Buttered Popcorn gum?

I got some chewing gum from the grocery store on campus and was absolutely appalled. Appalled, I tell you. I didn't really look at the flavor before I bought it, and when I popped it in my mouth, I tasted buttered popcorn, not wholly unlike the flavor you get in a Jelly Belly jellybean. I find it a disgusting flavor by the way, and even though it does taste like popcorn, there's something about the flavor-texture combination that repulses me. I looked at the flavor after this rude awakening and saw that it was rice pudding flavored. Yes, Turkey makes rice pudding flavored chewing gum.

Only here...

Princess Islands

Just an hour-and-a-half ferry ride from downtown Istanbul there exists several resort-like islands. Known here as adalar, or "the Islands," the Princess Islands are the perfect place for a trip outside the urban life that is Istanbul. For a mere 2.80TL (1.72 USD), you can hop on the ferry and visit one of the islands, all of which do not allow cars but instead have bike rentals, carriages, and donkeys. Palatial resort homes and condos line the streets, palm trees offer shade from the warm sun, and parks and monasteries flank the residential areas--great place to overlook the Marmara Sea.

A group of us went to the largest island (Büyükada, meaning "large island") for a day and decided to walk instead of spending any money on rentals (yeah, 2.50 US per hour seemed a little steep for college kids, even if we were only going to spend a few hours there). We walked up to a park and sat around for a while, then we continued our trek up a very steep cobblestone street to the top of a mountain with an Orthodox church on top. We found a large cliff that overlooked the sea, so we relaxed before we took our long walk back to the ferry.

We were shocked at just how CHEAP this place was, and just how very different it was from the city of Istanbul, visible from most locations with a view. As it seemed a tropical destination, daytrips are very common for local Istanbul residents, if for nothing more than having a nice picnic in a change of venue.

One of my friends had a friend visiting, and we were very happy that he could see this place, even though it was nothing like the Istanbul to which we are all accustomed. Funny how you just discover things out of the blue...

Canada, eh?

So I made a very recent discovery that was most surprising to me: apparently, my three favorite children's shows growing up were Canadian shows, and I didn't even realize it! Sharon, Lois, and Bram; Fred Penner's Place; and Under the Umbrella Tree are all products of the CBC. Who would have thought? Although, in retrospect, it totally makes sense as to why one of the quintessential S,L,&B's songs, "One Elephant, Deux Éléphants" includes both English and French lyrics. Perhaps this discovery was a long time coming...

Making the distinctions between Canadian and American cultures is actually an interesting pastime among my Canadian and American friends here. I now have picked up several regional slang from my friends, including the all-time favorite "deec." Derived from the word "decent," this word is comparable to "awesome" or "sweet." I have learned that I wear not a snowcap, a ski hat, winter hat (or, incidentally, a toboggan) but instead a toque/tuque (sp?). And, if I were to order coffee and want two sugars and creams, such a drink is commonly referred to as a double-double. Of course, this drink is often associated with the famous Tim Horton's--or Timmie's, as it is sometimes called.

Now, having had a fascination with Canada for years, I am even more interested for some reason in light of this realization. The U.S. and Canada are so similar in many ways but are also so very different. The relationship between the two nations, the politics, and the perceptions of each other are quite interesting to study, and my interest in doing so has been compounded by the fact that many of my relatives are or once were Canadian citizens. I have been to Ottawa once and absolutely loved it, but it is due time for me to take the road trip there that I've always wanted, and now I have many friends with whom I can stay!

Children's Day

April 23 marks Children's Day in Turkey, and so we have no school on Thursday. After having no idea what Children's Day even was (apart from a day to celebrate children, of course), I did a little scholarly Wikipedia search to find that on April 23, 1920, the first meeting of the Grand National Assembly took place during the Turkish independence war, and that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk--the father of modern Turkey-- proclaimed that day a day for children so that they may understand the importance of independence.

