Introverts Shall Inherit the Earth

Well, perhaps not introverts, but at least introverts who are able to learn extrovert behaviors. I am too lazy to go back and check, but I vaguely remember mentioning the DCM's secretary from San Angelo whom I met at a St. Patrick's Day party a couple of weeks ago. I had a very interesting conversation with her about being an introvert in the Foreign Service, and how it's still fun, but you do have to learn certain extroverted behaviors in order to get by. I had already noticed as much, but after this weekend, I think I am beginning to really get the hang of those learned behaviors myself - evidenced by nothing so much as the growing success of my intern networking project.

For those of you who haven't heard, I have been on a quest to meet all of the interns in Ankara, hence invitng the lovely Italian girl out for drinks last weekend and introducing myself to the Belgian boy while I was at the EU. It's only taken a couple weeks, but I can now confirm good relations with Italy, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and the Netherlands.  That's in addition to friendly contacts at the Canadian Embassy, the British Embassy, the Greek Embassy, the Swedish Embassy, a couple Turkish employees at the Philippine Embassy, and a bunch of international students from places like Slovenia, Ireland, and France. I even ended up at a Kenyan Embassy after-party following the Marine's St. Patrick's Day event last Friday, so it turns out that maybe introverts can network too.

Other than the parties, it was a pretty slow weekend. Isobel and I went out for a girls' day of beauty parlors and shopping on Saturday. Sunday was a day of nothing but sleep. I got a new pair of heels! Because my old ones were uneven and smelly. I did not, however, find sneakers. Which is a problem, because the sneakers I have are falling apart. There is literally a hole the size of two nickles in the pinky-toe area of both shoes. Alas, the perils of walking five uneven miles a day to and from work and going to the gym besides.

Anyway, that was my week! Besides a whole lot of long nights at work over the municipal elections (which took place today) and Twitter and the YouTube thing. It's wonderful that my bosses have started to give me so much more responsibility. I finally feel like I'm really contributing substance as well as labor. It will be sad to leave the job when my three months is up, but there's always another learning experience just around the corner!

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

So I'm going to keep this short and sweet, because I have another party at the Canadian Embassy to get to tonight, but a few things those of you following my life should know:

1. I finished my thesis! Or at least a full draft of it with substantial edits from my committee. We'll see what they have to say about draft two.

2. Turkey banned Twitter last week, and then YouTube today. It's a big deal. And yet you will hear nothing about it on U.S. media. -_-

That's really it. But number one was the exciting bit. Now excuse me while I hurry home for a bite to eat before schmoozing and chatting and networking tonight. Wish me luck!

Short Summary of a Long Week

Oh my goodness it's been a long week. A long one, but a good one. Isobel is as wonderful as she seemed, and I am slowly but surely expanding my social circle.

I didn't do anything that's probably of note to any of you this week, to be honest, but I haven't really had a free evening yet. Isobel and I went to the gym after work on Monday, she cooked Ratatouille for Mark and I on Tuesday, Wednesday consisted of drinks on the rooftop terrace with Mark and Eva, Thursday was my first meeting of the Ankara diplomats club, and then tonight I went out and got to know the Italian intern. And the Spanish intern on accident.

That's my new project, actually - getting in touch with the other embassies' interns. I'm organizing a sort of outreach event for a bunch of high schoolers studying abroad in Turkey. It's a long story. But the short part is that Jim thought it would be nice if they could meet the other interns. Obviously I've made contact with Italy, whom I adore, and Spain. France is proving hard to get a hold of. I emailed Belgium yesterday and met him today, but he's a little jumpy and stand offish. Mark, who is half Danish, is in charge of the three or four interns at the Danish Embassy.  And then there's just been a ton going on at work. If you follow the news at all, you'll probably understand why. And if you don't... watch something not American.

Point is that I'm getting a lot more responsibility, and I think thus far that I've proven myself every step of the way. Other than that, it is only a little late, but I am hella tired. Thus, good night to you all, and don't expect any interesting stories from my weekend. I am thesising. For all of it. Really.

