Gölbası Picnic

It's our first weekend with the program since we arrived last saturday, which means we had our first major outing planned by CLS's local coordinators. Last summer, these trips were our chance to visit some of the beautiful beaches and historic areas around Izmir and get out of our local routine a bit. In true CLS fashion, advance information was kept to a minimum and we were told simply that we should be on campus at 10:00 for a "Picnic in Gölbası". Since göl means lake and "picnic" is pretty familiar I figured I had some idea of what we were doing, but there are times in this program when you never really know what is going to come around the corner. Luckily, it turned out pretty much as we expected as the bus took us to a little facility owned by Ankara University at a nearby lake where we got to relax by the waterfront for a few hours, amuse ourselves however we could, and enjoy another multi-coarse lunch taken care of by the program. The facilities are pretty beautiful, with a nice outdoor seating and dining area and some manicured lawns that proved perfect for a pickup soccer game with the students and some of the coordinators. We may have lost 5-4 (or by more depending on who you ask) but I did get at least two goals in there and had a great time kicking the ball around. Afterwards we came back to a great meal of grilled Kofta (somewhat like small hamburgers), chicken, rice, and salad. Right as we finished, the rain that has been ever present all week started again and forced us onto the covered patio for a bit. Luckily, I was used to some of these events from last year where you are left to your own devices for hours at a time and I remembered to bring my travel Scrabble set. If I could just get another little backgammon set to bring along I'm sure we could find a way to fill plenty of hours on the bus and at the cafes. Overall, it wasn't the most eventful trip but was a perfect chance to relax and have some downtime after a hectic week of Turkish courses. On our return to the downtown area of Ankara I was able to indulge one of my favorite activities in Turkey by going to a little cafe with one of the other students and ordering cup after cup of Turkish tea while employing my still rather limited backgammon abilities. I may not play at quite the same lightning speed as the Turkish men, but I'm gaining ground little by little.

And today, with my first truly free day since our arrival, I was able to sleep in, enjoy a fairly leisurely breakfast with my host family (no matter how relaxing it may otherwise have been, trying to keep up with a conversation in Turkish will still feel somewhat like a test), finish all my homework, and talk to Amanda for a bit before settling back into the house for the evening. My host family has been very nice and made the transition back into the country a bit easier. Their youngest son, Ege, can be quite the handful in the same great way all 16 month old kids are. Last night he developed a game where he tried to hit his forehead on the coffee table and then cried when it hurt. He keeps them busy but is very cute when he smiles at me and calls me Ağabey (older brother). Önder, the seventeen year old, has been my unofficial host and guide and I've been having a great time talking to him about colleges (he is planning for next year) and American music. I may not be on the same page with him on Ke$ha and Rihanna, but I did get to introduce him to Pink Floyd and AC/DC so I feel my work here has been accomplished. The father Mustafa works very hard and hasn't been around as often as everyone else, but he did bring out his Turkish guitar last night (the name of it sounds like Suz but I'm not sure if the spelling is right) and provided a little music to accompany our evening picnic on the front porch to escape the heat. The mother, Cemile, is also a constant presence in the house and is responsible for the amazing food I have been enjoying since I arrived. It may sound weird to those that know me from our typical family dinners, but I have been having everything from eggplant stuffed with rice, eggplant stuffed with meat, tomatoes and peppers, and spinach dowsed in yogurt, to some of the most amazing home-cooked soups and roasted chicken, and I have really enjoyed all of them equally. I promised myself going into this that I would eat whatever was put in front of me out of respect for the family and it has been a welcome surprise that it was not a difficult promise to keep. I am currently half-conscious in a food coma from a dinner of meat-stuffed eggplant, vegetable and rice soup, steamed bulgur wheat pilaf, and pickled peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes. Tomorrow we are back to long days of Turkish grammar and speaking practice, without much in the way of weekday trips to break it up, but I will have another update hopefully by next weekend at the latest.

(P.S. On a final note for the night, apparently no screens on the windows means that leaving your window open + leaving your light on at night = your own private insect zoo! Good thing I brought the Off insect spray! Lesson learned.)