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.
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.
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