I have never shared the details of my accommodation (which, God-willing, will not be my accommodation much longer)...I bring you a delightful interlude all about my humble abode and how I have tried to bring it Christmas!

So, let's begin with the tale of how we three ETAs from America (haha, get the Three Kings reference? No? Eh...that's okay...there was very little buildup and no music...) ended up staying at the lovely Koru Tesisleri, the old university guest house. Oooh, you know, I really should take a picture of the outside...but that would mean getting up and going outside, and since I've already spent an hour this morning taking photographs of things pertaining to this oh-so-interesting documentary on where I live...I may just have to share an exterior photograph with you later. I DO, though, have pictures of the exterior of where I will be living--hopefully--within the month.

Now, don't let the phrase "guest house" fool you. The Koru Tesisleri (the old one; the new guest house is ALSO called the Koru Tesisleri...yeah, that's not confusing at ALL for taxi drivers/bus service people...) is a hotel, not a house. Rooms have beds, a private bathroom, a desk, a wardrobe, a television, and a refrigerator. Initially we heard we'd be staying here for a month, then moving somewhere else, whether that would be an apartment nearby or the housing for Erasmus (international) students that they're refurbishing nearby. Well, Ali and I decided that this Erasmus place sounded like a pretty good deal, since where we live right now is super convenient for getting to classes, and the Erasmus building is LITERALLY next door. In fact, from my room on the corner of the Koru, I have a great view of the construction:

View out one window...doesn't look finished, does it?

View out another window.

Yes, so, though this was originally supposed to be finished in October...the construction company's contract goes until the end of December. So, you know what that means. Turkish Time. Now, there's something you have to understand about Turkish Time. Sometimes, when hard deadlines are involved, people might spend the first weeks, even months of something like this sitting around smoking and drinking tea. That is, in fact, exactly what these guys spent a lot of their time doing back in September and October. But now someone has lit a fire under their butts. At the beginning of December, things still looked pretty dismal. There was NO way, we said, that we would be moving into this place by the new year. And yet...I have learned something about Turkish Time:

It sometimes produces Turkish miracles.

I woke up one morning last week to see that suddenly all of the empty, post-apocalyptic-looking windows had suddenly been filled with frames. The tiny balconies had suddenly been tiled. Wait. Something was actually HAPPENING! Within the next couple of days, the roof had been completely covered. There were wires sticking out of the holes in the walls. Then window frames went into the stairwell. Men were sanding things, scraping scary-looking vines off of the outside walls.

NO WAY THIS IS TURKEY HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING COULD WE REALLY POSSIBLY MOVE INTO THIS PLACE AFTER CHRISTMAS?!!!

Call me optimistic, call me naive. But I never lost hope. I longingly checked up on the progress of the building next door for so long, all the time keeping my fingers crossed that maybe, just maybe, the construction guys would come through, and we would have ourselves a bonafied Turkish miracle. Well, as anyone who's ever procrastinated can attest, putting things off 'til the last second doesn't mean it doesn't get done. In fact, sometimes, in those wee hours of your all-nighter, you realize that you've actually had a stroke of genius, and you owe it all to your half-dead, sleep-deprived brain. The paper you get back is the best you've ever written, and you treasure that grade for the rest of your life.

Of course, sometimes what you slap together is absolute poop, but let's keep with the optimism, okay?

So that's where we're headed. But what about where we are?

After the first month had passed, I was getting pretty antsy. I had more than one breakdown because of my inability to cook my own food, what with having no kitchen. Ali and I consulted one another, and decided the time had come. We caved and bought a hot plate. That little electric stove top (eh...really an imitation of a stove top that can't actually live up to the real thing) has been a live-saver. We began with toast. Then we cooked some tuna mac and cheese (with Turkish kaşar cheese, not with cheddar, unfortunately). We began to slowly branch out...egg sandwiches...sauteed chicken, salami, peppers...and now it's like we're really hitting our stride in terms of food. 

