KAPADOKYA!!!

Well this definitely the coolest thing I've done to date. Sorry it's been forever since my last update. I was gone for Kapadokya, then was home for 2 days then went to Tire for Bayram for 3 days(no internet) then was home for less than a day before being wisked off to Marmaris(also no internet there). Yeah I've been just a little busy :)
Anyways I need to tell you all about Kapadokya (although in the States I think it's Cappadocia).
Well 11 of us awesome Rotary kids got on a bus at 11 o'clock on Thursday the 18th. It was just us, the tour guide, the driver and the switch off driver who started out sleeping in the back on the ledge above the luggage. It was a little creepy when we discovered him sleeping back there. Well the goal of leaving in the middle of the night is so that we all sleep. The fundamental flaw in that theory is that us exchange kids hadn't seen each other in 2 weeks and needed to catch up. However, at 3am when our first driver left and the second driver abandoned his sleeping post, we decided maybe we needed some shut-eye. In the back of the bus was a row of 4 seats: Bess, Lauren, Torvald and me. Bess took the abandoned ledge, Lauren ended up sleeping in the aisle, Torvald took the seat next to Tove, which left me with the entire back row of seats. I slept pretty well hehehe
Anyways, we arrived in the Kapadokya region at maybe 10:00 and the first things we say were the mountains with the caves carved into them. There were hundreds and hundreds of them!

 

Our first stop was at this BEAUTIFUL valley/canyon place. I'm not kidding, it was so beautiful. We decended into this canyon and there's a river flowing through it and since it's fall, all the leaves were this amazing yellowish green color. Yeah, I can safely say I love nature. 

 

 

 

This pic is all the American girls on the bridge. You can see the fall colors on the trees and the sun peaking through. (Dad, I will now admit that all those camping trips in the rain and cold have been worth it. They have given me a deep appreciation of God's beautiful creation. So thanks even though there were times I fought the trips)



 

 

So this valley contained a lot of old churches. This valley was a place that monks fled to during the persecutions during the Roman Era. The churches had frescos (aka. wall painting) all over the walls and ceilings. How cool is that? I mean sure it's all beat up, but it's at least 1,500 years old. We saw a lot of frescos on this trip, but in most places you couldn't take pictures. It makes me wonder-why don't churches these days look this beautiful? If we can practice our faith in the open, why are our churches so plain, while the churches of those in hiding are so beautiful? Hmmmm

 

 

 

Next stop on our list: two underground cities where thousands of Christians lived during the persecutions. Some cities could hold as many as 20,000 people. They are huge! One thing though, these people must have been really short. All of us ended up ducking to go through most of the doorways. They were pretty cool though.

 

 

 

 

Above is a pic of Shannon's and my room. We got to stay in one of the triple suites and I think this room could have passed for a room from the Middle Ages. It was all stone, except for the floor, and the ceiling was high and arched over this bed. The bathroom was all stone. It had no seprate shower space, so when you took a shower, the water went everywhere! But, it is the coolest room I've ever stayed in! I literally felt like a Mideval princess in this room. The one downside was that it was really cold, being that it was all out of stone.

 

The next morning we headed to the above city in the mountians. There were several different churches with amazing frescos (that we couldn't take pictures of). There were a couple we could take pics in though, so below are a few of those pictures.

 

 

 

Yes! That ^ is a camel. My first camel sighting:D While we're on the subject of animal, I want to mention that we spotted a turkey while on the road. So in answer to the millions of quesions: yes, there are turkeys in Turkey. :D

 So the picture on the left is this awesome tree we found at a panoramic point. It is covered in evil eyes. There were actually two of these random trees, and I just thought they were really cool! The picture on the right is of the fairy chiminies. There were a lot more than I could fit into one photo, but I think you get the idea. I think these were also little houses for people.

 

 
This is the panorama of a part of the Kapadokya region. It's amazing! Even the little towns that are scattered along the region don't really disturb the natural landscape. The town just build around the fairy chiminies, rocks and other landscape. Sometimes a town will even use part of a rock for a building.

 

This was one of our last stops on the second day.

After this stop, we stopped at a pottery shop. We got to watch one of the workers throw pottery and then Max got a chance to try it. We then got to look around at all the merchendise. Everything in that place was handmade and beautiful. I can't even imagine all the work it takes to make the designs on some of the pieces. They are all hand thrown and hand painted. It is most definitely an art!

