Istanbul in Pictures Part 3

Gate of Salutations built in 1524.  Leads into the 2nd courtyard of Topkapi Palace

Ceiling of the Summer Room a.k.a. Circumcision Room in Topkapi

Our hostel's kitten.  Such a cutie.

My pointed slippers...thanks for the Christmas money Grams!

My lovely new pashmina scarf

Rosary for my Grams
 

Istanbul in Pictures Part 2

the Blue Mosque from its courtyard

The Blue Mosque's tiled inside.

Hagia Sophia, as seen from outside the Blue Mosque

Inside of the Suleymaniye Mosque

Outside of the Suleymaniye Mosque

Nativity scene inside of the Church of St. Anthony of Padua

My favorite pieces of baklava

Continue on to the third and final installment of Istanbul pictures....

Istanbul in Pictures Part 1

On the plane....so excited to land in Istanbul!!!

Galata Tower

Sunset over Istanbul

Hagia Sophia mosaic: Empress Zoe and Constantine IX, Jesus Christ in center. 11th Century

Tombs of Sultans

Egyptian Obelisk at the Hippodrome

                    Did I mention all of the stray cats?  Well-fed, well-groomed, and oh so adorable.....much better than           Romania's dog problem.

Me inside the Basilica Cistern

Medusa head turned on its side, at the base of a column in the Cistern

Continue on to Part 2 for more pictures....

No Sir, I Don't Want to Come Look at Your Carpet

Well, it's my first day back at site after an AMAZING few days in Istanbul.  I'm rather sad at the prospect of another full week of boredom before getting back to the teaching grind, but at least I have this wonderful trip to get me through.  Now that I'm back, it has been a mad rush of blog-writing (you're welcome), uploading trip pictures and downloading all of the TV shows I missed...including Michigan's bowl game!  Of course I would be gone when they finally make it back to a BCS bowl...

View of Sultanahmet from Galata Tower

The trip started last Monday.  A fellow PCV, and my trip buddy, came over to my site before we caught a night train to Bucharest early Tuesday morning.  Night trains suck, especially those that aren't long enough to justify upgrading to a sleeping car.  After 5 hours on the train, and several pulled muscles later, we arrived in the capital, ate some McDonald's (you've got to start every vacation right) and headed out to the airport. We opted to fly from Romania to Turkey for several reasons.  Sure it's more expensive than taking the bus, but 1 hour on a plane sounds so much better than 16 on a bus, right? We flew Turkish Airlines, which was pretty good...we were even served a MEAL...on a one hour flight.  I'd like to see that happen in the States.  After a short delay we arrived in Istanbul at one and were brought to our hostel in Sultanahmet by shuttle.  After checking in, we were ready to get our tourist on.  We decided to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening in the Beyoglu section of the city.  We went to the top of Galata Tower and spent a good amount of time taking panoramic pictures of the city before taking in all of the shops and settling down for some good Chinese food.  We weren't quite ready to try out Turkish food yet.  On our way back to the hostel we stopped for a few pieces of baklava.  I'm utterly and completely hooked, especially on the pieces made with pistachios.  After a good 36 straight waking hours, we called it a night.

I promise I really was there...