Especially since, a few days ago, Ali and I went to Forum (the enormous mall that's within walking distance) and to the Migros, the closet thing there is to Walmart or Target here in Trabzon (all-in-one stores are not big here; convenience is not the flavor of the week, but small businesses are!). There we found things I'd never dreamed I would be able to locate here: mozzarella cheese, "cheddar" cheese (eh...sort of tastes like a combination of American cheese and mild cheddar...at least it has flavor!), tortillas, marinara sauce, pesto sauce (Barilla--it's delicious), Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce...incredible! Last night I made "pizza" paninis with the mozzarella, marinara, fresh bread, and the hot plate. As I branch out, I realize that I'm learning valuable skills for surviving my intended five years of graduate school...yay life preparation!

So this is what the refrigerator corner used to look like:

And here's how it's been turned into the "kitchen:"

Complete with hot plate, kettle, and Nescafe wrapper.

This is where, last night, I brewed a recipe I found online for simple, hot apple cider...that didn't require cider as I Christmased-up my room. For all of you college kids and friends living abroad in lands of no apple cider, I share it here:

3 parts apple juice 1 part water cinnamon stick Kat Note: I used cinnamon power...about a teaspoon and a half for two cups of cider ginger, thin slice (optional) Kat Note: I used ginger powder...about a teaspoon for two cups of cider lemon zest, several thin slices (optional) several whole cloves – too many makes it bitter (optional)

1.  Pour juice and water into a tall pot with a lid and turn on heat to high.  You can see that a lot of the ingredients are entirely optional.  We like it that way because then we’re not limited to making cider only when we have everything at home.

2.  Prepare spices and add to pot.  We put everything but the cinnamon stick in a tea infuser.  Otherwise, you have to strain the cider or pick out small chunks one by one.

3.  When pot reaches a boil, turn to the lowest setting.  Let simmer about 15 minutes.  Add thin slices of lemon for decoration if desired.

4.  Remove infuser.  Ladle into mugs and enjoy.

I had no ladle, nor a tea-infuser. I didn't use slices of ginger or a cinnamon stick--I had powders, instead. But what I brewed up was hot, delicious, and tasted like the holidays to me.

Now, whilst I was creating this cider and toasting up some pizza panini action, I was also putting the finishing touches on my Christmas decorations. For my birthday, as I believe I related in that post, my mom sent me a tiny pre-lit Christmas tree and some ornaments to put on it. Well, the other day I broke out the tree and plugged it in. It was beautiful! Unnnnfortunately, I sort of forgot that the lights were intended for the lower voltage of the United States, and not the higher voltage of this part of the world...aaannnnnd I kind of blew the lights out.

However, never fear! The Turkish equivalent of Home Depot is here! Via reliable sources (i.e. my British expat friends living in Trabzon), I learned that one can purchase Christmas lights (well, here they're for celebrating the New Year, but that's another blog post) at this store, Koçtaş, which, truly, looks and even writes its prices like Home Depot. You know, with the big, chisel-point permanent markers? Yeah, and their logo is even an orange polygon. Whaaat?

So yesterday I got myself down to Koçtaş and observed my decorating options. These options were not very extensive. The only type of string light available was called a "rice" light, and it came in clear or multi-colored. I opted for the clear, paid my 20 Turkish Liras, and skipped home, giddy with excitement. The original lights that came with the tree were actually a pain to remove, since they were attached the branches with little green, horseshoe-shaped clips. I kept these clips, just in case, and I'm glad I did! I used them to artfully arrange the rice lights, which are actually perfect for decorating mini trees, in my opinion. Here's what a "rice" light looks like next to the lights I'm used to:

Another fun thing about these lights is that they were too long to just decorate the tree. So, I decided to use what I had available to me to string the remaining lights up to the tiny, sole picture that hangs on the wall behind the beds, and down to the socket next to the bed where I sleep. So, here's what the room looked like before...

Yes, these pictures were taken the day I moved in.

Should I have shared them before now? Yeah..sorry.

And this is what things look like Christmas-a-fied/with me actually moved in:

The tree!!

Not Christmas...but viva Trabzonspor!

Picture from last Christmas at Biltmore...birthday card and Christian Kane, too

My door...with a wreath!

 And, finally, no Alexander Christmas would be complete without some type of candle-related decoration in the bathroom. Well, luckily I stumbled across this guy in the market yesterday...and that was that.

You know you want one..

And here's what the bathroom usually looks like, sans Santa. Yes, I know you were dying to see.

