I Am Martha Stewart

So...I have decided that I am going to keep track of major meals that I cook for friends and family and then report back on how they went afterwards, and if people would like the recipes they can post a comment; which would be cool since it isn't something that anyone seems to do any more. SO here is tonight's Post-Christmas meal for my family, Aunts, Uncle and cousins:

-Sage rubbed Pork chops with cinnamon and brown sugar apples
-Sautéed green beans
-Garden salad
-English Trifle (my sister is making this part)

Hope the season is going well, finally got my white Christmas after returning from the vacation in Florida. There is no doubt, I am a northern girl.

~The Singing Ginger

Afterward: So maybe this recipe would have been better to me if I liked pork...yeah. On the whole it was taken very well by my family. Did roasted asparagus with olive oil, salt and pepper instead of the beans, way awesome. The meat was slightly overdone and the apples kind of outdid the sage rub on the pork, but everyone said they liked it. I don't really think this is a accurate indicator of a good meal though.
My rating 5/10 Approximate Family rating: 7.5/10

God Jul

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

~The Singing Ginger

The Future Scares the Hell Out of Me

So I am sitting here and looking over things for the Peace Corps and Graduate school, and all of these other crazy life decisions, and all I can think about is how much this all scares the hell out of me. I am looking at schools in different states and I am applying for a program that is going to take me away from my country for two years. Why the hell am I doing this? I am tighter with my family than anything else in my entire life. Am I just holding on to some sort of nomadic dream or traveling the world and having adventures? Is this what I really want? Can someone want something that scares them so bad?

This is the answer I have come up with. Yes, I can want something that scares the hell out of me. Yes, this is all life coming at me like mad, but...that is exciting as hell, and though i am scared out of my pants, I feel like I am on the brink of something truly amazing. I love my family and friends, and they are the most important parts of my life, but they wouldn't be the amazing set of friends nor the amazing relations that are family, if they weren't going to stay that way when I drop off the map for a little. Its going to be hard, and it is going to suck at times, because I am going to miss them so much, but if I don't go I am always going to wonder what my life would have been had I gone.

I refuse to be the the grandmother (heaven willing) that is on her death bed wondering what she could have done. Pondering who she could have met had she had nerve to go out and explore everything there was to explore. I will be the old woman (again, heaven willing) that went everywhere, and talked to everyone and has pictures on her mantle of both her dogs (I am not a cat person) and every corner of the globe. I want to speak a little of every language and worship in every religious building and wear out every pair of shoes I will ever own. I want the sun burn of the dessert, I want the waves of the ocean, I want concrete of every city, and the canopy of every forest. I want it all and though I may not get it, I will be damned if I am not going to try.

So I will put aside my fear, even if for a moment so I can catch my breath and refill my lungs. I will put one foot in front of another, and stop only when the pavement ends, and then go beyond that until the ground falls off, and sand is washed away.

"Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends."
~Shell Silverstein

~The Singing Ginger
I would like to dedicate this entire post to Amelia Lynn Callam, who on this day in 2006, became my guardian angel. Love you forever Mo.

Resolution Average

So, as promised about 30seconds ago, I am going to go over what I was able to accomplish last year in hopes I can do better next year!

-Get to healthy weight
*Not there yet, but 15lbs lighter than when I wrote this the first time!

-Learn patience and self reliance
*self reliance, hell yes. Patience, no way in hell.

-Kiss someone who means something to me/ don't kiss anyone who doesn't mean anything to me
*I have kissed someone who has meant something to me this year (though not really under the right state of mind) but unfortunatly I have also locked lips with a few who are special, and mean something but not in the way they should to be kissing them.

-Be more truthful
*Think I did better with this one, but there is still room for improvement.

-Find something to love about myself everyday
*I love myself, I probably don't need to be in a therapy-like exercise of reassuring myself every single day in order to know this.

-Get down to a 2:09 6k split time
*2:06:05 biatches :)

-Make art
*Nope, haven't really done this, sad face

-Sing more
*pretty much the same, which makes me sad, but more and more chances coming up

-Take a chance and do something totally random
*His name is Ski and he pretty much assures that this is taken care of every day

-Stop swearing as much
*I think I did pretty good on this one, but I also think this is me growing out of something I felt the need to do when I was a year younger.

-Keep grades up
*Eh, bad, MUST do better!!


Okay, so the grand total (including half for the patience/ self reliance and half for truth) would be 5 out of 11...wow. I mean I guess that isn't horrible, but it isn't great. Will have to do better for next year. So, I know its early to be doing this, but consider this a Happy Winter Holiday whateverness, and a wonderful New Year as well!

~The Singing Ginger

Ole Lang Sine

So it's that time of year again folks! New Year's resolution time; the time of year when I promise myself to rededicate and refocus my energy toward achieving my goals. I could start in on how this never works and I always loose my dedication and focus about two weeks in, but I am going to opt to stay positive about it, since being pessimistic would be the easy way out. And since it is a million times easier to fail when you are expecting yourself to do so, I am going to try and stay positive. So here it is, this year's resolutions!

Claire's New Year's Resolutions:

-Get myself back into shape for nationals...like WAY IN SHAPE
-Work on being semi-female like
*****I am kind of a tomboy and though I love being like that, on the occasion I would like to know how to be a girl.
-Find more places to perform and sing
*****This does not include impromptu concerts for my family, which, though fun, are not all that challenging.
-Use Betty (my guitar) more often and get at least 6 more memorized guitar parts under my belt.
-Apply to Peace Corps, Graduate School, and Foreign Service
-Learn to be okay with just myself
*****Without getting too dramatic or wishy washy, after being single for two years plus, I need to learn to be okay with being that way and not be taking up too much of my time worrying about when Mr. Right is going to come along. Don't get me wrong, I am still looking, but there is more to life than finding someone to spend it with.
-Achieve at least an overall 3.5 for next semester's grade point
-Get into the Phoenix or David Bowie Co-Op.
-Achieve 1 of 3 options:
*****Get into the CLS program and study in Turkey
*****Get a summer internship
*****Work and then take an epic road trip before going back to school
-Start writing a book
*****Or at least get a good idea for one

And that's pretty much it. My next post is going to PROBABLY be around which of last year's resolutions I actually stuck to. Actually, why wait? Going to post this under a new title and let you know how I did last year.
-

Breathe in Breath Out

I am getting a tattoo this weekend, and as much as I HATE to say it (because I know if my parents read this they are going to jump all over it and use it to their own advantage) I am getting nervous. This is easily the most permanent decision I have made up to this point in my life, that wasn't a no brainer (continuing my education, continuing certain relationships, sticking to my morals and/ or principals.) I am going to have something permanently ingrained in my SKIN! I've wanted this for a long time and now that it is finally coming all the weird little questioning midgets hanging out in my head are deciding to voice their opinion. I was talking to one of my best friends about it and he said something along the lines of me being worried about it being approved of, or if people thought it was any good. To be honest I think he was right, as much as I believe that this is MY tattoo and no one else's business, I would worry if I had people constantly telling me it looked like a piece of shit. I think this worry can be taken care of by the fact that I put a lot of research into this artist and I am confident in her capabilities to create a unique and wonderful piece of art (some of her previous work is displayed here.)

So what continues this sweaty palm reaction in myself even as I type about this momentous event this weekend? Some might suggest the pain factor in getting a tattoo, and though there is no doubt in my mind that this is going to be a "day of" worry, it is not so much right now. I have been through some very physically painful experiences in my life and if this is the worse one I am in pretty good shape. All-in-all a couple of hours of pain for a life long piece of art is a pretty good trade off.

