Karataş, Antakya and Cappadocia

Let me start by apologizing for having promised to write soon, and then waited three weeks. I will try to be better!
I know that I am very far behind but I wıll try to briefly get caught up!
This month has gone by extremely fast and I can't believe that I am already three months in! The first week of the month was exam week, and though my host sister studied a lot the students didn't seem too stressed out. I'm not exactly sure how important exams are here because they count for almost nothing in getting into college, (basically the only thing that matters is the big OSS test that they take at the end of their senior) but the week was dedicated to pretty much studying and taking tests so I had very little to do.
This month in general has actually consisted of very little school, and I am starting to really miss my routine.
On the 11th of November we met up at the AFS office-a small room in a deserted shopping mall- to begin our first AFS retreat. We are a small group, the nine of us NSLI-Y scholarship kids and 5 others from the YES program, very similar to ours. Our orientation was made up of only Americans because there has been some disagreement among the volunteers here on whether or not to recognize our programs as part of AFS. Their problem is that they believe that the State Department and the US govt. payed for us to be here in order to extend their reach into the Middle East. About a year ago the volunteers voted to not allow us to be part of any retreats or programs organized by the volunteers. It is disappointing that we are not part of the larger AFS group because one of my favorite parts about AFS Spain was meeting and making friends from all over the world.
Our orientation took place in the not all that nice town of Karataş, or at least what we saw of it was not that nice. The location would have been fine, because only once were we actually allowed to leave the hotel and take a five minute walk to the sea, had our hotel been nice. As it was, they seemd to have gotten rid of their maid in the off season and the result was a bit disgusting. Nonetheless we had a great time lounging around and telling stories. Though the nime of us that live in Adana know a lot about each others families and lives, we still managed to keep it interesting. The volunteers that came are extremely dedicated to AFS and were helpful in talking about our problems or worries here.
On Saturday we got back in the mini bus and instead of heading home we went to Antakya, a small city north west of Adana. We were in the city barely five minutes before we all had plans to move there. Antakya is famous for being the place where the first Christians declared themselves Christians, and it's not surprising, the city feels that old. With cobble stone streets and houses that look like with the slightest breeze they could be blown over, it seems sort of magical. On Sunday morning we did a scavenger hunt and though the maze of streets made everything nearly impossible to find it was wonderful to wander around the city.
I would have like to spend more time in the city, but I plan on coming back at some point later in the year. Though I could have stayed a while longer I was ready to go home also. And I really do feel at home at our place in Adana. Just a few minutes after arriving home and giving the customary kisses on the cheeks my host mom had a tray of dinner prepared, though I insisted on not being hungry, and Dilşad and I curled up to watch our favorite Turkish soap.
Getting up for school on Monday was a challenge but it was nice to be back. My classmates told me they missed me and talked about me all the time. Whether or not that's true it was nice to feel like I contribute to their school days. That didn't last long though because by the time I got home I received an email from AFS excusing us from school for the week. A lot of students got sick on our retreat, something our host moms attributed to that five minute walk to the sea, and AFS worried that we would get worse. The Turks are sort of wierd about illness, for example if a kid gets sick after a six hour bus ride its not because the road was windy, bus cramped, or driver smoking, but because she was wearing flats without socks. I am warned about getting sick from wet hair, bare arms, no socks, drinking cold water, ect. And if I do get sick I must be prepared to take a bunch of pills or vitamins. Some of the other girls actually had to get IVs full of vitamins and stuff for having colds. Fortunatly I didn't get sick and just got to miss a full week of school.
Saturday we were off again on a trip organized by two women in Adana that have hosted students in prior years. We went to Capppadocia, arguably the coolest place ever. There are these amazing natural rock structures and house that have been carved out of cliffs. Since this is the off season there were few other people around and we got to run wild. We explored all through the caves and cliff houses in complete awe. We stayed an extra night because school is canceled for everyone in Adana this week due to fear of Swine Flu. I can't completely understand how many people have actually gotten it but it is always on the news and I have heard the words Domuz Gribi about a thousand times. Fortunately we still have Turkish classes that keep us studying. Some days I feel like my Turkish is good and I understand a lot, other days it feels absolutely hopeless. I know that it is normal but it can still be pretty frustrating.