So, Christmas comes to Trabzon, too. More to come on my upcoming winter celebration with other Fulbrighters in Muğla, Christmas Day, and however Ali and I spend New Year's as John flies away to Istanbul to be with the cool kids. Also, I promise that I WILL blog about what happened with Thanksgiving, and you simply must be in the loop with what went down at the Hamsi Festival. Until then, I leave you with the final component of my experience at the Koru Tesisleri...my key fob:

Yeah. It almost got confiscated at a Trabzonspor game.

Cheers for now!

Starbucks Fix (Antalya Part 3)

Two weeks after the epic adventures had by all in Antalya, I am now able--blessed with time, energy, and will--to recount the final hours of what was, as anyone can tell, a most epic of bayrams. You all know the story to this point...the incredible light and water show, the failure to achieve apple pie, the constant promises of "ten minutes," how we barely made it back to Antalya without Annika and Mary seriously injuring the van driver who tried to rip us off....

And now, the time has come, to wrap up that incredible journey on the page. Er...well...on the screen. So, let's get to it.

Tuesday morning, Ryan and Annika were a little late getting to breakfast due to the late hours they had spent exploring Antalya's nightlife. However, despite having also been a brave nightlife explorer, Mary managed to join Dan and me to enjoy a wonderful, leisurely meal in the sunlit courtyard of the pensiyon's restaurant/breakfast area, entertaining various ideas for the day. Eventually, Ryan and Annika made it down, though, and we all decided that, rather than trying to do something involved like going to Olympos, we wanted to spend the day on an Antalyan beach, soaking up the sun before returning to our home cities...most of which are rather dreary this time of year. I also added that I had seen a Starbucks (spelled "Starbuces") on the map that the pensiyon had given us of the surrounding area, and would love to stop by, needing a bit of an espresso fix after two months in the land of Nescafe. (On the whole, Turkish people drink either Nescafe--read: instant coffee--or Turkish coffee...no drip coffee, no espresso-based drinks. All right, back to the story.) Everyone agreed that they would accompany me on this quest, particularly as the bus stop that we would use to catch a bus to Lara Beach--the best and most popular of the nearby public beaches--was right near said Starbucks.

I led the way as we left the pensiyon, trying to follow the aforementioned map. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a poor map, and streets aren't always labeled with their names, so the way that I wanted to take us, past St. Paul's Church, didn't end up working out. Instead we just exited through Hadrian's Gate...

..and turned right. Just a few blocks down we saw it...a Starbucks. They're all over Istanbul, and they have them in Ankara, and even in a few other Turkish cities. Trabzon, however, is not one of them. The closest thing to a Starbucks we have is called "Cafe Crown" (which, incidentally, is also the name of a brand of instant coffee) in the big mall, Forum, which is about a ten minute walk from campus. At least there they have an espresso machine!

As soon as I stepped into the Starbucks, I knew that I was supposed to be there; Mumford & Sons' "Winter Winds" was playing in the background. I ordered my 8 TL grande white mocha without hesitation, and it tasted just like I remembered.

We took our coffees (or chai tea, if you were Mary) and went to the bus stop, sitting and waiting for the magical shuttle that would whisk us away to the perfect beach day. Whereupon a woman with dark, leathery skin indicating one too many days in the sun and wearing tiny pink shorts, holding three shopping bags, and stumbling along in wedge flip-flops essentially told Dan to get up from his seat on the bench so that she could sit. Not that he wouldn't have moved anyway, but something about this lady was already rubbing me the wrong way. For starters, she looked like more of a tourist than any of us, but she was undoubtedly a local, as I discovered when she started yammering away to me in Turkish. I did my best to respond to her odd attempts at small talk--mostly recounting her previous night and explaining that she was sooooo tired--but she eventually figured out that I wasn't Turkish. Oh well...I suppose I should be flattered that people don't automatically assume that I'm a Yabanci. Too bad I don't have the mad language skills to back it up yet.

Finally the bus arrived to save me from this bizarre lady, and we all packed like little sardines onto an already overflowing city bus. We stood for probably ten or fifteen minutes, but finally enough people got off that we all landed seats. Then we just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the ride to Lara Beach.