The Blue Mosque

Wednesday was our big sight-seeing day.  On the program was the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, and the Basilica Cistern.  We also stumbled across some tombs of Ottoman Sultans.  Ever since the Redwing fan page on facebook starting their "Redwing Facebook Fan of the Day", I have been determined to be chosen.  So this was the day when I wore my Redwings t-shirt (I knew I brought one t-shirt supporting each of my sports teams for a reason).  Cue really awkward pictures of millennium old buildings surrounded by natives in black or muted clothing...and me...in bright red.  It was awesome.  Without a doubt, the Hagia Sophia was my most anticipated sight.  I was not disappointed.  It was just amazing to be able to walk the same floor as Byzantime Emperor Justinian who ruled and commissioned the Hagia Sophia (the third on the same site) in the 6th Century AD.  The mosaic depictions of Christ were amazing.  The Islamic additions were beautiful as well.  After milking all we could out of the Hagia Sophia, we crossed the square to the Blue Mosque, which gets it's name from the typically blue, Iznik tiles covering the inside.  We actually had to wait for the noon and early afternoon prayers to finish, so we walked towards the Hippodrome, where chariot races were held in Byzantine times.  Before reaching the Hippodrome, we stumbled across an old mosque converted into a museum holding the tombs of numerous Ottoman Sultans, and a few of their wives.  The sad part were the tiny little tombs holding infant Sultans.  The area of the Hippodrome was converted into a park featuring three artifacts from the original Hippodrome...an Egyptian Obelisk of 1500 BC, the Serpentine Column from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi in Greece made in 479 BC, and the Column of Constantine VII who restored it in the 10th century AD.  After the Hippodrome, we ate traditional food at a nice little restaurant.  The meat was very similar to Romanian mici, just not as heavily seasoned.  It was very good.  After lunch we walked around trying to find the Basilica Cistern.  We finally found the entrance and made our way inside.  This was used as an underground water storage tank begun by Constantine and expanded by Justinian in 532 AD.  It once held about 18 million gallons of water!  336 pillars support the roof.  Two of the columns sported Medusa heads, taken from older Greek buildings.  The mystery is why one head is upside down and the other turned on its side.  Hmmm.  When we finished touring the Cistern, we were finally able to tour the Blue Mosque.  I found all of the mosques to be absolutely breathtaking and this was no exception.  After a day full of trudging up Istanbul's numerous steep hills and cobblestone streets, our joints were shot and we called it a day.

Spice Bazaar

Thursday was set aside as our shopping day!  I'm pretty sure I was most anxious for this day :)  First thing in the morning we walked to the Grand Bazaar.  It was founded in 1461 by Sultan Mehmet.  Then we walked to Suleymaniye Mosque.  This mosque was built in 1550-1557 for Suleyman I.  His tomb is outside of the mosque along with his wife, Roxelana.  Suleymaniye Mosque is the largest mosque in the city.  The courtyard afforded some amazing views of the city.  We ate lunch at a nice cafe along the side of the mosque and after wards ventured toward the shore for round two of shopping at the Spice Bazaar.  This is where we partook in the purchasing of cheap little souvenirs.  I was amazed at how little I actually spent on souvenirs during this vacation.  And most of the money I spent was on Baklava and Turkish Delight.  The journey to find the bazaar took forever and we managed to go in the same circle twice trying to find it.  But at least we saw the old ladies selling plates of birdseed to "feed the birds."  It was a nice Mary Poppins moment, just not as creepy as the one in the movie.  After completing our shopping for the day, we headed back across the bridge to Beyoglu, where I needed to visit the Church of St. Anthony of Padua.  Grams always wants a rosary from wherever I go, and this was no exception.  I like to collect rosaries too, so it was no problem to hike all the way back there!  Before finding the church Julie and I partook in some Starbucks, it was amazingly delicious, and nice to see prices not too different from those we are used to in the States.  Romania's prices are triple what they are in the States and eat up our budget three times as fast.  We head back across the bridge towards the hostel, stopped for some dinner at Burger King, and another baklava pit stop, where we always made our Turkish Delight purchases...can't wait to open those boxes up!  I wish I had a video of us walking back, it was memorable.  We were so sore we collapsed in bed at 7 and only got up again to shower.

View of the Asian side of Istanbul from Topkapi Palace

Friday was our last day and we had to catch the shuttle at 1, so we left one final sight for the morning...Topkapi Palace.  Our hostel was perfectly situated in the Old Town only a few minutes from the Hagia Sophia and all of those sights and we literally only had to walk down the street before getting to the Palace.  Soon after the Ottomans conquered Constantinople from the Byzantines, Mehmet II built this palace.  It continued to be the Sultan's residence until 1856.  The palace contained many courtyards which were all beautiful.  The rooms were converted into exhibition spaces containing jewels, clothing, weaponry, and religious artifacts.  This room was my favorite as it contained various artifacts from hairs from Muhammad's bear, the staff of Moses, the skull of the prophet John from the 1st century AD, and many many others important to not only Islam, but Christianity and Judaism.  After finishing at the Palace we gathered our belongings and sad goodbye to Istanbul, but not before discovering a Sbarro pizza restaurant at the airport.  Ahhh yes, quite the prelude to my journey home in 6 months.

