A bittersweet Saturday evening, because I got to spend it with so many great folks. We had a get together at the Latin Force because so many trainees will be leaving in the next week or two. A few of the trainee alumni graced our presence, too. We had lots of tasty food, fun, and fabulous folks. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself.

On Sunday I decided it was time for a little adventure. My plan: to explore the area around Suuçtu waterfall. Sounds simple enough.

• Phase 1: Metro to Küçük Sanayi. No problem. Phase 1 complete.



• Phase 2: Bus to Mustafa Kemal Paşa. I happen to wander in the right direction, so it takes me almost no time to find the correct bus and I look like I know exactly what I'm doing. I sit on the bus next to a nice woman who I manage some small talk with, limited due to my Turkish, but I did learn she works for Bursa Spor and lives in a small village on the way to where we are headed. The woman gets off at her stop, and shortly thereafter we arrive at Mustafa Kemal Paşa. Phase 2 complete.



• Phase 3: Dolmuş to Muradiye Sarnıç. There is not a dolmuş in sight, this could be a problem. I ask a few folks about it, and one older gentleman explains that there is no dolmuş, only taxis. Whereas a dolmuş is like a big van that is usually pretty inexpensive, the taxis in comparison are pretty darn expensive. And I'm not going to pay 30ytl (haggled down from 50ytl) to be driven to a spot and shown around like a tourist when what I really want is to just get there so I can venture out on my own. The man insists on finding someone who speaks German or English so that we can make sure everything is straight, even though at this point I've already decided I won't be seeing any waterfalls today unless I go home and turn on the bathroom faucet until the sink overflows. At this point everyone at the stop/small terminal is well aware of the yabancı, as the man is walking up to every person there asking them if they speak another language. Our search terminates when we come across a very friendly and helpful Aussie named Mustafa, who is from Turkish decent and immigrated to Australia from Greece. Interestingly enough, him and some members of his family are en route to a funeral having just come from a wedding. A busy day for them, and unfortunately, not leaving them much time to relax and enjoy either event. So the older gentleman, Mustafa, and I continue to discuss while the audience of Turks stands around each putting in their two cents in Turkish. Quite a funny scene. Further discussion reveals the dolmuş to Muradiye Sarnıç only runs on Thursday and Friday. If you're asking yourself why at this point, you are obviously not well-seasoned in the order of operations in Turkey. Don't ask questions like that, just appreciate the fact you learned something and go with the flow.

So although I didn't quite have the experience I was looking for, I did have an adventure. You have to admit that. Also, I'm glad someone went and figured all that out. Could you imagine if a big group of us went one Saturday or Sunday and were stopped dead in our tracks like that? Uhhhh.