Written August 13, 2005
Hello from Madrid! Yup, Madrid.
I left you all in Istanbul, getting ready for my third week in school. That week wasn't as bad as Budapest, but challenging nonetheless. The fact that Ismail, the director of studies, was deliciously hot made us all enjoy going to class that much more....While Turkey is certainly full of treasures, the hot men are definitely a large component. I kid you not: the men are delicious and we were constantly amused with what we called the infestation. (I cant find the quotation marks on this keyboard) During the week we crossed the sea to the european side to checkout the tourist sights and hit the grand bazaar. The grand bazaar was cool, but I don't really care for people in my face trying to push product on to me. No thanks.
Hello from Madrid! Yup, Madrid.
I left you all in Istanbul, getting ready for my third week in school. That week wasn't as bad as Budapest, but challenging nonetheless. The fact that Ismail, the director of studies, was deliciously hot made us all enjoy going to class that much more....While Turkey is certainly full of treasures, the hot men are definitely a large component. I kid you not: the men are delicious and we were constantly amused with what we called the infestation. (I cant find the quotation marks on this keyboard) During the week we crossed the sea to the european side to checkout the tourist sights and hit the grand bazaar. The grand bazaar was cool, but I don't really care for people in my face trying to push product on to me. No thanks.
On Friday night we went out in our little neighborhood and met up with some of the cool teachers from our school. The next day I was graced with one winner of a hangover, and almost lost it on our hot, stuffed taxi ride over to the tourist district (we moved hostels as we wanted to be more centrally located for the weekend). Once we arrived we went out for a much needed greasy meal and met a cool waiter at a nearby restaurant, who my friend actually ended up getting to know quite well!!!!
The day was spent making travel arrangements because at that moment I had made the decision to leave the tour. While I met some awesome friends and was mostly enjoying myself, I wasnt completely explicit with you guys about all that was going on. Put frankly, our tour guide was psycho and oddly emotionally unstable. I don't choose to ride around in a car driven by a crazy man. After the accident, his strange blowups, his drinking until 4am before a 20 hour ride and overall lack of professionalism in countless ways; I realized my safety would be better preserved if I traveled on my own. The bus, by the way, was so old that if the battery died we would need to get a new bus because they didnt make replacements for it. Also, the bus leaked in the rain, and was so full of mildew and nastiness that people would get sore throats after long car trips and I actually got a rash on my arm from laying in the bus all day. Foul! Not to mention the lack of air conditioning when it was 100 degrees outside.
So there you have it. The bus tour was quite misrepresented on the web site and I fell for it.....Myself and another girl decided to do our own thing and meet them in Crete for the last week of the course. Good plan, but unfortunately, it gets a little nasty from here. Psycho tour guide screwed me over again with a refund so I was left flat broke. Because I had planned on coming to Spain to look for a job, he said I could finish up my course at their center in Granada. While it is a bummer to not finish the course with my friends, it is too expensive to fly to Crete and back in peak season. So....the plan at that point was to spend a week touring Turkey with Kim, head up to Berlin to get my laptop cord (long story, please do not ask), and then to Spain for a two-week intensive Spanish course before my last TEFL week. Crazy? Yup! Disappointing? Definitely. Oh well. Overall, I am thrilled with my Plan B, so hopefully all goes well from here.
Okay, back to more fun travel stories....
Kim and I booked a Turkish version of an all-inclusive tour through the west coast of Turkey. Our first stop was Gallipoli, the famous site of the battle between the Turks and the Australian and New Zealand armies during World War 1. This place is similar to the D-day beaches for Americans. We had a fabulous lunch and boarded the air-conditioned bus for our 4-hour tour. We saw the beaches, commemorative cemetaries, museums and bunkers. It was really interesting and the views were phenomenal.
That night we caught our1am bus to Kusadasi, a beach town where we slept off the all-night bus ride and chilled on a dock soaking up the sun and swimming in the turquiose Aegean sea.
The next morning we got our coach to Pamukkale, the site of famous thermal baths and an ancient city. I got to go in the amphitheater, which was far more impressive than the one at the Acropolis in Athens, especially since they allow you to climb around inside it. It was incredible to sit in there and imagine how many people had sat in that very same seat before me. After Pamukkale, we got another coach to the famous Oludeniz beach where we chilled out for two days getting some sunburns.
The next morning we got our coach to Pamukkale, the site of famous thermal baths and an ancient city. I got to go in the amphitheater, which was far more impressive than the one at the Acropolis in Athens, especially since they allow you to climb around inside it. It was incredible to sit in there and imagine how many people had sat in that very same seat before me. After Pamukkale, we got another coach to the famous Oludeniz beach where we chilled out for two days getting some sunburns.
On our last day, we went to the Turkish baths. Although I liked it, I do not recommend doing this after a day in the sun. You begin in the sauna. After that they bring you in to a big, circular, marble room. You lie on a bench in the middle of the room and they begin with an all-over exfoliation scrub. Next, they pour hot water all over you and follow it with a mixture of super foamy, sudsy hot soap. They give you a brief massage and then pour more hot rinsing water over you before you head in to the jacuzzi. Later that night we flew into Istanbul for another couple days in the city.
The next day Kim's friends came into town. We went with them as special, backstage guests at a huge concert! One of her firends is directing their music video, so we got to 'hang with the band'. The concert was super hard heavy metal. Not kidding. I wasn't a huge fan before, and I am not really now, but it was fun to meet them and watch them perform from backstage. The free food and beer was fun as well.
My last few days in Istanbul were spent relaxing, seeing the Blue Mosque and checking out the Archeology museum. I saw a real Egyptian mummy! So cool! I was more than ready to leave when my flight toBerlin rolled around.
Berlin? Amazing! It is weird to me that I didn't find Berlin that impressive initially. I found my hostel and had a great time chatting it up with my roommates. The first day I went to the Sachenhausen Concentration Camp just outside the city limits with a girl from my hostel. It was very interesting to see another camp after Auschwitz. The tour guide was great and it was a very moving, educational experience.
The second day I did a walking tour that discussed Berlin's history related to the Cold War. I found it nothing short of fascinating and can't wait to learn more about it. Berlin is such a mecca of controversial history, and it is amazing to think that you are sharing the streets with people who experienced some of the city's most pivotal moments. The last day Holly and I went to the Jewish Museum, which I feel is an absolute must for anyone going to Berlin. The architecture itself is fantastic and perfect for the mood, the memories, and the purpose surrounding the place. Last night we went on the city tour pub crawl. Heeeheehe. What a night. Whoa. It was a lot of fun; we did 3 bars and 1 club and met tons of people from all over the world. We had a great time, but stumbled home early---around 3:30,early for Berliners, that is.
So right now I am in a small pension in Madrid enjoying a quiet evening to just chill the hell out, because I will be in classes for the next three weeks. After that? Hmmm. First and foremost, I need to put some money back in that account, and won't be able to do that quickly as a first-time teacher. Also, I am not ready to commit to one year abroad right now.....for a variety of reasons :-) What does that all mean? I think the arrows are pointing to Seattle, WA for a little while to dig myself out of travel debt and figure out the next step, meanwhile spend some time with all you important people.
See you sometime in September!
Love,
Hillary
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