Frightening half-fox, half-man.
Melsungen on offense, the purple-and-yellow-clad Fuechse on defense. These guys had mad hops. I think my favorite player was the goalie.
Dienstag, 19. Februar 2008
Handball Spiel
I forgot to mention that I finally achieved something I'd been wanting to do since encountering several enraptured German men in our hotel bar in Munich back in January 2007: attend a handball game. The Berlin Fuechse (Foxes) played MT Melsungen (a town somewhere in Hessen known for its spa I guess). I really should have looked up the rules before attending, because I kinda had a hard time figuring out what was going on the whole time. It was kinda like a mix between soccer and basketball and hockey. I'd say it was a bit more physical than basketball, and the players seemed to be fouling each other all over the place without penalty, but not as brutal as hockey because they weren't wearing pads and there were no walls to be checked against. The goals looked like they do in soccer, although a bit smaller. They played a zone defense too. Oh, and they even had cheerleaders called the Titans! I suggest reading the Wikipedia article for more info about the sport.
Frightening half-fox, half-man.
Melsungen on offense, the purple-and-yellow-clad Fuechse on defense. These guys had mad hops. I think my favorite player was the goalie.
Frightening half-fox, half-man.Melsungen on offense, the purple-and-yellow-clad Fuechse on defense. These guys had mad hops. I think my favorite player was the goalie.
Sonntag, 17. Februar 2008
Bloed
In reading the Wikipedia entry on Norma more closely, I just realized that we left the theater at intermission, rather than at the end of the play. I was wondering why it was so short and why everyone was sticking around to eat and drink. What threw me off is that we clapped for the people after the first act--they came out on stage and everything. I guess it was because the first act was so good?
Sigh. Silly, silly Meghan.
Sigh. Silly, silly Meghan.
Ein neues Update
What a week it has been! Early this morning I sent a friend off after she stayed with me a few days. We studied together in Dresden this summer, and she comes from Japan and speaks no English, thus requiring a solid weekend of conversation only in German (I've written about her before--we stayed with our friend in Darmstadt back in November). I do just fine speaking in German, but when you spend three days with someone who also does not speak it natively, it can be quite taxing. I think it's also the cultural aspect too--she's never heard of a lot of things that I would reference culturally, that we Westerners just take for granted (that Germans would definitely understand). Anything from politics to TV to religion. Anna and I were talking about how it could be that someone would be so good at German without knowing any English--do you think it's worth it? I think practically speaking, no, but on the other hand, my years of linguistics has caused me to be a bit disapproving of the whole English-as-a-dominant-language thing (although my English as a Global Language seminar this past semester has caused me to rethink my previous positions on a lot of linguistics-related issues--I'll talk about this in a later post).
Regardless, I had a pretty enjoyable time with Yumi, and I think a lot of this actually has to do with the fact that she DOES speak German. We were able to go to a couple museums that are really only accessible to people who speak German, and thus they were new experiences for me. Having visitors can sometimes stink because you have to do the same touristy things with all of them, but with her I could do more. Also, having visitors means spending more money, but I suppose in the end it's all worth it!
We visited a great museum dedicated to people involved in the resistance movement under Nazionalsozialismus, with a couple rooms dedicated to Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who will be the focus of a new Tom Cruise film about a plot to assassinate Hitler (Tom Cruise filming the movie here in Berlin caused quite a stir because Scientology is not officially recognized in Germany as a religion and people are very wary of it). We also visited the Topography of Terror exhibit in the former death strip between the two walls, which provides a great look at the terror that occurred in Nazi times. For the past ten days or so, the Berlinale has been going on, and we wanted to see a participating movie, which proved rather hard to do--the movies sell out right away, it seems--but we got a ticket to see a documentary called East West: Sex and Politics. Sounded pretty interesting, and all I knew was that it was going to be in Russian, English, and German with English subtitles. It ended up being about the fight for a gay pride parade in Moscow in 2007. Would not have been my first choice for a movie, but I did find it really interesting, and I think the mistreatment the gay people in the documentary received was totally unfounded and an affront to democracy (which Russia definitely does not have). Yumi slept through the whole thing, so you can tell how much she liked it--but who can blame her when she doesn't know English?
After seeing the film, we went to the Staatsoper and saw Norma, which is an opera by Bellini. Wikipedia says it's two acts, but there was only one at ours. Anyway, we sat in the second row with great views for only 12 Euro. It was quite good, and thank goodness for the German Obertitel or I wouldn't have had a clue what it was about.