The beach itself was beautiful and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I didn't think it was warm enough for swimming, but it was heavenly to sit on my sarong and take a nap in the sun...which I did. With nowhere to be, we all were able to completely relax. I even sat up and wrote in my tiny notebook for awhile, working on the young adult novel I'm currently writing. We all ended up having a great conversation about YA books and our different favorites, including Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and others. At some point we all slammed Twilight, too, so that was cathartic. Annika, Ryan, and Mary ended up swimming in the sea while Dan and I remained landlubbers...we were truly free to do whatever we wanted with the day, and it was AMAZING.

Later in the afternoon we were approached by a man who explained that his children were learning English, and since he had heard us obviously speaking it, asked if we could talk to his kids a little bit. We all said sure, and ended up having a long discussion with this man and his family, telling them where we were from, what we were doing here, etc. They were on holiday from Istanbul, where they invited all of us to come. Nice people!

Eventually the sun did begin its journey downward, so we packed up our things and caught a bus back into the city during the last hours of daylight. Upon arriving back near the Starbucks, we all ducked into the McDonald's there for a snack. As it turns out, if what we'd been craving was apple pie...we should have just gone there. Womp womp wooooooommmp.

At this point we had to get back to the pensiyon so that Ryan and Dan could check out; they both had buses to catch that evening back to their cities. While waiting in the courtyard for them to collect all of their things, we actually ran into another ETA completely by chance; Erik and Alexandra from Afyon were passing through for the day and just happened to be staying at the same pensiyon! Erik was by himself, indicating that Alexandra had already come, checked in, and disappeared again, but we left her a message about the place where we were going to eat, and then all walked Ryan to the tram stop.

Sadly without Ryan, our group headed to a restaurant known for its special of half of a chicken for 8 TL. So all of us, except Alexandra once she joined us, ordered a half of a chicken and rice. Then we ate them. What up.

Our next move was the sad but inevitable parting with another member of our trusty crew: Dan. Before dropping him off, though, we had some ridiculously overpriced tea that Erik argued with the manager over in order to bring it down from an astoundingly high price of 4 TL per cup to the much more reasonable damage of 1 TL per cup. Go Erik, you haggler you. Dropping off Dan at the tram stop was sad...where was I going to get all my goof with the dynamic duo gone? To take our mind off of things, we made our way to a "lounge" we had been eying all week where we'd seen ice cream advertised. Ladies and gentlemen, I do not exaggerate when I tell you that that ice cream, imported from Switzerland, was the best I have ever tasted. Truly. It was incredible. I could really go for some right now...

Alas, with our sweet teeth fed and transportation to catch in the morning, we all dispersed for the night...but not before playing a few rounds of Bananagrams. Fulbright traditional necessity.

The next morning we were awakened bright and early by Erik and Alexandra, who were off to catch their bus, and then made our own way to breakfast, after which I regretfully packed my backpack and knapsack. Then I said my goodbyes to Annika and Mary before getting into the car the pensiyon arranged to take me to the airport for a taxi-like fee. The airplane flights back were not nearly as exciting as meeting people from the Italian embassy, but I did get more writing done on my novel. Excitement! I don't think I'm going to make the National Novel Writing Month goal of 50,000 words, but I have written a lot this November. At this rate, I will actually have a manuscript by the end of the year. Oh yeah.

And that, friends, is the story of my bayram vacation in Antalya. Thanks so much for sticking with me as I wove this tale. The number of you who have told me that you love to read my blog has really touched me, and it means a lot to me to know that people back home (and here in Turkey!) care about all that's going on. My next adventure will take place this weekend as I head to Amasya for a belated but all-out Thanksgiving celebration with fellow ETAs. Stay tuned!

Birthday Bulletin

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming on adventures in Antalya to bring you this special Birthday Bulletin:

No, not my cake

Two days ago, on November 14th, I achieved the ripe old age of 22. Haha, yes, I know. Ripe old whatever. However, a lot has happened to me in the past year and I've personally grown and changed in amazing ways, courtesy of the Big Guy Upstairs, and so I actually do feel a lot older than before. Also, if you think about it, your 21st birthday is wrapped up in the hooplah of legally being able to drink, and aforesaid hooplah isn't actually very grown-up at all, is it? That's a more childish perspective on age in many ways, to view it in terms of legal milestones, particularly as focusing on those things often gets in the way of seeing growing older in terms of physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual development. Well, not this time for me, friends! This birthday I actually considered the past year, not just what is to come.

