{"id":3866,"date":"2012-06-27T15:00:14","date_gmt":"2012-06-27T20:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.studyabroad101.com\/?p=3866"},"modified":"2022-09-06T10:26:32","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T14:26:32","slug":"istanbul-turkey-initial-impressions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studyabroad101.com\/blog\/2012\/06\/istanbul-turkey-initial-impressions\/","title":{"rendered":"Istanbul, Turkey: Initial Impressions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Istanbul,<\/a>
Rachel in Turkey!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Submitted by Rachel Whitcomb, Global Ambassador in Istanbul, Turkey<\/em><\/p>\n

Merhaba (Translation:Hello) from Istanbul! After AIFS\u2019s quick excursion to Athens, the 17 of us in the program made our way to Istanbul to begin orientation\/registration for our 7 weeks of studies at Bo\u011fazi\u00e7i University. While about half of us are here for history, many people are taking classes as diverse as sociology, business, marketing, psychology, literature, philosophy, and of course, Turkish.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Any time you are placed outside of the world and life you experience every day, the first things you notice are the differences. That\u2019s why we study abroad; to experience something different, to see how life could be lived differently. The first two days in Istanbul I was alert and akin to all of the things that made this city different than anything I knew in the United States.<\/p>\n

\"Istanbul,<\/a>
Istanbul sunset from a rooftop restaurant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

This city is beautiful, huge, and full of wonderful things that make it unique. The biggest challenge I\u2019m facing is that we can\u2019t drink the tap water. Bottled water is very cheap and available nearly everywhere, but it\u2019s very hard to allow myself to buy it without any guilt (I come from a school where we\u2019ve banned the sale of bottled water in an attempt to protect the environment). But there are ways to help with the plastic consumption- as long as you\u2019re willing to work. My suite-mates and I bought these 10 Liter jugs to feel a little less guilty for buying bottled water:<\/p>\n

\"Istanbul,<\/a>
Bottled Water in Istanbul<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking of liters, I am reminded frequently of how America is one of the only countries that still isn\u2019t using the metric system. It\u2019s something we don\u2019t think about- we just look at the thermometer or the speed limit or think about weight in pounds, but it\u2019s those things you don\u2019t normally have to think about that throw us the most when we are abroad.<\/p>\n

Through our initial explorations of the city and the first few days of class, I\u2019m noticing how things are less \u201cplanned out.\u201d For example, our adviser here had little to no agenda for orienting us in the city and played our adventure out by whatever felt at that moment. Additionally, bus stops aren\u2019t exactly where they are marked on the street, class start and end times are more estimates than finite, and event start times are rarely when the event actually starts. While these grey areas are sometimes frustrating, the independence and freedom that come with less rigidity is wonderful, and something I hope to bring back into my life in The States. I\u2019m looking forward to embracing this lifestyle in the coming weeks abroad!<\/p>\n

Oh, and of course, the Turkish coffee is to die for.<\/p>\n

\"Istanbul,<\/a>
Turkish Coffee!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Submitted by Rachel Whitcomb, Global Ambassador in Istanbul, Turkey Merhaba (Translation:Hello) from Istanbul! After AIFS\u2019s quick excursion to Athens, the 17 of us in the program made our way to Istanbul to begin orientation\/registration for our 7 weeks of studies at Bo\u011fazi\u00e7i University. While about half of us are here for history, many […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[682],"class_list":["post-3866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","author-pwpadmin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t