Grand Bazaar and more

Sorry that I've, clearly, been neglecting my blog recently... I've just been so busy these last couple days that I've barely had time to sleep! I have a feeling this will be a long post, so prepare yourself :) 

First, I'll start with a school update. I, surprisingly, love school. Turkish school is set up a bit differently. I am in the Math IB class (I think I've previously explained what IB is) with about 15 other students. We stay in the same classroom the whole day while the teachers switch instead. And we also don't have the same classes everyday, but we do have multiple hours of one subject a day. The one and only time I switch classes is when I have business and management class (students in IB can choose either business, economics, or art). I really love my business class. Maybe I should consider a career in business? Who knows. But my favorite day of the week is Monday because I have 3 straight hours of business class. Besides business, I also really like English class. It's kinda funny, because whenever the students and teacher (who also teaches my cooking club) argue about English, they all turn to me, like I have all the knowledge about English, expecting some profound enlightenment on the subject. Haha. But usually during the other classes I either go to the library to study Turkish or I sit at my desk and study. {{okay, quick rant, but I'm really sad that my language course got moved to starting in November instead of October. I NEED to learn more Turkish than what I can teach myself.}} Also, I've made a lot of friends at school. One of my friends, Hazall, posted this on Instagram after we had a biology lab the other day. I just thought it was sweet :)

Moving on to this last weekend. 

Saturday, I went with some inbound friends to the Grand Bazaar! It was so fun! Here are some pictures.

Ferry Boat

Inbounds! (L-R: Camila from Argentina, Luana from Brasil, Arthur from Brasil, and Hailey from Wyoming USA) 

Map of the Grand Bazaar

Çay (tea) glasses. I'm definately bringing some of these home to the US! 

We really like selfies.

Lamps

Decorative pots and pans 

More çay glasses

Luana!

One of the many hallways...

More lamps! I love their colors

Also, I'd like to mention that coming home from the Grand Bazaar, I found my own way home, that includes using a tram, ferry, and bus, and I did that all while it was dark and raining! Plus, I was wearing a neon yellow rain poncho the whole time so that just added a dash of attractiveness to the whole situation. I feel like I'm, finally, gaining back my independence. {{Just sayin', Istanbul is a huge city. It makes Chicago look like a lazy farm town. No wonder it took me almost three weeks to go out on my own haha}} 

Sunday:

I went over to my host aunt and uncles for a family brunch! My adorable host cousin, Naz, was there, plus my host grandma, another host aunt, and my other host cousin who happens to also be a rotary exchange student! Naz played the piano for me too! She is so good, even just playing at the beginning level. Some songs she played were: Old McDonald, "Glad you came" by: The Wanted, and of course The Star-Spangled Banner! 

I've mentioned how many stray cats we have here in Istanbul, right? If not, here is some proof for you! The stray cats here live very exciting lives. They wait for buses and drive cars! Who would have thought they'd be so talented?!

And, finally, to end the post I'll leave you with a snapchat selfie of my host mom and I. Güle güle! Xoxo mags

So the adventure continues

Hello again! 

So yesterday, I went to the European side (this was my third time now, including when my plane landed) to go to the police station to apply for my residents permit. The ones of us who had to go yesterday were: Hana, Julia, Luis, Charlène, Raphael, Laura, and I. We met a committee member in Taksim and we all rode in a small bus that was rented for this occasion. Once we got to the police station, we had to go through some security checks, similar to airport security,  then we could enter the facility. We walked up some stairs and sat in this hallway, on the ground, to wait for our appointments. But since we were late (Julia got lost getting off the metro and onto the right ferry and we waited for her to find the right place) {{side note, I rode the ferry the other day to my Rotary meeting I LITERALLY HAVE TO CROSS CONTINENTS TO GET TO MY ROTARY LUNCH how funny is that?! Oh here is a picture:}}

So our appointments were pushed back. After sitting for a few hours, we decided to get lunch at the Police Station's cafe. The food was pretty strange there. Julia, Raphael, and I all got this sandwich that was like a panini filled with various meats, white cheese, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, French fries, and Cole slaw. There were so many flavors happening at once that I couldn't focus on what I was eating! Haha. After lunch, we went back to the building and sat for another hour or so before Julia and I got called to the desk. They had us verify some things, show our insurance cards, and sign. But after that we all left. We are all still pretty confused about what went down exactly, since none of us received anything, but I'm sure they are working it out. This exchange has definitely made me more flexible. Most of the time I am told about something I have to do the night before, so at this point, I'm basically "expecting the unexpected". But the laid back, stress free turkish lifestyle is wonderful. Here is a selfie of our group while we are waiting at the police station:

Afterwards, Julia and I had to take a Dolmus, like a minibus, back to the Asian side. It was honestly so scary. This was the first time I've ever navigated the city without my host mom or a Rotarian/Rotex. But after a 45 minute bus ride, we arrived at the stop close to my flat. Here are some pictures I took while in the bus:

Mosque on the European Side

Bridge that crosses continents!

