The Chronicles of Neglecting our Blog: Some Weeks Later

So it seems as though we have neglected our blog (thank you for the push in the right direction Grandma Sara). A lot has happened in the last two weeks or so. We have been busy getting our resident's permits (we are now officially residents of this great country). More importantly, we are allowed to leave Turkey and not be charged exorbitant amounts of lira when we come back. 

We also started classes which has been an interesting process, to say the least. The way it works here is students need to get permission from their professors to get into a course and, if rejected, can either ask again or attempt to get into another course. We have a friend who asked 5 times to get into a course. She got in on the 6th try, though, so it isn't a totally hopeless process. There is also a professor here that rejects all requests as a rule the first time. So chin up kids! It'll happen for you if you try hard enough (this is for all those who are considering Istanbul for study abroad - you're welcome). After adding classes, students go to the classes and often times attend courses that they have gotten rejected from or haven't signed up for. It is a shopping period, if you will. For my parents who don't even know what classes I'm taking, here is my updated list:

1. History of Economic Thought

2. Evolution of Economies

3. Climate Change Economics

4. Turkish Literature 

5. Agriculture, Food and the Environment (or something like that - yes, I am on a computer and could check, but that takes all the fun out of this silly little side note (I love parentheses (truly!)))

While settling into courses, we have also explored a little more. Our friend (Kyle's friend) Rob visited us and it was a riot. He stayed in mine and Pratibha's room and it was quite the slumber party for three nights in a row! Miss you Rob Z! We tagged along to Kyle's architecture course's field trip and got to see several Byzantine ruins in Aksaray. This city has such an incredible history. 

I have also started to volunteer at a school for Syrian refugees on Sundays. The students are studying for their TOEFL so that they can continue onto english speaking universities. Many of them have completed engineering, math, and science degrees and then were forced out of Damascus only to get jobs that are not within their area of expertise. One student is taking 12 classes a semester at Istanbul University so he can graduate as quickly as possible and make up for the time he has lost in the transition to Turkey. They are all so determined and optimistic, though, that I can't help but feel inspired by them. I am hoping to start a blog for the class so keep an eye out for the link, I expect you all to read it! 

Lastly, we survived our first and hopefully last Istanbul blizzard. Three days of sideways slush and snow was brutal (I know we shouldn't be complaining considering Boston's situation, but they don't salt the roads here (an environmental victory) and I felt as though I would break a leg every time I walked to class. The silver lining, though, was that class got cancelled and I got to pummel Kyle with snowballs

I don't have too many more updates off the top of my head, but hopefully I will remember to update more frequently in the coming months. 

Here is a picture of me and Rob looking fresh as hell (and extremely white):

Peace out girl scouts!