I was able experience my first Turkish summer rain storm today. It was beautiful, although extremely hard and seemed to only poor harder when I tried to step outside to break my fast and go eat dinner. At the beginning of the summer, my poor Eee PC was having a very difficult time working correctly and as the summer went on, the little thing went completely kaput. I have been relying on other people's computers (and kindess) and my iPod to check email and write my blogs. In order to complete my German Project, I need to use Microsoft Power Point, and consequently, am learning not only to use a completely Turkish version of Microsoft Office but also learning how to type using a Turkish Keyboard
For a person who is used to typing 100+ words per minute, using this keyboard has taught me much more patience and also made me check my spelling very closely! I have considered replacing my old Eee PC with one from here in Turkey since I will have learned to type using this particular keyboard. The thought is still under consideration, however.
Each night, after Sahur, when we break our fasting and eat the evening meal (usually around 7:20pm), we watch a special TV channel which features a show where experts speak about the Koran and matters of faith, Iman. The show has a timetable on the side that shows the time and will flash the cities that begin Sahur at that particular time. Sahur always begins with Ezan, and the first thing that we do is take that most beautiful drink of water. Most channels also feature commercials, Reklamler, that attempt to use Ramadan to sell their products. Before Iftar, when our fasting begins each morning (around 4:19), we watch the same channel that features the same conversations of Iman and Koran, and begins our fasting with Ezan when we drink one final glass of water.
Picture of a Sahur Table
For Sahur we usually begin our meal with soup, Corba, which is easy on a stomach that has not had food for a significant amount of time. After Corba, dinner features some form of pasta, meat, and vegetables and bread. Our Iftar is a standard Turkish breakfest, Kahvalti, with olives, tomatos and cucumbers, cheese, some form of eggs (fried, boiled, etc), and bread. During Ramadan, there is a special bread, Pide, that is standard to eat during both Iftar and Sahur and both of our meals usually include Pide.
Mosque in Istanbul during Ramadan
One more piece of information to mention. At the beginning of my project in Turkey, due to unfortunate sponsorship circumstances, I was forced to withdraw from the Language Institute as my funding did not come through. Others involved in my project, such as advisors, became very unhelpful and made it exceedingly difficult to continue with other portions of the project as well. These setbacks along with the untimely death of my laptop almost caused me to abandon the project; however, I was determined not to let the work I had done go to waste. Thus, I continued with my research on my accord and proceeded to teach myself Turkish. Yesterday, I took a Turkish language test through a language institute. The test consisted of beginning Turkish through advanced Turkish. I am very proud to say that I scored a 50% or a high intermediate level of Turkish comprehension. Thank you for all those who have been following the blog and have been sending your good thoughts and support!
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