That night, we got to eat dinner in this really cool semi-underground place and watched traditional Turkish dancing. However, we got there an hour before anyone else so we played the game similer to telephone, but where you just say the first thing that comes to mind. I think we might have used up all of our energy laughing in that hour. The dancing was pretty cool. The men and women danced both separately and together. Their costumes were really cool too. My camera died so I couldn't take any pictures of them:( We got back to the hotel at 11 but we're exchange students and sleep never comes until at least 2 in the morning. In our case, it was 2:30 when we decided to call it a night and go to sleep. The kids who were going on the balloon trip had to be up at 5:00. Yes, some lucky kids got the permission from their parents to ride a ballon over the Kapadokya area. My parents said no. On the bright side....... nope can't find one that satifies me.

The rest of us slept until 7:30 and were off at 8:30. We drove for probably 3 hours and most everyone slept. I couldn't so I took over that ledge and waved at everyone we passed :D

 

 

Konya was our final stop of the trip. There's a really nice mosque there and Konya is where the whirling dervishes are. We didn't see any, which was rather upsetting. The mosque was pretty cool though, but there were tons of people. The two pictures below are not of this mosque, but they are of a mosque so it fits...right?

 After lunch in Konya, it was an 8 hour bus ride back to Izmir, but almost none of us slept. At about 7, we drove through a hard rain and lightning storm, so that was pretty cool. We were all pretty sad to leave eachother, but this coming Saturday we'll see eachother for language classes.

I have to say this is (again) one of the coolest things I've done. Life here is getting better and I think I'll survive. Haha just kidding, I'll do much more than survive; I think I'll thrive here.

One last thing:

Mithapasa Caddesi No. 790 Venüs Apt. Kat. 4 D. 8
Izmir, Turkey 35280

(That is my address^)

If you feel like sending me anything, please do. It could be a note, or a package or anything you want to send. Surprise me ;-)

 

Monica



My Box!!

I pretty much got the best present in the world last Thursday. A box from my family in the U.S.

This lovely little box contained 2 shirts, American peanut butter, a tiny box of Milk Duds, a whole bunch of amazing piano music and probably the nicest thing... my dance shoes. :) There was also a nice note and my brothers school pictures.

There they are, for those of you who don't know what my brothers look like. Titus is on the bottom, he's 15; Cyril is on the top right, he's 13; and Gregory is on the top left, he's 11. Okay, I'll admit I miss the (former) twerps a whole lot. Especially considering the only sibling I have here in Turkey is a sister. Take your victory and run with it guys :P (just kidding)

Anyways, I almost cried when I got this amazing little box. It has been well appreciated!!!

You remember how I said I really liked volleyball? Well here's what happened because of that enthusiam:



On the bright side, I won! They had to send for a bag of ice and it hurt really bad for a couple of days, but it doesn't hurt anymore; just looks nasty.

Yesterday, I had this drive to get more Turkish in my brain and completed 4 lessons on Livemocha. Granted, I already knew one of the lessons and it was mostly just vocab, but that's still a large Turkish dose in one day. I didn't do them all at once though. I did the first two then watched Disney's 'Sleeping Beauty' (I had NEVER seen it before and I understand why. It would have given my nightmares when I was little.) on YouTube. I then had 'Once Upon A Dream' stuck in my head all day. (For those who find this a total waste of time, I then decided to find this song in Turkish and I think I like it a lot better. If you want to hear what Turkish sounds like, you should look it up too!! I am now resolving to get the Turkish version stuck in my head and this way I can enjoy a classic song guilt free. I think it will be a fabulous learning tool.)

Anyways, I then did two more lessons and so my vocabulary has been boosted this weekend. I'm getting to the point where I can understand certain words in a sentence and so grasp the whole meaning of a conversation. It feels very good, especially since I have to around my 'grandparents'. They don't speak any English and I'm glad I can understand a little of what they try to tell me. My host family tells me not to worry, my Turkish will come. After all, tomorrow marks the end of my first month here in Turkey and already my language is leaps and bounds better than it was when I got here.

I made sugar cookies for my host family today. The sugar here is different, so they didn't taste the same as American ones, but they turned out really, really well considering the circumstances.

They were really good. Serim also taught me how to make Turkish coffee, and below is how they served it. It was really good! I didn't drink coffee in the states, so I was a little nervous about having coffee here. I put two teaspoons of sugar in mine, and it was amazing! Okay Dad you were right, I do like coffee now.

