My 2 YKR (which is only about 1.5 cents)

So, it seems Kate called me out on playing computer games. She neglected to mention that when looking at the games, when I couldn't decide between two, she said 'Mark, why don't you just get both.' What a girlfriend, I tell ya.

So, anyway, I don't want to make this Jerry Springer's closing thoughts, but I will burden you with my own lists, just a few things.

Things I Will Miss About Turkey:

The friends we've made
Cheap DVDs
The bosphorus/ferries on the bosphorus
The easiest damn teaching job in the world
The tea
Some of my better students
Being able to throw down a basket in the morning and get breakfast that way
Conversing and learning about this different culture
Açma, an awesome pastry thingie
Ordering food from a website

Things That I'm Glad Will Be Left Far Behind Across A Large Ocean:

Ayran

Things Turkish People Do That Annoy Me:

Hassle me to buy their carpets
Hassle me to eat at their restaurant
Hassle me to come to their bar
Hassle me to shine my shoes
Hassle me to come and 'meet' their 'friends' who are girls

Things That Will Be Strange When I Come Home

Waiters actually waiting on you
People blowing their nose in public
Big grassy areas
Being able to understand everyone I meet
Being able to say 'college' and 'apartment' and 'movies'
Cooking for myself again
Hearing people not use present perfect correctly and not correcting them

and more, but if you want to hear more about it, ask me when you see me at home later.

Post a la Pic, part deux!

Two serpent monsters in a dream scene in the Karagoz show that Mark and I saw.
Galata Tower as seen from the ferry crossing from Karakoy to Kadikoy.
Haydarpasa Train Station, given to the Ottomans by one of the Wilhelms, but I'm not sure which one (thus the very Germanic architecture - it looks really funny in its context)
The much more Ottoman-looking quay at the Haydarpasa Station.
The seaside of the Marmara in Bostanci, near where I work.
Children from...some other country during a parade Mark and I stumbled across on Istiklal for the first International Children's Day.
Dolmabahce Caddesi decked out in it's Children's Day best.
The Tophane Mosque, behind which there is a long continuous row of nargile cafes (where people smoke flavored tobacco from hookas and play backgammon).
Oh, and we also finally made it to the Istanbul Modern, which I must say is one of the most modern buildings and things in Istanbul. I had my doubts before we saw it.
Oh, the beautiful ferry on a beautiful day. The best thing in this city.
The wonderful translation job on the directions for a claw machine at the arcade in Kadikoy.
Alethea, Aaron and Mark at the arcade. Of course, being the photographer, I tend not to show up in these things.
An adorable child in military band uniform singing very patriotic Turkish songs at the stationary parade for Children's Day in the Kadikoy center square.

Post a la Pic!

Just a standard Sunday afternoon riot police drill on Istiklal. We couldn't get the other batallion and the tank in the photo without looking too suspicious. Jason was freaking out anyway, as he saw this as a violation of the Prime Directive: Don't go to Turkish prison. Not to worry, though. Mostly they just stand around with those big guns and pick their teeth.
Unfortunately, my camera didn't seem to come out until after Ian left, so we have none of all of us together. I do like this picture, though. "Cam" means glass, and apparently somebody was trying to warn the world about the dangers of invisible solid surfaces.
Putting the Wilsons on the bus. It was sad to see everybody go, but now we'll be home to see everyboyd again so soon!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Mark and I also finally made it to Topkapi Palace. A nice American tourist took this picture for us.

This is the Kariye Muzesi, with all the gorgeous mosaics inside. The exterior is pretty interesting, too. But don't ask me to tell you how to get to this place - it's pretty well hidden.
A painting inside the Muzesi. That's Jesus in the middle, but I'm not sure what the rest of the picture is.
An awesome interpretation of Jesus pulling Adam and Eve out of Hell. All in a Judgement Day's work...
Mark climbing the precarious city walls. And, like all good climbs, coming down was even more interesting.
Me and Mark and Istanbul. If you look closely, you can see the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque just over Mark's head on the horizon.
Here's my school! I always feel like I'm in Florida when I walk there, because I have been trained to believe that, where there are palm trees, there is Florida.
Bagdat (pronounced BAH-dat, though it does mean Bagdad in Turkish) Caddesi - the posh street where my school is located. This street is also home to Marks & Spencer, Burburry, Duncan Donuts (a VERY primo place here in Istanbul - absolutely no truckers or cops), TGIFridays, KFC, PizzaHut, Mango, 5 Starbucks all on the same side of the street, and even Claire's! In Istanbul, Foreign IS Fashion.

The Tulip Festival in Taksim square. Like most public events we've seen so far, not very exciting. There were, indeed, plenty of tulips, though.

The Last 100 Meters

So, this is one of those grand occasions where you write 3/4 of a long post and then, because your web browser thinks you're Turkish, you can't understand how to "save" rather than "delete," and therefore you lose 2 1/2 hours of blogging. And so, perhaps this won't be as beautiful or detailed as the original version due to frustration, but I'll give it a shot.