Apparently, children from around the world travel with their families to Turkey and stay with host families with children of similar ages. Throughout this week (including here on campus), there are lots of cultural festivals and carnivals and the like. And, the seats of parliament are held by children on the 23rd, and Turkey even has a child president for the day, who apparently makes a speech on national television. What an interesting holiday!

Let the sun shine in--

Because the sun was actually out and it was rather warm today (60s), the students were all outside basking in it while eating ice cream. I am surprised, though, that many people are still in coats, scarves, gloves, and boots (both on campus and around town) at this point in springtime. I wore shorts today (gasp), only to get strange looks from people. I stuck out like a sore thumb, but it was okay because I thought it was too hot to wear jeans and a coat.

I find it amazing that I can find clothes in this country that fit me--shorter people, I guess? Anyway, I found a pair of jeans today that were a bit long but actually fit me in the legs and waist. I might have to get them hemmed or try them myself, but the kicker: I paid 10.99 TL ($6.63) for them!! They are from a somewhat fashionable Turkish department store (as opposed to on the street), and they were on sale from 70 TL I do believe, so I was proud of my purchase, to say the least. I now desperately need sandals and sunglasses. And, apparently, needle and thread, which is surprisingly hard to find!

THEY GOT A PUPPY!!

Nothing to do with Turkey, unless of course you count Obama coming here last week: I'm a tad bit too excited for this otherwise silly season news story, but as you all stateside likely know, the Obama family welcomed Bo, a Portuguese water dog, into their home, after Sen. Kennedy offered it to them as a gift. Seeing the family running and laughing in the White House lawn really just shows how happy they all are. They are just a beautiful family, and I can't help but get unhealthily giddy when I see a new story about this all-American, picture-perfect first family.

Balkans and the Like

The only way I can describe the past week in the Balkans is to say that this life-altering experience will make stories for years to come. Three friends and I visited Sofia (Bulgaria), Belgrade (Serbia), Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina), Dubrovnik, and Split (Croatia). In Split we split up (ha ha ha...get it?) and a friend and I continued on to Zagreb (Cr.) and Ljubljana (Slovenia), while the other two went back to Belgrade as they had to be home earlier.

One remarkable thing was how different all of these countries actually are. The feeling once you go to Sofia from Istanbul is palpable, as you immediately notice differences in dress and public behaviors. As we moved west, we felt like we were more and more in western European cities. This seems a bit obvious, yes, but I don't generally think of countries of the former Eastern Bloc and Yugoslavia to be very western places, but I clearly was mistaken.

The views of all the cities were unbelievable. I have seen pictures of all these places in books before and have scene photos of videos of the scenery elsewhere, but to see it in person feels not much less than a dream. I couldn't quite fathom that such beautiful views, crystal-clear waters--"paradise on Earth," as Mark Twain aptly described Dubrovnik--actually exist until I saw them for myself.

Split and Dubrovnik are comparable cities, both on the coast of Croatia, with Split being farther north than Dubrovnik. Both are huge tourist attractions, but luckily for us, we were visiting during the off-season so we could have relatively cheap and uncrowded visits. Dubrovnik is famous for its old city, a fortressed former republic from the Middle Ages. Both positioned along the Adriatic, but Dubrovnik has several stone beaches (and REALLY cold, possibly less than 50 degree, water), while Split is mostly a landing point for posh yachts and cruiseliners. We had a seafood meal in Dubrovnik that cost roughly $10 each, which was great for two people ordering mussel and two people ordering shrimp dishes, plus a liter of wine and apertifs to start out our meals.

When I think Sarajevo, the first thing that pops in my mind is all the war and conflict of the 1990s, and, unfortunately, the wounds of those times are ever so apparent today. I would estimate that about 70-80 percent of the buildings in Sarajevo are peppered with bullet holes or shrapnel, most of such holes having not yet been repaired. Virtually every park doubles as a graveyard (on top of the two large ones that are on big hills in the outskirts of the city), and many of the gravestones have the exact same death date. The city is still divided ethnically, exemplified mostly by the two bus stations across town that go different places, yet only one mode of transportation per day connects them.

