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[04 Sep 2008|08:27am] |
"If you could describe your college in one word, what would it be?"
"Cult."
No seriously, my school is a cult and it's awesome. First of all, it's all women (except for one guy on the first floor of my dorm who's over from Haverford College.) and being all women automatically makes us feel special, like we're part of some old (cultish) society thing. The 1890s pictures on the walls of previous students don't really help. Neither does the whole "yeah, it basically looks like Hogwarts" thing.
I wasn't really sure about the whole women college thing, but since it's part of the bi-college consortium with Haverford and tri-college consortium with Haverford and Swarthmore, it's not really so bad. My Japanese class is at Haverford and has y-chromosomes in it.
But back to the cult business. There are all these traditions like, the one a few nights ago, when all the freshmen ran through Pembroke arch, and had water thrown at them from sophomores (our rivals) and flowers and candy from the juniors (or sister class). Then we went over to the senior steps (you can't sit on them unless you're a senior, or else you won't graduate) where the seniors were busy getting steadily drunk, for a "step sing" where we sang class songs, class rounds ("handed down through generations!") parodies, and weird old Greek songs. People definitely streaked by to go skinny dipping in the fountain in the cloisters.
In November it's lantern night, where the freshmen class gets their lanterns (yes, an actual fucking lantern) and wear black robes in the cloisters, at night, and sing in Greek or something. Our lanterns are light blue. Any picture taking is forbidden.
In February it's "hell week" where sophomore hellers make their freshmen hellees do things like put bras on the statue of Athena in the Great Hall without being noticed.
May is May Day. We wear white dresses. And dance around May poles.
I'm in a three person dorm room, but it's got 2 separate side rooms with doors, so it's really nice even though I'm in the middle and get all the traffic. A large percentage of my floor watches anime/reads manga for some reason. Everyone's really cool.
There's an aikido club at Swarthmore college, but it hasn't started yet, so yesterday I went to a dojo about 15 minutes walk from my dorm. It's a different style (not aikikai) but it was still fun.
Here are my classes for this semester:
Japanese 2 (At Haverford. When I took the test, my speaking was levels 3 or 4, but my writing was 2)
Intensive intermediate Spanish. (Ugh. I just want my Spanish credit and then I'm done.)
Biology 1o1 (with a lab)
College Seminar (Mine is "Sexuality, Religion, and the Power of Music" basically it's about the homoerotic (or just erotic) adventures of King David and that Greek dude, Orpheus. (not together, though) It's awesome.)
A Wellness course (it's only for half a semester. It's like, anti-rape don't eat badly take care of yourself class.)
I'm supposed to be doing work/study at Wyndham, which is the B&B/Catering/Hostthingslikeweddings place on Campus, but my Japanese class changed times so it was during my shift. Now I don't have a regular shift, and so must sign up as events pop up.
I helped plant an herb garden for the dining hall a few days ago. That was super fun. I miss you all though. 'Tis sad.
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| Bacon! |
[04 Sep 2008|03:30pm] |
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| You and I were poor. |
[03 Sep 2008|11:47pm] |
I haven't actually really talked about the tour since I got back. I've told a few people a few stories, but no one will ever fully understand exactly what it was and what it meant to me and how it changed my life. More traveling than I have ever done in my life. At one point, we were in 3 different states in one day. I met many amazing people, many strange people, and saw many people that I already knew as I never saw them before. I want to put it down before a lot of this escapes from my memory.
Saw a whole lot of a mechanic shop in Bongview, Washington. Ate some soup in Seattle. Drove back to Bongview, slept in the grass at a rest stop. Drove to Spokane. We saw some amazing lightning along the way. When we got there, our show was canceled. Hung out in a house with coke heads, one was a fox, but a total player. But a good dancer, many many strange instruments. All night danceparrrty/jam session. No sleep til Missoula.
Missoula was indescribable. Brokendown van again. So many strange happenings, but such a good show. Seeing my grandfather was weird and emotional but good for me. The river was nice, but cold. I complain too much.
The next days were a blur. I remember being in Idaho many times. We got to Salt Lake City and played very late. Lots of beer spilled on the floor and some blood spilled from noses. A pillow fight. Only a few people, but such a good time. An actor named Charlie bought us breakfast at a famous restaurant the next day.
We went camping in Colorado, which was fabulous. Showered, bonded. Ate ramen around the campfire.
Santa Fe was bad and weird. Do not want.
Albuquerque was amazing. Like a paradise, a comfortable couch to sleep on, real food. Such nice people. Shopping. Shower. Almost like a normal life? Nice to be out of the van for a little while.
Phoenix sucked. Show was canceled, open-mic 'replacement show' was weird and bad. The lightning was amazing, people were grumpy and very unhelpful. No one should live in the desert, much too hot.