Facebook was quite helpful this week--I saw that a friend from high school had posted pictures from Berlin, and it turns out he was working here for the Berlinale, so I got to meet up with him and reminisce about life at SM. He also updated me on what everyone was up to, which is good because I have barely kept in contact with anyone from high school. But yeah, if it weren't for the wonder that is Facebook I wouldn't have known about him being here. That Facebook is both a blessing and a curse.
This week was the last week of classes at Humboldt. I had to give a presentation in my German class, and I chose the topic of prostitution. I chose it because I live near Oranienburger Strasse, which is quite a nice street with lots of bars and restaurants, but with a ton of prostitutes at night. It's totally not a seedy area, which is what I always thought prostitute areas would be like. Anyway, I learned quite about about prostitution in Germany--for one, it's legal and they pay taxes. In Berlin they pay 30 Euro a day in taxes. There are approximately 400,000 prostitutes in all of Germany, and anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 are illegal and Frauenhandel--I totally forgot the English word for it--forced prostitution? Quite sad. I focused a bit on the World Cup in 2006--"Frauen und Sex gehoeren zusammen"--and also on the legislation that 'legalized" it--I say "legalized" because it wasn't really illegal, it was just considered as immoral and thus there was no state support. But with this law, prostitutes can receive health insurance and social security. Quite a different world than in the U.S.
Also, this week I talked about the election in my after-school English lessons, and one of my students is an Iraqi, and boy does a lot of vitriol spew out of her mouth! It's quite interesting to hear her perspective as an Iraqi, but I hope that is it informative for her to hear MY perspective as an American, because I don't think she has a good opinion of the country, or the government, at the least. She also asked me what I thought of "the Jews," because don't they run the U.S.? She also said that she knows the Holocaust was bad and all, but why doesn't the world focus on all the people dying in the Middle East and in Iraq and Palestine in particular? I was kinda shocked, because she really sorta came across as being anti-Jewish in her tone. But that shouldn't be too surprising, since most of my students have never even met a Jewish person and seem to be wary of Israel and the whole at-odds thing between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. She also asked me questions about Christianity, such as how people could call God Father when he is not really their father, and why Jesus just didn't get himself down off the cross if he really was God. Kinda caught me off guard, and now I am doing a lesson on religion tomorrow since they seem really interested in learning about it. It's actually a lesson on religion in America, but I imagine I will have to go over the basic tenets of Christianity since they appear to have not a clue about it. I can't blame them, but I sure can lament that fact. And here's to hoping that they learn something tomorrow!
I guess that's all for now. Looking forward to my mom's visit next weekend and starting Alpha course this week! Will try to update again soon!
Regardless, I had a pretty enjoyable time with Yumi, and I think a lot of this actually has to do with the fact that she DOES speak German. We were able to go to a couple museums that are really only accessible to people who speak German, and thus they were new experiences for me. Having visitors can sometimes stink because you have to do the same touristy things with all of them, but with her I could do more. Also, having visitors means spending more money, but I suppose in the end it's all worth it!
We visited a great museum dedicated to people involved in the resistance movement under Nazionalsozialismus, with a couple rooms dedicated to Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, who will be the focus of a new Tom Cruise film about a plot to assassinate Hitler (Tom Cruise filming the movie here in Berlin caused quite a stir because Scientology is not officially recognized in Germany as a religion and people are very wary of it). We also visited the Topography of Terror exhibit in the former death strip between the two walls, which provides a great look at the terror that occurred in Nazi times. For the past ten days or so, the Berlinale has been going on, and we wanted to see a participating movie, which proved rather hard to do--the movies sell out right away, it seems--but we got a ticket to see a documentary called East West: Sex and Politics. Sounded pretty interesting, and all I knew was that it was going to be in Russian, English, and German with English subtitles. It ended up being about the fight for a gay pride parade in Moscow in 2007. Would not have been my first choice for a movie, but I did find it really interesting, and I think the mistreatment the gay people in the documentary received was totally unfounded and an affront to democracy (which Russia definitely does not have). Yumi slept through the whole thing, so you can tell how much she liked it--but who can blame her when she doesn't know English?
After seeing the film, we went to the Staatsoper and saw Norma, which is an opera by Bellini. Wikipedia says it's two acts, but there was only one at ours. Anyway, we sat in the second row with great views for only 12 Euro. It was quite good, and thank goodness for the German Obertitel or I wouldn't have had a clue what it was about.