After we went to Lisbon, Mark and I figured we had one milestone left - Spring Break and the arrival of Ian and the Wilsons in Istanbul. The week was pretty damn great. After six months of struggling to make what were always going to be temporary friends, it was almost like coming home when these kids showed up. Or like putting on an old sweatshirt, or something. So we drank tea and ate kebap and played lots of card and drank a good amount of other things and we conversed like I hadn't conversed with people really since we've been here. Also, all thanks to Judy's enthusiasm, we went to the hamam, or Turkish bath. It was quite an experience, though not nearly as intimidating as I was anticipating. When we sent them on the Havas bus back to the airport, Mark and I were glad for the visit, but it was a bit strange that we had nothing but two and a half months ahead of us.

The week that they were staying here, our roommate, Sasha, was in the process of moving out. Therefore, after they left, we took over her bedroom, and it is a vast improvement over our old tiny space. We got a door, and enough room for two people and our own electric circuit so that we could heat our room even if the washer was running. With Sasha's departure came a new roommate, Gokem, who we really don't know very well since she works nights and speaks no English and only a little German (Mark has had a few conversations with her). Things have been much more comfortable, generally, though.

In the last couple of months Mark and I have had some very interesting days in the city. We went to see a museum called the Kariye Muzesi, or Chora Church. It was much smaller than the Aya Sofya, and with obviously less historical significance, but the mosaics were about thirty times better preserved and impressive. We climbed the old city walls, no mean feat, for a very nice view of some truant lycee boys hiding, drinking and smoking...oh, and you could see the city pretty well, too. We went to see a Karagoz show, which is the traditional Turkish art of shadow puppets. Simple puppets, but the way the septuagenarian performer made them come to life with just two sticks and a tambourine was pretty mezmorizing. We then had a nice afternoon by the sea, sitting on real grass, after a lunch of Mexican food and Duncan Donuts - it almost felt like home. We went to an arcade in Kadikoy with our friends Aaron and Alethea. And we witnessed some patriotic Independence Day festivities - basically a parade that didn't move, but it was almost interesting.

Otherwise, things are generally winding down. We are getting rid of things we don' t want to take home with us, selling our furniture (even my little laptop! I got a much better price here than I would at home). We're making plans for our last hangings-out with people we might never see again. We're looking forward to the things we want to do at home in a much more concrete way, and less like some vacation we keep talking about and never take. Shamelessly taking advantage of some extremely underpriced and slightly less-than-legal DVDs. I have three days left of work, and then 11 days off to take care of all of our remaining business and pack up our lives yet again. Mark will be working until the day before we leave, but given the equation of hours worked/commuted over the time we've been here, we both figure it about evens out. I am also using the time to do prime-time evening type things that we've thus far been denied in Istanbul due to our working hours. Last night I took myself to the first act of an opera, which I have pretty much decided is a performance genre that I can live without. I only stayed for one act because it was majorly underwhelming...and I was hungry. Next week I am going to a ballet, hopefully, with Michelle (a friend from English Time), which is good because there's more to look at and no language barrier.

I believe that's the update on the basic events of our lives lately. I'm sure there will be more posts now that I have time and maybe everyone will check our blog, remembering we're coming home and thinking "Hey, what've they been up to?" I am preparing my response to the question that everyone's asking me - So, what do you think of Turks/Turkey? Expect that one soon.

For now, I would just like to admit it, though there was a time when I really didn't think I would say this. I am glad we came. Everything for this next year, and the life beyond, seems to be working out. Mark and I both officially matriculated a few weeks ago and are returning to that institution of institutions, the University of Michigan - Mark as soon as mid-June, and myself in the fall. We officially have an address to move into with Cadi and Brian on June 1st. I have planned a nice trip for myself to visit Maria in New York, Sarah in Boston, and then to spend 10 WHOLE DAYS with Maggie in the Bay! Life after Turkey is actually looking pretty sweet. I was afraid for awhile that I was just going to lose this year, miss out on opportunities at home or in America or in my comfort zone. But I really think that, despite my best efforts at maintained whinging and self-imposed frustration, I have grown this year (even if I've only added more British words to my vocabulary, like "whinging"), and even done a bit of soul-finding. I certainly have learned a lot of things about myself, and not all of them good, but I have a pretty good handle on what I want my life to be and not to be from this point on... for now - we all know that I can be as fickle as a cat in a shiney yarn ball pit, sometimes, so don't place any bets ;-)

I may hopefully be able to get Mark to find time in his daily regiment of Rise of Nations and Online Diplomacy to drop a note, although I think even when we made the title of this blog we new who would be doing a majority of the posting. In the meantime, I wish you all well, and I will see most of you in a month or less!! Haydi gorusyoruz!