I've spent almost the entire day studying psychology for my finals this upcoming week! I've got a ridiculous amount of material to cover as I have learned very little in my psych classes. I attribute this to the teaching style adopted by my prof. Each student does a power point on each chapter of the book. That is our lecture. In a heavy Turkish accent, peer guided, word for word from the book. I haven't learned anything!
Luckily, my studies were quite interesting. I covered the humanistic approach to psychology and it's forefathers Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow. I was pretty engaged in the information otherwise I would have gone nuts spending another day catching up.
Chris and I also planed a Christmas dinner. As I mentioned earlier the Christmas spirit doesn't frequent Turkey and we've all been missing its presence.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Then till Now
Tonight, I will finally be attending a football match. Fenerbahçe will be playing Trabzon a team from the black sea region of Turkey. Football here in Istanbul really is a part of life. I'm told that going to a match in Istanbul is a must and I have managed to purchase tickets to the final one. -- The conclusion of the game was Fener 3, Trabzon 2. Fanatics yelling and screaming. Chanting and calling from one end of the stadium to the other made for an electric atmosphere.
Since my last post in November I've done little traveling. School has surprisingly been taking up quite a bit of time. However, I've enjoyed further exploring the city: visiting Rumeli Castle and the Ortaköy Mosque, while dabbling in the club/pub scene.
Life here in Istanbul has been quite different. We've been on a holiday vacation (Kurban Bayrami) for the past week. Kurban Bayrami is a time to visit family and give to the poor buy purchasing a sheep or cow to have slaughtered and give 1/3 of it those in need. There have been make shift slaughter houses set up all over the city and it's been quite humorous to see all the cows and sheep walked down the street. Apparently they've had some trouble with cows escaping and running loose in the city! Visiting one of these slaughter houses next to the mall I was reminded of home with the pungent scent of cow shit! As for Christmas, it will be spent in a class room! I am possibly attending a midnight mass at an historic church here and will likely go out to dinner with a group. That's about the extent of the Christmas spirit. We've all been reminiscing about Christmas days spent eating, visiting family, and the general atmosphere.
I've begun the painstaking task of pick put gifts and souvenirs. With limitless possibilities, a tight budget and indecision, I've almost completed my shopping list. My fist intentions where to visit the Grand Bazaar for all my shopping quarries, however, I was let down with it's modern feel and aggressive selling. I found solace in visiting local markets which are quit amazing. They where more of the bazaar experience I was looking for, full of cheap knock offs, spices, veggies, fish, and fruit. It's the locals market and you get definitely don't get that feel in the Grand Bazaar.
Since my last post in November I've done little traveling. School has surprisingly been taking up quite a bit of time. However, I've enjoyed further exploring the city: visiting Rumeli Castle and the Ortaköy Mosque, while dabbling in the club/pub scene.
Life here in Istanbul has been quite different. We've been on a holiday vacation (Kurban Bayrami) for the past week. Kurban Bayrami is a time to visit family and give to the poor buy purchasing a sheep or cow to have slaughtered and give 1/3 of it those in need. There have been make shift slaughter houses set up all over the city and it's been quite humorous to see all the cows and sheep walked down the street. Apparently they've had some trouble with cows escaping and running loose in the city! Visiting one of these slaughter houses next to the mall I was reminded of home with the pungent scent of cow shit! As for Christmas, it will be spent in a class room! I am possibly attending a midnight mass at an historic church here and will likely go out to dinner with a group. That's about the extent of the Christmas spirit. We've all been reminiscing about Christmas days spent eating, visiting family, and the general atmosphere.
I've begun the painstaking task of pick put gifts and souvenirs. With limitless possibilities, a tight budget and indecision, I've almost completed my shopping list. My fist intentions where to visit the Grand Bazaar for all my shopping quarries, however, I was let down with it's modern feel and aggressive selling. I found solace in visiting local markets which are quit amazing. They where more of the bazaar experience I was looking for, full of cheap knock offs, spices, veggies, fish, and fruit. It's the locals market and you get definitely don't get that feel in the Grand Bazaar.
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