..::Happy Mother's Day::..

I first want to give all the mom's out there a big "Wooo hooo!" for being the fantabulous mom's you are. I hope your Mother's Day was sunny, cheerful, and bright.

Secondly, I want to congratulate this year's new batch of graduates! Nathan, Kate, Sheena, Justin the kind-of graduate who finished his last semester, and anyone else I might've failed to mention, you guys rock the house!

I went to a Mother's Day breakfast with Berna and Bensu, where we also saw Tijen, my old host mom, and a woman named Elif, who is also like a cool aunt or something. I brought them each a flower, including Bensu. After the breakfast Tijen, Begüm(her daughter), Berna, Bensu, and I went to a shopping mall called Carrefour. The mall was hopping that day, as you can imagine, and I didn't stick around too long.

After I managed to escape the sea of people, I went out to visit Mert, Ibo, Berk, and Ufuk's apartment. They are who I stayed with before I moved in with my new host family. I had left some bags with things I didn't need right away there, so I picked them up. The new Aiesec EB (Executive Board) was in the midst of a strategic planning meeting there. Yesterday was their third day straight, so I thought they could use a little fruit salad with ice cream, and I stopped to pick up the ingredients en route.

I hung out there in the apt for a little while, and then Berk, Ufuk, and I went for a walk around the little village, Görükle. We stopped and ate some pizza at a place creatively named Pizza Pizza. I have decided that it's an awesome place to eat, because it's seriously the first place I've seen that actually had mustard on the table. Normally it's the ketchup and mayo dynamic duo, but this place was high class with the ketchup, mustard, mayo terrific trio! The weather was really beautiful in the early night, so there wasn't an open table in or outside the place.

After a tasty veggie pizza, we walked down to a nargile cafe. After all that pizza, sitting there with the apricot tobacco and drinking out of my little Turkish tea glass, I could've fallen asleep. That is, if Berk and Ufuk weren't so darn entertaining. Plus it was the first time that Berk had tried nargile, so he was especially funny.

Time kind of ran away from us, so when we finally made it back to the apt, Ibo gave me a ride to the metro station to make sure I'd get there okay. I don't know if it was the nargile, but I'm pretty sure it's just my nature, but I of course forgot some stuff-a couple of shirts and a towel. I will probably head out there later this week or on the weekend. I like the environment there, it's really quiet because it's not all built up ..yet. And their apt is actually really nice, when they manage to keep it clean. We've been planning a BBQ for some time now, we just aren't sure when we'll do it. It will have to be a Sunday, because I work every other day of the week. One of these weekends, though, we'll make it happen.

Berk and Ufuk decided that it's okay for me to live with a host family (whereas I think Ibo and Mert just plain aren't happy with it), but that I have to live there on the weekends. Ha. I don't know about that-it would take me so friggin' long to get to work! Maybe on Saturday nights, though. I actually wouldn't have minded staying there instead of living with a family, but it's just the commute. And I wouldn't even mind it so much in the evenings, but in the mornings is when it would kill me.

By the way, I survived my first week at my new job! It's overall a good thing. I like the atmosphere, the location, the office, the people, yada yada yada. Right now I'm just mostly reading all of the different materials on everything under the sun that could have to do with sending students to the English speaking countries we deal with-US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Malta, and South Africa. Since I'll be in charge of this department, I really have to be on top of everything from the legalities, market, and the education system in each country, including in Turkey, to a good knowledge of our existing partners, to a good knowledge of UKLA and the services it offers.

Tonight I'm going to go visit Tijen and catch up. Oh, and on Wednesday there is a pretty big football match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. Some of us are going to get together at the Aiesec office and watch the game. Also there is a three day festival at the university starting on Thursday. I'm not sure how much of it I'll be able to go to because of work, but I think we are trying to organize an information table to set up there, so hopefully I can work that and get to enjoy the festival, too. If not, then maybe I can catch some of the night activities after work. Then on Sunday there is a trainee picnic. Woo hoo!

In a couple of weeks there is a two or three day national conference in/near Istanbul. It's actually at the same hotel we had the YES congress at during the project-you know, the one album I'm working on that still isn't finished for the MMF photo album site. That's been kind of put on hiatus, by the way, until I find some good chunks of time to work on it. Anyway, I'm planning on attending that, and possibly being a facilitator. Either way it will be a good experience, and I'm really looking forward to it.

And you all know now that at the end of June I'm coming home for Joey's Christening and my biggest bro's birthday!! Any special requests, bro Nick? I already got a bottle of Rakı covered. :)

And I found out about this amazing opportunity in August called You Can. It's pretty much one of the biggest international congresses Aiesec organizes. It would be such a valuable experience-personally, professionally, and aiesecly. I think I will try and apply to be a delegate. Being a facilitator would be unbelievable, but I don't know how plausible this is at the moment. This year the congress will be in Mumbai, which would be so sweet to go to. Plus then maybe I could meet up with my friend, Ibo, from the project. Right now it's just kind of a dream, but you never know..

In November there is a ginormous education conference called TUYAP, and UKLA is planning on coordinating some huge international something or other with a bunch of different schools. I don't know so many details, only that I'm supposed to be in charge of that when the time comes around. So bro Nick, I might need some of that worldy advice and knowledge of event planning you've acquired.

I think that's about as much I know about my life schedule at the moment. How's about that?