Facebook was quite helpful this week--I saw that a friend from high school had posted pictures from Berlin, and it turns out he was working here for the Berlinale, so I got to meet up with him and reminisce about life at SM. He also updated me on what everyone was up to, which is good because I have barely kept in contact with anyone from high school. But yeah, if it weren't for the wonder that is Facebook I wouldn't have known about him being here. That Facebook is both a blessing and a curse.
This week was the last week of classes at Humboldt. I had to give a presentation in my German class, and I chose the topic of prostitution. I chose it because I live near Oranienburger Strasse, which is quite a nice street with lots of bars and restaurants, but with a ton of prostitutes at night. It's totally not a seedy area, which is what I always thought prostitute areas would be like. Anyway, I learned quite about about prostitution in Germany--for one, it's legal and they pay taxes. In Berlin they pay 30 Euro a day in taxes. There are approximately 400,000 prostitutes in all of Germany, and anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 are illegal and Frauenhandel--I totally forgot the English word for it--forced prostitution? Quite sad. I focused a bit on the World Cup in 2006--"Frauen und Sex gehoeren zusammen"--and also on the legislation that 'legalized" it--I say "legalized" because it wasn't really illegal, it was just considered as immoral and thus there was no state support. But with this law, prostitutes can receive health insurance and social security. Quite a different world than in the U.S.
Also, this week I talked about the election in my after-school English lessons, and one of my students is an Iraqi, and boy does a lot of vitriol spew out of her mouth! It's quite interesting to hear her perspective as an Iraqi, but I hope that is it informative for her to hear MY perspective as an American, because I don't think she has a good opinion of the country, or the government, at the least. She also asked me what I thought of "the Jews," because don't they run the U.S.? She also said that she knows the Holocaust was bad and all, but why doesn't the world focus on all the people dying in the Middle East and in Iraq and Palestine in particular? I was kinda shocked, because she really sorta came across as being anti-Jewish in her tone. But that shouldn't be too surprising, since most of my students have never even met a Jewish person and seem to be wary of Israel and the whole at-odds thing between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. She also asked me questions about Christianity, such as how people could call God Father when he is not really their father, and why Jesus just didn't get himself down off the cross if he really was God. Kinda caught me off guard, and now I am doing a lesson on religion tomorrow since they seem really interested in learning about it. It's actually a lesson on religion in America, but I imagine I will have to go over the basic tenets of Christianity since they appear to have not a clue about it. I can't blame them, but I sure can lament that fact. And here's to hoping that they learn something tomorrow!
I guess that's all for now. Looking forward to my mom's visit next weekend and starting Alpha course this week! Will try to update again soon!
Samstag, 9. Februar 2008
A Wee Trip to Ireland
(OK I wrote this 8 days ago, my apologies--a lot of it, like the last part about the weather being good, is totally irrelevant, because the weather now one week later stinks. Although the post date probably says 2/9, I am actually posting this on 2/17. Will try to post pictures here later.)
Liebe readers (if you still exist), apologies for not posting in a while. Rest assured, I will not update you in usual detail about what I have been up to, like birthday parties, sweaty bars, and three trips to a cheap Mexican burrito place that is conveniently less than 5 minutes on foot from my apartment. I had two visitors (plus my mom was here) at the same time a couple weeks ago, although only one stayed with me, and I did lots of touristy things again. But it was fortunately the Lange Nacht der Museen, which means lots of museums were open from 6 PM to 2 AM for only 8 Euro, and there were lots of special events and exhibits. In addition to visiting the Musical Instrument and Film and TV Museums, I also got to listen to concerts at the Berliner Dom (and climb the Dom itself) and watch a laser show at a planetarium in PBerg that I never knew existed. My nerd self was totally happy.
Just four days after my friend Sandy from Heritage visited, I went to Belfast to stay with her for three nights. She's getting her Master's (in American History, ironically) at Queen's and there were really cheap flights, so I figured it was worth a trip. Belfast is a very small city in comparison to Berlin, and I'd forgotten what it's like to walk everywhere. I took a bus tour and got a pretty good sense of the city--saw the Parliament, City Hall, all the political murals on the Protestant Shankill Road and Catholic Falls Road, and the brand-new Ikea!
We also visited (London)Derry further north, and I was surprised to find one of the best museums ever--the Tower Museum. We got a private tour of the museum by a lovely old man who was so enthusiastic and passionate about informing people about Derry and Northern Ireland. I loved hearing his stories about the Troubles and finding out about mass emigration to the U.S. There wasn't much else to do in Derry besides walking around, but all-in-all it was a lovely city! I should mention that the weather was not that great--it had even snowed the day before in Belfast, so our bus ride up to Derry was more white than green!
