Thursday, November 11th, 2004

Well… it’s time I told you all how I am. I’m good! And weird! I feel weird almost every day. I think it’s pretty normal. I told my friend Mehmet this and he just laughed and replied, “I’ve felt weird almost every day of my life!” That was comforting!

I think taking the language class has helped me realize just how far I would have to go to fit into this place. It’s a good symbol for just how difficult assimilation into a new country and way of life is. I’ve had it so easy because I can make friends quickly and easily, and because I’m with university students who are intelligent and can speak English. Just think… without my English I really would be lonely here. Now that I’m taking the class at TÖMER and realizing how difficult this stuff is, I see how hard life could be here if I let it.

All in all, I’d say I’m happy here. I’ve got great friends and we have a lot of fun. Take this weekend for example. It’s the time of Byram (sp?), the end of Ramadan. So we have the weekend plus Monday and Tuesday off, and almost everyone goes to celebrate with their families. Well, Mehmet forgot to reserve a bus ticket so he can’t get home. Since hardly any students will be here, we went and convinced one of the security guards to have our own little celebration in the dormitory. Complete with… alcohol!!! Woo hoo! The guard said he will only allow it if he can join in. What fun! We also have plans to go see some concerts during the weekend, and do visit some of Mehmet’s friends. Just tearing around Ankara basically.

I also have many other nice folks that I sit around with, talk to, play tavla (and loose) against, and whatever else. We just enjoy each other’s company!

I still wonder though… how long will I be able to be here? What are my options? My program ends after next week, on the 19th. Then I fly to Istanbul to meet my dad on the 20th! Good stuff. We’ll spend some time there and then come back to Ankara. But I wonder… will we really be able to find an extension of some sort for me here? How can I stay longer in Turkey? If I can’t set something up, should I try to travel and spend all my money, or just come home to be with the people I love? I just don’t know…

And what will I do? Be a novelty lackey at the school in Çankiri? Try to weasel an internship out of the embassy (ha, chances here are slim)? I don’t know what else I could do as a job… there really aren’t any options for foreigners here. If a Turk can do the job, they’re not going to hire a foreigner for it. Unemployment is about 25% here, and everyone does favors for each other. I’d feel bad about taking a job from a Turk, and I wouldn’t even get one in the first place.

Also, I miss playing geeky board games. There, I said it. How petty of me. But it’s true. I love them a lot. And they are far, far away…

So what will happen to me? I don’t know… I don’t know… I think that’s the fun of it all really.