So here is what I have come up with: I am worried about my future. This is the stereotypical worry and doubt when it comes to getting tattoos and as special as I think I am I have been unable to escape this particular situation. I am worried about what the future me is going to think about this position, about what future husband, or children, or bosses are going to think. I am worried that when I am old and wrinkly and liver spotted that I will look back on this and wonder what the hell I was thinking. I guess the only consolation for myself that I can offer would be that this can be a beautiful reminder of my youth, or my changing ways and of the things that I love now. I will always love music, I can say this without doubt or worry or anything else. So I guess the real question would be whether or not I am always going to love tattoos, and this is not an answer I can provide with any kind of certainty.

To those that might be reading that will be accompanying me this weekend, I ask only for support. I know you may not like this decision, I know you many not approve, but I would ask that you wouldn't take advantage of my worry to further your own hopes for a clean epidermal canvas. If you really can't do that just be neutral, get me through the day, stave off the jokes, or the personal opinions until I am all tattooed up. Thank you for your love, in any and all decisions that I make.

~The Singing Ginger

Rant Continued: Babies

As promised I have come back with a vengeance to continue my rant, starting, as all good rants do, with babies.

Let me lay down the guidelines for this one, when I am ranting about babies I am not talking about accidental pregnancies. I am a liberal pro-lifer and I think that if a woman decides to keep her child, at any age, under any circumstance, that it is a courageous decision that should be applauded and supported. That being said, to all you 20 yr olds out there who made a conscious decision to have a child, and become parents...for lack of a better term...WTF? You are barely out of your own childhood years and you think you can handle the constant care and attention that is required to properly raise a child?!? Go to school! Get drunk at football games! Have children LATER. There is not a reason on earth that you should feel the need to have a kid right now. If you really think you do, offer to do a long term baby sitting job for a family member or friend. When I say "long term" I mean a week or more (and lets be honest, even that isn't really enough time.)

Babies are crying, pooping, whining, time/ life sucks that are going to keep you up at all hours of the morning. Babies then turn into toddlers who will be running around with sharp objects, pulling things off of shelves, putting things in their mouths, and learning to potty train all over the house. Toddlers turn into preteens who suck more money and need braces, and doctor visits, and join sports teams. Then they turn into teenagers who will take out every drop of pent up anger they have out on you for being their parent. And after all is said and done you probably will have raised yet another 20 year old who decides, because they barely scraped by without permanent damage (and this really can't be accessed until they get a shrink in their 40s), that they too should have a kid at 20.

I want children, I want to be a mother, I want to have babies and do all the things listed above. I think children are wonderful and life changing and can be the best part of someone's life. In the same breath I don't want one now, hell I don't want one for at least the next 6 years or so. I love my life of staying up late, not to breast feed, but to cook and watch Conan O'Brien and The Office with my friends. I like having the time to read, or work out, or do absolutely nothing if I so choose. Hell I can't keep my apartment clean, how the hell am I going to raise a kid?

Its great that you have the physical capacity to have a child, that you can support them and that you have the want to have one. That isn't going to be enough to make you a good parent. That isn't going to be enough to make sure your child gets the best out of life and their up bringing. Wait, just give it some time, you aren't going anywhere and assuming something horrible doesn't happen your ovaries/ penis is going to continue to be able to have children for a long time coming.

So yeah...

~The Singing Ginger

Rant

Rant for the evening: girls and guys my age (20) should not be having babies. You shouldn't be getting married, you shouldn't be buying a house or moving in together or signing pre-nups. People my age should stop pretending like they want to be adults by doing childish things.

But wait, you may be saying to yourself "claire, I thought you were a desperate romantic who thinks that love will triumph over all?!?" I am, without apology, but marriage and love have damn near next to nothing to do with each other. That's right, I said it. The chick that has day dreams about the long white dress in a church with her friends and family, and can't wait till someone uses the word wife when referring to her as their life partner, just said love and marriage have almost nothing to do with each other. They don't. People who don't love each other get married all the time, and there are plenty of people out there that love each other that aren't married (or even allowed to get married.) Marriage is an outward symbol to your faith, community, government and family that you will be sticking together forever, but it comes from love that is already suppossed to exist, it doesn't create it.

That being said, one of the reasons marriage is so under valued these days is because people get divorced so damn often. I don't think it is because society is going to hell, and that our generation is copulating everywhere all over everything, it is because our society has crafted a mind set where we HAVE to get married. Marriage is beautiful and wonderful and sacred, and people should get married...if they want to, and when they know that the person they love is going to be the one they want to wake up next to for the next forever. If you really love someone, and are going to spend the rest of your life with them, why not wait? You are going to be with them forever anyways! If you don't believe that, if you think a marriage will make your relationship stronger, you shouldn't be getting married. Your relationship should be as strong as you think that it could possibly be before you get hitched. It might get stronger after anyways, but you shouldn't expect that.

I am going to rant about babies later, I have to go do something productive now.

~The Singing Ginger

Niceness

So after all of the hellish medical issues I have been having lately it would seem that things have finally began to calm themselves down a little bit. I feel bad because I have skipped the last few practices which is not something I ever do, but my body and my school work load are demanding it as this point and I have been trying to do 90min steady states when I can, but there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day. Eh, well, life goes on.

Speaking of medical issues, I think things have been cleared up. I am on medication for the next ten days, which I am never a fan of, but I will suck it up and deal so that I can spend as little time with the nice people in white coats as possible. I have noticed that when I am stressed out over these things singing is always a nice was to release. I have been singing A LOT in the shower lately. On a side note (and because this blog is titled for musical things) I am going to be singing for a group at the senior center and a special group in hospice care next month. I am looking forward to this because I love old people, and because I love singing and preforming. Part of the e-mail I was sent was also looking for people to impersonate Billie Holiday for a special performance for a woman that has Alzheimers and if a huge fan. Because of her condition she refuses to believe that Holiday is no longer with us, and her care taker wants her to be able to see a performance "live" before she goes. I found both immense happiness and sadness in this story. I don't know what you think.

Went out to dinner with David yesterday night, I really had a wonderful time and it was good catching up with someone I am fond of and haven't spoken to in a while. I find David interesting (and if he is reading this I hope he doesn't mind I am talking about him) because, though we tend to come to some similar conclusions about certain aspects of life, we get there VERY differently. This is in no way a bad or a good thing, it is just interesting to talk to someone who has a different base of beliefs that would lead him to similar conclusions. David, as well as a couple of other guys that I know, seem to have a different emotional and logical reaction to scenarios than I do. Being happy by making yourself feel so, viewing death (even in premature situations) as a natural part of everything, and taking the approach that if it is done when its done than one should live their lives the same way one would live if there is an afterlife or a heaven. I guess I tend to lend myself deeper into my emotions than that (not saying anyone who holds these beliefs to be unemotional) but then again, there are some aspects of my life were I do do that...so maybe I am not all that different.

Went to visit Co-Ops yesterday with Ski. It was a lot of fun and I am becoming excited about living in one next year assuming I get all my ducks in a row. For those of you that are not familiar with Co-Ops (short for housing cooperatives) they are student run houses that can have any number of people from 5 to 50, depending on the house size, that are self sufficient and governed. I would move into a room and then have a certain amount of chores that I have to do in order to contribute to the house. I would sleep, live and eat with people in my house and would be part of the larger cooperative community. I know this set up is wonderfully hippyish, but I am thinking that it is going to work out well for me. I like having a family, I like being around people and functioning within a caring group and I think this is what it is going to be like in a Co-Op. I think Ski and I are going to move into the same house which will also be nice because I will have a friend around in the case that I don't get along with people (which isn't going to happen because I pretty much get along with anyone.)

