I was going to go to bed without blogging again, but I just downed three cups of tea and it’s about 90 degrees in my room right now. Sleep won’t be happening any time soon.

Yesterday morning, we were treated with a special visit to the headquarters of the current ruling party in Turkey, the AK Parti. We met with a representative from their foreign policy division, who spoke with us and answered questions on a variety of topics ranging from Turkey’s political history, to both internal and external Turkish affairs and the goals of the party itself. After that, we were invited to lunch in the building (which is gorgeous, having only been built a few years ago) before receiving a special tour of the Turkish parliament building. The entire complex is pretty impressive, with the exception of the bright orange seats that fill the main assembly hall. Apparently the color helps keep the MPs awake during long sessions. I was really glad to have been able to get a behind-the-scenes taste of Turkish politics, as well as a little AKP brainwashing. I particularly enjoyed the party’s official buses, several of which were parked outside of its headquarters. This one reads, “You are Turkey, think big!” The AKP’s symbol is a light bulb.

After leaving the parliament compound, we had about an hour and a half of afternoon class before the weekend officially started. Most of us decided to kick off the afternoon by going out for beers in our now favorite bar, “Random.” At one point in the conversation, one of the girls told me she wouldn’t have pegged me as a Californian, and that I seem much more like I’m from New York. I took this observation with a grain of salt, but it still made me think. I’m torn between being proud of re-rooting myself and sad that I’ve lost a certain kind of connection I used to have with San Diego, a change I started noticing a few years ago.

When we left the bar, we decided to get Kokoreç (a delicious sandwich made with finely chopped seasoned cow intestines) for dinner, and it was even better than it was the first time I tried it. Our group became smaller as the evening went on, and eventually I was with two friends, one of their Turkish host sisters and her friend. We went to a few cafes in the city center before driving to a random stretch of bars and clubs (only accessible by car) to chill out in an outdoor bar and hookah/tea lounge. I started to learn how to play backgammon, but couldn’t see half of the board and gave up after about five minutes. One of my goals is to learn how to play by the end of the summer, and to beat someone in at least one game. I didn’t get home until after one, and as we had to get up super early for our “trekking adventure” this morning, I was in no mood to write a post.

Today, I woke up earlier than usual to meet the program group and our trekking instructor for the day, a super-fit ex-commando hiker and all-around Rambo character whose frustration with our pathetic hiking ability seemed only to increase as the day went on. We drove out to Kızılcahamam, which is about an hour away from Ankara, to hike about 10 miles (1000 m in elevation) through the local mountains. Some of the paths we took were almost impossibly steep and covered with slippery pine cones, needles, dry leaves, and rocks. The hike was definitely beyond our fitness (and enthusiasm) level at times. But once we got closer to the top, we were treated to some really beautiful views. I really enjoyed spending time with the people from my program, and we amassed quite the collection of quotable moments as the hike progressed and our sanity waned. At one point, I believe I yelled at some ladybugs that no, I do not want to be your friend!

When we finally made it back to the bus, our trekking instructor explained to us for the second time,When we go back to the center, I’m going to kiss this man, but it’s because he’s my friend. I’m not gay, don’t worry. We all laughed awkwardly before one of the girls mumbled, smiling, It’s ok, if you were gay, we wouldn’t care! From the stories I’ve been hearing, it seems this concept is lost on a lot of Turks.

After stopping for tea and cake on our way out of the mountains, we drove back to Ankara, where I took the metro into the center and walked home to the apartment (bringing my distance walked to a total of about 13 miles today) only to find that the power had just gone out. My host mom warned me that there was no hot water to take a shower, but I was too desperate to be clean at that point to let that stop me. The ice-cold shower felt almost pleasant after the long and hot day, and the enormous portion of soup, potatoes, bread, beans, ayran (a mixture of water and yogurt, it’s my new favorite drink) and baklava that my host mom promptly fed me was exactly what I needed after the hike. We spent the last hour on the balcony with her sister in-law and my host sister, chatting, drinking tea, and enjoying the cool evening air that has somehow managed to avoid my room.