On the bridge! (Oh by the way, Julia and I sat in the front bench next to the bus driver, that's how I was able to get all these pictures!)

Also, here is a picture of my school Library! I just know Sydney and Sophie would love it! I spend all the boring class times in the library either studying Turkish or reading.

Speaking of reading, here is an awesome quote I came across in a book I was reading called "What Katy Did Next". 

Teşekkür ederim {{Thank you}}, 

Maggie

Intro Camp!

This last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was my Intro Camp with all the other Inbounds! Here are some pictures: 

On the bus

Checking in at the hotel

Soccer field! We played soccer and American football all together with the Rebounds. So fun!

This is the view from the hotel's soccer field

Nighttime view

Here are some pictures of the food (we had four courses for every meal. So much food!) 

The food here was so good. I love Turkish food :) 

Here are some more Inbounds: Luis from Germany, Julia from California, and Hana from Nebraska

 A panorama from when all the Inbounds came to hangout in our (Julia-California, Hailey-Wyoming, and I's) room. 

Pyramid of almost all the Inbound girls! (Top-Julia, next row down- Charlène, France, and Hana, next row- Daffne, Laura & Luana, both from Brasil, and bottom row- Hailey, Me, Gabi- Brasil, and Camila- Argentina. Only one missing was Annalisa from Washington DC.)

Julia and Luis

Luis and I 

Inbounds, Rebounds, and Rotarians

All the American girls

Me introducing myself to the Committee 

Annalisa, I, Turguy (Rebound-Brasil), Ali (Rebound-Colorado), Julia, Hana, Hana's host sister, and Luis

Also, Sunday (today) our host families came to the hotel for lunch and to pick us up. But while they were there, all the Imbounds put on a talent show for them! We danced to songs that we thought represented each country. For Mexico we danced the Conga line to "La Cucaracha", for Brasil we danced an easy partner dance to a traditional song, for Argentina, we danced to a popular Spanish song, for France we all did the "Cancan", for USA we did the "YMCA", and for Germany we danced "The Chicken Dance". All the families and Rotarians loved it! Haha but it was quite embarrassing for us. Oh well, what's youth exchange without going out of your comfort zone?

Such a fun weekend! Can't wait to see you all again soon :) 

xoxo Maggie 

So much to blog about...

Hey everyone! 

Okay, so I have a lot to share. Let's start with school. I take a bus to and from school everyday. My bus number is #26. On the bus is me, several middle school children, and two teachers (yeah, even they ride the bus!). I'm the first pick up, roughly 7:15am, and last drop off. I really love the bus ride! I am able to see so much more of the city this way. Here is a picture of some of the buses: 

 At school, I am in an IB class which is a class of around 15 students that have a class curriculum agreed upon by all the countries around the world. And as you can imagine, this makes the courses more difficult. But the reward is bigger because just about every university around the world will take an IB diploma over a regular one. But there are 3 or 4 IB classrooms at my school (on the IB floor) so during breaks we all hangout together in the common area (which has a ping pong table by the way). Also, there is one other Rotary exchange student at my school. She is from Mexico and in the IB class next to mine! We have a business class together, but we have the same group of friends so it's really great to have someone to talk to about what I'm going through on this exchange. The lunches here are quite good. My friends and I eat at the cantine, which has home cooked food like soups, rice, salads, meats, beans, and other typical Turkish dishes. Oh, and the best parts about the IB courses is that they are mainly taught in English (except for Turkish Class) and I am not required to make grades for this year! Yay for no homework! Now for the part you've all been waiting for, my school uni! 

Even though I came halfway across the world, the plaid skirt and polo shirt still seem to find me! Haha 

Also, here is the view from my school window:

Okay, now onto the Rotary Picnic on Sunday! All of us Inbounds went to the outskirt of Istanbul to a "Beginning of the year Kick off party" for Rotary. Here is where we went:

And our group:

Our group consists of 5 from America, 3 from Mexico, 4 from Brazil, 1 from France, 1 from Germany and 1 from Argentina! On the way to and from this party we rode in these charter buses with interact kids and other Rotarians. On the way home, my friend from school, Daffne, put on some traditional Mexican music and we all danced in the isle to it! This is one of my best memories so far :) We also have our Intro Camp coming up this Friday-Sunday. I can't wait to see them all again! 

Also, since today is Mexico's Independence Day, we had a celebration with Daffne at school! 

Okay, one last thing. I have to share the good news that I was accepted into Manchester University! I'll have to see what kind of financial aid I will receive before I commit, but I really like this school so I hope it works out! 

 

Thanks for reading!

Maggie