Today was my first real free day in Ankara since getting here, and we spent the afternoon shopping in the older Ulus district. Tonight, we're making "raw meatballs," a traditional Turkish dish made from kneading raw meat with spices for about an hour until it's cooked. Like the cow intestine sandwiches, it sounds pretty disgusting, but is actually quite good. I'm excited to see how exactly it's made.
I think my Turkish started getting much better in the last few days - I've spent a lot of time with my host sister and Ceren this week - and I hope I can still improve it in the week I have left. I'm worried that I'll forget a lot once I'm back in New York, but it's nice to at least be able to communicate more effectively during this last portion of the trip. I'm really happy in Ankara right now, and I'm going to miss quite a few things about my life here - the food, the pace of life, the people...
When I first heard that I'd be coming to Ankara, I was actually quite upset. Like everyone else, I wanted to be in Istanbul and I heard nothing but bad things about this city in the months leading up to the summer. Since coming, however, I've realized that while Ankara is a horrible place to visit, it's a wonderful place to live. It's a big city, but it's not crowded. It's easy to get around, and it's easy to live in. Most importantly, it's a very Turkish city, perfect for a foreigner who wants to learn the language without speaking too much English. Ataturk picked Ankara as the capital of the Republic not because it was a great city, but because it it's centrally located. Since his day, it's developed into Turkey's second largest city. There isn't anything particularly exciting about it, but I think that's why I like it so much. People here are just doing their thing, and the city isn't trying to be anything it's not. I respect that.
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