Life and Times at a Turkish University

Hello all!

I'm sitting in the library here at my University, just starting on the incoming flow of readings and homework I'm expecting to hit. School is finally starting! I'm still figuring out my class schedule a bit, but I've mostly chosen my courses, and getting into the swing of things. I spent last week trying out classes, often ending up quite frustrated. Two of the classes I tried are going to be taught only in Turkish, one didn't happen (the professor didn't show up)... finally on Friday I managed to attend two classes that I think I'll stick with: Turkish, and Politics of Nationalism. I tested into upper intermediate Turkish, so I tried out that class on Friday and although there was only one other student there, it was very difficult—I could hardly understand anything the professor was saying. I studied Turkish on my own, so naturally my speaking and understanding are worse than my writing and grammar. I'll keep up with it... I also wish I had more people with whom to practice my Turkish—I haven't met many Turkish students yet, so hopefully I will once I get into the swing of classes.
On Saturday I went out with my two American roommates, my Turkish flatmate, and her Turkish boyfriend. We drove to Ortaköy, a really nice neighborhood along the banks of the Bosphorus and wandered around, checking out a market and eating Turkish ravioli (mantı) with yogurt and garlic sauce. (They eat yogurt with everything here!). Afterwards we stopped at a café for some coffee and backgammon. Many turkish cafes have nargile (hookah) and board games—it's a fun environment. My roommates and I managed to win a bunch, as well!
After that, the night wasn't over. We headed to Galata to a wine bar, where we enjoyed some red wine and cheese and live music. Our flatmate and her boyfriend spoke Turkish with each other and English with us (though I tried out a bit of my Turkish on them...). They headed home after the bar, though my roommates and I went on to Taksim, one of the hubs for nightlife here. We ended up going to an erasmus (study abroad student) party at a club and dancing the night away (well, until around 2 AM...)
Sunday and Monday were days for relaxing. The weather hasn't been great here, so I've spent a lot of time inside, and managed to find a nice coffee shop near my dorm to get some actual work done (working in my room doesn't do it for me). Yesterday I tried out another Turkish course, though this one was even harder than the one on Friday—I'm surprised I tested into it, because I obviously do not know enough Turkish to read poetry. Inşallah ("God willing"; hopefully) I'll pick some up.
Today is an exciting day because it's February 29! Wooo! Otherwise, nothing much exciting going on. Went to another class this morning and discovered it to be all in Turkish, so I'm hoping to get into an English-speaking section of it. Tomorrow I have a meeting with a sociology professor to work figuring out my independent project, so hopefully I'll see where to go with it from there. I'm sorry this update hasn't been very interesting; I'll try to have some more blog-worthy adventures soon!
TTFN!