I finally made my own breakfast today! and I helped with the dishes after dinner. My host family is starting to get comfortable with me helping around the house; they're viewing me as less of a guest, and it's exciting. It's not that I won't still appreciate getting my laundry washed and folded for me, but this is a nice change. Even while writing this post, I got up to get my own tea while my host mom stayed seated in the living room.

Our class dragged on pretty long this afternoon, and I was happy to be able to get some fresh air around Ankrara afterward. The weather had improved considerably and I sat in a local park for a while with friends from my progam before walking down one of the main shopping streets with two of the girls, checking out some of the sales. It was, thankfully, a relaxing experience.

When we finished, I started off on my own towards the apartment, taking my time and letting my sense of direction guide me rather than following the main streets I would otherwise take. I saw a slightly different part of the city - locals walking their children home and buying their evening groceries, groups of men playing basketball behind a school. Walking slowly, it took me about an hour to get home. It was quite a pleasant end to the day.

Before reaching my neighborhood, I walked back through the Kocatepe mosque. Kocatepe is located on a small hill in the middle of Ankara, and the open area in front of the entrance is slightly raised above the surrounding roads. I walked across this area on my way home, to get another look at the architecture and the view. As I passed under a small archway on the edge of the clearing, I began to hear the noise of Ankara evening traffic fade away. By the time I was standing in front of the mosque, I could barely distinguish the various sounds being made by the city. I took a few pictures and stood still for a while, enjoying the silence before climbing back down to the road.