Wandering about....

Today, I made a promise to post more pictures of campus and of things that I am eating. So, to be true to my word, I am posting all three of my meals today, as well as a few pictures I was able to snap around campus on my way to and from the office.

As always, I started off my Saturday with breakfast at the place I've been at all week. I decided that I wouldn't go with any of the pre-made sandwiches but with more veggies. From the top left and going clockwise, there is a roll that ended up having a dap of a spicy sauce wtih diced onions in it, a roll filled wth goat cheese and topped with cilantro, cucumbers, tomatoes, and cheese, and then a wanton like thing stufed with goat cheese. Toped off with turksih tea, it was a great meal.

I would like to point out that the tomatoes are amazing here. I have never witnessed such red and ripe tomatoes other than ones that were home grown. Being from California, you would think we would get better tomatoes, but no, we don't. I have gotten alright ones at the Davis and Livermore Farmers' Markets but still nothing like these.

Walking to work, I thought I would take a picture of the small mall we have on campus. This three story building has several restaurants, a clothing store, a pharmacy, a bookstore, and a stationary store. I pretty much eat here for dinner every night. There is a small Italian restaurant closer to my guest house, but I think I'm going to wait for Sertan (the grad student who I'm paired up with) to try it. I ate dinner right underneath the right most green umbrella. That place was pretty good, but more on that later.

I got lunch at a stand that serves fish sandwiches. There are about 5 selections (I am working on getting a picture), and you can also get fresh squeezed orange juice. For 6 YTL (New Turkish Lyra), I was able to get the white fish (not sure what type) sandwich and a cup of the freshly squeezed juice. In fact, I watched the guy squeeze the juice right in front of me. It is really nice to take a small walk in the middle of the day to get something good to eat. For you Davis folks, it's walking to the Silo but actually eating good food.

On the walk back, I decided to cruise by the campus stadium which is mainly used for Football matches (Yes, I mean soccer ;-) ). This weekend however is graduation, so the field has been setup with many white chairs to accomidate everyone. I think the Undergrads graduate on Saturday night, and the Graduate students on Sunday. I am going to attend the graduate student ceremony at the behest of Prof. Bayram. She thought it would be a good way to see some of the Turkish customs that many people don't get to see just because graduate happens only once a year. So with luck, I'll have lots of pictures to share from that. The picture above is of a the statue that is at the entrance to the stadium. You can clearly see the man reaching upward, but there is also a woman doing the same thing on the reverse side.

I worked most of the day in my office (I'll post on my lab a little later) to make sure I have enough information to submit a proposal for the work I would like to do over the Summer. At about 5 pm, I left for my guest house to go for a run. It is a little different running here than in Davis. First, they don't have running paths like the Green Belt. Second, drivers have the right of way. People are relatively careful driving, it just makes it a little difficult running on the sidewalk all the time. The sidewalks here seem like they haven't been repaired since they were constructed in the 1960s. Third, the campus is really hilly. It's a really great work out, so it makes up for it. I run from my guest house to the Aeronautical Engineering building which is about 1.5 miles away. A good three mile run with lots of hills will keep me in shape for Ultimate come the fall.

Speaking of Ultimate, I am planning on introducing it to my lab mates sometime this summer. Sertan said they have thrown a frisbee before when at the beach, but I think they'll like it as an alternative to football. We'll see how that goes.

Like I said earlier, for dinner I went to the mall and sat outside for dinner. I was moseying along looking for a place when I got waved into a restaurant on the 2nd floor. I sat on the edge of the balcony and could see a good ways across the campus. The sun was setting so the scenery was even more beautiful and calming. It was the perfect setting of the end of a pretty good day. I wanted to get what I thought was a fish dish, but they were apparently out of whatever I ordered, the Cin Tavagu. I ended up ordering the Tavuk Nugget out of haste, but it wasn't until I looked at the picture of the menu that I had ordered beef nuggets. They were pretty good sized and coated in a panko like crust. It came with very similar things to my meal two days ago. There was of course a salad with beets, tomatoes, and lettuce with a yogurt like dressing. There were french fries and tabbouleh. And then there was pasta coated in a yogurt sauce. It was all really good. As a accompanyment to the nuggets, there was the salsa like stuff I had two days ago as well. I call it salsa like because if you replace the cilantro in salsa with basil, you would get what I have been eating. After dinner, they brought around Cay (there is a curly on the C), which is Turkish tea and pronouced like chai. When I learn exactly how to make Cay, I'll have to post on that. As you can see, Cay is served in a special cup. It is very strong, and I actually added a sugar cube to it, mostly to see why everyone else was doing it. I did take a sip beforehand, and it was very strong. I can see why people dillute with hot water in the mornings. Anywho, with that I went back to my room a very happy American. =)

I think from now on I'll make smaller postings more often. I'm sorry to have posted such a long post this time. Also, I know people are reading this, so is anyone going to leave comments? Hmm? Maybe if I guilt trip everyone? =)