LA was FANTASTIC! I LOVE LOS ANGELES. We hung out and went to this crazy nice house and played at a party which doubled as a pinball tournament. This guy had many many pinball machines in his house and we had so much fun. The set was weird and uncomfortable but the party was fun.
San Fransisco was so weird. Played in a strange bar, stayed at Emily's Cousin's house. Watched the synchronized swimming segment of the olympics in the bar we played in. Picked up Em's younger brother and brought him to Eugene and eventually back to Portland with us.
Eugene was an extremely long drive. Got there and had a melt-down, so close to home I could feel it but O had to be a bill-boppin' rockstar about the whole thing and refused to play before a ridiculous hour. Ended up apologizing, made things a bit better. Show was good, sold a CD and got an amazing compliment.
Drove home to Portland and was hugging my mom and sleeping in my own bed by 4 AM. Called in sick to work that day, for sure.
I understand this is extremely long, but I don't care. If you don't want to read it, then don't.
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| i made a clean getaway. |
[03 Sep 2008|10:55pm] |
( Read more... )
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[04 Sep 2008|07:59am] |
I broke the news to my class last nigh that I am leaving in a week and a half. We were in the canteen downstairs, having iftar (for those who had been fasting, like Dogan and Umit and Pelin) or drinking strong coffee (for those like me and Pinar and Nilufer who were just tired), and I figured I really ought to let them know that next week's 2 classes would be our last together. The uproar was unexpected. Several declared they loved me and that they intended to come to Canada with me- they'd even help babysit my cousin's baby if it allowed them to earn their keep by my side. The ones who weren't so keen on babies (see phone-photo above- both Ebru and Nilufer were quite, er, vehement in their horror of babies) promised to cook and help my father with any gyprocking or painting or heavy lifting necessary. All expressed utter heartbreak. Pinar was the one who declared that she planned to write a song about her heartbreak, and insisted that everyone else do so as well (see board- ignore the bits about Phds and burping and governor and plane actions- unrelated vocabulary).
I'm going to miss Turkish heart-sleeve emotionality.
Still exhausted- between D. being tormented by unsensed-by-me mosquitos and tossing and turning all night, and the mad drummer at 3am every night, I am underslept and worn out. We debated alternatives to the 3am ramazan drummer last night as we sipped our ramazan beers on the balcony and decided that these were reasonable possibilities:
The ramazan banjo player
The ramazan didgeridoo
The ramazan triangle
The ramazan hammered dulcimer
The ramazan upright bass
The ramazan barbershop quartet
And so on.
Buying beer is an odd task at this time of year. Unlike in Kayseri where all liquor cabinets and beer fridges are padlocked shut for the month and draped in an opaque tarp, here everything is wide open and available. However, when I popped into our corner shop last night to grab myself an Efes and D. a Miller, the counter-man was quickly by my side to take the beers and pass them immediately to his small son behind the counter, ordering him to get the opaque black bags, now! No one saw the beer. No religious harm was done.
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| jesus wears blue boxers. |
[03 Sep 2008|05:38pm] |
reservation number-12D86C
train is scheduled to leave at 12:44.
i arrive at the station at 12:47.
its starting to move. and i jump on just in time. just in time.
just in time to feel my heart ripped out of my chest.
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[03 Sep 2008|11:49am] |
The school is very quiet today. Everyone is out at the Beykent University orientation sessions, so it's just me, new Mike, and the Turkish teachers who weren't invited to teach at the university because they have Turkish names (even the ones born and raised in Australia and the UK, like Günseli and Didem). Dina, however, was invited because her name sounds unTurkish (though her Pazarbaşı surname might give her secret away). She was born and raised in Turkey. Go figure. Apparently Turkish students would rather be taught English by a Turk with a Western name than by a native English speaking Turk with a Turkish name.
So it's quiet here. I had my cappuccino and some su boreği from Aslı and had a lovely conversation with Alev. Not much else to do at the moment. As I said, it's very quiet.
Only 8 more working days to go. I feel very odd about this. I feel as though I would prefer to just leave now. Exactly now, and just pack up Lola and a few things I can't bear to part with and go. This 2 week waiting period just makes me think of all the things that I need to do or think I need to do or fear I havent done properly. I think about places I am leaving, people I am leaving, things I wish I had done or places I wish ı had gone. Too much time to think.
