Turkey

My trip to Turkey was fantastic. I was trying to think what my favorite part was and it’s a tie between eating good food (lots and lots of olives) and swimming in the Aegean. The weather was perfect the whole time. We ventured outside of Istanbul, took a 10-hour bus ride south to Izmir, then another bus ride to Cesme, a small costal/touristy town. It wasn’t quite tourist season yet, so that was nice. The beaches around Cesme were amazing – crystal clear, warm blue water. We rented lounge chairs on the beaches and had waitress service. What a life!

We spent our last few days trekking it back up to Istanbul and exploring there. We went to a palace, the grand bazaar, the spice bazaar, the famous Blue Mosque, and even took a boat tour of the Bosphorous. Oh and we did the Turkish Baths! That was an interesting experience.

On our last night we walked a ways and found a bridge that was packed with seafood restaurants underneath. We ended up picking a place when the owner approached me and started speaking with me in Russian. It was really fun to look at a Russian menu and make small talk. The food wasn’t bad either – they served this delicious olive oil with crushed olives and toast to start, then we split a shrimp cocktail, then salmon. Its remarkable how good seafood tastes after a year without it.

We stayed in hostels (except for the first night) and met some cool people along the way. I got to go shopping and buy a few new shirts and some earrings. We drank Effes at night and watched the Euro Cup – every café and pub had their TVs in the windows so people could sit outside and watch the soccer games. It was a lot of fun. Thanks Ben!

It was weird coming back to Bishkek. I stayed in Bishkek for a few days when I got back and I couldn’t wait to just get back to my site, my apartment, and my kitten. She was such a spaz when I finally got home and now she wont leave my side. I think I traumatized her.

I’m getting back into the swing of things here – tutoring 3 times a week, and have begun working everyday at the Central Asian Alliance for Water. It’s so hot though and the office is lacking AC and fans, so the big city pool tempts me everyday. I went to the pool for the first time last Friday and then again on Saturday – it was freezing but refreshing! If there weren’t 200+ boys swimming in their underwear I’d go everyday.