After seeing two of the houses yesterday, Avalon house and David Bowie house, I am leaning a lot more toward Bowie. I liked the set up and though they are not partiers at all, I don't think i will have any problem finding those when I want them. They also have a big kitchen and I could sign up to cook for people a couple of nights a week and get my house work requirement done. Avalon was cool but they throw 300+ person parties on the regular and they had a bake room dedicated to getting high on opium and pot and painting on the walls. I am a hippie to be sure, but not that much of one. I am hoping I get to know some of the people in that house though, because they seemed really chill and eclectic bunch and the girl that gave us the tour had on face paint and a circus outfit and was teaching people how to fire twirl.

Well that is pretty much it, getting stuff done and keeping my head above water. Tattoo in December, wisdom teeth out in a week, Disney World for Christmas.

Love you all, and hope everything is coming up roses. Peace

~The Singing Ginger

Adventures in the ER

So all was going well yesterday, I was at work and doing what i do best...stocking. When suddenly a very embarrassing medical problem came up, for now we will refer to it as "massive flesh wound," it wasn't but that sounds cooler. Being the committed employee that I am I remained at work for another hour and a half after my "massive flesh wound" and didn't think a whole lot of it but thought it might be a good idea to call my Aunt Martha (who is a nurse) and make sure that I shouldn't be taking anything. Of course, to my total and utter dismay, my Aunt tells me I need to go to the ER immediately for my "massive flesh wound" and that I should not go to my spanish class.

For those of you that might be reading this that don't know much about me: I hate hospitals, other than births, there is nothing happy that happens in hospitals that doesn't come from something bad. I don't like feeling like I am taking up the time of doctors and nurses that could be better used for other people that might actually have massive flesh wounds, and I don't like the freaking gowns that they put you in. So of course I get through triage and then they take me into a room, put me in a gown and ask me a million questions about what the hell is going on with me. They then hook me up to an saline drip IV, a heart monitor, and a little plastic finger thingy. Then the nice doctor lady informs we that I am going to need to get a CT scan of my abdomen to make sure I don't have anything more serious than a "massive flesh wound."

For those of you that haven't had a CT (because up until last night I had never had one) the first step is that they give you this gross liquid stuff they hide in apple juice that lights up your organs or some sillyness like that, then about 30mins later they give you another one. An hour after the first drink they take you into the CT room and lay you down in the giant doughnut. The doughnut tells you to breathe in, hold it, and then breathe out. Then the tech lady comes in and injects you with iodine which had all sorts of weird effects. The doughnut talks to you again and then they put you back on the rolly bed, like an invalid, and take you back to your room.

That was pretty much the most exciting part of my night. Other than playing with my heart rate on the monitor by relaxing my breathing and muscles and then hyperventilating and tensing. Just in case any of you wanted to know I can get my body to flex between 101 and 96 on the heart rate monitor.

All in all it wasn't a horrible experience, other than the very fact of having to be there. The people were really great and the doctor's did their jobs. Still hate hospitals though. Hope this finds you better than I was last night.

~The Singing Ginger

Pots of Tea

So I have found that my new kick, as of being sick for the past week or so, has been tea. I have the feeling I am turning into a bit of a hipster as I sit here in a flannel shirt I bought at a thrift store, working on my laptop that is covered in, what one friend described as "hippie stickers," sipping on a pot of vanilla tea (which wasn't all the good truth be told) at espresso royale, while listening to part of the soundtrack of "Where the Wild Things Are", and updating my blog...oh yeah, the hipster is bleeding forth from my eyeballs. I think it is probably just another phase. I have realized that, that is kind of how people function; and my hypothesis, contrary to popular belief, would be that this is how people of all ages function and live.

I associate different phases of my life with music, clothing and people. Each phase has a different anthem, a different t-shirt, and different hang out, and when the phase is over I have all of these relics to look back on and jog memories. I think it is beautiful. There is nothing wrong with change, we are constantly changing and it would only make sense that our tastes and hobbies would do so along with us. Each phase of life requires something different from our surroundings and being the adaptable species that we are we take what we have around us and utilize what this "section" of life requires. Currently I have 11 piercings (oh yeah...I got another one) and am scheduled for a tattoo in December, but I hold no delusions that when the time comes I will let the holes in my head heal and move on (the tattoo gets to sick around forever but I am hoping that my old saggy self will be able to enjoy it, if not love it.) My theory on why I get things pierced (other than the really cute guy who works in the shop named Andy) would be that I require occasional change in my appearance that I can control. I also require some semblance of being unique and this is my way to express that. You might at this point be thinking that I am a "poser" and that I should go back to my Ann Arbor bubbble and write slam poetry; but "frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," it makes me happy, and if that makes me a poser let me only say that I will be posing for life!

Here is what I say...screw it, here is what I shout: do what makes you happy. If that means punching holes in your face, or rushing a sorority, or playing a sport, or singing in a glee club, do it. You don't have time to be unhappy, you don't have time to be sad, you don't have time to think about what you might have done had you not been too scared to do it. If your friends laugh, and ridicule you, find new friends, there are plenty to be had and people are so different that I have doubt in your ability to find others that, like you, who are seeking their happiness in some "lame" way that nobody understands. There are going to be enough parts of your life that are going to make you unhappy that you have no control over. You are going to have jobs you don't like, you are going to have to be around people that agitate the hell out of you, and there are a million other things that are just part of living that are going to put you down, depress you and make you want to curl into the fetal position and never wake up in the morning. You can't escape these things, you can't change them and they are going to put gray hairs on your head no matter what. No one is perfectly happy, so through the idea that you have to be out the window. But the things you DO have control over, don't make them the unhappy moments of your life.

Okay I am stepping off the soap box now, I know everything I say is easier said than done, but I hope it might give people food for thought.

Yours Always,
~The Singing Ginger

Hope (Not just an Obama Thing)

Hope is a dangerous, dangerous thing.

Hope can keep alive the spirits of millions but can also spur on a lag in life that will put you at a stand still because you are living in a hope that will never be realized. Hope has kept me after guys that I should have been over much more quickly, hope also got me through the cancer and eventual death of one of my best friends, hope keeps me going everyday when I find that my existence has amounted to very little and I don't think I am going anywhere with my life. Hope is a dangerous thing because, to be frank, we have to learn that giving it up is not always a bad thing. Sometimes giving up hope means moving on with life, means new beginnings, means being able to make room to hope for something else. Hope is a dangerous thing.

And what happens when your lack of hope has been a protection mechanism? When you have made the conscious decisions not to hope for something because you knew that there was no way it could be yours? That you were satisfied with just not hoping because it meant that you had more space in your head to think? That functioning was not depending on hope but the lack of it? And what happens when that thing becomes a far off distant possibility? How does one deal with that? Hope does one deal with the surprising presence of hope? Hmmmmmm...I will get back to you.

~The Singing Ginger

Pictures

So I have actually been doing what I said I was going to do for a while now (big surprise there) and have been taking more pictures which is fun. I need to find my little camera cord thing so I can post the best ones for all of you beautiful people. I am hoping to possibly take the camera to the next rowing practice and gets some pictures on the water. Not only would these be gorgeous because the involve water in the early morning sunlight, but then you all can get a visual on why I love the grace of this sport so much.