A little slice of heaven.

Overall, Istanbul was one of the most amazing places I have had the good fortune and blessing to visit.  I know I say that a lot, but it's always true!  I have wanted to see this wonderful place for so long, and I was not disappointed.  The people were so nice, friendly, and helpful.  The food was delicious.  And the opportunity to visit some of the most important architectural feats of the last two thousand years really was a once in a lifetime chance.  I am so lucky to have amazing friends and family who continue to support me and all of my cross-cultural adventures.   I can't wait to return and explore more of Istanbul and Turkey.

P.S. Check out the next blog post and my facebook page for more pictures.

Freya's 25 Days of Christmas

If you read my last blog post, you will remember that last year I avoided Christmas like the plague.  I don't know why, it was just too emotionally draining I guess.  Well this year I have something to look forward to (July) and I'm determined to enjoy this holiday season, even if I am alone and miserable.  Well not miserable, that's what this list is for :)

In anticipation of Christmas, I am officially starting Freya’s 25 Days of Christmas….a movie a day (without the terrible made for TV Lifetime and ABC Family crap):

A Miracle on 34^th Street (1994)…This one makes an appearance on Thanksgiving Day…since I find myself with a list larger than 25…and the 26 Days of Christmas just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

1.      December 1 A Muppet Christmas Carol.  Starting the season off right.  Greatest movie ever?  Maybe.  Greatest version of a Christmas Carol? Definitely.  

2.      December 2 Meet Me in St. Louis.  Maybe not your typical holiday film, but Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is a great moment.

3.      December 3 National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  How I haven’t seen this yet, I don’t know…2011 is the year.

4.      December 4 Joyeux Noel (2006).  Merry Christmas for all you sheltered Americans… haven’t seen this yet, but it sounded good!

5.      December 5 The Polar Express.  Shout out to Grand Rapids, woot!

6.      December 6 Holiday Affair.  I just love curling up on the couch on Christmas Eve watching this on TCM…too bad TCM Romania doesn’t do the Christmas movie marathon.

7.      December 7 Elf.  Let’s face it, this will probably be an everyday occurrence. Also on this day will be Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...mostly because I'm a terrible person and forgot to give him his own day.  It's ok Santa, I'll just go ahead and put myself on the naughty list.

8.      December 8 The Shop Around the Corner.  Bonus: set in Budapest, and I just might love Budapest.  So much better than You’ve Got Mail, just sayin’.

9.      December 9 Little Women (1949).  Grams cultured me well. 

10.  December 10 The Santa Clause.  I’ve always been a sucker for Tim Allen, must have been those Detroit Lions crewneck sweatshirts he always rocked.

11.  December 11 Remember the Night.  Haven’t seen this one yet either, but TCM said it was good.

12.  December 12 A Christmas Carol (Disney).  My favorite thing about this version is the score…although the Muppet version holds its own.  “There goes Mr. Humbug, there goes Mr. Grim…” Anyone, anyone?

13.  December 13 One Magic Christmas.  One word: Classic.  Three words:  Terrible Disney Classic.  And by “terrible”, I mean awesome.

14.  December 14 Babes in Toyland.  Grams has this taped on a VHS, I had been resistant in the past but being away from home and missing your Grammy makes you do weird things.

15.  December 15 The Grinch.  I remember watching this in French, freshman year of high school…so not as funny.

16.  December 16 It Happened on 5^th Avenue.  Again, TCM said it was good.

17.  December 17 Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas.  This might have come out when I was in high school, and I might have watched it on repeat for a week.  I won’t subject you to Twice Upon a Christmas which might have come out when I was in college and I might have watched it on repeat for a month…but feel free to subject yourself.

18.  December 18 A Miracle on 34^th Street (1947)…Poor Kris Kringle.

19.  December 19 Holiday Inn.  Classic, need I say more?

20.  December 20 Home Alone/Home Alone 2.  They have to be watched together.  I look forward to this night.  Don’t concern yourself with 3 and 4 and however many more were made.  They’re just no good without Kevin.

21.  December 21 It’s a Wonderful Life.  It’s inescapable.

22.  December 22 White Christmas.  Love love love me some Bing Crosby.  The scene at the end where they open the barn doors to snow while singing White Christmas gets me every time.  