Last year, I spent my birthday in Philadelphia with the Sweet Briar Model United Nations team, speaking French a lot with one Caroline King (THAT'S RIGHT, CALLED OUT!) and patting my underage friends on the head as I sipped a frozen margarita. This year I was...in Turkey! What's that? Yes, I'm in Turkey. Seriously, now, go catch up on the blog!

So my birthday festivities actually began on November 13th, when I met with my small Trabzon fellowship group for Sunday worship and sharing. I asked John to come with me to a pastane (pastry shop) in the city center to help me buy a cake before catching my ride. Really, John provided more moral support than anything else, because I ordered the cake all by myself, but I appreciated his presence. I'm sure that I absorbed some of his awesome Turkish skillz (yes, note the 'z') just standing next to him. Thanks, John! Cake purchased, I headed to fellowship and dropped it off in the kitchen without explaining what it was for...mostly because my Turkish was not advanced enough for me to explain to Halime, the mother and wife of the family in whose house we meet. I had told Jean and Jim, a retired British couple who live in Trabzon and are a big part of the fellowship and sometimes like my personal translators (sorry, guys...I'm learning!), that it was my birthday the next day, though, and they must have told everyone else. Because after dinner and worship and sharing, they shut off all of the lights and walked in with the cake, two lit candles dancing on top. They sang Happy Birthday to me in both Turkish and English, and then I blew out the candles, really quite moved at how sweet they were to do all of this. Then Halime explained that they hadn't known it was my birthday, but they wanted to give me a present, and handed me a beautiful brown scarf with beading. Being the emotional kid that I am, I got a little misty-eyed.

Our fellowship times on Sundays are always involved affairs, with lots of eating both before and after worship and reading Scripture/sharing what God has shown us this week. We're talking four hours on average. That final hour and a half we all spent stuffing our faces with my cake and a delicious apple/pear crumble that had already been planned for the menu. I got that serious "tick that's about to pop" feeling. I swear, the best food I eat here is in that house.

But enough about food. Onto the big day itself. So, one of the wonders of living in a foreign country while the majority of your friends and family live in different time zones is that your birthday "begins" at 12:00 AM in your time zone...but doesn't end until the next 12:00 AM back home...and since I was born at 5:43 PM in Walnut Creek, California, that crucial midnight that marks the end was in Pacific time. So that's a 34 hour birthday. Whoa!

That morning, I woke up and read my birthday cards. I know...how blessed was I to have birthday cards in Turkey! Two of them, from my mom and dad and my Aunt Anne, had been sent along with Ali's parents, who were conveniently in town visiting. The other was from my dear friend Kayt Colburn, who sent a series of cards and letters on my trip with me that I am to open on set days. Each card made me cry and laugh (there go those emotions again...) and set the tone for a great day. 

Now, this day was also the date for the administration of my first-ever major test: a midterm exam for my American Culture and Literature class. I had written it before I even left for the bayram, but, having no printer or any idea where to get the phantom "free copying" available to faculty, I ate a quick breakfast and ran down to the building where many of my colleagues have their offices. There, I found Nilgün, one of the first people on campus to ever show Ali and me around, who is a PhD candidate in English Drama and a fellow instructor. She cleans her office on Mondays, and was wiping off her desk when I sheepishly knocked and entered, requesting whatever help she could provide me so that I would have the right materials for my exam. Well, Nilgün, sweet soul that she is, let me borrow her flash drive and print off a copy of the exam and then walked with me to the department secretary (who does not speak any English) to help me figure out where to get copies made. The secretary recruited a research assistant who escorted me to a place I would have never found on my own (that seems like an overarching characteristic of many things here, but, hey, it's an adventure!), and I got my free copies!

The exam itself was at 1:00, and it seemed to go pretty well. Of course, now I have a ton of short essays to read. Yeah, I'm beginning that grading today. I understand now why it takes professors so long to get things back! After a few your eyes just glaze over...

Oh man, that just made me think of donuts. I miss donuts.

