So as some of you may or may not know; I spent the past few weeks wandering around Istanbul and Kiev, then I went to the final FLEX PDO here in Georgia. I was away for about two weeks, but the entire vacation was really awesome. I don't really want to write about my day-to-day doings (what I saw, what I did); I'm just going to tell you a brief overview. So, that's my mini agenda for this post: 1) Istanbul; 2) Kiev/Kyiv; 3) PDO
On July 5 two other PCVs and I came into Batumi and we stayed the night in Keda. The night was filled with a mini-supra and lots of Russian talking. I was once again tamada, a role that is more of a burden for me than an honor. But, I guess I get to practice my Georgian more, right? On the 6th we went to Batumi, played Settlers in a cafe for a while and then caught our bus around 530. The bus ride was okay, I actually was lucky and slept most of the way. We got in during the afternoon and Another volunteer and I immediately bought some doner and then we walked on to our hostel. The hostel itself was so awesome. It was called Second Home Hostel. Our accommodations was okay, but the staff really made it all worth it. They were all so nice and awesome. One of the guys even bought me a birthday cupcake and put a match on it. We saw all the big sites, and we climbed along the old Byzantine wall. It was a lot of fun, and we found some cool places that you don't see on a tour.
There was also a substantial amount of Settlers played...
On one day we got to see another PCV who had a 12 hour layover and decided to come in and we spent the day together. It was a nice and relaxing day. It's also incredibly weird to see PCVs outside of their "natural habitat". Later on that day, I went to the Haiga Sofia, and my friend went for a walk (he had seen the Haiga Sofia before and wasn't terribly impressed) and when we met on the outside we were having this serious discussion about religion, divorce, families and such. Then out of nowhere this girl starts talking to us. At first I thought, "Hmmm, prostitute maybe?" I mean I've been living in Georgia way too long. Then she took us to Taksim, or the cool and party part of Consta... I mean Istanbul. I still didn't trust her, and began to think maybe she wanted to kill us. Well she didn't try to kill and and she was really cool and took us lots of cool places. Turns out I think she really just wanted to practice her English, especially considering she was 32 years old. So, not trying to kill us.
My birthday in Istanbul was pretty cool, too. We went to the Topkapi Palace and took a look at all the nice jewels and stuff that make the crown jewels seem petty and peasant like. Then we ate at a Burger King, which I hadn't had in over a year. I devoured 3 Burger King Sandwiches in a matter of a 2 days. The other Volunteers then took me to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It's a bit of a tradition for me to get Mexican food, last year being a big exception, but it was so awesome. Thanks guys. I tried to go to bed early, knowing my shuttle to the airport left at 545, but I didn't get to bed until after 0230. This is one of the two adventures I had while in Istanbul; let me explain them both.
First one occurred on the first day we got there. We stopped at the bank and I decided to use my USAA account to take out money. It worked fine so I was happy. Then when we got to the hostel I wanted to check to make sure the bank processed my credit card payment. Well, I was using a weird Turkish keyboard and kept typing it funny. So finally I got locked out and then it told me I had to call USAA. I tried to get Mom and Dad to do it for me, but they aren't allowed. Luckily my Bank of Georgia card works and I wasn't too poor. Unluckily, I still haven't found a way to call USAA from Georgia. Turns out it's going to be a huge pain in the butt. I also bought a 4 lira card to try and call, but that didn't work either. UGH!! Luckily, BOG still worked and I could take money out there (but for much higher fees). I also had plenty of US dollars on me that I knew I could exchange, which I lost on my last day, and I'll tell you how.