23.  December 23 How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon)/ A Charlie Brown Christmas.  These get combined because they’re short and I have too many movies on this list.  And the combination of the two is just magical…I blame Grandma’s taped VHS copy that had these back-to-back, I just came to expect them to be together.

24.  December 24 Christmas in Connecticut.  Another TCM classic to curl up to.  Cheesy “Merry Christmas” guffaw at the end is the best part.

25.  December 25 A Christmas Story.  Visions of unwrapping presents under the dim light of my Christmas tree while this movie plays ALL DAY dance in my head.

These movies are not ordered based on how good they are, so don't even try to give me crap for putting Elf after Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas.

Enjoy!  I know I will!  

It's My (Birthday) and I'll Cry if I Want To

My birthday was a week ago and okay, maybe that title is a bit melodramatic.  The only tears shed last week had to with my beloved Lions royally sucking.  After a silence-filled day at school, I admit I was feeling pretty miserable.  But my counterpart brightened things a bit when she showed up unexpectedly with her 3 year old son and a birthday cake.  We had a good chat while gorging on delicious cake. 

I refuse to believe that I'm slowly arriving at the age at which birthdays start to suck.  So next year get ready.  Wherever I happen to be, there will be a bash.

One good thing that actually came out of my birthday was listening to Christmas music!  It's my own personal tradition that all things Christmas are allowed with the arrival of my birthday each year.  Perhaps it has to do with the fact that the first snow usually happens right around my birthday.  Still no snow here!  We had a brief overnight snow shower in October, but nothing since...I'm still not convinced of this miserable winter that's supposed to happen here in the heart of the Carpathians.  Last year, I avoided all things Christmas until a few days before the 25th.  That means music AND movies.  So this year, I was extra anxious for that little bit of Christmas cheer.  Hopefully I don't wear myself out before Christmas gets here!  Check out my next blog post to see just how anxious I am for December to hit :)

Another good thing about my birthday was the arrival of my Kindle a week earlier.  I've had my eye on one of these guys since I landed in Romania and my steady stream of books abruptly ended.  With Amazon releasing their new super cheap version, I just couldn't resist.  It has changed my life.  I'm not saying I'm giving up books forever...there is just something about the feel of a good book in your hand, but it sure has brightened the rest of my days in Romania (228, but who's counting?).  It feels so great to be back to my normal self.  Since the arrival of my Kindle, I have gotten through Jane Eyre (how it took me 24 years to finally read, I don't know), the Hunger Games Trilogy (they will definitely be re-read very soon), the Girl Who Played with Fire (love the series), and a few other bestsellers.  Oh yeah, I'm back.  If you have any good book suggestions, send them my way!  I leave you with a picture of me and my new best friend...which also doubles as a way to show my mother that I actually wear my hair down all of the time here, instead of in a pony tail.

Oh, and a picture of some of the teachers and myself during our Halloween party...and my counterpart's son.

Harry Potter and the Black Sea

Totally sounds like it could be the title of another installment, doesn't it?

So its been a while since I've posted, and I have had a grand total of........THREE major events.  I lead a fascinating life. 

Making the long trek.

The first two weeks in July I made a commitment to work at a camp held at the site of another volunteer.  The camp was more of a summer school run by a charity that works to get all children enrolled in school.  Those involved are primarily Rroma children.  Their parents receive a stipend if their children attend every day of school.  The children also receive snacks at school.  The volunteer there actually has two schools in two different villages.  His house is in one village, and the camp was in the other village.  This meant a 5 kilometer (yes, FIVE!) walk on muddy lanes through corn and sunflower fields.  At least, that was the short way.  Walking along the roads, mean 8 or 9 kilometers.  No easily accessible public transportation either.  I was not thrilled.  After arriving at the school, sweaty and disgusting, another volunteer and I decided we would do that no longer and we hitched to the camp.  We had no problems what so ever and thought the volunteer was crazy for walking every time he worked at that school. 

