March

Everything has been going so well. I'm living a normal everyday life here now. I sleep in and relax in bed in the morning, I walk around enjoying the day with friends, I meet them for lunch or coffee, I go to work. It's really nice being so relaxed. But sometimes I get the itch and feel the need to go explore more places and take a ton of photos.

The weather is getting hot already and I love it. I so badly want to break out my dresses, t-shirts and tank tops but I have to be careful because if I do so too early people can spot a tourist from a mile away lol. Even when I'm dressed the same as my friends they can spot me so I've given up on caring too much. I've also warned anyone who walks with me anywhere is most likely going to be labeled a foreigner also so be ready. In America and Canada we are used to there being different ethnicities and cultures but here they are not used to it so I'm sure you can imagine the stares and random comments I get. HAHA one day some guys walked past me and my friend heard them say "Hello, welcome".

One thing that is new for me that I have been meeting a friend for Turkish lessons. I've been trying to learn on my own a little but it's nice to have an actual teacher. We meet for coffee or dinner and she teaches me something, we practice writing and she gives me homework. I truly appreciate her doing this for me because I know she is extremely busy. She is a single working mother that is working on her masters. I call her super mom because it's a lot more difficult in this culture to do all of what she does. I know with her help I will do well. Apparently I'm already pretty good at pronunciation :)

I've done some shopping but no clothes yet. I want to get somethings but I'm trying to be careful on my decisions because of the weight limit on bags at the airport. I should make a list of things I'd like to look for. I also need to make a list of places I want to see.

I will be moving in with a Turkish family I'm friends with in the middle of April. I'm very excited to be staying with them. They have an 11 year old daughter that I adore and love spending time with. She was so excited that I accepted their offer to live with them that she was disappointed I wasn't coming until April. But I need to get somethings in order before I move anywhere. OH AND THEY HAVE A DOG!!!!!! I will be helping them train her too. I'm really excited!!!

Here are some photos from yesterday and a few days ago.