What am I doing? Why am I here?

Today marks my fourth day in Turkey.  I arrived in Ankara on Saturday, August 22nd, 26 hours after leaving my home in California to begin my ten-month stay teaching English at a university (which remains unnamed at the moment due to unclear university rules regarding blogs).  The program that recruited me and about 14 other Americans provides apartments, pays us a monthly salary, and allows us to take several graduate courses each semester free of charge.  At the moment we're all passing our time with information sessions on surviving in Turkey, as well as what we'll soon be expected to do as teachers.  Meanwhile, I'm still overcoming extreme jet lag from my 26-hour journey.

To date, I've discovered: 

1. This campus is ENORMOUS and completely separate from Ankara proper...I think the walk to work is at least a mile;

2. Ramadan in Turkey is not so very strictly observed (I've seen plenty of people eating lunch in the cafeteria);

3. Turkish sounds unlike any other language I've ever heard, and the occasional Arabic cognate is just enough to make me believe I should be able to understand; and

4. Although we're not exactly supposed to drink the water, even if boiled, it tastes just fine in my tea!

Yesterday I went to a weekly covered market in the city with some other Americans from my program, where tomatoes, figs, melons and cucumbers are all abundant and dirt cheep.  I may have made a fool of myself with all my finger pointing and hand waving, but it was worth the effort and I think I'll be a regular before long.  I'm spending tonight eating said figs and browsing MA classes.  I have no idea how I can possibly pick just two!  Sculpture, music, Arabic, Persian, Peace Operations, Causes and Prevention of War, The Politics of Turkey's Relations with the EU...the list goes on and on.  I can even take PE courses, including pilates and capoiera!  I know I want to have plenty of time to explore Turkey and just indulge in the culture, but these classes all sound amazing.  

I could blabber on for quite a while, but I should really prepare a bit for all that tomorrow brings, which includes learning Turkish numbers and foods.  More will surely follow soon!