Hen Parties and Lessons Learned

I arrived in Istanbul one week ago today. It's unbelieveable how fast this week went by but at the same time it feels like I've been here much longer than one week. My life is progressively getting busier everyday, and I think it's going to be like that from here on out. Jill and I started our official training on Tuesday. There is so much to learn it makes my head spin, but this job is going to be just as exciting as the living abroad experience that comes with it. After our first training session a drink was in order so the 3 girls and I headed out to a local bar (we saw a balcony with flashing lights and Turkish music and made our way up 4 winding, narrow flights of stairs). There are winding stairs leading into every establishment, it's no wonder drinking plays such a small role in Turkish culture.

Finally in the open air roof bar, we found ourselves at a Turkish bachelorette party - they call them Hen parties in Europe. When we sat down a couple of Turkish girls, English speakers, came over to make friends with us. Soon after they began a Turkish tradition where the bride sat in a chair while her friends walked around her in a tight circle holding candles and dancing (pic on left). It looked like so much fun we almost got up to join in! The Turkish girls saw we were interested and let us in on the next tradition, putting a spot of henna on our hands (pic on right). Two days later I still have a brown blob on my hand that smells like grass and am not sure what it represents. I don't feel too bad about it, the Turkish girls didn't know either. After a drink and a round of flaming shots we left the Turkish bachelorette girls to their own devices, made a short stop at a sidewalk hooka bar, and called it a night.

Wednesday was a long workday - mainly spent learning material. We did however have a Turkish teacher come over to our apartment in the afternoon to teach us a few survival Turkish words. For the record - in my first shopping trip I did a great job guessing on what I was buying. But Ayran is such a deceiving bottle! The people in the picture look so happy and it was kept in the cold food area - Ayran is buttermilk and it does not taste good with Honey Nut Cheerios. My Turkish teacher informed me that milk is called sut, and is kept warm in boxes (refridgerate after opening?). Now that we know a few things Jill and I make it a point to say hello (merhaba) and thank you (tesekkuler) every chance we get. The Turkish people love our attempts.

Today one of the highlights for Jill and I was wearing shorts when we went out to the store. We didn't get too many looks - many people dress just as Westernized here as they do in America. I should have more cultural stories and pictures to come this weekend. Jill and I are staying in Istanbul to finally go see the sites, maybe visit a hammam? Stay posted!! Life's an adventure! XO