But, anyway, post-exam, I was asked by Ali Bey to come to his office to fill out some paperwork. As he also requested, I texted John and Ali to let them know to show up, receiving no response from Ali and a text back from John that he had "already taken care of it." Resigning myself to going it alone, I went to Ali Bey's office and sat waiting for him to show up. Fifteen minutes later, he called my cell phone to let me know he was on his way. Five minutes after that, he called again to ask me to meet him outside of the building. I went outside only to receive another call from Ali Bey, in which he told me that he could see me, and could I come meet him in front of the school of foreign languages. Finally, I met up with him in front of the right building and we went inside, looking for John and Ali so that they could fill out the paperwork, too. We went to John's office first, but when we knocked there wasn't any response. Ali Bey knocked on Elif Hanim's office door next to John's, presumably to find out if she had seen John. But, then, Ali Bey said, "Kathryn, could you just go inside, please?" He pointed to John's office.

"But, wait, I thought he wasn't in there..." Nevertheless, I turned the doorknob, assuming maybe his roommates had just been silent and could help us find him, only to find...

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

BAHHHHHH!!!! John, that sneaky kid, bought a cake right after I bought mine the day before and then organized a small surprise party! All of Ali's office-mates were there, as was my student/friend Burcu, our instructor friend Mustafa, and Elif Hanim. Oh, and Ali, of course, who grinned and asked if I had enjoyed her radio silence. And here I had just assumed she was being a lazy texter.

The cake was shaped like a ladybug (unfortunately John and Ali and Burcu have all the pictures, but I'm sure I'll have access to them at some point) and was pretty delicious. Ali's office-mates gave me this amazingly tacky snowglobe with a resin hamsi (anchovy) inside with a soccer ball at its feet (er...tail?) and a traditional Turkish instrument in its hands (fins). It lights up and has a little ballerina skirt around the base. SO AWESOME! Elif Hanim gave me a shoebox that she had decorated herself, which was really lovely, and I used it to store the scarf Ali had brought me from her bayram spent in Paris.

But this is the best part, and the punchline of the entire day: there actually was paperwork we had to fill out. Gotta love Turkey.

Ali and I met her parents in the lobby of our hotel/home after that and discussed dinner plans because her parents graciously wanted to take me out for a birthday meal. Promising to meet them in just a little bit, I went to my 7:00 PM exam, assuming that I could leave the exam in the hands of the research assistant who was supposed to be helping me and then go to dinner since it was, after all, my birthday. Unfortunately, the research assistant never showed up...so I pulled a Sweet Briar and created a sign-out sheet and appointed a student to bring the exams to my office once everyone was finished. Adventures in the Turkish honor system. Having now read some of those exams, I can tell you that, at least in the classroom, there didn't seem to be any honor issues. But memorizing SparkNotes in anticipation of certain ballpark questions and then regurgitating that onto the page (not even answering the questions I asked)...that might be an issue. Over fifteen students did something like that...yeah, trying to decide how to deal with it.

But I left, praying that these college kids could be responsible and honest (and that it was okay for me to administer an exam this way...not that anyone ever tells me how things are supposed to be; I always either have to ask or am told "It's up to you. Whatever you want." Ah, native speaker "magic"...), and went to join Ali, her parents, and John at the bus stop, from which we walked down to Forum and a restaurant in the parking lot called Suleyman. We had been to the attached bar to see some traditional Turkish music before, but only John had been to the restaurant. I got to eat lots of Kuymak, some delicious mezes, some chicken sauteed dish, and had a glass of wine...everything was excellent. Then we three ETAs said goodnight to Ali's parents and walked back to campus, whereupon I Skyped my mother.

Along with the birthday cards, my mom sent a few small packages with Ali's parents that I was to open while Skypeing. The first bundle contained some waterproof gloves and ear warmers--absolute necessities for me this time of year, especially if I want to learn to ski! The next was the world's smallest artificial Christmas tree and a tiny wreath, and the other package contained ornaments for the tree, including one with a picture of my family at the Biltmore House last year. Yeah, uh, talk about waterworks. I sat there sobbing for a while. So, as soon as Thanksgiving is over, like a good American I will decorate my little tree and plug it in for some Christmas spirit. I can't wait.

In addition to all of these wonderful happenings (well, let's call the exams neutral but note that they're not killing the day's GPA), I also received a staggering number of birthday wishes on facebook, in email, and in other messages. I am truly, truly blessed with wonderful family and friends, and I can't thank EVERYONE enough for what they did to make my 22nd birthday, my first big grown-up birthday, a day I'll never forget.