I then went down to Dublin by myself and spent the first day getting lost and exhausted in a city that is much bigger than it looks yet is still relatively small. I went to the Guinness Storehouse, which is fun but still not as awesome as the Heineken place in Amsterdam. I managed to drink the taste-test beer, but couldn't bear the thought of drinking a whole pint, so I gave away my free ticket to someone much more appreciative of the black stuff. I also got to go to the National Museum, which had a fascinating exhibit on bogs and what kinds of things are found there--jewels, silverware, butter, and even well-preserved bodies! I stayed in a hostel that night, but the next morning I met up with my mom, who just arrived on a trip. She had to sleep, so I hit St. Patrick's and Christ Church alone. Very beautiful churches with interesting displays--especially enjoyed learning about Jonathan Swift, who was Dean of St. Patrick's. I also visited the National Gallery of Irleand, but I've lost most of my enthusiasm for art over the course of the past few years, I think. My mom and I then got to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, which is beautiful. I can't even fathom how someone drew those huge, intricate, fancy letters.
I left for Berlin early early early the next morning, and now I sorta have someone else staying with me--Anna, who I know from German and CF at Harvard, had my keys while I was in Ireland and has spent a couple nights here because her great-uncle lives in the 'burbs and doesn't have Internet. It's nice to have someone from Harvard here--someone who understands my frame of reference a bit better than other "Amis" and a lot better than non-Americans.
Lent (German Fastenzeit, or "fasting time," see how literal Germans are!) started on Wednesday, and although it is just Saturday, I am already wanting to break my fast and eat sweets and drink soda. It doesn't help that I was just given a bunch of chocolate by a couple people, and I also have a half-drunk bottle of Coke sitting on my desk. Oh well, I suppose it is a very, very, very small price to pay considering Jesus's sacrifice.
I have to prepare lunch for 10 at church tomorrow, in addition to preparing a presentation on the German welfare system for my German class on Wednesday. But the weather is gorgeous outside (who woulda thunk that I would consider 50 degrees and sorta sunny gorgeous?), so I'm gonna go take a long walk to the Brandenburg Gate and do some shopping.
Liebe readers (if you still exist), apologies for not posting in a while. Rest assured, I will not update you in usual detail about what I have been up to, like birthday parties, sweaty bars, and three trips to a cheap Mexican burrito place that is conveniently less than 5 minutes on foot from my apartment. I had two visitors (plus my mom was here) at the same time a couple weeks ago, although only one stayed with me, and I did lots of touristy things again. But it was fortunately the Lange Nacht der Museen, which means lots of museums were open from 6 PM to 2 AM for only 8 Euro, and there were lots of special events and exhibits. In addition to visiting the Musical Instrument and Film and TV Museums, I also got to listen to concerts at the Berliner Dom (and climb the Dom itself) and watch a laser show at a planetarium in PBerg that I never knew existed. My nerd self was totally happy.
Just four days after my friend Sandy from Heritage visited, I went to Belfast to stay with her for three nights. She's getting her Master's (in American History, ironically) at Queen's and there were really cheap flights, so I figured it was worth a trip. Belfast is a very small city in comparison to Berlin, and I'd forgotten what it's like to walk everywhere. I took a bus tour and got a pretty good sense of the city--saw the Parliament, City Hall, all the political murals on the Protestant Shankill Road and Catholic Falls Road, and the brand-new Ikea!
We also visited (London)Derry further north, and I was surprised to find one of the best museums ever--the Tower Museum. We got a private tour of the museum by a lovely old man who was so enthusiastic and passionate about informing people about Derry and Northern Ireland. I loved hearing his stories about the Troubles and finding out about mass emigration to the U.S. There wasn't much else to do in Derry besides walking around, but all-in-all it was a lovely city! I should mention that the weather was not that great--it had even snowed the day before in Belfast, so our bus ride up to Derry was more white than green!
I then went down to Dublin by myself and spent the first day getting lost and exhausted in a city that is much bigger than it looks yet is still relatively small. I went to the Guinness Storehouse, which is fun but still not as awesome as the Heineken place in Amsterdam. I managed to drink the taste-test beer, but couldn't bear the thought of drinking a whole pint, so I gave away my free ticket to someone much more appreciative of the black stuff. I also got to go to the National Museum, which had a fascinating exhibit on bogs and what kinds of things are found there--jewels, silverware, butter, and even well-preserved bodies! I stayed in a hostel that night, but the next morning I met up with my mom, who just arrived on a trip. She had to sleep, so I hit St. Patrick's and Christ Church alone. Very beautiful churches with interesting displays--especially enjoyed learning about Jonathan Swift, who was Dean of St. Patrick's. I also visited the National Gallery of Irleand, but I've lost most of my enthusiasm for art over the course of the past few years, I think. My mom and I then got to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College, which is beautiful. I can't even fathom how someone drew those huge, intricate, fancy letters.