Speaking of rowing I had a 5k test this morning. I still rank top 3 for the women...but that isn't the top so I still have work to do. A good friend of mine asked why I row the other day and I finally got a chance to vocalize why I love this sport so much; it went a little something like this:


"I love rowing firstly because it is on the water and that all in of its own is calming but also because when you are on an erg or racing on the water there is only you and that one thing. There is only the next 500 or 200 or 100 meters and the only thing stopping you is yourself. Because it tears your body apart and pushes you closer to your physical boundaries than you ever thought you could go. You have no idea how far you can push your body until you have taken it over the edge, then take it back a half inch and that is where you have to go every time you race. My body is so much more rugged than I ever though it would be, and it can handle so much more stress than I thought possible. Rowing helps me realize this, it is a challenge and a constant competition and its so pure in how it goes about doing all of these things.
You are accountable for yourself and your boat and when everything comes down to the line the stronger better rowers will always win. There isn't any way a ref or a guideline or rule, or call can change that. And the lows are so low because if you did it right you can empty yourself entirely and still lose to that other, better team; but the highs...god the highs are amazing because you can't stand or breathe or see straight but through the pain, and there is SO much pain, your body is ringing knowing that it has conquered all.
And then there is the last part, the part where I don't have to think about ANYTHING when I am rowing. It is just me and the water and the boat and the screaming voice of the coxswain and I don't have to think about school or work or the loneliness or any of the other shit that clouds my mind every other second of the day. For that 2 hours all there is, is the boat and my team mates and the water. I don't have to think about anything else, and nothing else comes into my mind. And when we are doing test pieces, even though they suck, all there is to concentrate on is how you are going to get your body through the next couple of minutes without it shutting down. There is just nothingness, and I get to swim in it."

So yeah, if anyone is every wondering why the hell there are these crazy cult people that love the pain and the spandex and the early practices, try it, because everyone has a crazy cult member in them somewhere.

On a note that is a bit more applicable to the title of this blog: I am going to be auditioning for a talent show with a $1,000 cash prize. I am going to sing my heart out for this so much more than anything else because I REALLY NEED THE MONEY! It would take care of rent, and debt to my parents, and bills, and the tattoo I want to get and I could put some away to use for text books and road trips and any other crazy adventure I might find myself wanted to do on a rainy day.

Cutting an album with Erik, should be fun, I am excited.

Hope everything is coming up roses.
~The Singing Ginger

I'm Back!

Hello wonderful internet peoples. Sorry it has been WAY too long since I have last posted. Life has been a bit hectic. I am trying to get my study abroad papers done, as well as moving into the new apartment, getting back into school, starting a new job and of course rowing. I am happy to report that the last Bastille of resistance to the crew movement in my family (my little brother) has fallen and now my entire 5 person family rows. It is actually kind of sad, but I enjoy it all the same.

This might be where people are thinking I am going to go into what I learned while away but to be quite honest I don't really feel like doing that right now, so you will just have to hold your breath and come back another time. I promise I will post one at some point.

On a cooler note, since I don't have enough going on in my life right now, I think I am going to take (at the suggestion of my fabulous photographer friend JD) on a little project. One of my goals for the year is to take more pictures and hopefully better ones as well. In order to work on this in an active manner, once I get back I am going to start taking about 30 random pictures a day and then post the one that best represents the day on here. Even if I don't do a text post that day the pic will still be on here. I am going to try and start this up as soon as I can mostly because it sounds like a blast, we will see how long it lasts.

Hope everything is coming up roses!

~The Singing Ginger

OMGOMGOMG!!!

So I made it to Paris, the city I was MOST looking forward to visiting on this trip and I have to say it has yet to disappoint. I spent the day on a 3 hour, free, walking tour held by neweurope (most amazing tours ever if you go to a big city in europe) and saw: Notre Dame, Eiffel tower, arc de triomphe, Louvre, Muse de Orsay, Latin quarter, Saint Michel and a bunch of other really cool parisian sites. After that I took a 20min walk from where the tour ended to the Eiffel tower (since we didn't get very close) and chilled out there for a bit but didn't have the chance to go up since I didn't really want to wait in line for 3 hours, by myself, in the rain. And this is where I shot myself in the foot...

As you can image, after a 3 hour walking tour and another walk to and from Eiffel I was kind of tired. I was going to just take a nap for an hour and then head over and go into the Louvre because it is free for students after 6pm on fridays. Well I guess my body was calling for a bit more sleep than that because I ended up taking a 2 hour nap and waking up too late to be able to go out. That is the sad thing about traveling alone, I don't have anyone to go out with and therefore don't feel comfortable leaving the hostel late at night to explore. Because I missed the Louvre tonight I am going to try and go tomorrow. This also means that tomorrow looks a little crazy: wake up, go to Muse De Orsay, take a walking tour of Monmartre, meet Avery at 6:30 for mass at Notre Dame, go to Louvre with Avery?, try and convince Avery to go have a glass of wine with me somewhere, go to bed. Then on Sunday: wake up, meet Jeffry at Catacombs and go on tour, go to Champs de Eleyse to watch the end of...TOUR DE FRANCE!!! So excited, even though Lance isn't gonig to win. Since I will be down there I am going to round out my stay with the Arc de Triomphe and I think that covers pretty much everything. Next time I come back here I think I am going to do the non touisty side of Paris, but for now I am content being a camera wielding, gitty American.

Home in less than a week. I love and miss you all and will update about school when I get back to the flat. :)

-Claire

p.s. Look below for a post I just published that I began writing before Paris.

2nd Wind

Hello everybody! I am back from Prague and it was exactly what I needed to really ward off the homesickness that has been plaguing me for a while. Prague is amazing; it is everything that anybody you has ever told you about it. It was nice traveling alone as well simply because moving in large groups can be a little stressful/ dramatic/ inefficient for doing the things that I want to do. And we all know that the world revolves around me :)

Anyways, on a slightly different topic, in efforts to update all you wonderful people on life here across the puddle (and you are going to have to forgive me but I am not going to deal with loading pictures until a later date so for now it is just going to be text...sorry)this has been what has been on the up-and-up.

Fields trips:
-NATO Headquarters: Went to the NATO Headquarters just outside of Brussels and got to be a part of a Terrorist Attack drill that happened to fall on the the day we there and about 10mins into the presentation we were being given. We also got to meet the 3 star Admiral that represents the US at NATO. I could give you his name but I don't have it on me and will look it up later and add it. http://www.navy.mil/navydata/bios/navybio.asp?bioID=276

-European Council: This woman (again I have no names on me and will add them later) was amazing and I want to BE here. She is the representative for President Solano when it comes to Human Rights and is also a former James Madison student. She talked about how EU uses certain avenues in order to improve aspect of human rights on a global scale. I will want her job if I decide to enter a more political sphere.

-European Parliament: Again another great speaker, this time a civil servant who was working on public relations for the EU at the time. Not a high mucky muck but a really great speaker and a wonderful guy. He ended up giving his presentation on general EU stuff and how it functions (WAY too many sub groups to be productive.) But the question and answer secession was interesting and long and in depth and he knew a lot more than he was letting on when he was presenting and I think he was surprised by the knowledge we had through the questions we were asking.

-SHAPE: This was cool because our "guide" was a two star colonel from Poland. Great guy. We also had a panel made of him, a colonel from Ireland and a representative from the US. We got to ask them questions and then answer from their different view points. Best part of this visit was when the Irish colonel and the US colonel almost got into a fist fight when Wes asked them about using private security forces in Iraq. It was hilarious and all of us learned a lot from it. I had the sense to sit across from our Polish colonel during lunch and we got to talking about life and politics and culture. He liked me I think because he said I should come work at SHAPE and that it would be a good place for me and gave me some reading on it. I would say I could use him for a job but he is retiring off to his yaht in Poland in about a month.