We now return you to your regular blog schedule. Coming up next: the Antalya adventure concludes!

Ten Minutes (Antalya Part 2)

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you for your attention and warm responses to Antalya Part 1! Please fasten your seatbelts and keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times as we dive into "Ten Minutes (Antalya Part 2)."

Monday morning, nicely rested and ready for more adventure and exploration, Annika and I went down to breakfast at our hotel and were informed that "our friend" had arrived. That friend was Mary Spanarkel, another Fulbrighter who teaches in Balıkesir and--against all odds, considering having her first bus ticket reservation mysteriously misplaced--had arrived early in the morning to join our Antalya excursion! When she found the Urcu and revealed her connection to us, the hotel staff graciously offered her breakfast...what they did not know was that we would not be staying at the Urcu for two more nights. The Sabah Pensiyon, where the boys were staying, was much cheaper and also had triple rooms, which we would need to house Mary with us. Below are pictures of our one-night Urcu home:

Mary shows off the space that was almost hers.

So we felt pretty bad that they had been so nice to Mary, but Annika went through the uncomfortable process of checking us out (they were not happy...) while I packed up my stuff, and then we headed down to the Sabah to meet the boys for a day full unpredictable adventures!

Here are some photos of the boys' room (I forgot to take pictures of ours...but it was comparable) at the Sabah, as well as the courtyard, where we convened in the mornings to discuss plans and in the evenings to drink Efes (the Turkish equivalent of Budweiser) and play Bananagrams.

Courtyard - That table in the foreground was our fave

Mary and Annika get silly as I document Ryan and Dan's room

Facing back towards the entrance to the pensiyon

Our rooms were not in this old Ottoman house part of the pensiyon...but that's okay!

So, after some discussion, we all decided that we would take a day trip to Olympos, which a the site of old ruins right on the Mediterranean (used to be a Sicilian pirate base!) about an hour and a half outside of Antalya. According to Ryan's friend, it's one of the most beautiful places in Turkey, and there's a gorgeous beach. So we figured we'd pack our swim gear, arrive with plenty of time to see the ruins and hang out on the beach...it was going to be great. 

We got on the city tram (which was free during the bayram--score), took it to the otogar (the bus station), and bought tickets for a bus that would take us "to Olympos." Apparently, these buses leave every "ten minutes." Now you know where the title comes from...Turkish time estimates are simply not known for their accurary. So about fifty minutes later the bus finally filled up and we were on our way. The ride was to take about an hour and a half...which it did...but there came a time when we asked, 

"How much farther?"

"Ten minutes ahead."

"Right."

Remember, grain of salt, people. It was at least half an hour more...maybe forty-five minutes. But we finally arrived! Just...not at Olympos. No, rather, we were dropped off at a little roadside stop where a dolmuş (mini bus) would apparently come pick us up to take us down to the shore and Olympos.

Pensive Ryan

We discuss our next move

Annika and Dan

"So," we inquired of the old man who ran the establishment. "When will the dolmuş get here?"

"About ten minutes."

An hour later, after buying a number of snacks and sipping on some Efes, we realized that, since the sun would go down at 4:00 pm, we weren't going to have much daylight once we arrived at Olympos...but there was no turning back now! Fortunately, a dolmuş guy finally showed up. His time estimate for departure, however, was about an hour. But guess how long it actually took us to leave? Ha. Ten minutes.

Is this like Seinfeld yet, or what?

We all piled into the dolmuş and buckled up (figuratively only--psh, you think people use seatbelts here?) for an absolutely terrifying ride down the mountain. Being a lover of thrill rides, I actually had a fabulous time with this guy as my driver, but everyone else was decidedly less enthusiastic about the ways he nearly threw us off switchback after switchback. I happily munched on pretzel sticks and shot off a quick prayer that we wouldn't all die...no biggy.

Once we arrived in the vicinity of Olympos, every free inch of space seemed to be taken up by pensiyons and restaurants...I mean, it was really something. It was like going to the beach in the United States--you know how, if tourists come, even if a place is in the middle of nowhere, a little tourist-catering town will basically spring up? That's exactly what this was like. Finally, the road terminated at a little gate and parking lot, which was apparently where we would buy our tickets to enter the ruins. So we bought said tickets and starting wandering forward, able to see glimpses of the Mediterranean ahead in the distance. Ryan, very serious about reaching the beach while there was still daylight, powered ahead with Dan, but Annika, Mary, and I took a more leisurely approach for photo-ops with what were really beautiful ruins:

Someone's tomb

Then we arrived on the beach, and, as promised, it was truly gorgeous.