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[02 Sep 2008|06:10pm] |
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Lots more fun adventures today. We visited someone who does woodwork for a living and someone who makes pottery for a living. They were both really interesting and made me want to be a craftsperson who lives in rural Vermont. I'm definitely romanticizing this place, but it's absolutely amazing. I had another journaling/writing class, and then an art session. This morning we also started the process of registering for fall long block classes. I got them to waive several entry-level classes for me and may end up in 300-level math. The problem with me taking statistics is that I'm not sure if I'd be taking it because I want a challenging math class or because I just want to prove them wrong for saying that first-years generally shouldn't take 300-level classes. The school never got my IB scores, but they conveniently came in the mail today so I marched them into the office. I think I'll also be taking Humans in the Environment, Field Ecology, Tools and Their Applications, and Experiential Education. In addition, I want either a farming class or an outdoor ed class. A good load of my required classes will be out of the way after this semester, so I'll be able to mess around with everything next semester.
Last night David Budbill, a local author, came to school and spoke. He writes about life in rural Vermont and he's fascinating. I highly recommend looking him up.
Tomorrow night I've got my orienteering final: we're dropped off (after dark) in the woods on the other side of some mountains (if this were the West Coast, they'd be called hills), and with only our maps, compasses, and flashlights, we have to find our way back to school. We'll be in groups and have a professor with us, but I'm still kind of nervous. This isn't a come in early if you screw up kind of thing, this is a you're out there on your own until you finish kind of thing.
I went running for a bit tonight but realized part of the way out that it probably wasn't such a good idea: I was alone in woods that I don't know as the sun was setting without my inhaler. Hmmm. When I reached an abandoned cabin/shack/creeper house that was scary as hell, I decided it was time to turn around. I don't always make the best decisions.
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| Boom boom boom boom |
[02 Sep 2008|01:16pm] |
It is day 2 of Ramazan, and I am somewhat underslept due to the drummer pounding away for sohar somewhere just outside our flat, whenever that time is, just before sunrise. Our neighbourhood is chock full of Armenians and Jews, as well as the occasional visible Muslim (only a few, very few covered women and almost no old men in Hajji caps and several bars and beer-selling bakkals on our street), so I was slightly surprised by how loud the drummer was and how long he pounded out his riffs on James Brown's Funky Drummer at 3am. I am a huge fan of the Ramazan Drummer but he does make sleep a difficult option.
When ı slept, I dreamed of timetabling and ı fixed all the glitches and conflicts and everything was perfect when I woke up and realised it was all still mired in the chaos of the new year.
Leaving in 2 weeks. I bought a huge suitcase at the weekend, and got Lola vaccinated. I asked the vet to fill in her health certificate and to date it around the 8th because it must be done a week before leaving. She dated it for the 30th of August, so now I need to find another vet who can re-sign it on the 8th.
I just want to be home. I am tired. This week has already started out crazy and can't ease up until I go due to all the new programs starting and new teachers coming. Madness!
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[01 Sep 2008|04:48pm] |
I want to do something but I can't because I'm so far away.
I feel useless.
Just know that I love you.
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| he was a very good friend. |
[01 Sep 2008|12:54pm] |
i was driving to seattle with ben and aaron. i slept for a little while and then we stopped at a gas station and bought cigarettes. aaron came out with two cans of sparks for the drive. so we drank sparks, talked, smoked, and sang journey and chicago songs really loud. once we were in seattle we dropped off aaron at home and then went to Dicks Hamburgers for lunch. then we went to bens house to rest before the show that night. tonight it was at bamboo bar and grill, a tiki bar. that show rocked. the original plan was to play a low key show cause people were eating and talking and stuff, but then a group of young adults showed up and it was their friend's 21st birthday. it ended up being a big dance party with puget sound system backing energy, rhino, obitek, and 3rd degree. it was so much fun. holy crap. i got great pictures. and then it got a little weird because people started getting more and more drunk. a very very large, very tall man started grabbing at me asking me to dance and i said no, he wouldn't stop touching my butt and my back, i tried to push him off but he was huge. with perfect timing, avery came up to me and started rapping next to me and dancing with me, the big guy moved on to the next girl. a beautiful hispanic woman who, all night, had been telling me how beautiful i was. they were friends.
after the show we went to chris's double kegger bonfire party. matt and avery took ecstacy and i drank a lot. they freestyled and i found a beautiful girl to play guitar with. her voice was like angels. a mix between ani difranco and billie holiday. beautiful. we all sat around the bonfire and then lana, the angellic singer, started fighting with her boyfriend. it was like a movie. i couldn't help but laugh. they left and lana promised me that she will come to portland and play a show with me.
avery and i found a nice spot on the living room floor to sleep and then matt came in and offered us a bed at his house. we hadn't slept in a bed since before hood river. so we went to matt's. by the time we got there it was 7 am and we only slept for three hours. matt drove us to the bus stop and then we adventured around seattle, pike place market, the pier. i gave some traveller kids the rest of my lunch. i think partially because they reminded me of portland. we met some protesters that were raiding a scientology tent, then went and slept in another park before going to katrina's place. once there we took showers. i have never loved a shower as much as i did then. we ordered pizza and bought beer.