-European Commission: Okay this one was boring, no lie. We got a general overview of the Maghreb (Northern African countries) and the EU's relations. He ended up throwing us scripted answers to our slightly more controversial questions and I wasn't so much into it.

Yeah, write more later, be back soon. Love you all!

~Claire

In Short

Okay, so in short I have been sick with a nasty cold for the past two days. That plus countless interviews and meetings with people arranged by the program, a 1500 word essay to write, a weekend trip to plan, and the fact that I have some serious homesickness going on has, and will continue until next week, prevented me from posting. Sorry guys, I just need a break and attempt to figure out how to recharge my batteries when all I am wanting right now is home. Love you all. Hope everything is coming up roses.

~Claire
p.s. maybe this weekend in Prague will do me good.

Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate

Hey guys, so I know I have been horrible in the past week about posting and I can't say that this particular post is going to be any more informative. We leave for The Hague tomorrow and got a small debrief by our professor on the tribunals we will be sitting in on today. I asked for copies and thought I might enlighten you all. It should explain the title of the post (google it and it should come up.)

Vlastimir "Rodja" Djordjevic:
General charges: Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes committed against Kosovo.
Details: Djordjevic's (Dordevic) indictment alleges that he was a member of the Joint Command of Yugoslav and Serbian armed forces that deported some 800,000 Albanians from Kosovo, killed over 700 named Kosovo Albanians, sexually assault countless women, and looted and destroyed civilian property. This includes the massacre of the Berisha family in a coffee shop and the subsequent moving of their, and others bodies into a mass grave.
This will be held in the Special Court for Former Yugoslavia
Google image this guy, he looks like he could be someone's Grandfather.

Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
General Charge: War Crimes
Details: Dyilo is accused of enlisting and forcibly drafting children under the age of 15 into his Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC.) these children were trained under the harshest of conditions, given uniforms, weapons and ammunition and then sent to the front lines.
This will be held in the International Criminal Court under:
The Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Fun Fact: Dyilo was the first person to ever be arrested under a warrant issued by The International Criminal Court.

Now you should be able to understand the title of the post. I have been warned that neither of these men will serve all that much time. I am sure I will have a TON to say about that when I get back. After The Hague I will be spending the weekend in Amsterdam. Love you all and see you on the other side.

~Claire

"Be aware of the charm of evil people"
-Jamie Shea

Last Gobble

Pre-post note: So I made it safely to Belgium and am getting settled. This was written in the Istanbul airport. I will post more about Belgium and the like once I get my life together again. Days living out of a suitcase: 39


So I am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight and I figure it might be a good time to reflect on my time here. I love Turkey, in case you haven’t picked up on that in the last month’s worth of posts, and I am truly sad to have to leave. I have learned so much about this country while learning a ton about my own person and the general human condition as well. I have learned that I can rely on myself more than I ever thought. On my own, as a white female that doesn’t speak the language I was able to get to a town an hour and a half away, explore, and come back. I can order food on my own, in Turkish. I can read a map and plan out my day and be on time for things, all acts I never thought were possible in the states. Most importantly I learned how to use a squat toilet; which just goes to show that necessity is, in fact, the mother of invention…or in this case desperation.

I learned that not all people are like big city Americans and that if a crazy looking Turkish dude offers to walk me to the office I needed to go to, to buy my bus ticket, and then translates for me to the guy printing the ticket, that he might NOT be trying to rip me off, con me or rape me. That isn’t always the case but sometimes people are just friendly. I can’t tell you how many times I have been here where people just wanted to help, and show us their country and ask us questions. I feel that in the US we have developed such a sense of paranoia about other people that when we go somewhere else and are offered help that we are already conditioned to be suspicious, questioning and sometimes cruel. I also learned that occasionally these reactions are okay…like when there is a creeper on the subway and he is giving you looks and following you (in which case it is good to have a Turkish dude friend to scare him off.)

I have learned that not every Turk owns a camel and the one that I did see was sitting and getting paid to have tourists sit on him/ her and look silly…I took a picture, but didn’t sit. I have learned that if you stare a vendor directly in the eye, and just take a moment, to stare them down, to let them know that you may be a stupid American who doesn’t speak the language and isn’t used to working for a price of any good, but that damnit, you are not going to pay 45 lyria for that crappy little dagger, that they just might give it to you for 30. I think I am going to try that at Busch’s next time around. I finally understand that food is just food and I am willing to try anything once. Stuff I have eaten in Turkey: fish eyeball, octopus tentacle, yogurt milk drinky thingy, and all sorts of meats and nuts and spices and amazingness. You take the good with the bad, and if the stuff is really weird and freaks you out, you chalk it up to a cultural experience. Its okay, you are going to live.

And I think that would be the last and greatest lesson I have learned here. You can’t be afraid to live. You can’t sit somewhere and do nothing just because it is safe or because it feels better. That scary things can be new and exciting and adventurous, and they are experiences worth having. STOP BEING AFRAID! DON’T JUST SIT THERE, YOU ARE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!!! People are wonderful, culture is beautiful, adventure is exciting and squat toilets may be more sanitary but they will always smell worse. Time to go find myself in Belgium. Love you all.

~Claire

Roots

So I was on my own for the first time in my overseas travels and I have to say I was kind of scared...if we are keeping this blog rated PG..."poop-less." I was going to go to the town of Menemen which is where my great grandmother was born and lived until the Greek/ Turkish population exchange in the 1920's. Problem is, the town is so tiny most Turks haven't heard of it, and being a white female who doesn't speak the language, and is traveling by herself, I couldn't really find a safe and easy way to get there. SO instead I went to Efes (Greek: Ephesus) which was amazing. I walked through a compound house structure that was built in 3rd century AD and still had the mosaics and paint intact even after 2 earthquakes and multiple reconstructions. PAINT! We can't get the paint on the walls of the bathroom I share with my siblings to last more than a year and this stuff was still bright like it was applied yesterday. Ephesus is rumored to be the place that the book of John was written in, it also has a huge gladiator graveyard, the Library of Celsus and The Theater (which was the largest outdoor theater in the ancient world, thus why it gets to be called just "The Theater"...much like "Madonna" or "Cher".)

The Theater is also the place where Saint John gave his speech denouncing Artemis to the Ephesians and preaching the word of Jesus. They sat there and for three hours chanted something along the lines of "Praise Artemis" at him before running him out of town. The Library of Celsus is one of the most beautiful pieces of ancient architecture I have ever seen (1st picture.) There is just something so majestic and mighty and humbling about the facade. I could have sat there for hours, it was wonderful. As I walked down the marble streets all I could think about was the fact that not only did John the apostle walk these same steps, but Cleopatra and Antony, Alexander the Great and possibly even the Virgin Mary. All of these people came to this spot and walked these halls and carved crazy greek writing that I can't read on these walls. Okay, and now you know what a dorky history geek I am. There is no hiding it at this point. I love this stuff.

After walking around a little bit more and getting to the top of the excavation site. OH...did I mention that Ephesus is only 25% "dug up" at this point? Yeah, this is what they have found after going through a quarter of what could possibly be there. SO NIFTY!! Anyways, I got to the top of the site and realized that they were selling "audio tours" at this entrance that I had missed at the other one. Now normally I would have to go because I would be in a group and someone undoubtedly has to pee at this point, and another wants to see the shops, and half of the group is hungry and the other half is sunburned...but wait...I was traveling alone. So you know what I did? I applied some sunblock to my nose, retied my shoes, and bought myself an audio tour and walked back through the entire thing!!!!! It was glorious. I didn't have to stop to take pictures either because I had already been through once, and I learned a ton more (audio tours are the most amazing thing known to man.) So amazing.

