Host Family:
My host family is great :) I have known about them since June (thanks to Facebook) but meeting in person was a total different experience. They're all wonderful people and I'm very lucky! I have three host siblings (Şafak, Ezgi, and Handan) and a host mother, Yasemin..but I just call her "anne", the Turkish word for "mom". Şafak is my age and currently in his second year at the prestigious İstanbul Üniversite studying American Culture and Literature. Although our meeting was brief, we'll see each other more throughout the next ten months. Ezgi is a little bit older and just recently graduated from college. She is currently working at a university in Aiden. Handan works at some kind of gas company really close to home which is nice because if I ever need anything, I can just pop on over there. :) We live together in a nice apartment overlooking the Aegean Sea. The view is intense but I have to climb like five flights of stairs to get into my apartment. It's totally worth it though..
Turkish Food:
Turkish food is delicious, there's no denying that. Unfortunately I can already feel myself slowly gaining weight. We just eat SO MUCH delicious, fresh bread. There are little shops everywhere and a lot of the time in the morning before breakfast one of us goes and buys a loaf- it may or may not be completely consumed before breakfast is even over. Besides the bread, every morning for breakfast we have a few different cheeses and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers along with spreads of all different kinds and of course Turkish tea. To me, the main focus definitely seems to be on the bread. For lunch and dinner we have eaten soups and noodles and vegetables. Izmir is known for it's vegetable consumption. They're delicious. All the food here is delicious :) I really, really love Turkish food!
The City of Izmir:
I have never experienced anything like this place. Honestly, it's beauty is indescribable. It is a bit sad to think that the locals that live here don't appreciate the beauty as much as I do, but that's just life I suppose. Most people here live in apartments so everywhere you look are giant apartment buildings. The streets are tiny and filled with dogs, cats, and people. My part of the city (Karataş) has huge flights of stairs connecting the streets that I climb everyday. I now finally know why Turkish people are so tiny! We live about five minutes from the Aegean Sea so although it's hot, there is always a nice breeze. Along the sea there is an awesome path for people to walk, run, bike, etc. I am also very close to my high school (which I start tomorrow) but I'll talk about that in a different post.
It takes about ten minutes with bus to get to the "downtown" area called Alsancak. (I actually have my own bus card thingy.) Alsancak is where my language school, TÖMER, is and it is also a place where people, young and old hang out. There are a million different cafes and restaurants to eat at and a ton of places to shop. Kıbrıs Şehitleri Caddesi is the most known street in Alsancak and is kind of like a mini Times Square. (To me, at least.. ) It's all very exciting, especially at night. Oh yes, there is a nightlife here! There are actually people on the streets past 10:00 o'clock unlike little Poynette, WI.
Here are some pictures of my neighborhood:
Lydia Weber