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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Weekend recap

Hey again. 

Here is a "recap" of my last weekend :) I hope this post won't be too long..

Friday: 
I didn't go to school today because all of us exchange students went to the Airport to say goodbye to Charlène, the exchange student from France, because she chose to end her exchange early. It was a very sad day for all of us since this is the third student to leave early (either by force or choice). 

After the airport, Daffne, Hana, Julia, Gabo, Luis, Hailey, and I took a metro to Yenıkapı and we ate lunch at a local resturant there. The picture below is a selfie Daffne took with our "Garçon". 

After lunch, we walked from Yenıkapı to Eminönü (which is roughly 35 minutes). And once in Eminönü, Hana and Daffne left us because they had to return to Hana's house for a change of clothes since they were meeting friends later, Hailey went home, and Julia, Luis, Gabo, and I took the ferry to Kadiköy to meet some of the Brazilians. We met Gabi and Arthur in Seyhan Cafe. 
From Seyhan Cafe
Gabo with all the coffees
At the cafe, Luis and Arthur shared some "Çikolata Pasta".
Later, Hana and Daffne joined us again to collect Gabi and they all left to join other friends. Julia went home because she didn't feel like hanging out. That left Arthur, Luis, and I. So we decided to have "Ladies Night"! Haha the night went better than expected. We sat by the seaside, told funny stories, and drank hot chocolate since it was so cold. 

Saturday:

I met a small group of exchange students to have a small celebration for Gabo's birthday! Then I went home and helped my host cousin, Esma, host sister, İrem, and my host mom make dinner!
What we made
Us making it!
After dinner, we had "Family Game Night" and played this game. It was so fun that I'll definitely bring one home with me to play with my brothers. 

Sunday:
I went to Ümraniye to hangout with my friend, Luis from Mexico. We walked around the square, went to a craft store, then we went to his house. At his house we drank çay, had some çikolata ve müz pasta (chocolate and banana cake), and we talked. I had never been to Ümraniye before and I'm so glad I got the chance to go today. 

Also, here are some pictures of the craft store we went to:
Zippers in every color
Thread
Tons of crafting material
String
More odds and ends
Such beautiful colors
Thread
Beads and Ribbon

Maggie



Thursday, January 15, 2015

Things I miss

Recently, I was talking to my mom over Skype and I was telling her how I wasn't homesick, but I still missed certain things from home. And as you can tell from my blog, I have never posted about me having a bad day before. After hearing what I had to say, my mom suggested that I make a post about the random little things I miss from home just so everyone who reads this blog will know how normal it is to feel sad and have some occasional bad days while on exchange. 

So, I decided to make a top 20 list (like I always do) of the things I miss that I never thought I would: 

1) My American bed
2) Driving 
3) Filtered coffee and creamer
4) Talking to my brothers, especially Brian. 
5) Taco Bell (okay I don't even like Taco Bell, but I miss it.)
6) Working
7) Sleeping in late
8) Being able to call my Mom on the phone whenever I want
9) Ice in drinks
10) The couches in my living room
11) Watching "The Great Gatsby" with my brother Eric while we eat coconut Popsicles
12) Petting my dog
13) Meeting my mom at work for lunch
14) Asking my brothers "What did you do at school today?" with them responding "Nothing."
15) How I feel when I'm at the lake  
16) My mom's Thai food
17) Corn on the cob
18) My Grandma's salad dressing
19) Going to school plays/musicals that my brothers are in
20) Eric's laugh, Steven's smile, and Brian's sarcastic comments 

This list could go on and on but I think you get the point. Note to all the exchange students for next year: Please don't take ANYTHING for granted while you are at home. I can guarentee that once you are in the middle of your exchange, those things you took for granted will be the only things you miss.

Maggie 

Ps- here is my month 4 Top Ten from a few weeks ago:



Saturday, January 10, 2015

Lipstick, French Toast, & Pink Bowling Shoes

Hello again! 

So last week, my host sister had her "Promise Party" which is like the party before the "Engagement Party". Basically, this party is only for Family and very close friends, because it's filled with very formal traditions. (My favorite tradition that I hope to carry on for when I get married is that the "Bride to be", in this case it's my host sister İrem, makes Turkish coffee for the "Husband to be", in this case her fiancé Emre, and both of their parents. But, she will add a ton of salt to the one meant for the Fiancé. He will drink the entire coffee anyway to show that no matter what she does, he'll be able to put up with her). Later, at the actual Engagement Party, it will be more relaxed and celebratory. 
Here are all the plates of food for the guests. 
Here is how I looked for the party. I had to dress up because this party is meant to be very formal and traditional. Plus, my host sister told me the day before "It wouldn't hurt if you wore makeup sometimes." Ouch.
Also, I bought my host sister flowers for her big day. Yeah, they are a sad excuse for a bouquet, but she really seemed to like them anyway! :)

Then, on one of our 3 snow days we had this week ((Yes, it does get cold enough to snow. No, I do wish it was warmer.)) Daffne and I went to the cinema to see a movie. We went into the wrong theatre because the numbering is kind of confusing. We ended up seeing this French movie with Turkish subtitles. ((Title translation: The Chance of my Life)) I really enjoyed it, but Daffne fell asleep on my shoulder! Granted, it was a two hour movie. 
Then on Friday, our second day of school this week, we built a snowman at school! It was Daffne's first time building a snowman and she said it wasn't as easy as it looks in the movies. 
Now today. My host sister made an "American/Turkish" breakfast for us all today (I forgot to mention that my host Grandma and host cousin have been staying with us for a while since they live on the Eastern coast of Turkey and are here for medical treatment for my host grandma). She made French Toast with honey and bananas paired with the usual things we always have for breakfast. ((And yes, that is chocolate cake on the breakfast table.))
Then later, I met up with some exchange students to hangout downtown. 
Our group was Daffne (Mexico), Arthur (Brazil), Gabo (Mexico), Mario (Italy), and Luis (Mexico). In this picture all the guys are modeling their pink bowling shoes! So funny :) I had such a great day with all of them. Hope we can hangout again soon! 

Maggie 

Saturday, January 3, 2015

New Years

Happy New Year everyone! 

Okay, so Daffne and I's school had a Retro themed "New Years Party" for all the High School students last Tuesday. Also, it was the first day of snow!
Even though it's not a lot of snow, it still made it feel like winter!
At the party. Daffne, İrem, Hazal, and I

But for the actual day of New Years, I spent it with my friend Charlène, who is an exchange student from France. In the morning we took a ferry and a very long bus ride so we could so shopping at the Yeşilköy Pazar. It's pretty far from where we both live, but it's well worth the drive. Later, we ate dinner at her host parent's cafe (they own a cafe in Besiktas called "Café Cake House"). All the food there is homemade by her host mom. Everything we had was so delicious, especially the Coffee Cheesecake! 

I hope everyone has a great 2015 :)

Maggie