So, I woke up around 500 and got all my stuff ready. I usually put everything I need into my pockets. So I get on the shuttle and drive the 30 minutes to the airport. As we are pulling up I was feeling to make sure I had everything: wallet, check; sunglasses, check; iPod, check; Nook, check; passport, Che... NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! As I get off I'm tearing apart my one Soviet era Infantryman's pack trying to find my passport. Realizing it's not there I tell the driver with hand motions and frantic yelling. So we call the hostel who knock on my buddy's door (and I can hear them mumbling and possibly calling me an idiot), but yes, my passport is there. Luckily I had given myself plenty of time and I got in a taxi and took it all the way to the hostel and back (with my passport, but now also phone-less, it doesn't work in Turkey or Kiev anyway). The whole ordeal ended up costing me about $60. I was so angry at myself, but when the taxi driver realized I was missing something important he booked it, and was really nice to me (thought he may have ripped me on prices).
I did arrive in Kiev, and my friend was there to pick me up (she was scared because I was one of the last ones out of passport control). Turns out it was pouring rain and our car almost got stuck a few times, and I'm laughing thinking this is the coolest thing ever. I'm also very tired... So I meet her roommate and stuff and we continue on to the apartment I was renting. We decided we'd make some dinner and then do some dancemania with the DDR. WELL, I was practically falling asleep so my friend told me to just go to bed and they'd wake me up when food was ready. Two hours later, I'm drowsy but somewhat re-energized and eat some delicious food her and her roommate prepared, and [poorly] danced. The rest of my trip in Kiev was amazing. We took loooonngggggg walks all over, a ferry boat ride, we checked out the old monk caves, some churches, had some nice fancy dinners... but unfortunately all you gossip queens out there aren't gettin' anything else. Leaving was sad, especially knowing that next up was PDO!!
Once again, not much to say there except AWESOME. The FLEX kids are some of the some amazing and motivated students I have ever met. They keep surprising you at every turn, and I still believe that in my one year in Peace Corps, FLEX is by far the most important and influential thing I've done here. The other volunteer and I added one more person to our water drinking contest. I won again, but with a serious cost to my intestines. Really, I'm just so proud of those students, and I wish them all the best in the USA. Oh, I got funniest teacher again. This time I think I earned it more than last time. Last time it was mainly coffee and nervousness, but this time I knew my information and just let it go.
Now I'm back at site and things are moving and progressing nicely. I may have some big news comin' up in a few days. I'll keep you all posted. So with that, check out my pictures on Facebook from my trip, and have a great summer.
On July 5 two other PCVs and I came into Batumi and we stayed the night in Keda. The night was filled with a mini-supra and lots of Russian talking. I was once again tamada, a role that is more of a burden for me than an honor. But, I guess I get to practice my Georgian more, right? On the 6th we went to Batumi, played Settlers in a cafe for a while and then caught our bus around 530. The bus ride was okay, I actually was lucky and slept most of the way. We got in during the afternoon and Another volunteer and I immediately bought some doner and then we walked on to our hostel. The hostel itself was so awesome. It was called Second Home Hostel. Our accommodations was okay, but the staff really made it all worth it. They were all so nice and awesome. One of the guys even bought me a birthday cupcake and put a match on it. We saw all the big sites, and we climbed along the old Byzantine wall. It was a lot of fun, and we found some cool places that you don't see on a tour.
There was also a substantial amount of Settlers played...
On one day we got to see another PCV who had a 12 hour layover and decided to come in and we spent the day together. It was a nice and relaxing day. It's also incredibly weird to see PCVs outside of their "natural habitat". Later on that day, I went to the Haiga Sofia, and my friend went for a walk (he had seen the Haiga Sofia before and wasn't terribly impressed) and when we met on the outside we were having this serious discussion about religion, divorce, families and such. Then out of nowhere this girl starts talking to us. At first I thought, "Hmmm, prostitute maybe?" I mean I've been living in Georgia way too long. Then she took us to Taksim, or the cool and party part of Consta... I mean Istanbul. I still didn't trust her, and began to think maybe she wanted to kill us. Well she didn't try to kill and and she was really cool and took us lots of cool places. Turns out I think she really just wanted to practice her English, especially considering she was 32 years old. So, not trying to kill us.