Our class playing the Slap game with colors

At the camp, another volunteer and I were assigned to the 6th graders.  We worked with mostly Romanian students and taught English the entire time, whereas classes that were predominantly Rroma children worked on Romanian.  It was rather interesting to work with students I could actually converse with.  It is no longer a secret that my Hungarian stinks, so it was nice to be able to speak Romanian.  I must say, I enjoyed teaching A LOT more when I could speak the children's native language.  I will say this though, after this experience, I am very proud of my students at site for not being able to really understand me (and me not being able to really understand them), but still learning just as much English.  It is definitely harder, and takes a lot more effort, but it seems to be working. 

Coco and me

I made a best friend at camp, her name was Coco, and she was in the 4th grade.  She came to class with her sister who was in the 6th grade.  She was adorable and loved me.  Marco and I, didn't have much to do in the class, the Romanian teacher had the themes planned out, we just played games and talked with the students.  My favorite moment was when we were playing the Slap game with numbers and the kids turned the table on us, and made the two of us play while they shouted Romanian numbers.  I won. 

During the weekend, we camped on the Black Sea!  More volunteers met us at the beach and brought tents.  It was an.....interesting weekend.  We didn't camp anywhere near the main beach, so food and other essentials were two kilometers away.  The beach was not sand, it was finely ground shells.  The water was cold.  It smelled.  And the beach was nude.  I took no pictures.  I mean really, how do I find myself in these ridiculous traveling adventures?  It couldn't have just been a topless beach, I would have expected that out of Europe, but NUDE?!?!?!  Ugghhhhhh, nude old people.  I was only in the sun for a few hours, used the same SPF I use in the States, yet somehow managed to get the WORST sunburn of my life.  Seriously, my legs are STILL peeling.  It was so bad that it hurt immediately and the next day, when I put my pack on to leave, I cried.  A little.  It was horrendous.  I was really tan afterwards though, but so not worth it. 

The second week of camp was more of the same.  When the camp was finished for me, my little buddy was very upset that I was leaving.  She attached herself to my waist and wouldn't let go.  I had to drag her all the way out of the school building to the gate, before another camper pried her arms from around my waist and I made my escape.  All in all, it was a pretty good time :)

Now for the second big event.  You've probably figured it out already, it has to do with Harry Potter.  A few days after arriving back at site from the camp I roadtripped to Cluj Napoca, another Romanian city, with my counterpart, her sister, and another teacher from my school.  We drove 6 hours through Transylvania to see this puppy.  When we arrived in the city, my counterpart and the other teacher had some errands to run, so my cp's sister and I got something to drink to escape the heat.  After their errands were finished we saw a bit of the city before eating a delicious late lunch.  I unfortunately have no pictures.  I didn't bring my camera and I took pictures with my phone, but I lost the USB cable amidst the mess 10 volunteers make in one living room.  So no pictures.  After eating we headed to the mall, bought our tickets for the movie, then went SHOPPING.  I just love it.  I only bought a few things, on sale, so I did a good job.  The movie was amazing.  It was the first one I've ever seen in 3D, I was impressed.  I'm so sad that it's all over though.  I grew up with Harry Potter, and I can't believe it ended.  After the movie we did a little more shopping before the mall closed and we headed back home!  The drive back always seems to take longer, I think I finally got to bed around 4 in the morning. Long day, but definitely worth it :)

And now for the third major event.  August 6th has come and gone.  August 6th was the one year anniversary of my group being sworn-in as Peace Corpsnow for the third major event.  August 6th has come and gone.  August 6th was the one year anniversary of my group being sworn-in as Peace Corps Volunteers!  It was momentous, I am so proud to have made it this far, and miss my friends who weren't as fortunate.  It also meant that I am officially down to less than a year in country!  I know its crazy to be thinking about it already, but I've always been a planner, and figuring out my future is something I've always obsessed over.  For now I'm just looking forward to what the next year will bring :)

Trying to navigate the mud.  I almost lost my shoes a number of times.

Try to avoid that.

Rroma students celebrating the end of week one.

When in Romania, do as the Romanians...that's how that goes, right?

There were four of us in that backseat.

My favorite Romanian adventure, by far.  It was pitch black in the back of that delivery van.

One activity during week 2....the human knot.  We had ourselves good and knotted.

That's my head in the bottom right corner.

My bestie.

She loved to fan me.  I had it good there :)

Music time.

She loved me.

I leave you with more pictures of my church.

My mountains.