Okay I am going to continue this post later and tell you guys about the House of the Virgin Mary as well as some f the bumps in the road to getting back to Istanbul. But for now I have to make sure everything is ready for the bus tomorrow. Keeping everybody in my thoughts and loving on ya from overseas.

~Claire

Michael Jackson

I would just like to take a moment out of my travel log to give pause for a man that truely changed the music and dance industry. Michael Jackson was an amazing influence on my life, he sang the first songs I ever listened to, the first rhythm I danced with and shaped my general appreciation for music as a whole. I want everyone to know this, I am sad he is gone. Michael Jackson inspired me to music and when my Dad talks about how he remembers where he was when he heard that John Lennon had died, I will remember yesterday in the same way. I will miss him, and I would like everyone to know, that even though we were in a Turkish bar when we heard, that we made them play MJ anyway. Here's to an inspiration gone.

RIP King of Pop
~Claire

My Squishy

Well, as per usual, my mother was right. As we closed out our final lecture in Turkey today it hasn't seem like a month has gone by, or even anything close to it. At the same time it feels like forever since I have seen any of you beautiful people. This country has been so wonderful to me, its people, its food, its culture and the very land itself. I love it here and when my professor chimes in with his occasional "this is your first trip to Turkey, not your last" I believe him with every fiber of my being. Tomorrow we are going to party it up in Taksim Square with last min shopping, a little bit of drinking, a fair well dinner...and a little bit of drinking. On friday Avery and I are going to catch the bus to Izmir. I will be staying in a hotel or hostel and then spending my Saturday making my way to Menemen the birthplace of my Great Grandmother. Avery will be heading on to Ephesus but then meet me back in Izmir on Sunday. Monday morning we are going to catch our ride back and have a last dinner in Istanbul before boarding our 5am flight (tuesday) to Brussels. I don't know what adventures will be waiting for me there, but if they are even half as good as the ones in Turkey the fact that I will be as broke as a hobo when I get back will absolutely be worth it.

We went to the Asian side of Istanbul today. On the Ferry Bilgehan pointed out dolphins swimming in the Bosporus out to sea. It was like Sea World...but real. We got off and then thought it might be nice to have a little hike up to see the old castle ruins. What the quaint little road signs did not inform us of was the fact that the castle was at the end of a mile and a half hike at what seemed to my thighs, calfs and butt to be a 90 degree angle. We made it up all the same and the view was awesome (the castle not so much, especially considering there was no information to speak of on what went on there, who it belonged to or if it was of any particular importance.) Went back down after having a Kasarli toast (Turkish grilled cheese) and a beer. Shopped around for a bit and regrouped with our professor who, in all his infinite wisdom, decided not to take the hike from hell. We found another restaurant and even though I had half a sandwich, figured I had to try a fish sandwich because we are on a body of water and I must have burned off something considering the pain I was in. Good plan on my part, the fish was amazing. Got back on the ferry after wards and I got to stare at the awesome groups of jellyfish that chill out in the water near the dock (if you don't get the title of this post go rent "Finding Nemo") Went back to the dorm, chatted with my momma, and am now going to bed.

More later, sweet dreams!
~Claire

How Bazaar, How Bazaar

Hello wonderful people persons! Sorry I haven’t posted in a while, I have been using the weekend to see some local sites and reorganize my life via suite case. So I am going to start off with the bazaar. We took the dolmush Thursday and had quite the time of it. The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul looks like your typical indoor bazaar…on crack. The building itself is beautiful, with large painted arches and a few mosaic tiles; and it seems like every square inch of the floor below is covered with shops and booths and clothing and jewelry and scarves and metal things and beads and…everything. There are a ton of people moving in every which direction and I totally understand how one could easily get pickpocketed here and never know what happened to them. Lucky for me I did not have this particular experience, but I have met a few who have.

The best part of the bazaar are the vendors. Each f them seem to have their own game as to how to get you to come and look at their booth of stuff instead of anyone else. I was traveling with three other girls from my group and the first tactic we encountered was the “spice girl” tactic. This mostly involves yelling out “Hey Spice Girls!” and then going through which spice girls each of us were. The second tactic was outright flirtation. “Beautiful girls! Come and look I will give you discount!” this would occasionally work if they told us what the discount would be before we got too far away. Then there was the random shouting of any English words they knew “Hello, yes, thanks!” “American?” “Hello!!!” we figured out very quickly to not approach these vendors mostly because haggling became a problem when you have a 3 word English vocabulary. Then there was one that I totally brought down on myself. I hoped to avoid crazy people by putting on my Koc shirt, in the hopes people would guess I was a student and therefore have no money. WRONG! EPIC FAIL. Apparently every vendor and their mother, uncle, cousin, sister, brother, best friend or wife went to Koc, or is going to Koc, or will be going to Koc. Not only this but what would be a totally logical thought in the US: students are broke. Does not apply here. If you come to a university in Turkey you have to have money, therefore wearing my Koc shirt caught us more flack from sellers than any other aspect of our physical appearance. Yeah, lesson learned.

All in all it was a fun day and I haggled and bought stuff for people and had fun and broke in my shoes that much more. Most importantly I left the bazaar with all ten finger and all ten toes...though if my wallet had limbs I think the carnage would have been...harsh. I justify this because no one will be getting presents from Belgium and I have been using the grocery store so i don't eat out everyday. Speaking of eating out, I have been taking pictures of every meal I have been eating and everyone should expect a food post at some point. :) Write more later, hope all is well.

~Claire

A Tribute to Mr. Benedict: The Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque

After the whole spa thing and then a wonderful night of sleep, we woke up and climbed to the roof to enjoy the free Turkish breakfast provided by our hostel. From the roof of our hostel we could not only look out over the Bosporus river but could see the spires of the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia. It was amazing. We watched the sun rise in the sky and decided to head out about an hour later. We thought the Hagia Sophia might be a good idea to cover early because it costs money to get into and we wanted to beat the crowds. WOW…first off for those of you who have never seen the Hagia Sophia (or the Blue Mosque for that matter) it looks straight out of Star Wars. Think firstly, a freaking huge building, both in size and in the generally presence of the building itself. Then think of the main dome, which is about the size of a very large house all on its own, suspended in the sky. This was for a centuries the tallest dome in the world. Under these are a bunch of smaller domes about the size of mobile homes. They are supported by large buttress type dealios, but for those of you who are going to be picky they aren’t quite as harsh, think more arch and less…butt. Hehehehe. All of this is supported by giant walls that are a reddish type color and tower over the square. And then you actually go in.

First off you should remember to breathe. If you are at all interested in Islamic style decoration, Byzantine architecture, or any kind of mosaic art, you have to go here. It isn’t even a suggestion, you just have to. The walls shoot straight up to the domes, the domes are covered in golden Arabic. There are also four large circles with Arabic writing. Had I had enough money for a tour I am sure I could tell you what they mean, and how they are important historically…but I didn’t, so you should just go look it up on google or something. The structure is also supported by giant Corinthian columns that are simply stunning. On the far end of the amazingly large room is a dome that has on it a partial mosaic of Virgin Mary holding the Christ child and next to her on another dome is an even more partial mosaic of Arch Angel Gabriel. What is really interesting is that other than a couple of mosaics on the second level, there is very little Christian art left over on the walls of the Hagia Sophia, some of you might think: of course there is no Christian art, it is a big mosque like building. But the fact is, is that the Hagia Sophia used to be Saint Sophia and was at one point the third largest Catholic church in the world. If you look carefully under the delicately constructed swirls of Islamic art you will see crosses that have been painted over. It is really cool…and I am such a geek.
I could go on forever but there is this other really awesome building across the courtyard I am now going to tell you about.