I left for Berlin early early early the next morning, and now I sorta have someone else staying with me--Anna, who I know from German and CF at Harvard, had my keys while I was in Ireland and has spent a couple nights here because her great-uncle lives in the 'burbs and doesn't have Internet. It's nice to have someone from Harvard here--someone who understands my frame of reference a bit better than other "Amis" and a lot better than non-Americans.
Lent (German Fastenzeit, or "fasting time," see how literal Germans are!) started on Wednesday, and although it is just Saturday, I am already wanting to break my fast and eat sweets and drink soda. It doesn't help that I was just given a bunch of chocolate by a couple people, and I also have a half-drunk bottle of Coke sitting on my desk. Oh well, I suppose it is a very, very, very small price to pay considering Jesus's sacrifice.
I have to prepare lunch for 10 at church tomorrow, in addition to preparing a presentation on the German welfare system for my German class on Wednesday. But the weather is gorgeous outside (who woulda thunk that I would consider 50 degrees and sorta sunny gorgeous?), so I'm gonna go take a long walk to the Brandenburg Gate and do some shopping.
Sonntag, 20. Januar 2008
Funky layout?
Does the layout show up really weird on your computer? I mean for the posts that have pictures. On mine it does, but on my parents' computer it looks ok. Any computer experts who can tell me how to fix the layout?
Donnerstag, 17. Januar 2008
Are you lost? Where are you from? Do you want to see my carpets?
It is currently 11:30 PM on Sunday night in Istanbul and I am sitting here in the Sabiha airport, surrounded by my unwieldy luggage and my fellow weary travelers. I got here two hours ago and my flight is not until 3:30 AM, but I had no other choice because this airport is supposedly 80 km from the center of Istanbul and I had to take a special shuttle to get here. Let me just say that my mother was not happy when she found out that my airport was quite far from the city and my flight was not until 3:30 in the morning, but that’s what you get when you fly discount airlines! Yes, I survived a whole day in Istanbul by myself and even made some friends in the process. Let me start with the beginning.
Jimmy, me, my mom, and three other Delta flight attendants in front of Jimmy's stall. Notice the Delta and U.S.-related stuff on top. Also, notice that Jimmy doesn't have the stereotypical Turkish look.
Every seen me wearing one of my many pashminas? Here's where they come from! Another Delta-frequented place.
The Turkish flag and flags of some man hanging from the ceiling of the Grand Bazaar. You see this crescent moon and star graffitied all over the place at my school--on desks, chalkboards, chairs, etc.
A mosaic of Jesus, Mary, and John (?), which was of course covered when the Hagia Sophia became a mosque.
Me outside the Blue Mosque. Why isn't it blue?
Some colorful tiles at Topkapi.
The fish market. Tasty!
While Istanbul is not my first experience with a non-Western culture (and certainly not my first experience with the Turkish culture, considering my students and the neighborhood where my school is), I found it to be so totally different than anything I had seen before. First, all you have to do is look at the skyline and see just how many minarets there are all over the place. Mosque after mosque after mosque. This becomes especially evident during the call to prayer. Each mosque blasts a call to prayer at the same time (although certainly not synchronized), causing an awesome effect when in the vicinity of several mosques. I was on the Galata Bridge during one call to prayer, and I must have heard like 10 calls to prayer. People also obviously look different here too (although more than a handful of Turks could pass for Anglo-Saxons!), and I was overwhelmed by the number of women wearing full-on burkas, only showing their eyes and noses. (didn’t see any with the eyes covered though) The majority of women who choose to wear religious clothing choose the headscarf over the burka though. I’d say the majority of younger women are scarf-free (although not by much), and a majority of older women wear the scarf. I saw several families in which one woman wore a burka, one wore a headscarf, and one wore nothing. Turkey has really been pushing for secularization, but I can’t say if they’re achieving it all that quickly. Probably loads more secular than it used to be!
A bunch of Turkish girls wearing headscarves outside the Blue Mosque.