I love this picure because they weren't posing for it. My host dad was trying to get Serim to smile for the picture and she didn't want to, but I took this anyway. 

So that wraps up what I've been doing for the last few days. Now it's back to school, and this weekend bring the promise of a Rotary trip to Kapadokya. I'm so excited!!

Monica





Rotary weekend!!

 

 

 So this past weekend we had a Rotary orientation in Kuşadası and we also got to go to Mary's house and Ephesus. I thought I'd give all the text a break with some photos. First though, I LOVE EXCHANGE STUDENTS!!! I think we are going to have the best year together and I'm so excited for it.
We stopped at this makeshift village on our way to Kuşadası. It ıs a direct replica of rural villages. The statues looked creepily lifelike, and as some of them also moved, I thought they were real people for a minute.


Above are a knife sharpener and perfumist at work. To the right is a photographer and below is a woman spinnıng.
We also got to go swimming in the sea! It wasn't too cold(I thought) and it just felt amazing! We had a lot of orientation about how to be safe in the city and how to protect ourselves againt theft and earthquakes. The earthquake thing was very interesting as I've never really been told what to do during one. I guess they happen 5-6 times a year, but they're not super big. It's always good to be prepared though.

 Below is a man putting shoes on a donkey. There was also a mini museum which we couldn't take pictures in. It showed all these things and more, just in a mini size. There were also some very funny Turkish legends.






We walked though Kuşadası a little before dinner and there were a bunch of trees with paper lanterns and lights and they looked so cool!!
Dinner was really good. The food here is just amazing and I really have gotten used to the different flavors, sauces, and herbs the Turkish use in cooking. Even the yoghurt is starting to taste good. All of us exchangers spent the evening talking and laughing and we even sang. I don't know how it came up but the girl from Canada started to sing her national anthem and after her was Brasil then South Africa then Mexico then Indonisia and then the U.S. It sounded so cool!!

 We were up bright and early (okay maybe not) and after breakfast took the picture below. We were standing there sqinting into the sun and probably took 12 pictures. There were even a couple of pedestrians that stopped and took a picture. :P
After that, it was off to Mary's House! I'd already been there before but it was nice to go again. I think I noticed a few more things than I had the first time I went there.

 The picture below is of Annie and me waiting to go into Ephesus. I'll introduce you to all my wonderful exchange friends later. While we were waiting, a bunch of us decided to tie our flags aound our necks like capes. We ended up wandering around Ephesus with our flag capes and every once in a while I'd hear people comment on us. Or they see the flags and say 'Ooh Brasil, Canada, U.S., Mexico..wow'

Some of us had our Rotary shirts on too, so then they almost automatically understood who we were.    

 Ephesus was amazing and the sad thing was we only got a little over two hours to see the whole thing. That is so not enough time! I could have easily spent double that. I think that history is so much more interesting when you can acually see it and touch and walk on it.
We found some stone pillars and took turns taking pictures between them.
I might also add that the weather was perfect. It was sunny and hot, but there was a good breeze so you didn't really notice the heat. Perfect for sightseeing.

 Below is the view from the small theater which was used for counsil meetings. It probably seats 1000 people easily. Ephsus is really really old; and it's one of the seven wonders of the world so we all realized we were walking around something major. It also used to be a port city but it's miles away from the sea now.

Like I said...it's the small one.

 Below is an arch that I thought was really pretty. Also around the city you could find stones with anchient Greek on them.
The carving is also beautiful. I can't imagine how long it must have taken to carve all the little details into stone.

There was also a mosaic road that led up to the rich portion of the city. All along this road were small little houses for the people who worked for the rich. I can now say I have seen a mosaic even though that is really hard to believe. I envy the kitties that get to walk and sit on this road.

 Okay! Below is probably one of the most famous structures in all Ephesus. The LIBRARY! Let me tell you...it's huge, no it's bigger than huge. It's enormous. AND it's beautiful. It's truely a work of art and I can't even begin to imagine what it looked like when it was first built. I have to admit I took more pictures of this than anything else because I couldn't believe I was there.

 I mentioned that the carving is beautiful and the library is no exception. It was so very detailed and I was surprised at the massive detail of the structure.
I really can't get over the fact that I was there. =D It was sad though becasuse we only got 5 minutes at the library. So that's why I could spend hours and hours in Ephesus.

