Scavenge!
Today was an interesting day. We spent approximately 6-7 hours scavenging around Turkey. We were asked to find items from strawberries and apples to fountains and Asian ice cream. The scavenger hunt was a great idea to get us acclimated to our surroundings in a fun and safe manner. As we were lost in a park looking for the entrance to an enormous palace, we noticed the numerous couples engaging in overt affection. I was surprised at the shameless displays of affection in such a public area. But perhaps we were entering the land of lust and love without knowing it. :) The amount of su (water) we ended up consuming equated to 4 bottles a person. We drank water like it was our job! The sun's rays were pounding upon our skin as we trekked through Europe and Asia (Istanbul happens to span across both continents) in our quest for numerous items. After the scavenger hunt we had dinner at Professor Shield's house. The dinner was delicious with salad, pasta, cake, fruit, and juice. I am very impressed with the Shields' cooking :)
On Tuesday night, while we were up on the terrace, we agreed to meet with our new Turkish friends at 7. This conversation took the form of a 45 minute discussion where every member of the discussion had a different idea of when the celebrations were going to take place. It was finally decided to meet at 7 on Wednesday. However, we, being stupid Americans, forgot that we already had dinner plans at Professor Shields'. We did our best to write a note to tell Marat, our friend, that we were going to be late due to former dinner plans. However, while we were walking down Istaklul towards Professor's house we ran into Ugur and Ugel (the other two Turkish friends we met on the terrace). It was fate that brought us to them to inform them of our tardiness tonight. Everything went well during dinner and off we went back home and up onto the terrace. Time for raki (Turkish liquor)!
My first experience with raki was not as I had imagined. I had heard of raki quite a while before I left the States. The logical thing was to build up this liquor in my mind and place it upon a pedestal above all other types of alcohol. However, raki (which must be mixed 50/50 with water) turned out to smell and taste like black licorice! I could not believe that this was the liquor of choice in Turkey! How could a people enjoy the taste of black licorice so much that they would create a liquor that smelled and tasted like it! I was very disappointed with the drink, but perhaps the in the next 6 weeks I shall acquire a taste for this fine delicacy :) Drum roll, please. Here is what you have all been waiting for: a picture of raki!
On Tuesday night, while we were up on the terrace, we agreed to meet with our new Turkish friends at 7. This conversation took the form of a 45 minute discussion where every member of the discussion had a different idea of when the celebrations were going to take place. It was finally decided to meet at 7 on Wednesday. However, we, being stupid Americans, forgot that we already had dinner plans at Professor Shields'. We did our best to write a note to tell Marat, our friend, that we were going to be late due to former dinner plans. However, while we were walking down Istaklul towards Professor's house we ran into Ugur and Ugel (the other two Turkish friends we met on the terrace). It was fate that brought us to them to inform them of our tardiness tonight. Everything went well during dinner and off we went back home and up onto the terrace. Time for raki (Turkish liquor)!
My first experience with raki was not as I had imagined. I had heard of raki quite a while before I left the States. The logical thing was to build up this liquor in my mind and place it upon a pedestal above all other types of alcohol. However, raki (which must be mixed 50/50 with water) turned out to smell and taste like black licorice! I could not believe that this was the liquor of choice in Turkey! How could a people enjoy the taste of black licorice so much that they would create a liquor that smelled and tasted like it! I was very disappointed with the drink, but perhaps the in the next 6 weeks I shall acquire a taste for this fine delicacy :) Drum roll, please. Here is what you have all been waiting for: a picture of raki!
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