Ironically, the unyielding spirit of the citizens of this town was quite inspiring. While there, we went to a sort of festival in one of the main squares of town, and there were families dancing and children singing, making for the epitome of family outings. The smiles on everyone's faces and the fun all were having under the warm sun showed--at least to me--the resiliency of the people despite such a horrid recent past. They are so proud of their city, as they should be; it was so incredibly beautiful, both in the old town and the modernity of the new town. They seem particularly proud of their city being home to the 1984 Summer Olympics. You can still buy memorabilia and take site tours of this event over twenty years ago, which we found very interesting.

A small aside: I have always wanted to go to Cheers in Boston because I was a fan of the show, but I was enthralled to discover that the bar also exists in...not making this up...Sarajevo. (?!?) People didn't exactly yell "Norm!" when I walked in, nor did the inside look anything like the set of the show, but I am glad that I can check off my list that I went to the place "where everybody knows your name"...only not really.

Zagreb was a neat city, but after seeing the churches and going on the self-guided tour, we were kind of done with it and felt we got a good Cliffs-notes version of the city. Ljubljana, a place which I must admit I never heard of previously, proved to be a really cool city with numerous parks and very trendy European shopping and eating along the Ljubljanica River. One of the most famous squares is adjacent to the triple bridge, and this is where you will see the most people, as shops and ice cream and gelatto stands (oh, the pains of being diabetic) radiate from this point. A short hike will bring you to the castle that overlooks the beautiful city. One of the neatest things about the city, other than having a horseburger, was our hostel. A converted Slovenian prison, the old building was transformed into a very modern, eclectic hostel complete with a cafe and bar.

Belgrade was my friend's and my last stop before our fun ride home (can you read sarcasm?). Because we had about one hour here on our first go-through, we decided to spend a couple days there, and we are glad we did. Also a very beautiful city, there are two long or three really long streets with shopping and eating and the like (also, the ice cream), a park and old fortress, and a huge open market with all the fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish you would ever want. I went to a museum for Nikola Tesla, and it was also quite cool. We even stumbled upon an Amstel Light festival where you could get a .5 L beer for a little over $1. We both partook and sat on one of the cafe tables listening to great live music (for some reason New York, New York is the only song I remember) while young children were dancing or watching the street performers. So much fun.

Transportation was a mess both ways in Bulgaria. We took a train from Istanbul to Sofia and then to Belgrade (24ish hours), and we had to do the same on the way back, although no layover in Sofia. On the way there, we stopped in a small town and waited for over an hour for no reason it seemed, that is, until we were told someone had been smuggling guns over the border. On the way back, our second class car was disconnected at one of the stops, so we had to switch cars obviously. The first class car did not take us, and he said we could go to the next car. We did so, found an empty room, and put our stuff down. An angry train conductor yelled at us, presumably telling us to leave, and so we went to the next two cars, only to be told to go back to the second car. They basically motioned to find an empty room, and when we did, the angry conductor came back, really started lighting into us, throwing our stuff in the corridor and basically forcing us out of the room. The girl in the room next to us was yelling back at him and apparently pointed at him and then he smacked her hand. We finally got to a car that was a sleeper, but we had to pay an additional 22 lira each to be able to stay, or else wait on the Turkish border for the train the next morning with a second class cabin. Needless to say, we paid the extra money for at least 4 hours of sleep. We arrived in Istanbul and 9:00ish and got back to school, exhausted yet oddly refreshed at the same time.

In sum, the best warm weather ever (no clouds at all except a brief sprinkling one night late in Sarajevo), breathtaking scenery, and the best company I could ask for made this trip just awesome. I spent quite a bit of money (although not a lot considering all the stuff we did and the fact that we had a lot of transportation, lodging, and food), but every penny was worth this trip. I have gotten a relapse of the travel bug, and all I really want to do now is save money and go somewhere else in a few years. This will be one of those times where, years from now, I can look back at all the stories and memories that accumulated and say, "That was the life."