I’d been dying to go to Istanbul for a long while now, and I finally had the opportunity to go . . . I also figured I’d score major brownie points with my students if I went to Turkey, although most of them are not from the Istanbul area (and this was not a big motivation anyway). According to Jimmy, an infamous man I met here, “Turkish people in Berlin are not Turkish, they’re Kurdish.” He does not look too favorably on them, it seems (surprise surprise, if you’ve been paying any attention to Turkey and the Kurdish “problem” recently). Anyway, after a lovely 2.5 weeks at home and three days in Boston, I flew to Istanbul instead of going back to Berlin. My mom was working the flight, that way I could stay at the hotel with her for two nights for free. When we got into Istanbul, we napped a bit, then went into town to go to the Grand Bazaar. It really is confusing! There are over 2,600 shops, and because they all sell similar merchandise, it is so easy to get lost. We were on a mission—to find Jimmy, merchant extraordinaire. Jimmy is famous with the Delta crowd. He’s also been in the Post and the NYT. So many Delta people go there that he has all this Delta stuff displayed on his stall. He knows several flight attendants really well, and it just so happens that some were there at the same time as us, so we got treated to wraps and Turkish apple tea. I got a pair of earrings that I am looking forward to showing off at a fancy occasion.
Jimmy, me, my mom, and three other Delta flight attendants in front of Jimmy's stall. Notice the Delta and U.S.-related stuff on top. Also, notice that Jimmy doesn't have the stereotypical Turkish look.
Every seen me wearing one of my many pashminas? Here's where they come from! Another Delta-frequented place.
The Turkish flag and flags of some man hanging from the ceiling of the Grand Bazaar. You see this crescent moon and star graffitied all over the place at my school--on desks, chalkboards, chairs, etc.
Jeff's shop, with lots of bracelets, necklaces, keychains, and other trinkets. Jeff is the third in the Delta triumverate.
On Day 2 we hit most of the touristy stuff. We first went to the Ayasofia, or Hagia Sophia, or St. Sophia, or Holy Wisdom, depending on who you ask, where Hasan gave us a tour. That place is magnificent! So huge, and the combination of Christian and Muslim decorations is quite fascinating. Of course, they weren’t really ever there at the same time until Ataturk (my students’ biggest hero) turned it into a museum. The Muslims had all the Christian stuff covered up with plaster, not necessarily because they were Christian (Islam shares a lot of religious figures with Christianity, after all), but because of their no-icons policy.
Outside the Hagia Sophia.
A part of the ceiling and some big round things that say things like Allah and Muhammad in Arabic.
A mosaic of Jesus, Mary, and John (?), which was of course covered when the Hagia Sophia became a mosque.
Making a wish. If you can turn your thumb 360 degrees in this whole, your wish will come true. I actually forgot to make a wish, but I think many have already come true, so it must have worked!
After the Hagia Sophia we were off to the Basilica Cistern, which was quite cool—in the literal sense. There are a bunch of columns and the water with huge fish swimming around. Not the most ideal place for pictures, but here are some:
Outside the Cistern, founded 532 A.D.
Fish in the water. These guys are obviously very well fed!
We then hit up the Blue Mosque, which we couldn’t see earlier because it was closed for prayer (which, as anyone who knows even a little about Islam knows, happens five times daily). We had to take off our shoes and I think were supposed to cover our heads, but because we were tourists we got away with being disrespectful. It was quite strange to see a women-only section at the back behind a gate. The men were praying at the front or crouched listening to a few men chant something in Arabic.
Me outside the Blue Mosque. Why isn't it blue?
Ablutions outside the Blue Mosque. All (Muslim) men must wash their feet before entering a mosque.
Now you might be able to see why it's called the Blue Mosque--the tiles are blue. You can see men listening to chanting at the front.
Men praying.
My mom left the next day and I set off to see Topkapi Palace, which is an expansive set of courtyards and palace buildings. I found all the artifacts interesting, especially the religious ones. I apparently saw the beard of Joseph, the staff of Moses, and some things relating to Abraham and Muhammad (I could have these switched around, but the point is there was really really old stuff from OT people . . . and Muhammad). No religious fanatics were there though (darn).
The entrance to the first courtyard, complete with military guards.
Some colorful tiles at Topkapi.
The view from Topkapi across the Golden Horn.
I spent the rest of the day just walking around and taking in the sights. I especially liked walking along Galata Bridge, which crosses the Golden Horn. There was a continuous line on each side of men fishing, and at the end of one side there was a small but lively fish market. When it came time to eat, I discovered just how much better Berlin Doener is (the real stuff). For dessert I asked to join some American college students I had just seen in a shop—no use sitting alone when I can have some perfectly good company!
