guess who's back........ back again.......

welllllll hello friends.... it's been a while since we've blogged and we all feel pretty bad about it. our deepest and sincerest apologies to our huuuge fanbase.....of 5 people total probably. aka 3 of whom are close relatives and 2 of whom are friends we've basically had to hold at gunpoint to feign interest in our lives abroad :~) ANYWAY

since we've been away, we went on a weekend trip to Cappadocia (which Kyle already blogged in depth about so I'm gonna hold back on it) but it was such a beautiful place! definitely a must-see if you're ever in Turkey for longer than a week. we didn't go out on hot air balloon rides (which is the typical tourist activity but it was hella $$$ so I was like nah) but the rest of the scenery was pretty amazing. lots of caves, fairy castles, and underground habitats... super interesting and I loved sharing a 3-person room with my BFFs Karol and Emily. turkish night was wild

the day we got back also happened to be the first day of classes so that was a super fun transition from weekend getaway to real life. I'm taking 2 math classes (diff eq and numerical analysis), current issues in accounting, a sociology class centered around Central Asia, and turkish for foreigners! nothing has been too bad so far but then again, we're not really in too deep yet. I have my first paper for sociology due on Monday which is a bit daunting but shouldn't be too bad... it's a super interesting class with lots of chill people and the professor is American so understanding her isn't difficult. for my current issues in accounting class, however, the first info session was a lecture hall FULL of turkish students (90% of them male) and I quickly found out that I was the ONLY foreign exchange student. really loved being called out and then walking to the front of the room alone so the professor could tell 2 TA's to explain the class to me outside while he explained it to everybody else in turkish..... ha but it seems like a pretty easy class, so hoping for those straight A's!!!!!!!!!!!!! (LOL LOL LOL)

anyway.... in addition to classes and scholarly things, we've done lots of exploring the nearby neighborhoods like bebek (which has the most beautiful starbucks in the world), besiktas, and other waterfront sites I don't know the location of............ sue me ass

this is a special section just for emily. she's our favorite ray of sunshine

 blue mosque and hagia sophia.... just some hidden gems of istanbul.....even the most expertly trained eye may miss these.......

we've also had the misfortune of navigating difficult residence permit shenanigans (special thanks 2 our turkish buddy uğur who helped us out big time by serving as translator), but made up for it by spending a lot of weekends out in taksim (so so so fun), and had our friend rob over for a weekend visit (which was OK I guess.... jk love you roberto) I did the whole blue mosque/hagia sophia with him and Kyle, both of which are so stunning and full of fascinating history.... definitely worth a trip. mj also visited for a day and we actually ran into each other at galata tower and then went out to dinner at our favorite local restaurant (mutfak). it was so great seeing all these BU people in istanbul :~) our friend emily's friend james even visited for a week and we looooved spending time with him. miss him everyday. hope ur reading this james but ur probably not.........wishful thinking.....we also have been eating the most delicious desserts gooooddddd I'm gonna gain a milli a milli pounds, I swear. there's a bakery on top of our hill called pogacici and we go there nearly every single day, it's disgusting. but hey! we won't be able to get this kind of baklava back home so! might as well

the past 3 or so weeks have been quite the blur tbh....from live american rock covers at taksim bars to spoken word poetry nights to eating the most delicious falafel at 4 AM to late night airport adventures to a week of unexpected blizzards and icy streets............. I can't wait to see what the next three months hold. expecting a visit from the bff Grace in 2 weeks, a trip to ephesus and izmir, spring break in Greece, Paris with Abby... so yeah! hope you all had a beautiful february and I'll see u sooner than later eeeee

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!