Hagia Sophia at Night

In my last post, a recap about visiting Ile de Goree in Senegal, I mentioned that I’d be posting about my travels on Mondays. Then I arrived in Turkey and realized how frustrating it was to type on the similar-but-different keyboard, not to mention the fact that computer access was at a premium. So I said forget it and decided to focus on just enjoying being in the country instead.

And enjoy it I have! We didn’t exactly intend to spend a month+ exploring this country, but lo and behold, today is March 31st, we arrived on the first, and we’re still here. (Though we leave on Saturday night, heading to exciting destination #3 of this trip. I’ll keep you curious for now.) Needless to say, after a month, I’ve got lots of stories and photos and tips and the like to share about Turkey, but for now, I’ll just share some teaser photos. I often crop and edit my photos before posting, but we left our computers at home, so these are exactly as captured on my fabulous Nikon D5000.

Oh, and if you didn’t know this about me already, these photos will quickly make clear what a huge art history nerd I am. I discovered it in high school (when Mrs. Odhner put up this slide during a Medieval History class and my jaw just dropped), majored in it in college, and used it as inspiration to work in the arts for a few years. This trip has been an amazing and joyful rekindling of my (art) history love affair, column-hugging and antiquity-jumping included. I’ve twisted my ankles and skinned my knees and pulled muscles climbing around and exploring all the different sites we’ve visited, and every ouch has been worth it. (For the record–we didn’t typically go to particularly precarious places; I’m just that clumsy, especially when super excited. Like when I’m looking for ancient mosaics.)

The Basilica Cistern, a.k.a. my new obsession

Virgin Mary & Christ Child Mosaic in Hagia Sophia

Handsome husband, about to sip some wine in the town of Sirince, Turkey

...tasting...

...and the realization that this is some of the worst wine we've ever had. And given the language barrier, we're stuck with it. Foiled.

Hanging out with a giant Corinthian column capital in Bergama (Pergamum)

Jumping for joy in the former cistern of Pergamum

The view from the terrace at our hostel (Agora Guesthouse) in Istanbul

Enjoying a swingset break during a walk up a hill on the Black Sea to find a Genoese Castle

- It’s a pretty green city. By which I mean, they’ve got a lot of those basic ecological principles figured out. The heating systems are super efficient and comforting (hot water runs under the floor). Recycling and composting are routine and free, but you have to pay for each bag of trash. We take out the recycling and (sometimes stinky) compost bucket much, much more often than we empty the trash, and it always makes me feel good. Plus, all public trash cans have a green recycling bag attached. See:

Lastly, clothes dryers just don’t really exist here. We hang all our clothes out to dry, which not only saves energy, but preserves the life of the clothing, too. That means less clothing that needs to be replaced, and a lower ecological footprint overall. What a great cycle. (Though I admit, it took a few tries to figure out how to handle adequate circulation in the cold winter months.)

- Korean babies.  Seriously. Have you seen them? Fat little faces, running around saying “Anyong!” and, sometimes, even at age 2, “Hello!” Here’s a little peanut I snapped at the Aquarium earlier this year:

- KIMCHI! Or, more specifically, kimchi jjigae (kimchi soup). The little restaurant below school makes delicious kimchi jjigae, and I’ve ordered it so often, they no longer hand me a menu when I walk in. They just look at me quizzically, I nod, and a few minutes later, out comes my hot, steaming bowl of deliciousness. I’m trying to recreate the dish at home, and think I’m getting closer. The trick is to start with aged kimchi, not the fresh stuff. Here’s a picture from my attempt a few weeks ago:

In addition to the kimchi, it’s got oodles of mushrooms, tofu, ddok (rice dumplings), onions, garlic, and pork, which can obviously be omitted for a vegetarian version. Once I perfect the recipe, I hope to guest post on my dear friend Melinda’s super inspiring recipe blog. It’s chock full of mouth-watering, healthy dishes, punctuated by the occasional can’t-resist-and-oh-so-worth-it indulgence.

- Shabu shabu.  This meal stole my heart when I first arrived, and has held my attention ever since. I wrote a post about it (and some other classic Korean meat meals) way back in June, available here.

- My students. Of course there are times when they drive me nuts or insult me right to my face, but for the most part, I love them to bits. How many people can say they leave work in a better mood than when they arrived? The smart, darling teenagers I work with every day are the reason that happens. And in what other job can a student, on their first day in class, ask you to please stay after because they have a question about your lecture on two factions of empiricism. His query? Under the second principle, which states that empiricists try to use their senses to prove something false when they really want to uncover the truth, could I help solve this dilemma: “If I spend time with someone, and then when they go away, I realize I’m sort of empty on the inside, does…does that mean I like her?” Love it! (And my answer: since you’re trying to prove a situation false, you have to ask if that means you don’t like her. All we can deduce is that you do not not like her. So you probably do like her. But it’s not a strict binary situation.)

- Konglish. I know I haven’t posted a konglish in a while, but I recently found some on my toothpaste, picture pending. I use the 2080 brand (though as soon as it runs out, I’m ordering some Tom’s of Maine through iHerb. Can’t wait.), which has the following (translated) slogan: Keeping the 20 healthy teeth for 80 years. That’s all well and good, but I have more than 20 healthy teeth. What happens to them? I mean really, that’s quite the sales pitch.

- Cost of living. It may not be glamorous, but it’s a big reason I’m here. That amazing kimchi jjigae mentioned above? W4,000, or about $3.25. Our monthly utilities? About W125,000, total — cable, electricity, internet, gas, water, etc. That’s roughly $100, split between two people. Amazing.

- Drunk compliments. I don’t know why, and I don’t agree, but Korean men who are so drunk they can barely stand like to tell me I look like Sophie Marceau.  Ok, ok, it only happened twice, but still! Again, I disagree, but I still like it. Here’s Sophie Marceau in Seoul:(image: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/2QkLN0x87LX/Sophie+Marceau+Promotes+Shaumet+Seoul/-iedhC91lvl/Sophie+Marceau)

And here’s me in Seoul (at hogwan, just after my haircut on Monday):

(And yes — I searched for the most Sophie Marceau-esque photo I could find. This is what I came up with.)

- Last, but not least, my fellow expats–and a few awesome natives. I have met some amazing people since moving here, and they make the many, many miles away from my friends and family much easier to cope with. Here are some of the lovelies I’ve gotten to meet:

Laughs with friends on Thanksgiving

(A very dark picture of) Thanksgiving Drinks with Friends/Coworkers

Goodbye dinner with Julian and Kathy -- last time together in Seoul

One of my first outings in Seoul -- Mr. Kim's in Apgu

A favorite indulgent meal (Mercado) with some great people

So there you have it. A nice assortment of some of my favorite parts of living here. Next week, part iii.