The Blue Mosque is an equally stunning building situated about a football fields length away from the Hagia Sophia. This is a working mosque (the Hagia used to be until it was turned into a museum and there is currently debate going on to switch it back) and when you enter you do so with those going to practice their faith. Once you are in the courtyard you are separted into two groups; practicing Muslims and visitors. Visitors wait in line while reading signs in five different languages about proper behavior within the mosque. Women must cover their heads, wear skirts that hit their ankles and have their upper arms and shoulders covered. Those that don’t meet these standards are given large bolts of blue cloth in order to cover themselves to the point that is proper. I have to say I was a little pleased with myself about the fact that I wasn’t stopped or given more cloth. Then again I was wearing a skirt that hit the floor, a long sleeve black shirt and had a head scarf in my bag.

After taking off your shoes you enter the mosque and then you eyes explode in your head because the mosaics covering the walls are so complicated and so immense that you don’t even know how it is possible that things like this exist. The walls and domes are all covered from head to toe (much like me) in blue and red flowers and swirls and patterns that look like someone quilted the walls. It…I can’t even…you just have to go. The pictures don’t even come close to getting it right. People watching in the Blue is fabulous. You see women in headscarves, women in burqa, women with the blue cloth covering their head, and then the best group of people, women who have been given cloth to cover themselves, get past the guards and then remove it. If you are a person like this, you better not travel with me…ever. I will not only bite your head off about it, but I will simply refuse to go anywhere with you. It is not appropriate, it is not okay, and if you give that much of a crap that you “look good” in a holy place of worship you should go to the bazaar and wear your tank top and mini skirt over there, don’t even come to the mosque. Okay, I am done Anyway, I sat and watched people and thought and observed how the women in the prayer areas were praying and then attempted to mimic them and offered up a prayer of my own. Don’t get me wrong, I love big cathedrals that Christian’s tend toward, but I think we should take a page from mosques and do the whole mosaic/ dome thing. I don’t think Jesus would mind.

Wow, this post is going to go on forever…if you are still reading I am mildly impressed and I am going to make sure the pictures I pick are really cool so you have something to look at.

Then we went over to the archeological museum and I was like a kid in a candy shop looking around at all of the sculptures and awesome art and Roman and Greek and Hellenistic period amazingness. It rocked, I got to see mosaics from the Ishtar Gate…yeah you know you are jealous. The Istanbul archeological museum is one of three that holds dragon panels from the original. I am hoping to get to Berlin in order to see the entire gate, but we will see if I run out of money before then. Speaking of that, just checked in on my account balances and I need to slow my roll…for reals. Then again I don’t really plan on buying ANY souvenirs in Belgium, mostly because Turkey is cooler and more different, so that might help a little.

I am going to pause here, because this post is getting entirely too long and I need to break it up a little bit; might do a food post next or something so the blog doesn’t look so damn dense. Hope this post finds everyone well. Thanks for tuning in!

~Claire

p.s. Wanted to let you guys know that you can click on any of these images and see a full view that might be a bit more clear than the mini version I fit into the text. :)

Your Head and Your Heart

Okay so yesterday’s update part II:

It is at this point that I might get a little bit political/ interject some of my observations. In order to enter the Blue Mosque those that run the mosque ask that there are certain clothing restrictions that are met. As you might be able to image there are more restrictions for women than there are for men. Men are asked not to wear shorts. Women are asked to wear long skirts and don a headscarf, as well as cover their shoulders and upper arms. This wasn’t really a problem for me because I figured this would be the case anyway and came prepared. What was really the kicker about all of this, and you will have to forgive me to jumping the gun when it comes to the order of my day, was when Jenny and I went out for dinner that night. I wore a black cotton dress that in the states I would not have even thought twice about because it goes down to my knees and isn’t altogether that low cut. To get to dinner we had to catch a cab from the main square; never have I felt more like a hussy in my life. I was very literally wrapping the scarf I had brought around my shoulders and chest in attempts to cover myself. It was silly and I was fine but the fact that I had spent my entire day covered from head to toe and being surrounded by women that were covered from head to toe made my self-consciousness level off the charts. It was horrible.

I thought back to the lectures we had, had early in the week in class and how all of the women professors had said that we as Americans would of course find the law prohibiting women in Universities as a repressive measure and that everyone should just be able to practice religion as they want. I would be lying if at first I didn’t think just that. I grew up and was educated in America and therefore it has been pounded into my head that everyone should have certain freedoms and everyone should have certain liberties. Why shouldn’t a woman be allowed to wear what she wants in a school? My feeling like a hussy walking through a square in anything less than long sleeves and a skirt down the ground, is why. If you let women wear head scarves in the classroom, all women will eventually wear headscarves in the classroom. By preventing the more conservative group to practice this outward showing of faith, you enable the entire population to be free to do what they wish. You enable many by disabling one. To allow head scarves in universities you would strip the right from women to not wear them. I cannot possibly imagine what it would be like as a practicing Muslim woman, who chooses not to cover her head, to be in a classroom full of women who cover. The pressure would be immense and I don’t know if I would be able to do it, as an American grown up with different convictions, let alone getting judgments from my peers.

Many of you are going to read this and think I am turning into a repressive wench, but the fact is, is that Turkey is not the United States, neither is Iraq, or Germany or China. We are different and therefore we MUST be governed by different rules and laws. I still believe that there are some basic rights for us as humans but the parameters of those rights in my mind have changed. Also my views about what should be allowed in the United States have changed. We as Americans must push for religion to be delegated into the private sector of our society. It isn’t going to happen any time soon, if it happens at all, but we have to try. Religion has no place in our schools, our courts or our patriotic decorations. If you are a believer and you want to practice, do so in your mind, in your thoughts and actions and in your home. If you want to don a symbol of your religion do so in your house or when you go shopping; don’t bring it to a university. In your mind is the place in which you can truly be free, run rampant with your convictions there. You should be living your religion anyway, is there no greater gift to G-d than to practice in your life what you believe in your heart? No one needs a head scarf or a cross or a yarmulke in order to do this. And from here I will make a promise: from this point on (though not like I do so all that much anyway) I promise that I will not wear religious symbols on my person while at Michigan State or any other university I might attend. The only exception to this would be when I am traveling to get to church or coming back. I am going to try and practice what I preach and I think this would be the best way to do so. Religion is beautiful, keep it in your heart, not on your person.

Love you all,
~Claire

Turkish bath...Not Turkish Delight

Hello All! So I finally found a second to sit down and update everybody on life. Sorry it has been so long but between traveling, lectures and sightseeing life has been a little hectic on this side of the pond. We made it to Istanbul safely and checked into our amazing hostel in the Mosque district, appropriately named Istanbul Hostel. I would highly recommend that if you are in this part of the world you stay here. It is clean and safe and the staff was the most amazing and helpful people you could ever meet. The hostel is situated about a 2 min walk from the square that holds both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. For those of you who have no idea what these buildings are I would suggest you go and look up some stuff right now. They are the most beautiful examples of Ottoman architecture I have ever seen in my life and the history behind both buildings is wonderful. I would account it for you but I don’t have the time and quite frankly I don’t think you have the patience.

