Tuesday, October 19th, 2004

Well, I arrived in Ankara today after a very sad round of goodbyes. I spent the previous evening with friends, and tears were shed. But fun was also had. I got into a great conversation with Yildiz via Elif about books. We have read many in common, most notably The Unbearable Lightness of Being! I was so happy! We got into the conversation b/c we were at her place and I noticed a big pile of books by Nietzsche (yar, spelling?), Victor Hugo and a bunch of other randoms. So she showed me her reading list which includes Rushdie, Steinbeck, Marx and Lenin and all sorts of stuff. So kindred spirits, yay! I wish so much that I could speak Turkish. I think the communication is my culture shock. Just not being able to express myself to anyone. Even people who know English don’t really know it here. There are so many misunderstandings and mistakes, and it’s hard to find anyone who would 1) sit down and listen to what I’m going through, and 2) actually be able to grasp what I’m going on about. So ya. I’m grateful for the little things, because there often isn’t much else!

Anyway, Ankara is packed. People everywhere. Classic capital city I suppose. I live close to the center of town, about 2 min from an underground station which is nice. Oh, for students (me) 20 rides on the underground costs 12,000,000 or about $8. Cheap! The city center is wonderful: cafes, restaurants, shops, markets, and teeming with young people. I haven’t bothered to meet anyone; I’ve just been hiding in my dorm room tonight. I’m staying in a student dormitory and am feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I think I’ll wait a bit before I try and meet people.

I feel like I’m starting all over again. I guess I am. It’s like I haven’t even been in Turkey before. The main thing of course is the language. If I get lost, I’m screwed. Find a taxi and hang my head in shame! Maybe there are some that can help me, I don’t know. I just wish I could communicate.

I’m staring a sit in on language classes starting tomorrow morning. Trouble is, they’re only in Turkish and they’ve already been going for three weeks. So I don’t know what I’ll be able to get from them. My one hope is that there are some native English speakers in this thing that I can befriend. Some connections would be nice. Then in the afternoon I’m visiting Ankara University’s Center for European Union Research, or something like that. I’ll be able to ask smart people loads of questions and find out about Turkey like crazy. So who hoo!

I’ll write more once I know what the story is. Hopefully I don’t get lost tomorrow!

P.S. I’m reading Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez. I love it! It’s the first book of his I’ve ever read and I’m so glad I picked it up.