Today I went back to ODTU, for the exchange student orientation. It was a little weird, both because I'm not technically an exchange student and because I'd already sat through the exact same orientation two and a half years ago.
The morning session was decent; they had a coffee break, which was awesome as they served real coffee, which I've already mentioned is thin on the ground here. I also got to meet some of the exchange students--there are a loooooot of them! Last time I was here, there were maybe 60, and now there are 125, from all over Europe, the Middle East, and North America. I met students from Sweden, the UK, Ukraine, and Hungary, as well as quite a few from the US and Canada. Most are just here for the semester, but I did meet a few who are here for the year, so hopefully they'll be turn out to be decent folks. It was interesting talking to the exchange students, and realizing how limiting living on campus is: some of them had spent time in Istanbul, and some knew the campus decently well, but none of them had really got outside of campus and seen the city. It really seems a bit isolating, looking at it from the other side. Of course, they can visit each others rooms and dorms any time, and meet up on campus much easier, so I shouldn't gloat too much.
After the coffee break, I headed over to the Emniyet to try and get my residence permit. I was hoping to get there before they closed for lunch, but alas that was not to be, so I spent 45 minutes waiting for the security personnel to get back from lunch so I could even enter the building. Once inside, I spent a good two hours in line, getting my documents looked at, being told to go elsewhere, getting my documents looked at there, going back to the first office, etc. etc. until finally I was all paid up, had all my letters and documents stamped, and got everything turned in. I can pick it all up on Friday, at which point I can finally apply for an internet connection. I cannot wait. It was really interesting waiting in line at the Emniyet: the other students in my student permit line were pretty much all Central Asians. There were Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, an Azeri, an Afghani, and I think a Russian. My friend who got her permit in Istanbul mentioned that they were pretty much all Eastern European at the Emniyet there. It's curious as to why each group seems to have congregated in their particular city; I would guess it's for geographical reasons, but if you're coming from Kazakhstan, I'd hardly think an extra 5 hours on a bus would be at all daunting. Curious.

I also while unpacking found my journal from the last time I was here. I found it humorous and quite prescient that one of my first entries observes "The Turks seem to view the world through Turk-colored glasses..." It's just as true today.

-R