Well I guess that was not very brief, but it was three weeks coming!

As Life in Turkey Continues

*Side note- this blog was written about a week and a half ago and a new update is on its way!

           I am now more or less a month into school so my routine has become pretty set, though last week we did change Turkish courses. Our new course is in roughly the same area of the city, the busy center of Adana, and our teacher is a very sweet younger woman who’s English is really good. We now have lessons every Tuesday and Thursday from 5-8:00 and on Friday from 5-7:00. The three hour classes feel pretty long since I go there straight after school and don’t get home till about nine but I do feel like I am learning a lot more with her. I still look forward to the lessons just because it is so great to talk to the other NSLI students. As a group of nine girls we are remarkably compatible and count on each other to relate out experiences and what not. Though we probably speak too much English, right now it is necessary for my sanity.

            At school I have begun to get a sense of my teachers, and I know which ones will have me participate by writing on the board or testing my knowledge. My history teacher is a special advocate of for having the exchange students make fools out of them themselves. Almost every class he has me stand in front of my peers and try to decipher what he is saying. It usually take me a long time to understand him and my class laughs at me, but I don’t really mind because honestly it is pretty funny and if I get an answer right I usually receive some sort of praise. At lunch I have been spared from that awkward “where do I sit” thing because a couple of the girls in my class have taken me under their wing. I also spend some time with my sisters friend and this girl I met on the school bus who happens to be a three years younger than me but I can see becoming good friends with. Sometimes I feel a lot older than the kids in my class especially when they are chasing each other around the room and throwing chalk, but I think that is just something I will have to get used to. Breaks are by far the most awkward time of my day because between each class we have about 10-15 minutes, and I am never really sure what I should do in that time. One of my AFS friends pointed out that the reason for the long break is probably so that teachers can have time to smoke between classes. And boy do people smoke here. It seems that there are very few people between the ages of 20-60 that missed the smoking craze. Though recently a law was passed and smoking is banned in closed public areas, which is pretty impressive for Turkey.

            Though I spend some time with my classmates and more time with my NSLI friends I spend most with my family. Dilşad has course Saturday and Sunday so my host mom and I eat breakfast together and usually  run some sort of errands. We eat dinner a couple nights a week as my host mom’s friend’s houses which creates a sort of extended family feel and is pretty fun plus the food is always great! Last week we went to the Turkish baths and I need to download a picture because an explanation will not do it justice, but I will try. The haman we went to is located in Old Adana, an area I have not spent that much time in, but would like to soon because it is beautiful. Lots of little winding streets and shops all crammed together. Drastically different from the apartment-y New Adana that I live in. Even the door to the haman is beautiful. The big, very old looking, arched marble doorway is almost a promise of what you will find inside. The corridor into the bath does not seem long enough for the two separate worlds it connects-the bustling outside streets to the serene quiet of the first chamber. The atmosphere of the baths are almost holy, women quietly talking beneath the big arched ceilings also all made of white marble. The steps that line the wall going to a sort of platform where women chat, drink tea, and change before actually entering the bath. The inner baths are also arched ceilings and are made up of two main chambers with little open arches leading to smaller chambers with big basin sinks for women to bathe in. The second room is hotter than the first and is mostly taken up by a big, round, low table that is heated from underneath for women to lay on. The baths put the heat of Adana to shame and after minutes in them nobody is sure what is water and what is sweat. Some people go to the baths with scrub brushes and scrub themselves and I saw some women getting what looked like a massage, though ours was not that comfortable. Basically a big breasted Turkish woman scrubbed my entire body with a coarse brush. Though it was not particularly enjoyable but I did feel extremely clean afterwards. All in all a cool experience and I can’t wait to go back.

More soon, I promise!