Sept. 1, 2009

Welcome to the beginning of September dear Readers. Here in Istanbul we welcomed the new month with our favorite activity—sleep.

This morning we were given a more relaxed schedule as we had free time until noon. Most of us slept a few extra hours before finishing the neighborhood assignment that Alex described earlier.In that assignment, we mapped the outlines of the town we visited along with any focal points of that place. So after we all spent a few hours drawing and coloring all while consulting our maps, we took off for the restaurant Doy Doy right around the corner from our hotel. While eating lunch, we discussed what we wanted to do with the last few days we have in Istanbul. One of the most important things we decided was visiting the Bazaars. So after lunch we split up and some of us went to the Spice Bazaar and the others went to the Grand Bazaar.

Amanda, Rebecca, Nolan, Nilmini, Brandon and I went to the Grand Bazaar in search of gifts and just for the fun of it. We enjoyed going around the shops and haggling with the vendors. Nilmini had the chance to really play with prices and she did really well. After she was done bargaining, the shopkeeper gave us all little charms to protect us from evil as gifts.

We soon realized that we had spent quite a bit of time at the Bazaar and needed to get across the Bosphorus for an appointment. At that point, we also realized we lost Brandon (don’t worry we eventually found him). So there we were in the Grand Bazaar running up and down the aisle calling out for him. The shopkeepers found our antics very amusing and tried to “help” by telling us that he was in their store or pointing opposite directions. We finally found him browsing in a shop close to the exit and made our way out to the tram.

Across the Bosphorus, we made our way to a community center in an impoverished neighborhood. The people that ran the center described their mission to us. They teach the people, who are mostly immigrants from rural areas, how to live in an urban society. The children from the area come there after school and get help with their homework and learn musical instruments. The center also offers classes for parents in English and handicrafts as well as a pre-school for toddlers. Their mission was originally supported by the European Union but the provider has changed to a non-profit company in the US.

For dinner we went to a nearby 100% vegetarian restaurant. I was delighted by being able to eat anything on the menu. After dinner, we were free to explore where we wanted. Some of the guys took off for the Spice Bazaar. Amanda, Nilmini, Andy, and I headed to the Grand Bazaar again to purchase that sword that took my attention. We learned that they don’t keep the same hours as we do and had already closed their gates. So we decided to enjoy the night air and take a walk back to the hotel in a direction that led us right past Starbucks. Since the menu changed in every city we decided to try out their selection of drinks. So if you’re ever in Istanbul, just so you know, their pastries are to die for and they have some very good fruit drinks. It was the perfect end to a great day.