Random Indian Guy

So I ran into a random Indian guy today (Wed Oct 29). I was walking back to my apartment and saw an Indian looking guy discussing English with one of the market ladies. I could hear the same thing being repeated in English so I knew this guy wasn’t Turkish. So I stopped, waited till he was done talking, then asked him straight up where he was from (that’s what we Indian folks do). We started chatting, and he invited me to his apartment to hang. I met his roommates an American (teaching English, big surprise) and another Indian guy from Australia who is doing the same as the guy I just met (IT for Turkcell, big surprise for Indians). All three of them were very nice, we sat and had a nice conversation. They all offered to be of any assistance, particularly the American offering his number in case of emergency. Pretty simple day today!

Bananas and a Cat

So I woke up Tuesday (Oct 28) morning kind of hungry for some fruit. I may have mentioned earlier that the Turks don’t really eat much fruit or veggies at least in the restaurant scene. However, around every corner, it seems there is a small market with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. So a few steps from my flat, I stop by and buy a couple bananas. They taste different over here in Turkey, but that shouldn’t surprise me since there are supposedly over 500 varieties of them around the world (or so I’m told)! Regardless of the number of types of them, they are still pretty darn tasty! I continued on to Istiklal Street, which, I don’t think I’ve mentioned, to reach is quite the steep hill from where I live. We are talking some serious incline here folks! I should probably take a picture to prove it. Once again, I was unsuccessful at cashing my Traveler Cheques. I did some further side street exploring then headed home for a few. I wasn’t feeling too well today. I think the traveling, time change, heavy food, and rain all caught up to me where I was a little beat down. I really just wanted to sleep if off, but I had read online there would be a Turkish/English language circle meeting tonight at Dilek Pastanesi, a restaurant not too far from me. On my way up to my room (third floor), I see a random cat hanging on the second floor. I ask Matthias if he knows what this cat is doing here, and he was wondering the same. Apparently, if you leave a certain window open in this flat, you can receive a little furry guest. This isn’t the type of “cat” some would welcome, at least I wouldn’t, ahem! Note to self: close the damn window! Finding the restaurant wasn’t a problem, but locating the group in the large establishment was. I can’t really even begin to explain this place w/ their multiple number of levels and half levels and quarter levels. If you think I’m kidding, just wait and see! Finally found the group on floor 3.25, introduced myself to everyone, and then tripped on the uneven floor surface. Apparently the Turkish/English circle meets every week and is for all speaking levels (and, really, any language). I met an Aussie/Brit, numerous Turkish people, a French girl, two other Americans, and a few other regions. A few of us rode out the evening until 10:30pm or so, did a number exchange (though I don’t have a mobile at this point, but I was happy to share my email address :), then headed out separate ways. Not bad for a random Tuesday!

Day 3

I don’t really remember what I did during the day last Saturday. I think it was a lot of walking around Istiklal Street and sampling random cuisines. In the evening, however, we went to a jazz bar around the Galata Tower area near Tunel (which is also right off Istiklal Street). Pretty much everyone from Thursday night was there with the addition of a few more. The bar had a live jazz band and they even covered some English classics. I got the chance to meet a few more people including a Turkish girl, S, who has lived in Germany all her life but visits Turkey often and is currently in medical school. She could also speak 4 or 5 different languages, impressive!

Day 2

So it’s been a fair while since I’ve updated my blog. Some reasons for the lag are good and some are bad. What’s going so badly? Nothing really too big of a deal! We had nonstop heavy rain for three days starting last weekend. It made for some fairly boring time, so little to really update in my blog, but alas the sky has been clear for days upon days and here I am to provide a weeklong “fill in.” And as I’ve been taught, we should always attempt to see the positive side of things. All that rain was much needed as Istanbul has been too dry the past few years. That rain helped up the reservoir which provides the municipal water for millions of people. Oh, the other major positive, for those few of you that are actually reading my blog. You won’t have to read a complete play by play but instead just the good stuff . . . I hope!

So last Friday (Oct 24), I woke up at K’s house in the morning and just sort of chilled. There’s a knock on the door some minutes later. Fresh baked bread delivered to the door! Had a goat or sheep cheese sandwich then headed off to run a few errands. Came back to K’s house, met K’s mom who had just gotten back from some shopping with her friends, and enjoyed a special blend of Turkish coffee from the southern region of Turkey, a town called, Adana. For those of you who like coffee, give Turkish coffee a try, it’s very similar to Greek coffee (very thick and strong). Didn’t hang around the house long before heading back to my neck of the woods with K. We rode the bus then Metro to get near the area I live called Taksim. Istanbul has an excellent, modern, and clean (and in English) public transportation system. We tried, unsuccessfully, to cash my traveler cheques then again, unsuccessfully, to unlock my mobile phone to use in Turkey. Walked around Istiklal Street, people watched, browsed some shops, then had some coffee to wrap up the afternoon. K had to work so I returned home and figured I’d call it an evening.

Silly me, it’s Istanbul! Turns out my German roommate was meeting some friends for dinner and some drinks and invited me along. How could I say no? We went to a very neat area near Istiklal Street called French Street. Yep, I forgot my camera again but this area was neat. It’s a steep stone staircase with many cafes, restaurants, wine bars, outdoor seating, live music, all with a dash of energetic ambiance. Our Turkish waiter didn’t really understand English so he sent his boss who is apparently “studying to be a ship captain so ‘I’ can speak English just as well as ‘you’.” That was his quote and it wasn’t true, but at least he was confident! Had some food, drinks, enjoyed the live music, and the people watching. We even saw (warning: may be gross for some) a fella being escorted out of the bar by his friends only to plop him down at the table a few steps up from him. He tossed his cookies and successfully scared a table into leaving super quickly. I thought it was funny, some of the table agreed with me, some didn’t! Shortly after the cookie tossing session, we headed home, but not before stopping by a convenience store to pick up a couple bag of chips. Got to the house, ate some chips, my roommate had a sheep cheese sandwich then went to bed, but only after brushing my teeth, duh!