Founding Fathers, Feminism & Friends

I know, I know, I've been terrible about updating. But it's me, so what did you expect? Anyway, things have happened, as they do, so bear with me while I dump mountains of reports on you about this, that, and the other.

So to start, two weeks ago I went to a First and Second Tour (FAST) Officer happy hour, by which I mean the girl who threw the Valentine's party had all of the foreign service officers who hadn't spent ages overseas yet over to hang out and chat. It was a lot of fun to meet some of the younger officers and hear their take on the service so far. Most of them seem to be in the consular section - i.e. the section that approves or denies visas, among other things - probably because all officers have to do at least one consular tour to fill the service's needs. I am also happy to report that the friendships I've started to make seem to be getting stronger. At least I'm getting invited to more events, but I'll elaborate on that later.

The happy hour was Friday night, but I had an entire weekend left, so I decided to get up on Saturday and check off another site on my 'things to see in Ankara' list. To be honest, I probably should have been working on my thesis, which I got back for edits the week before - and there are a lot of edits. Like a lot. Like I worked on them for four or five hours this morning and barely made a dent. Ugh.

But anyway, last weekend. I woke up Saturday morning and made my way out to AnitKabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk the Great. I don't know if they officially called him the Great, but with as grand and imposing as his tomb/memorial was, they might as well have. I'm telling you, the place was gigantic. It started with a large flight of stone steps, flanked on either side by a guard, a tower, and statues representing the men and women of Turkey. The steps led to a long stone path lined with twenty-four identical lions, culminating in the main mausoleum complex: a fantastic stone courtyard ringed in towers and halls full of Ataturk exhibits and memorabilia. At the far end rose the tomb itself, complete with museum underneath. As far as things in Ankara go, this was the first one I would say people should not miss.

The Men of Turkey

The Women of Turkey

The Lion Road

Guards in Front of the Tomb

Inside the Tomb 

After wandering the complex for long enough to see a bit of everything, I stopped for a simit - the TL1 Turkish answer to the bagel - and started the long walk... well, not home, but in that general direction. It was on or about International Women's Day, and the Turkish American Association was putting on a show. For those of you who know how much I love live theater, you should also know I couldn't miss it. So I made my way leisurely to the center, stopping at work on the way to work on my thesis for a few hours (I'm not a complete bum!), and eventually ending up up at my destination a half hour before show time.

It was a lovely production: a compilation of monologues performed in English by women of all ages. I was surprised by how many people in the audience I recognized from the embassy, but on second thought I probably shouldn't have been. My boss' boss was there, so I said hi to him and his wife at the wine and cheese reception afterward, and then headed home for a nice long sleep. All that walking tires me out, in a good way.

Sunday was supposed to be a day of thesising. I had printed a copy to work on from home. But that didn't happen. And then the following week, well... things got busy, and not just with work.

Monday was just me being tired, but Tuesday we were sent home early from work because management was worried about growing protests in the square up the road. It wasn't a danger issue so much as not wanting everyone flooding out of the embassy at 5:30 and into a crowded street of angry people. I'm not going to comment on the protests themselves, but if you want to know more you can easily Google it. That early release should have been a prime time for thesising, but instead I fell asleep. Alas.

Wednesday I was invited for pub trivia at the British Embassy... and it was the British Embassy. And trivia. Be honest. No one expected me to turn that down. We won too! The pub is about as authentic as it gets, lots of wood paneling and an old pool table. Teams were arranged by nationality - Canadians, Brits, Americans, and Australians. There were questions on everything from which country in the world has the most sheep (China) to which two states in the US don't claim Irish as one of their top five heritages (Hawaii and New Mexico). I contributed to my team by being able to name all of the members of the Fellowship of the Ring, and I definitely plan to go back next month.

Thursday we moved the party to Canada, where they were having Canada Club - a monthly get together for diplomats from all over. I met a few people, including the Indian Defense Attache, and made it home for a decent night's sleep.