Men fishing off the Galata Bridge (which crosses the Golden Horn), with a mosque in the background.
The fish market. Tasty!While Istanbul is not my first experience with a non-Western culture (and certainly not my first experience with the Turkish culture, considering my students and the neighborhood where my school is), I found it to be so totally different than anything I had seen before. First, all you have to do is look at the skyline and see just how many minarets there are all over the place. Mosque after mosque after mosque. This becomes especially evident during the call to prayer. Each mosque blasts a call to prayer at the same time (although certainly not synchronized), causing an awesome effect when in the vicinity of several mosques. I was on the Galata Bridge during one call to prayer, and I must have heard like 10 calls to prayer. People also obviously look different here too (although more than a handful of Turks could pass for Anglo-Saxons!), and I was overwhelmed by the number of women wearing full-on burkas, only showing their eyes and noses. (didn’t see any with the eyes covered though) The majority of women who choose to wear religious clothing choose the headscarf over the burka though. I’d say the majority of younger women are scarf-free (although not by much), and a majority of older women wear the scarf. I saw several families in which one woman wore a burka, one wore a headscarf, and one wore nothing. Turkey has really been pushing for secularization, but I can’t say if they’re achieving it all that quickly. Probably loads more secular than it used to be!
A bunch of Turkish girls wearing headscarves outside the Blue Mosque.My absolute favorite thing about Istanbul is how downright friendly the people are. I felt completely safe here—much more than in other, Western cities—and even wanted to stop and chat with all the men who came up to us on the street, although I used my better judgment and didn’t in most cases. I’m serious, you can’t walk anywhere without getting talked to. When I first got off the bus on the first day, I noticed I was being stared at quite a bit, and then looked around and noticed 1) only men and 2) no obvious foreigners. I attribute the staring to that (although I did get told by a waiter at one restaurant I went to that I’m beautiful—after I paid—but I’m sure he went and told the overweight old lady next to me that on her way out). And then when I hit Sultanahmet Square, I was bombarded with “where are you from” and “do you want to see my carpets” and “do you need help.” Always willing to give directions, even though I was never willing to look at carpets. And waiters stand in the street trying to get you to come in and eat—they’re quite relentless, and so nice that it made me sad to ignore them. Everyone has gone out of his way to be nice to me: the men currently sitting next to me at the airport, who speak to me in broken German because they think I’m German; the bus driver; random guys on the street telling us “you have to know this if you are in Istanbul” when we were doing the wrong thing on the tram. (I wonder if Turkish women are also really nice?) The guys at the Delta-frequented shops were the nicest of all, even calling everyone they knew about getting to the airport and offering to hang out with me late at night if I felt unsafe. Actually, I think the nicest guy of all was a man selling crafts at a train station. I had totally run out of lira (stupid souvenirs!) and asked if he could give me lira for Euro, and he just gave me lira and refused my money. That inspires me to be nicer to people . . . hope I don’t eat my words soon . . .
So yeah, I like Istanbul a lot, for all its East-meets-West qualities and the wonderful people who live here. I look forward to heading back to my current home, Berlin, but that means I have to be at school in 12 hours. I’m not ready to have work again!
Turks love their yogurt!
Wie ich die Ferien in Kalifornien und Boston verbracht habe
(Wrote this from the airport in Istanbul on Sunday night, after the post that will come next.)
I don’t want to write too much about my Christmas vacation, except to say that I had a fabulous time. Many of the Fulbrighters I know in Berlin didn’t go home for Christmas because they were afraid they wouldn’t get back on the plane when it came time to return (although one was indeed on my flight on the way to NY). If Christmas had been in September or October, I might have had that same fear. But I have found my place in Berlin and look forward to seeing friends again—it’s been four weeks since I’ve seen any of them! And I hope I didn’t forget any German . . .
At home I pretty much just vegged out and ate and watched TV and did nothing. My aunt and uncle came for a few days and celebrated Christmas with us. Went to one of the many Christmas services at Saddleback and saw Chuck Colson speak right before I left! Oh, my brother moved out! It’s a miracle! We are all so proud of him. He’s got an even better job with Cox in Phoenix. Still waiting for him to come visit me in Berlin . . . Let’s see, what else, I hung out with a few friends from high school, smoked all of them in poker, lost all of my money at blackjack at Pechanga, saw the best movie of 2007 (Juno—but what do I know, I’ve seen like five movies from 2007). My dad didn’t work the whole time, which to me was a good thing. It was nice to be around him a lot. And I really enjoyed harassing my dog, probably too much. Is it sad that I miss him more than the rest of my family? It’s not like I really miss him more, I just miss his physical presence more. I can talk to my parents on Skype and be happy, but I can’t just play with the dog. It tortures me sometimes to see so many cute dogs walking the streets in Berlin. My mom and I have gotten really bad—Beau now has a preppy sweater, a pumpkin Halloween costume, a Santa hat and collar, and a “Tuff Dog” shirt. We are pathetic!