Yep..U.S. pride at Ephesus. (Dear Dad: see I'm using my flag!) Also you can see Max in the background with his Mexican flag.

 So as you can imagine, we all wanted at photo on the steps of the library. However, we all wanted one with our own cameras. So, our poor Rotary guy had probably 9 cameras and then we had to sit and smile for at least 9 different pictures. We've decided that from now on, one person gets the picture and then shares it with the group. But it was worth it for this pic.

 The trip couldn't be over until we had paid a visit to the famous theater. It's also HUGE!!
It seats 20-25,000 people. That's Quincy times 5! I can't imagine 5 Quincys in that stadium... I really can't. But the other astounding thing is that where ever you sit in the theater, you can hear the speaker clearly. We sent Max down to test that theory and it's true. We sat pretty far up, but we could hear him as if he was right near us. Pretty sweet!!

 So the whole day turned out to be a success! Well actually there's a bit more to my day. When we got back to İzmir, my host dad was going to a cousins to watch a soccer match and the whole family went with. Now I really don't know much about soccer, but I do know the basics about scoring and stuff like that. However, it is a pretty cool sport. My host dad and his friends have this superstition though that if they don't sit in a certain spot, the team will lose. Well since I was in a certain spot when the team scored, I now have a spot I have to sit in.

Our team ended up wining so that was good, and I got to meet a kid who also goes to my turkish school and is in the same grade, but not the same class. So that was nice too! Gracious it was just a good day! I'm paying for my lack of sleep this weekend because now I'm really tired, but hey I can be tired for school. Haha I don't really do anything anyway.

Blessings,

Monica =D

The Bliss of Excercise!

 

Well it's official: I will not be a star volleyball player! :D I'm taking volleyball for my P.E. class which is the last two hours on Tursdays. Today, after a lot of streaching and drills (one of which involved me trying to run a line of people around a cone. What's up with that?), 12 lucky students were picked to play a game...sort of. I was one of the chosen 12 and we split into 2 teams, 6 on one side 6 on the other, and just practiced hitting the ball over the net. Note: we're not pros here in P.E. so the ball ended up being kicked over the net and once a guy knocked the ball over with his head. :O I hit the ball over the net once and into the net maybe 3 times. For the last 10 minutes, our teachers decided to have us play a real match up to 5 points. Aka. first team to 5 wins. Our team was ahead by 2 in the begining and then the other team managed to score 4 points and then we caught up, and then they hit the ball out of bounds resulting in a WIN for our team. I did manage a really good hit over the net, and a pretty good set as well.

Even though I'm not the best, I love this lesson!! I think it has become my favorite class at ITK. I really felt like I belonged in that gym and it felt really amazing. Too bad it's only once a week. :/

After the sports lesson, I had to go over to my host mom's work place and so I decided to run most of the way there. Okay it was more of a jog considering I was winded from the volleyball lesson. But I felt refresed in the exercise. I MISS DANCE!!! Argh it's killing me not to be able to dance, but I'm going to try to find a studio. Ballet isn't as popular here though, so it might be a little tricky. I might take up running as a substitute. I guess, and I hate to admit it, dad making me run when I was little has made me open to the idea of running now. Imagine that...

 

Monica

Ephesus!!  

 

Hey all! Sorry I haven't been posting recently!! My weekends are filled with trips and I sometimes forget too. (oops)

Anyway, I think I got a 'once in a lifetime' experiance this past Saturday. Wait for it......

 

I got to go to Ephesus and hear the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra!!! That makes my first trip to Ephesus and my first time at a concert. They were so amazing and I know why people go to concerts. The music is flawless and beautiful, but watching the members of the orchestra play is also fastinating! They move in such a way to the music they're playing and I found myself watching sections of the orchestra and moving with them. It's such a (forgive the pun) moving experiance and I think everyone needs to go to an orchestral concert!

On Monday, I also had the chance to attend a piano concert that Rotary gave. The lady who played was from one of the smaller countries near Russia. She also had two of her students play during the concert. I have to say it was good, but not spectacular. She play very well, but her pieces were not very long, and I couldn't understand what she was saying in between songs.

My language is coming. I understand more words now and when my teachers race along in Turkish, I can catch a word here and an word there. It's a long working process though. People ask me how it's coming and I say that I'm working on Turkish and they tell me not to worry because Turkish is very hard. I did learn to say 'I'm an exchange student' so I can get the free pass into lunch each day. =D

More later (I promise!)

Monica