US!

The sea itself was extremely calm, almost like the surface of a lake. And since the beach was covered in smooth pebbles and rocks, I started looking for nice, flat ones to skip on that calm water! I achieved some success with up to three skips many times, and I managed to skip some truly huge rocks...I mean, we're talking bigger than my palm rocks. By the end of the day, my rotator cuff was sore from all the flinging. It was all worth it, though, when I ended my skipping activities by skipping a rock about the size of a Pringles lid EIGHT times. That's right. Eight. What. Up.

Sizing up a skip

In action

Facing the water, there was a lovely outcropping of rocks to our right on which Dan decided he would be adventurous. Check out the photographic proof:

Afterward, Ryan noticed that there were people climbing on some ruins up on the mountain itself. According to a semi-hidden sign that we found, it was actually a crumbling old castle...so naturally Ryan and I disappeared up the treacherous trail to check it out. Here's what THAT looked like, and what the views FROM it looked like. At sunset? Truly breathtaking.

Once we climbed down, it was definitely beginning to get dark, so we made a group decision. Rather than walk back through the Olympos ruins to catch a dolmuş, we would walk down the beach maybe half a kilometer to a place where we saw grass umbrellas and open beachside restaurants. There, in the midst of a seaside civilization, we were bound to find transportation, right? Right? Bahaha. Wrong.

We walked all the way through this little restaurant town, saw plenty of cars, but no mini buses. We walked up what was obviously the main road, assuming that we would eventually find one...but no...the place was practically a ghost town. Uh oh. Faced with the prospect of never getting home, we naturally needed to stop and ask someone for some help. So we stopped where we found people: at an open-air adventure sports agency.

"Can we get a dolmuş nearby?"

"No, no, there is no dolmuş."

Oh great.

"But my brother...he has a van. You wait here...ten minutes. I will call him."

The man's brother actually arrived after five-ish minutes, then charged us 7 TL a person (just so you know, that's outrageous) to take us "to the main road, where we caught our first dolmuş, where we can get on a bus back to Antalya." Weeeeeeellll that's not exactly where he dropped us off. Rather, he told us to get out at a tiny little bus shelter that was, yes, on the main road, but definitely not where we had begun this journey. Annika and Mary proceeded to chew him out while Ryan, Dan, and I looked on, Mary even refusing to move from in front of his van until he took us to the right place.

"I will take you there. Each person, five lira."

Here, there was a glorious pause that you only see in scripted comedy. He obviously saw the rabid danger in the eyes of my livid friends, because he immediately corrected himself:

"One lira."

However, we did not have to hang out with this guy any more, thank goodness. A bus came down the mountain and honked at us, asking if we wanted on, and OF COURSE WE DID! Without a backward glance at the crooked guy who brought us up the mountain, we piled into the back of the bus and settled in for the hour and a half back to Antalya.

Using the tram again from the otogar, we finally made it back to good ole Kaleiçi, whereupon we immediately sought some serious sustenance. At the restaurant we selected, we were the only patrons aside from one other table that dissipated about halfway through our meal. We gorged ourselves on delicious mezes (Turkish appetizers...like tapas) and then ordered some larger plates to share. The food was great, and our server was an absolutely hilarious older man who called us "my teachers" once he found out that's what we were, but it was also quite chilly at this point, and I was wiped. Bleary-eyed, we finally paid and rolled out of there around 11:30 at night. Dan and I opted to head straight to bed from that point, but Annika, Mary, and Ryan went out to check out the late-night Kaleiçi scene. They were, indeed, out late!

Another adventurous day down...I was loving this. Oh, Antalya, how I long for thy sunny days. Stay tuned for the third and final installment in the Antalya Bayram blog series!

Oh, and, since you've read this far, I assume that you remember my promise to share the amazing water/light/music show video as soon as I got access...well, ladies and gents...here you have it. The finale: Pirates of the Caribbean, Antalya, Turkey.

 

Iyi bayramlar, everybody!