My birthday in Istanbul was pretty cool, too. We went to the Topkapi Palace and took a look at all the nice jewels and stuff that make the crown jewels seem petty and peasant like. Then we ate at a Burger King, which I hadn't had in over a year. I devoured 3 Burger King Sandwiches in a matter of a 2 days. The other Volunteers then took me to a Mexican restaurant for dinner. It's a bit of a tradition for me to get Mexican food, last year being a big exception, but it was so awesome. Thanks guys. I tried to go to bed early, knowing my shuttle to the airport left at 545, but I didn't get to bed until after 0230. This is one of the two adventures I had while in Istanbul; let me explain them both.
First one occurred on the first day we got there. We stopped at the bank and I decided to use my USAA account to take out money. It worked fine so I was happy. Then when we got to the hostel I wanted to check to make sure the bank processed my credit card payment. Well, I was using a weird Turkish keyboard and kept typing it funny. So finally I got locked out and then it told me I had to call USAA. I tried to get Mom and Dad to do it for me, but they aren't allowed. Luckily my Bank of Georgia card works and I wasn't too poor. Unluckily, I still haven't found a way to call USAA from Georgia. Turns out it's going to be a huge pain in the butt. I also bought a 4 lira card to try and call, but that didn't work either. UGH!! Luckily, BOG still worked and I could take money out there (but for much higher fees). I also had plenty of US dollars on me that I knew I could exchange, which I lost on my last day, and I'll tell you how.
So, I woke up around 500 and got all my stuff ready. I usually put everything I need into my pockets. So I get on the shuttle and drive the 30 minutes to the airport. As we are pulling up I was feeling to make sure I had everything: wallet, check; sunglasses, check; iPod, check; Nook, check; passport, Che... NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! As I get off I'm tearing apart my one Soviet era Infantryman's pack trying to find my passport. Realizing it's not there I tell the driver with hand motions and frantic yelling. So we call the hostel who knock on my buddy's door (and I can hear them mumbling and possibly calling me an idiot), but yes, my passport is there. Luckily I had given myself plenty of time and I got in a taxi and took it all the way to the hostel and back (with my passport, but now also phone-less, it doesn't work in Turkey or Kiev anyway). The whole ordeal ended up costing me about $60. I was so angry at myself, but when the taxi driver realized I was missing something important he booked it, and was really nice to me (thought he may have ripped me on prices).
I did arrive in Kiev, and my friend was there to pick me up (she was scared because I was one of the last ones out of passport control). Turns out it was pouring rain and our car almost got stuck a few times, and I'm laughing thinking this is the coolest thing ever. I'm also very tired... So I meet her roommate and stuff and we continue on to the apartment I was renting. We decided we'd make some dinner and then do some dancemania with the DDR. WELL, I was practically falling asleep so my friend told me to just go to bed and they'd wake me up when food was ready. Two hours later, I'm drowsy but somewhat re-energized and eat some delicious food her and her roommate prepared, and [poorly] danced. The rest of my trip in Kiev was amazing. We took loooonngggggg walks all over, a ferry boat ride, we checked out the old monk caves, some churches, had some nice fancy dinners... but unfortunately all you gossip queens out there aren't gettin' anything else. Leaving was sad, especially knowing that next up was PDO!!
Once again, not much to say there except AWESOME. The FLEX kids are some of the some amazing and motivated students I have ever met. They keep surprising you at every turn, and I still believe that in my one year in Peace Corps, FLEX is by far the most important and influential thing I've done here. The other volunteer and I added one more person to our water drinking contest. I won again, but with a serious cost to my intestines. Really, I'm just so proud of those students, and I wish them all the best in the USA. Oh, I got funniest teacher again. This time I think I earned it more than last time. Last time it was mainly coffee and nervousness, but this time I knew my information and just let it go.
Now I'm back at site and things are moving and progressing nicely. I may have some big news comin' up in a few days. I'll keep you all posted. So with that, check out my pictures on Facebook from my trip, and have a great summer.