( Read more... )
i'll put up pictures when i get home.
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[01 Sep 2008|11:53am] |
i almost miss home. i'm not sure yet though. give me another day and i'll decide. but i'm not even stressing a lot. cause i'm in heaven. and its beautiful.
the living room of sean's house has become a cave that i only leave to smoke and talk on the phone.
beirut is really nice in the morning.
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| Two little slideshows: Ankara DoS RoadTrip and Random Istanbul |
[31 Aug 2008|04:03pm] |
</lj-embed>
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| i've become born again. |
[30 Aug 2008|05:46pm] |
wednesday night i felt a natural high that i haven't felt in a long time. seeing avery and ian was beautiful. alicia and i couldn't stay at the show, we aren't 21. the next morning i packed up my clothes and went to the greyhound station. i woke up in hood river and breathed in the clean cold air and knew i had never felt happiness to this extent. finally close to the water without being freezing cold.
i met up with avery [energy], ian, ben [3rd degree], aaron, and matt [rhino] at kite beach. we set up the speakers and the boys freestyled till we had to roll over to the river city saloon for the show. we danced, i took pictures, sold merchandise. avery and i layed under the stars until the sun came up and then slept for a little while. on the road again to seattle.
i'll contine the rest later, its time for pizza, beer, and another show with all the boys.
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| what I did this summer! |
[29 Aug 2008|08:06pm] |
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( Pictures. )
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[29 Aug 2008|01:45pm] |
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WTF mosquitoes. I'm pretty sure I don't taste THAT good.
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| Even if he wanted to, do you think he'd come back? |
[28 Aug 2008|10:30pm] |
Would he come back? Tumbleweed, Sunshine, Puppy. First gone for too long and may never come back. Second, gone forever, will probably never see again, makes me sad but not too sad. Third, I feel terrible for because I've done the same thing he is doing and I want to tell him before he gets hurt but it's not my place. I always feel like I have to protect people, like a mother. I worry about everyone.
I haven't written really here in a long time because I felt like I had so many things I need to hide. I don't have to anymore, so I will write here again from time to time about the things I am feeling, mostly word vomit. Subconscious.
Work is not so good. I got a migraine from the heat today and had to go home early. I still have 4 days left in the week from hell. Open to close. Everyday. They've put me on the "Doom" coaster everyday this week and if they do it again I might quit. I hate that thing more than I can say.
School is rapidly approaching and the feelings about it are mixed/dread with a slight chance of excitement for a change of pace. Difficult schedule next term. I hope to get good grades, but it will be very hard. Microbiology, A&P2, and Health. 2/3 have labs. Gross.
I'm done with summer weather. Fall, bring it on now please.
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[28 Aug 2008|04:32pm] |
Professor's daughter, talking to student: "Why don't you have a roommate?"
Student, joking: "I scared him off. It's because I don't shower."
Professor: "That wouldn't scare him off! No one showers here!"
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| A tunnel at the end of all that light |
[28 Aug 2008|03:08pm] |
What were you doing 10 years ago?
End of August 1998...I think I was in Canada, heading back to London, and Pieter was stranded in Canada with my parents due to an Air Canada strike.
What were you doing 1 year ago?
End of August 2007...Exactly what I am doing now, though my office was upstairs and I wasn't so jaded.
Five snacks you enjoy?
1. Red Licorice
2. Pistachios
3. Top Kek Pöti
4. Gummi anything
5. .GrapesFive songs that you know all the lyrics to?
1. Madame George- Van Morrison
2. We're on the Road to Nowhere- Talking Heads
3. Don't Go- Hothouse Flowers
4. Unbreak My Heart- Toni Braxton (D's fault entirely)
5. Bongo Bong- Manu Chao Five things you would do if you were a millionaire?
1. Eat at all sorts of amazing places all over the world
2. Travel, travel, travel
3. Quit my job
4. Build a house
5. Give a lot away to family and friends Five bad habits?
1. I spend way too much time online.
2. I chew pens
3. I procrastinate like mad
4. Inappropriate temper
5. Swearing like a sailor at inopportune times
Five things you like doing?
1. Cooking
2. Reading
3. Listening to music
4. Dining out at nice places
5. Traveling Five things you would never wear again?
1. Jelly Shoes
2. ?
3. ?
4. Those poorly fitting enormous things I used to wear when I thought I was really fat (but I wasn't)
5. Acid wash jeans Five favorite toys?
1. My mp3 player.
2. My Macbook
3. My camera
4. Larry's duck clock (now gone back to St Louis)
5. Bit Torrent
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