Spending the day with my new Turkish family!
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Ankara,
Turkey
Thursday, September 4, 2008
The first thing I had to do today was pick up my Iranian visa. I needed to get there by noon as that's the time they close at. I had a bit of a late start mainly because I lost track of time while eating my big breakfast that Bilge's mom prepared and because I couldn't stop talking. I left the house at 10:50 am and the embassy was a little over an hour away. It was going to be close. Unfortunately, I got lost. I saw a bus that said Kizilay and I knew I needed to get to that area to catch my next bus. Unfortunately I never got to Kizilay. I followed the bus driver's route with my map. We got close and just as I thought I was a stop or two away from my destination he too a few unexplainable turns and we were suddenly in an area too far from where I wanted to be. So I asked the driver if we were going to Kizilay and he did something with his hand that I took as meaning "We will turn around and eventually get there." 10 minutes later, I was in Ulus, an area I visited yesterday. It was nowhere near Kizilay and it was already 1140 am. So I got off the bus and flagged a cab. I eventually made it to the embassy at 1152 am. Close call. I was really pleased once I had the visa in my hands. It was the longest process I ever needed to go through in order to get a visa but it was worth it. I was glad I was able to go through the whole process successfully. It felt like a nice accomplishment.
After I picked up my visa, I checked my emails to see if Bilge or Hamdi found out whether the camera repair shop could fix my camera by today. The update was that my camera could get fixed by tomorrow at a cost of 225 lira (about 200 Cdn dollars) as the lens needed to be replaced. It was a lot of money but at least my camera issues would be over (let's hope I didn't just jinx myself). I told them to tell the camera shop to go ahead and fix the camera.
I then returned to Bilge's home. Of course, I got lost again. There were several buses that indicated they were going to Balgat - the area where Bilge lived. Unfortunately, the bus I went on didn't take the same route I went along when I left Balgat so nothing seemed familiar. I didn't think it was a big deal as I thought I had Bilge's address and phone number in my pocket. I would just show the driver where I needed to go and he would tell me where to get off. I later realized that I forgot her address and phone number back at her place. The map I had wasn't a big help as Balgat was a big area and I didn't know the name of the street Bilge lived on. Eventually, the bus driver reached the end of his route. I was sitting at the front of the bus and turned around and noticed I was the only one left. He turned and said something to me in Turkish to me. I am assuming he was asking me where I wanted to go. I had no idea what to tell him as I didn't have an address. Furthermore, I couldn't really explain to him my situation as I didn't speak Turkish and he didn't speak English. So he was a bit frustrated as you could tell he knew I was lost and he wanted to help me but there was a communication barrier. So he did what I had hoped. He drove the opposite direction towards bus park where I started this journey. From there, I would find the correct bus to board. If I couldn't figure out which bus, I would either email Bilge and ask or call Hamdi whose phone number was marked on the Canon service receipt I received from the camera repair shop. About 5 minutes into our return journey, a young teenage girl jumped on the bus. I asked if she spoke English and she responded "A liddle bit". I asked her to show me where we were on the map and we were nowhere near Balgat. I then remembered some other directions Bilge had given me (and written in my notebook) that had names of streets close to where she lived. I asked her to tell the driver to stop me anywhere near these streets as I knew they were near Bilge's home. If I could just get there, I would find my way home. The bus driver stopped 10 minutes later. 10 minutes after that I was back in Bilge's home. I never doubted I would find her place.
After I told Bilge about my day of adventure, she explained that she sent out a note to all couchsurfers in Ankara that she was organizing an event in my honor at a local bar and that all were welcome to join us for drinks and learn about my trip if they were interested. I thought that was really nice of her. I was looking forward to it.
After a quick lunch, Bilge, her mom and I went to pick up Bilge's grandfather. He was going to stay with them for the next few days. The man is 92 and still very sharp. After we picked him up, we went to a lake where we spent the rest of the day. Hamdi also met us there. I spent most of my time playing Backgammon. I played the mom 6 times and I beat her 4 times. Twice I can say was with very little help from anybody. It was definitely beginner's luck. I loved playing with the mom as she is so nice and has such a wonderful laugh. I was also very happy with the fact that I was getting used to the game and could continue to play with locals in the other Middle Eastern countries I would be visiting.
At 730, we left the lake. We had to first drop off Bilge's mom and grandfather. Consistent with the events of my day, Bilge got lost. It seemed like most of my day was figuring out where I was and how to get out of there. After seeking the help of a few taxi drivers, we managed to get back at Bilge's place at 830. 10 minutes after that, we were at the meeting place Bilge suggested to the couchsurfers in her email to them.
I was quite surprised with how many people came. We had about a dozen people show up. I spent most of my time chatting with this young Turkish couple I initially contacted before I came to Ankara through the couchsurfing web site. I didn't end up staying at their place as Bilge responded before they did. They were a very sweet couple however I was so glad that I ended up staying with Bilge and her mom. They have been so good to me - more than they should have. Hamdi was also fantastic. Such a nice guy. He took time every day to hang out with Bilge and I. He also showed up at tonight's event. The rest of the night I took turns talking to other people. I spent some time talking to an interesting young Turkish guy called Emram. He told me all about his experience hosting foreigners at his place. I look forward to hosting people once I get home. I also spent some time talking with 2 American girls who were going to be working in Ankara for a semester at the local university. Anyhow, it was a fun night.
Bilge and I returned back at midnight. I was just exhausted. I crashed shortly after I got home.
Tomorrow is my last day in Ankara. The city itself is fine but I will really miss it because of Bilge, Hamdi and Bilge's mom. They treated me like family from the first moment they met me. This experience is definitely one of the best I have come across during this trip. The fact that these wonderful people took a stranger into their home and made me feel like one of their own was truly amazing. It was perfect medicine to any homesickness I may have been feeling.
The plan tomorrow is to run a few errands during the day (ie pick up my camera) and then take a night bus to the Iran - Turkey border. I think the bus ride is about 16-18 hours long. Lots of time to read and think about the next 7.5 wonderful months ahead of me.