Saddleback Christmas service. So good to be back, especially since I've become used to 10 people sitting around a CD player for church.
My dad and Beau. My dad is holding Beau like that because my mom and I freaked him out by barking and stomping and making weird noises. Yes, there is something very wrong with my family. But isn't the dog cute?
Me and the precious Beau. He's wearing his preppy sweater, and he looks possessed. He is probably thinking, when is this girl leaving again? I just want to go back to my normal schedule of lying around and not getting harassed!
I am really glad that I went back to Harvard to visit friends and the law school. It was so hectic, but so worth it. People seemed enthusiastic about seeing me again—even people I wouldn’t think would have gone out of their way to see me, like my favorite ling TF—and at times I pretty much felt like a celebrity. Haha, without the fame. Or infamy. Darn. It made me more excited to go back to Harvard for law school (95% sure), although don’t get me wrong, I am scared to death that I am going to be the dumbest person HLS has ever seen, that I’m going to fall prey to the Socratic method and the horrific exams that 1Ls were conveniently tackling as I was visiting. Sigh.
Well, I think they are about to start calling for check in for my flight, and since I’ve now been here three hours, it would be a shame not to be one of the first. Catch you in Berlin!
I don’t want to write too much about my Christmas vacation, except to say that I had a fabulous time. Many of the Fulbrighters I know in Berlin didn’t go home for Christmas because they were afraid they wouldn’t get back on the plane when it came time to return (although one was indeed on my flight on the way to NY). If Christmas had been in September or October, I might have had that same fear. But I have found my place in Berlin and look forward to seeing friends again—it’s been four weeks since I’ve seen any of them! And I hope I didn’t forget any German . . .
At home I pretty much just vegged out and ate and watched TV and did nothing. My aunt and uncle came for a few days and celebrated Christmas with us. Went to one of the many Christmas services at Saddleback and saw Chuck Colson speak right before I left! Oh, my brother moved out! It’s a miracle! We are all so proud of him. He’s got an even better job with Cox in Phoenix. Still waiting for him to come visit me in Berlin . . . Let’s see, what else, I hung out with a few friends from high school, smoked all of them in poker, lost all of my money at blackjack at Pechanga, saw the best movie of 2007 (Juno—but what do I know, I’ve seen like five movies from 2007). My dad didn’t work the whole time, which to me was a good thing. It was nice to be around him a lot. And I really enjoyed harassing my dog, probably too much. Is it sad that I miss him more than the rest of my family? It’s not like I really miss him more, I just miss his physical presence more. I can talk to my parents on Skype and be happy, but I can’t just play with the dog. It tortures me sometimes to see so many cute dogs walking the streets in Berlin. My mom and I have gotten really bad—Beau now has a preppy sweater, a pumpkin Halloween costume, a Santa hat and collar, and a “Tuff Dog” shirt. We are pathetic!
Saddleback Christmas service. So good to be back, especially since I've become used to 10 people sitting around a CD player for church.
My dad and Beau. My dad is holding Beau like that because my mom and I freaked him out by barking and stomping and making weird noises. Yes, there is something very wrong with my family. But isn't the dog cute?
Me and the precious Beau. He's wearing his preppy sweater, and he looks possessed. He is probably thinking, when is this girl leaving again? I just want to go back to my normal schedule of lying around and not getting harassed!I am really glad that I went back to Harvard to visit friends and the law school. It was so hectic, but so worth it. People seemed enthusiastic about seeing me again—even people I wouldn’t think would have gone out of their way to see me, like my favorite ling TF—and at times I pretty much felt like a celebrity. Haha, without the fame. Or infamy. Darn. It made me more excited to go back to Harvard for law school (95% sure), although don’t get me wrong, I am scared to death that I am going to be the dumbest person HLS has ever seen, that I’m going to fall prey to the Socratic method and the horrific exams that 1Ls were conveniently tackling as I was visiting. Sigh.
Well, I think they are about to start calling for check in for my flight, and since I’ve now been here three hours, it would be a shame not to be one of the first. Catch you in Berlin!
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