I MOVED & Fashion Party!

I've been in Istinye, Istanbul for about 2 weeks now; love love love it here! My host family is incredible- they are so kind and fun and have taught me so many new turkish traditions already! It's pretty funny, but I technically live at the mall- our complex is literally connected to the mall and we have a special entrance :P I know my mom is thinking "DANGER ZONE" for me...hehe don't worry mom!

Can I just say that Turkish people go crazy for some good old fashioned fluffy American Pancakes? I've made them on request several times now.. :) It brings me back to 6th grade when I had chocolate chip pancakes EVERY SINGLE DAY...Howwww was I not fat?

Last week we attended the Vogue Fashion Night Out party. It was....AWESOME. I don't have enough time right now to try and explain it, but here are some pictures from it!

host brother Can
host mom Hulya

I promise to write a more substantial/interesting update in the couple days!

Vacation week at Sultan Ahmet

I decided to give myself a sort of "vacation" before moving to Istinye, Istanbul. Istinye is a very nice place more central istanbul than where I lived before, its also just a short walk to the Bosphorus!

I have been staying in the Sultan Ahmet area of what is called "The Old City." This is where alot of historical sites dating back to B.C. are! Check out the view from my hotel:
Looking out onto the Sea of Marmara

Sultan Ahmet Mosque (Blue Mosque)

And I also have a view of the Haghia Sofia! It's unbelievable that some people actually LIVE right here in Sultan Ahmet and get this view everyday!

Visiting the Haghia Sofia again...this place is incredible. Considering this is one of my favorite sites so far, I feel like I didn't really share enough information about this "church turned mosque" last time I mentioned it. In Turkey, the people call it "Aya Sofia" but it actually comes from the greek term "Ἁγία Σοφία" meaning "Holy Wisdom." Ready to hear how old this beautiful structure is? It was built between 532 and 537 (by order of the Byzantine Emperor)! It was designed by a Mathmetician as well as a physicist , and is home to several holy relics. Originally it was a catholic Cathedral under Constantine (remember him from your history book?) but in 1453 The ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople and Emperor Sultan Mehmed the second ordered the church be converted to a mosque instead of destroyed. In order to convert the church, the altar, bells, and a few other things had to be removed, and the Islamic features seen in every mosque were incorporated. The mihrab, minbar, and minarets (look like towers) were added. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey. So...now you know!

me and my au pair friend in Taksim! Taksim is known for a lot of shopping and tons of cafe's scattered through out; mostly locals come here.

This week I have allowed myself to have some nice meals at a few nice cafe's/restaurants...these often include a beautiful rooftop location with amazing views! Often I choose to have a "budget meal," which I have become pro at! Because there are so many street vendors, I can easily approach someone selling corn, fruit, simit (like a bagel), or fresh juice and each is only 1 lira (that's only 75 cents folks!) Then if I feel like having meat, I can choose among 50 kitchens along the main square here; they each have someone out front hustling you to come buy their food and showing you what they offer. This ends up in a Turkish cheeseburger for 3-4 lira ($2)

So there you have it, a meal for under $5!

One of my favorite things to eat are also sold on the streets, but mostly in Taksim. The street vendor has a MASSIVE pot filled with mussels. THe mussels have all been filled with rice and other spices; you simply eat as many as you want right there (they squeeze fresh lemons on them too) and then pay after. They are delicious and cheap, you can have 5 or 6 mussels for 2.5 lira ($1.5)!

As for the language...I am told by my Turkish friends that I am improving, although it is a very hard language! It's not easy like Spanish, which just sort of makes sense to me. There are really strange suffix's in Turkish, for instance to say you are "at school," is "okulda" School being "okul" and being at it you use the suffix "da." However if you are saying "at home," it's "Evde," Home being "ev," and being at it you must use the suffix "de." So basically, the suffix changes based on the last vowel in the word...it's SO confusing! The same rules goes for "my" (owning something) it depends on the word so it could be "um," "im," "em," and other endings to the word...for instance "o benim" means "that's mine."

That's all for your Turkish lesson today! :D

Today is my last day of vacation, so I'm off to enjoy it!

'Til next time!

Princess's and Private Yachts...Lutfen ve Teşekkür Ederim! (please and thank you!)

First off, sorry for not updating in a while; it's been a crazy two weeks!

Istanbul is finally starting to cool off, at night time it's actually pretty cold! No longer do I "barely sleep with just 1 sheet, constantly kicking it off," but now I sleep with....dun dun dun....TWO SHEETS! :P

Saran started school on Tuesday, and Metecan is going a couple times a week for just 2 hours! So this Saturday morning I will be having brunch with a new family with 6 year old twins! Hopefully sometime next week I will be moving in with a new family (since my kids are starting school now) and my future situation is going to be amazing! I will be moving in with a mother and her 16 year old son, and they live very close to the Bosphorus and more in central Istanbul, a very nice area! I will be helping the 2 improve their English, and I will spend about 15 hours a week with the twins in the other family teaching them English. It seems a bit complicated at first, but I hope I explained it well enoguh for my readers to understand..

Also, I just hope you all know how much it means to me that you are taking the time to read about my experiences here! I figured people like my parents and grandparents would feel it their "duty," but it's really nice to hear friends, as well as old school friends' PARENTS saying that they are interested in reading my blog! So thank you!

*Something cute*

Saran has had a loose tooth for a couple weeks, and the other morning while brushing her teeth, it came out! She began screaming and crying (yet still brushing her teeth furiously) which combined was cute and I couldn't help but laugh as I hugged her and tried to comfort her. FInally she calmed down and rushed to put the tooth under her pillow, after all, the tooth fairy was on her way!! This day quickly turned into "Princess Day!" We painted her nails, I curled her hair, and both kids dressed up in many costumes....they have almost 100 to choose from! We made a "castle," put on "masks," and made "swords." By the end of the day, the tooth fairy had brought Saran a real guitar! (Mom, I feel jipped by those Susan B Anthony coins...where is my guitar? JUST KIDDING :P )

Anyways...here are some pcitures from "Princess Day:"

In their castle guarding it with swords!

Another trip on the Bosphorus at night...
I wish this picture gave this view justice....but it simply doesn't. It's an incredible feeling to be sitting on the front of a HUGE private yacht watching the sun set...all the red marks you see in the picture are Turkish Flags...the Turks are quite prideful! :P
She is way too cute!
Metecan was more interested in being Captain than looking at the camera!

I love my kids and I will REALLY miss them when I go to my next family, but I am really excited also!

Til next time! :)