Merhaba

That is one of the few Turkish words I know and can pronounce. I've never visited a country where I know so few vocabulary words - where I can't pick up anything during conversation. Merhaba is hello, evet is yes, hayir is no. And that's all I've got. I feel like a spoiled American, who wants everyone to speak English, and I feel grateful when someone speaks it to me, but everyone who speaks English to me wants me to buy something. It is uncomfortable to not be able to communicate, and I feel slightly off. Ben is going to take us to more places (he had a big midterm tomorrow), and I think that having a guy with us, as well as someone who can speak and understand a little bit more will help.

Our hostel has free breakfast (YAY FREE), and it is at the top of the building, with a beautiful view of the Bosphorus. So far coffee (kahve - yay, another word!) has alluded me. We found a coffee shop around the corner run by a Canadian expat, but it is not the best and it is priced like it is. At breakfast, we had instant coffee, which is what everyone drinks here - Nescafe. It will have to do. We had tomatoes, olives, a hard boiled egg, orange slices, and bread with butter, cheese, jam and Nutella. All of that with ish-coffee, a book, my best friend, and a view of beautiful water - not bad :)

We visited the Blue Mosque today, which was pretty, but full of people who disrespected their customs. Many women did not wear headscarves as was requested, which surprised me. Whitters and I wore ours. Then we went back to the room to get our coats and umbrellas, because it felt like it might rain (we were right).

We headed to the Hagia Sophia, which was the largest church in Christendom until St. Peter's basilica was built at the Vatican, and then was turned into a mosque. Walking through it, I could just feel the history there. We're in a city that has been a city for 3000 years, and sometimes my mind doesn't comprehend that. I stood in a building that had beautiful Byzantine mosaics covered because mosques do not have pictures of living things in them. Many of the mosaics are now partially uncovered, and beautiful gold tiles shine against the dull marble and stone. The building, the city, and perhaps the country cannot seem to find out who it is. As a twenty-something girl (almost 27!), I can identify with the identity crisis.

After lunch (too expensive and too little food for the money and too long a wait), we searched again for coffee, caving to the craving by heading to a Starbucks. I got coffee, Whit got chai, and we walked outside into a windy rainstorm that was no match for our umbrellas, especially when holding the only real coffee I'd had in days. Then, a long nap to get warm after the rain and catch up on sleep.

Food is good, but we are trying to find places that are less expensive. Dessert is amazing - tonight we went back to a little pastry shop where they speak English and only encourage us to buy what we order. I got rice pudding that was amazing, and we had apple tea. Whitters got a job offer from the man who runs it - wants her to teach English. I burrowed into my book with tea - two of my favorite things in life, I think. I'm about to pick it up again...