Friday brought something I had been looking forward to all week. At the previous week's happy hour, one of the consular officers had brought up an old movie he owned entitled "State Department - File 649." He talked it up so much that of course we had to watch it, so everyone ended up at his house for a group viewing and commentary. It's a film from the 1940's, and the most ridiculous piece of C-list propaganda I think any of us had ever seen. Of course we loved it. One of those so-bad-it's-hilarious situations. If anyone is looking for a good birthday gift, this would be it.

Which brings us to Saturday, which was the fullest day of all.

I realize that St. Patrick's Day isn't until tomorrow, but that did not stop Ankara from celebrating early seeing as it was the weekend. The British Embassy was throwing an all day event, starting with brunch, followed by rugby, and ending up with a raucous party that night. I went to the first with a couple of friends, but skipped out before the rugby started, which was mildly disappointing. I had other places to be though. Patrick, whom I work with, was throwing a large get together at his apartment to commemorate the Saint's Day of his namesake. I finally got to meet all of my co-workers children, the Ambassador's secretary who hails from San Angelo, as well as diplomats from the Swedish and Chilean embassies. I really do like foreign service employees. I still have yet to find one I don't enjoy talking too, and it's so refreshing to have the reasonable expectation that anyone I strike up a conversation with is going to be smart.

You would think the party would end and my day would be over, but you would be wrong. I don't remember if I mentioned on here that I was getting a roommate, but I've got her now! She arrived late Saturday night, so I made tea and Mark came up to meet her. We chatted for a while, but everyone was pretty wiped, so most of the getting to know each other happened today.

Her name is Isobel, a linguistics student from Reed College. Can you already tell we're going to get along? Anyway, she's lovely, and working in the public affairs section for the next ninety days or so. We actually have a lot in common besides the linguistics. She needed to day to recover from jet lag, so I worked on my thesis, finally, but this evening I showed her around the neighborhood and we went for dinner at a local cafe. It's wonderful to have someone who wants to get out more, and to speak more Turkish. We're even planning to head to the gym tomorrow after work. And she cooks and she's clean and she used to live in a coop and she's totally cool with my vegetarianism. All in all, I think it's the start of a lovely arrangement.

In other news, I injured my neck doing yoga last week, but after several days of hell it's finally starting to get better. In other other news, I've adopted a pet onion. I call it a pet onion because alien species or not, it certainly looks alive.

I realize at this point I probably should not eat it, but neither can I bring myself to throw it away. Instead, I have given it its own cupboard and check on it periodically to see what new shape it will take today. If anyone can tell me what is happening to it, please be my guest. Otherwise, I am going to operate under the assumption that it can understand me when I talk.

Safranbolu

It was a traveling weekend!

As I've mentioned, I'm putting together a few weekend trips to get out and see more of Turkey than just Ankara. I won't make it everywhere of course, Turkey is huge and full of history, but I can at at least get in some of the sights in Central Anatolia. So that's what I did.

This weekend was an outing to the village of Safranbolu: a name that literally translates to "an abundance of saffron," which is exactly what it has. Thanks to this abundance, the town grew as major stop on the trade routes between Europe and Asia, and the prosperous villagers were able to build sturdy, high quality houses that have lasted through today. Visitors now flock from all parts of Turkey and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world, to see this fine example of preserved Ottoman architecture.

The village is so popular, I actually had some trouble finding a hotel. The first place I called was booked solid. The second place only had two beds left. I snatched those up though, and early Saturday morning Mark and I boarded a bus north to the sleepy little village not far from the Black Sea. The pension I'd booked was too busy to pick us up at the bus station, so we had some fun wandering around the seriously winding streets and alleys, getting lost and found again at least half a dozen times before we ended up at the pension. I don't think either of us minded. Wandering through Safranbolu is like wandering through the set of a period piece, or like time stopped a hundred years ago. Everywhere is cobblestone streets, and because the village is in a valley, some of those cobblestones are nearly a vertical ascent. It was a good workout, and a lot of fun, but we did eventually reach the pension, and were excited to see what we found when we checked in.

