Go to Skool Skool!

I arrived in Istanbul almost two weeks ago, and now I've finally had my first studio class. Considering I was told classes start a week ago, I've definitely waited long enough.
Located far in the Asian suburbs, it takes me 45 minutes to get to school. So today I was prepared, woke up early, expected to be AMAZED by a city deep in architectural tradition. Naturally, I arrive, and I am the only student who manages to show up.

Studio is held in my professor's office rather than a real classroom, and the syllabus is flexible. By flexible, I mean Flexible. One of the first things Prof. Murat suggested was that we change the studio hours from 9AM on Tuesday to Wednesday afternoon because "9 is so early, and traffic is so bad!" He also wondered if I would personally prefer for the exchange students to be separate from the Turkish students...As if that should be an option?

After a discussion on possible projects, and the current urban planning of Istanbul, I was sent off (not even an hour later) to spend another 45 minutes on the bus home. I think that perhaps my education in Istanbul is mostly independent. Hopefully I will have the discipline...

Architecture department at Yeditepe. Don't be fooled by this nice skylight, it takes all of 5 seconds to walk around the offices.

The hallway looking down the offices of the architecture department. As Prof. Murat says, "I hate this campus. The design is awful."

Yeditepe Campus. Founded by Bedrettin Dalan, former mayor of Istanbul, who paid for this lovely university with extorted public money. He is now the on the run from the police.

Arts Building at Yeditepe, complete with cute stray dogs guarding it. The entire campus of around 15,000 students was built over a short period of nine months under lax labour laws, and questionable construction. One of the few private universities in Istanbul, Yeditepe has enough rich students in attendance that they probably have their own Turkish version of Gossip Girl here. However, it is located in the poorer neighbourhood of Kayisdagi, and the gap between the rich and the poor is very visible. Take a walk around Kayisdagi, and it is mostly filled with half built residential buildings, garbage, one shoddy bar, and empty streets. Very depressing indeed.

Oh look! It's me and some exchange students pretending to have fun at a gathering hosted by the Global Culture Club, drinking juice instead of booze, standing around for an hour being bored.

Turkish Artguise Basement!
A little art and sculpture studio on my street that I am still too shy to visit.

A further inspection.

View of the European side from my neighbourhood.

Having been in Istanbul for four days, I still have a lot to learn, although I have figured out how to get lost in Kadıköy, and then slowly find my way back home. Success!
Also, I have met more exchange students, despite the fact that some of them were leaving the country, and happily enough, some Turkish students as well. I have forgotten most of their names, but hopefully we'll see each other often enough for me to remember.

About my progress in speaking Turkish, I can now count from one to five, say 'hello', 'thank you', and 'foreigner'. And I've learnt that in Istanbul, jaywalking is an absolute essential skill in surviving. Otherwise, you will end up standing on one side of the street for an hour. Everyone is expected to jaywalk, even if there is a pedestrian bridge right next to you, and you have to cross four lanes of traffic, a tram-line, and then three more lanes of traffic. Oh yes, one more thing, cars and buses do not stop for you. Fun times!

Three yummy things I have been introduced to:
1. kokoreç - a sandwich made from lamb's intestines. Fucking delicious!
2. salep - hot milky drink dusted with cinnamon originally made from orchid tubers, but now it's just flavoured.
3. ayran - a drink made from yogurt mixed with water and salt. Tastes like sour cream.

I spent the weekend getting drunk, smoking too much shisha, visiting the Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Blue Mosque and the Yeni Mosque. We went to the spice bazaar on an afternoon filled with tourists from Hong Kong, and I quickly learned that the vendors speak perfect Mandarin, Japanese, Korean...among other languages.

The Kadıköy shore

Walking along the waterfront in the 'hood.

My little street!!!

Merhaba Istanbul!

So I am in Istanbul now.

My flights were long and boring, with lots of Zzzz and a mini wine party. My impression of Heathrow Airport is that of a space age abattoir, where people are herded around between out-of-scale structures and glass boxes. Of Ataturk Airport, their efficiency amazes me. The luggage carousel had completely stopped moving by the time I walked over to pick up my suitcase.

Louis, my new roommate, took me on a scenic route from the airport to my new apartment, going from metro, to tram, to ferry. The entire trip was over 2 hours, but felt like half an hour. From my first impression, Istanbul looks great. I haven't explored a lot, but the amount of people and shops everywhere already excites me.

My apartment is on the Asian side of Istanbul, in Moda, Kadiköy, where maps do not document, because according to Louis, "Maps are for tourists, and tourists don't go to Kadiköy." I live with him, and two other dudes, Victor and Simon. Louis is from North Carolina, Victor from France, and Simon Germany. We're on the fourth/top floor of the building, and pretty much equipped with everything, including a non-functional vintage sewing machine. My room is the smallest, but still spacious, and though I was promised a bed, there is no bed. For now I sleep on the floor until my mattress comes!

My first night here mostly consisted of me sleeping for 12 hours straight. Today, my second day, we all went for a big walk around the neighbourhood. I still have no clue how to get anywhere; I figure I'll find out when I explore on my own. Also, grocery shopping, and oddly enough, knife shopping, since Victor decided he needed a butterfly knife. No success though, and we ended up in a cafe drinking tea and me watching them play tavla, a Turkish game similar to backgammon.

I've mostly been walking around nodding, and smiling like a loser when spoken to. Perhaps I'll be brave enough to try to speak Turkish tomorrow.

My room, complete with non-bed, bookshelf
work station and door.

Other side of my room...with my crap, new Fenerbahçe scarf (a gift from Victor), and my borrowed vintage sunglasses collection, found in the apartment.

Pretty kitchen! My favorite place in the apartment.