Out in this part of the world, we are celebrating the Slaughter Holiday. While I plan to celebrate it by resting and catching up on work, my students are going off with their families to visit relatives and slaughter some animals for a big feast. I have been warned that Istanbul can really start to smell (as if it doesn't already) and not to be shocked if I see blood flowing down a side street (from the slaughtered animal, I presume).
Since I slightly alluded to it, I want to just talk about safety here in Istanbul. As a single female, I have never felt nervous walking alone at night or found myself in a bad part of town. I think there are several reasons for this. One is that people are EVERYWHERE. This city has at least 13 million residents. It never seems like there is a lonely alley or street. And the city is up late! At 9 pm on a weekday, the streets will be buzzing still and all vendors still tending their little shops. There is also a different kind of attitude towards women. Men will still give up their seats for women on buses. They will also try to shelter women from the world. For example, I am helping to coach the boys soccer team (another story in itself!) The head coach, a huge Irishman named Graham Flemming, yelled out to the boys in his Irish accent "you boys are playing like you have no balls!" I first off don't even know how the boys understood him because I have difficulty enough understanding what Graham is saying and this is my first language, the boys have to understand the dialect as their second language! Well, they not only understood him, but stopped cold in their tracks. One of the boys spoke up "but Mr. Flemming" and nodded my direction. They were in utter shock that he would say something like that in front of a woman. Men are just more protective of women in this culture, for better or for worse. Although I do find that I can attract more attention just because I look different, I have never witnessed anything more than a stare or a honk of the horn. And my guess is that if anyone ever did step out of line, others would step in to intervene. That isn't to say that there aren't dangerous people here, or that there are not bad areas of Istanbul, but overall it really does seem like a very safe city to live in.
One of the highlights so far here has been having all my dormitory students over for dinner. I teach Prep students and ninth graders so I had them over in two different groups. As a class, my students can drive me bonkers. They talk constantly. There is no such thing as a silent class of Turks, I swear. Their sociability is so apparent outside of school too. I thought Americans were bad with their cell phones, but I don't think they rank to this scale. It is not uncommon to see a table of Turks out for dinner and all of them are on their phone. Anyways, as a teacher this is a huge frustration. Although I think culturally it is not as rude to talk on top of each other, in American culture it is and I get very mad at how they constantly interrupt and talk over each other and myself. Pulling these students away from this, though, I can see how unfair this assessment is. These students are some of the most respectful and appreciate kids I know. They were so excited to come over for dinner. They complimented me on my mismade brownies (google translate isn't always perfect) that turned out undercooked...."but they tasted delicious Ms. Washburn!" and only laughed very respectfully over the mistake (luckily none of them got any food poisoning!). I think everyone truly enjoyed themselves and plan to continue to have these dinners throughout the year.
I went to my first soccer match here in Istanbul and it was quite the experience! Soccer is INSANE here. There are three big teams in the city, and I went to see one of them: Besiktas. The stadium is not too far from the school. Its reputation in the city is the working class team. The stadium was electric...that is once we got in after the cattle line and two pat downs. The fans had these amazing cheers that went on throughout the match. They also had this awful whistle which was their way of booing. Whenever the other team got the ball, an awful high pitched shriek went off. Seriously, I don't know if I have heard a worse sound in my life. A vuvuzela would have sounded like the heaven after this. On the other side of the stadium was a small area for the opposing fans. It was a completely enclosed cage. The cage was entirely for those fans' protection. Riot police were everywhere, with their large plastic barriers to protect themselves. For the most part, the fans behaved themselves. The only episodes I saw was one time where they started pelting one of the guys on the other team with trash as he was throwing in the ball. The other time was when they decided to light some flares. The police did have some parts down to a science to avoid any troubles. As soon as the half and game end, a huge covered walkway was rolled out so the other team could run out without feeling the fans' wrath. There also was absolutely no alcohol. The vendors on foot were selling chai (tea) so the fans could get hopped up on caffeine but nothing else and sunflower seeds which they spit madly when they were not happy with their team or a call.
While most of our holidays are not celebrated in Turkey, we have our own celebrations on campus with the faculty. On Halloween, the kids of the faculty went around trick or treating to the various campus apartments. We then all met up for a Halloween party at the end. Thanksgiving we all will get together for a potluck to celebrate. That will have to take place on Saturday since we have to work Thursday and Friday. There also is a Christmas celebration where a teacher dresses up as Santa for the faculty kids, there is a sleigh ride, and party. I will be missing this one because I am going back to Chicago! Unlike past years where usually just Christmas Eve and Day are given off for the faculty, this year we get a whole week so I have my ticket to fly home!!
I will finish off with a list of items I plan to get and bring back from home: taco seasoning, Taco Bell hot sauce packets, Tapatio, taco shells, black beans (miss my Mexican food!), Trader Joe snacks, vanilla extract (they don't have it here), cake mix (not too many dessert mixes here), some Pale Ale (all you can get here is their local shitty Pilsener called Efes, or pay an arm and a leg for Corona or Budweiser, it's so sad!), shoes and clothes (there aren't large department stores here like in the states nor online shopping). It's funny because as I make this list, I am now starting to think about the things I will miss here when I eventually go. The yogurt, mini cucumbers, sweet red peppers, patlican (eggplant), figs, sour cherry juice, dolma (rice wrapped in grape leaves), red lentils, their nuts and dried cranberries, Turkish coffee, and baklava. And I'm sure this list will grow as I continue to explore my new home.
