So much fun!

The past two weeks have gone by in a whirl and I haven't kept up with blogging (although new pictures go up on Instagram each day, so follow @faithful_nomad to keep up with me on a daily basis). Life is a daily adventure here. Today is the last day of class before our 'fall' break, which is called Bayram ('holiday) in Turkey. We have a week off, and many Turks travel to go visit their families this week and take part in religious traditions, such as slaughtering animals and giving the meat to the poor. My week will consist of relaxing and going to the beach, but I will blog about that after the fact :)

Two weeks ago, my flatmate, Joost, obtained this amazing book called Istanbul Eats: A Guide to the Culinary Backstreets. It's a really great guidebook to a lot of amazing restaurants in Istanbul. The book divides Istanbul into several sections, and we decided to hit 3 of the restaurants closest to Rumelihisarustu (where we live) and try out what the book recommended. Along with another exchange student from the USA, Aileen, we walked about 5km to an area along the Bosphorus Strait and decided to eat our hearts out (on a college budget, of course). The first restaurant we went to was Bodrum Manti & Cafe (which was my favorite of the 3 places). We ordered a 1/2 serving of manti (stuffed pasta, boiled) and a 1/2 serving of kofte (fried meatball). After our meal, each of us were promptly brought our own dessert for free, which was one of the best desserts I have had in Istanbul! It was two thin crispy waffles, a scoop of vanilla icecream in the middle, and some sort of berry sauce (*yum!*). We ooohed and aaahed as we ate our desssert and couldn't believe how hospitable the staff was (especially when the desserts alone cost more than what we ordered and paid for). I'm sure the server noticed us using the Istanbul Eats book, and also noticed that we were on a tight budget. Turkish hospitality is the best! We trooped on to two more places and tried several more appetizers, including huge kalamari, fish balls (which are like grown-up fish sticks in a ball form), and lahmacun (pronounced 'lahmajun'). At each place, we asked the chef to sign the page of the book that was about their restaurant. They were more than happy to give us their autographs, and the book has continued to fill up. Hopefully by January we will have tried each place in it. 

Last weekend, I traveled once again to Ankara, this time not to crash a wedding, but actually go to one that I was invited to! My friend, Pelin, has a friend who was getting married, and they invited me to take part and see what a Turkish wedding is like. The happy couple is so kind, and I had an amazing time. This wedding was fairly modern, and very similar to the many weddings I have worked at in the US. There were, however, many small differences that I noticed that were very interesting:

Me and my bestie at the wedding. Such a beautiful celebration, beautiful people, and so much love!

1) The bride and groom are able to see each other before the ceremony. There is no ban on the groom seeing the bride in full bridal dress, and they were hanging out together in a dressing room before they came out for the ceremony (we even got to hang out with them and joke as they got over their pre-wedding nerves). 

2) There was no 'vow' or 'exchanging rings' part in the ceremony. The couple simply came in, sat down at a table, the officiator read something like a contract, and the bride and groom said 'evet' (yes) in turn. They signed the contract, and then took pictures. That was it! For the rings, they wear their engagement rings (both of them) on their right hands until the wedding, and then switch to their left hands after the ceremony. 

3) No wedding registry or cards! Everyone brings gold items (either small coins you can purchase, or gold bracelets and necklaces) and money as gifts. As the bride and groom go around the room after the ceremony, they wear large sashes and the bride carries a small bag. They greet each person, get congratulations, and then that person gives them the gift. Family members usually give larger gold items, like gold bangles that they place on the bride. The money is pinned to the groom's sash, and gold coins can be pinned on the bride's sash or placed in her bag. By the time the couple has made it around the room, they are covered in wealth that can be used for whatever they need as a new couple.

In between all these fun events and trips around Istanbul, I've been hard at work taking classes at Bogaziçi University. Because I want to graduate this spring, I am taking 3 senior-level chemistry courses and 1 course in microeconomics. They have all been really great, and I am making friends with the Turkish students, which is a real blessing. I have been able to Skype home a few times, and even got to Skype with my grandparents (hi, Boomama and Boopapa!). It's really great to get to see everyone's smiling faces and stay in touch. 

Make sure you follow my blog by putting your email address in the right-hand side box, and also follow me on Instagram (@faithful_nomad and @k_rover_explores_the_world). Would love to hear from you! Hadi gorusuruz (talk to you soon)!