I'd read that the pension was in one of the historic Ottoman houses, but staying there was better than I could have imagined. Everything was old, creaky wood, and classic Ottoman aesthetics, but it's been updated with the amenities of today: heaters, wifi, and even modern plumbing installed in a back closet. (See below.)

Once checked in, we struck out pretty quickly to explore some of the sights we'd glanced at before. First, we stopped by an old house they'd turned in to a museum, though I think our pension was a better exhibit overall. Then, we explored Cinci Hani: an old cavern palace turned hotel, also not as cozy as our pension. It was a good place to see though, and the view from the roof was lovely.

From there, we visited the city museum on top of one of the surrounding hills, as well as the clock tower situated just behind it. As far as museums go, it wasn't the most impressive, but apparently they give historical lectures at the top of the clock tower if you're willing to climb the stairs. That's what it looked like at least when we climbed said stairs only to find ourselves in the middle of a Turkish lecture of which I understood not a word. In case it wasn't obvious, we didn't stick around for that, and instead took a break for some tea and sahlep in an old prison turned cafe sitting in the tower's shadow.

The evening was spent relaxing in the pension, watching some news, and napping. When it got late enough for dinner, we ventured out again to a restaurant I'd heard about in Lonely Planet: Tasev Art & Wine House. It was the fanciest place I'd seen in Turkey so far, an old stone building with, as per the name, art on the walls and a wait staff that spoke like sommeliers. It was also the first place I've been where I could order in English. The waiter was wonderful, giving us the read out of the wine list and chatting about where we were from. We picked the Turkish house wine, which only seemed right, and were pleasantly surprised that it was miles beyond the Turkish wine we'd been buying in the supermarkets in Ankara.

After dinner, we had an early night. I literally slept ten or eleven hours, which was some much needed rest after a long and exciting week. Morning brought a delicious Turkish breakfast, courtesy of the hotel. Turkish breakfast isn't much different from Egyptian breakfast, for those of you who remember how much I loved that. No beans, but it still includes the fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, bread, honey, jams, and a boiled egg. This breakfast even came with chocolate tahini and the requisite Turkish bowl of olives.

Post breakfast, I took a trip to the historic Turkish bath. Mark wasn't as keen to get scrubbed down by strangers in a language he didn't speak, so he stayed behind to read, but I enjoyed my experience as much as I had in Jordan. I'd forgotten what it was like to have baby smooth skin again, but it definitely gave me the impetus to look up the Turkish bath in Ankara. You're not to go too often, lest they start sloughing off the skin before it's actually dead, but if it's not too expensive I may have to stop in once a week or two.

Post bath I picked up Mark from the pension and we headed back to the bus station. Neither of us wanted to get in tonight too late. I feel at this juncture I should point out though that Turkish buses are not like buses in the states. Yes, they are technically the same vehicles: those giant coaches with storage underneath and front and back doors. The experience of taking one, however, is much more like a leisurely plane ride than anything else. There's none of the same security, of course, but there are attendants who bring you water and tea and coffee and soda and snacks, and both the buses we were on had television sets mounted in the backs of the headrests with menus for movies and internet and games. It was pleasant, overall, and definitely not something I would mind doing again.

It is nice to be "home" though. My apartment doesn't feel like home just yet. I think it's still too empty. It is sort of getting there though, and I made it back with gifts! Safranbolu is also known for it's saffron laced Turkish delight, so naturally I bought a box for the office. I also picked up some saffron itself, which was still nearly $5 a gram despite the massive discount, and some dried hibiscus and zahtar. Those last two some of you will recognize from my last stint in the Middle East. Hibiscus tea is hibiscus tea any way you brew it. Zahtar, however, is just the Turkish version of zaatar, so... there's something new for you.

And now, I really need to get some work done. I have an application due Wednesday that needs a lot of attention. So... iyi akshamlar!