We decided on the bus that it might be a good idea to relax and find something nice to do in the evening once we arrived and since the mosques and bazaars were being given whole days to do later we thought a nice traditional Turkish bath might be kind of cool. Oh boy. The hostel has a really awesome deal with a local traditional bath where you pay 45 TL and you get the whole package deal. So we went for that and grabbed a cab into what must have been one of the more sketchy parts of the area. Upon arriving an older Turkish woman who spoke very little english ushered the girls down a cement staircase in a back alley and into a large room with smaller rooms/ lockers coming off of it. Each of us were shown into a locker, given a towel and a pair of bath shoes and told to strip. (Yeah it keeps getting better after this so only the brave should venture on reading.) After this all of us emerge from the lockers and into the larger room (where there are a couple of Turkish women chilling on couches and pillows as well as some Germans (?)) clutching our towels like there are our last hold on life. The old Turkish lady motions that we should follow her and we go into this tiny little corridor that leads into a sauna. This room then connects to a larger room made of marble with very high ceilings and a very large slab of rock in the middle.

We are greeted by yet another old Turkish lady, accept this time she is very large, very saggy and very much naked (accept for her bathing suit bottoms…which were very small.) Around the edge of the sauna runs a big built in bench thing and this then has little basins with faucets on every wall. Each of us are shown to a basin and told to use the bowls to pour hot water over ourselves. It is also at this point that that old Turkish woman, who doesn’t speak any english, and is large and naked, snatches our much loved towels away from us…oh goodness. We chill in the big sauna room for a bit before the lady comes back and motions to me that I should lay out on the big slab of rock. I do so and she puts on this big mitten thingy, at this point I am just hoping to get out of there with all ten fingers and all ten toes. She uses the mitten to scrub off every piece of dead skin on my entire body and I cry a little bit as the tan I had kind of been accumulating goes along with it. Then she leads me back to my basin and motions for me to continue washing. So all of us get the Turkish scrub down and a different lady comes in and again motions for me to lay down. This part was the best. She takes a giant luffa and suds you up and then gives you a body massage. There was a little more to the spa thing but I think you have heard enough at this point and there are other adventures to relay

I have to go to a tour of campus now, but for anyone who is reading this currently, I will finish the post when I get back!

~Claire

...Not Constantinople

Making this one really quick too, I have made it to Istanbul and am staying in a fabulous hostel in the mosque district. As soon as I get some reliable internet I will update. Promise, promise, promise. Awesome pictures to come too.

~Claire

Quicky #2 Turkey

Had an amazing time in Olympus this weekend, going to have to tell everybody more about at some point or another, just wanted to let everyone know I got back and will be posting pictures of the most amazing blue sea and gorgeous mountains you have ever seen sometime soon. We are going to Ataturk's mausoleum in about an hour and I plan on getting a mini bust if I can. He rocks and his eyebrows are cool...nuff said. Loving it here still, the people and the food and the country are something I am enamored with. At this point I am pretty much living on a large tub of yogurt I bought a week ago, honey, bread, jam and I had a kabob yesterday. Post more later, missing and loving you all!

~Claire

Gusto

I have the feeling I am beginning to burn out with the whole update the blog every day. I knew this was going to happen so I am going to slow up a little bit. The group is taking the train to Antalya this weekend and I will not be taking my computer so maybe I will recharge and return with more gusto and whatnot.

So random ponderings of the trip since i don't feel like giving a breakdown of the day. Interestingly enough, as I mentioned in my last post, life here has become much more simple. Here I focus on studies and seeing the country and the rest of the time is spent trying not to spend money. My diet has drastically changed. At this point I am living on small strips of cheese, cucumber, bread and jam and if I get up early enough an egg for breakfast. Of course coffee is included with all meals. for lunch I am using up my power bars because we get about 30mins between lecture and class to eat and go to the bathroom and stretch our legs. Dinner is whatever I end up buying at whatever restaurant we end up at. This is going to change though because I bought a HUGE tub of yogurt (medi style, so sour tasting to americans who aren't sued to it) and a box of muesli. I "borrowed" a small spoon from the kitchen and mix these things with honey in a tea cup and will be using this for breakfast and dinner (since I need to slow up on spending.) Very simple. Even when we go out to eat, I figured out how to order a grilled cheese in Turkish and it tends to be a lot cheaper than anything else. Not to mention the cheese is awesome. Don't get me wrong I have been enjoying slightly more traditional meals as well but I can't do that everyday or I will have no money by the time I get to Belgium.

I would just like to emphasize how much I love hearing the call to prayer a couple times each day. It is beautiful and anyone who has anything to say against Islam should sit in a mosque and listen to it for a moment. Why is it that I was born into one of the only major "old" religions that doesn't have a service that is mostly in song??? I have been to a Jewish service and I know enough about a Muslim service to know that both of these have sung prayer. I am all over the Latin and whatnot but Catholics have pretty much done away with chanting at this point. Bad plan in my opinion.

Going to Antalya this weekend and then have plans to get to Izmir on the four days we have between Ankara and Istanbul. So the 13th and the 14th and leave on the 15th. Before this we are going to be going to a smaller town outside of Izmir (can't remember the name right now I will post it later.) All fo these places have really awesome history of Turkey and I am looking forward to going to some museums and learning what I can about ancient Mesopotamia. Mr. Benedict would be proud. :) Okay, bored now, going to go do something. :) Hope this finds you all well.

~Claire

Mosque

Best moment from yesterday: sitting on the steps with Chris, Kim, Jen and Randle that lead down into the Mosque at Bilkent University and listening to the call to prayer while looking out over the night lights of Ankara. I must say it was so peaceful and made me so amazingly content that is worries me that I have these moments all the time and am just moving too fast to realize that I am having them. I have been able to slow down here, get back to simple things, and simple pleasures; focus on my education, both inside and outside the classroom. It is so nice.

The last day or so has fallen into what I can only assume will be end up being the rhythm of the rest fo our time in Ankara; lecture from 10:00-11:30ish and then a 45min break and then class till 2:00pm (on Tuesday s and Thursday s we will have another lecture at 2:00pm.) After this if we need to, the group heads to the campus market to buy bread, jam and any other necessities for the next couple of days. Then we either catch a taxi or walk about 45mins back to Aysel (the guesthouse we are staying in.) People get on their computers and talk to family members and nap a little bit (or update their blogs) and then those that want to venture out to find dinner do so and some stay at Aysel to sleep and catch up on reading. Yesterday the five of us decided that we would walk over to the other campus in Ankara, Bilkent University, and check out the Mosque. Long flowly skirt adorned and headscarf in hand we took the 10min walk over to the campus and were greeted with a very modern looking mosque that was amazingly stunning in the setting sun. The guards didn’t seem to mind us there (there were a lot of police/ guard looking people walking around or looking at us from towers) and via sign language we figured out that it was okay to take pictures. I think they were very interested/ appreciative of the fact that we all took our shoes off and the women donned headscarves before entering the Mosque. Either way when we went in there was one guard and when we came out there were three. They were very friendly though as we looked around and took some snap shots.

After that we followed the signs to Bilkent Centre which ended up being a shopping mall, which was just fine with us because we wanted to eat dinner. On the slightly ironic side of things we found a “traditional” Chinese food restaurant, and Chris was in our group (Chris is Taiwanese but speaks Mandarin) as well as Kim who speaks Cantonese. So I ended up having sushi in Turkey for dinner. It was a cool experience but I like the sushi better in Ann Arbor.

More later, haven’t finished this post yet, don’t have time right now
~Claire