I would like to dedicate a post to describing possibly the only thing that I don't like about Afyon: the idiotic rules that exist in my school.

Every student in Türkiye has to wear a uniform to school, starting from when they are in the first grade until they graduate. The uniform isn't what bugs me (I like not having to worry about what I am going to wear every day) it's the other rules that are implemented in addition to the uniform, so that the school can completely decide your appearance for you.

Students are not allowed to wear jewelry, make up, clothes that are not part of the uniform (such as sweaters, but everyone wears them anyway), bright colored socks, or shoes that are not black. And the most important rule of all: no long hair is allowed. If it is long, it had better be in a ponytail or bun or braids, and if you are caught with your hair not tied back, that is grounds for the principal to threaten to cut it for you.

Everyday before school, we line up in the courtyard and then we file into school in nice, straight lines. While we are walking inside, the teachers do a "control", which means that they try to find something wrong with what you are wearing, so they can pull you out of line, make you wait for everyone else to go inside, and then yell at you about why what you are wearing is "inappropriate".

Last Monday, the control was very exciting. It was decided that all of the boys in my class, and half of the rest of boys in the 10th grade, had hair that was too long. So, they were all sent home to get their hair cut. They weren't told to do it after school or anything, they had to do it that instant. So, they all left, and came back after lunch, with brand new really short hair cuts.

Isn't it weird that my school would rather have students miss classes to get hair cuts, instead of just letting them stay and telling them to get their hair cut after school?

So, to all my American high school readers, next time any of you complain that your high school's rules are too strict, try experiencing a Turkish high school's rules instead.

Hello again everybody!

Here is my March update:

Last Wednesday was a bayram (holiday) dedicated to the doctors of Türkiye, so it was Fettah's (my host father) day.

About two weeks ago, there was a Turkish folklore festival in Afyon, which I participated in. I didn't dance, but every group had a sign with the group name and where they were from on it, and I got to be the sign holder for the Afyon Kocatepe Üniversitesi group. I also wore traditional Turkish clothing, which was really cool. The AKÜ group came in second, which was a little disappointing, but last week they had another competition (this time in Denizli), and they came in first!

After the competition, I joined the university folklore group. So now I have folklore three times a week: Tuesdays and Sundays with the university group and Thursdays with the community group. The university group practices at a campus outside of the city, so I take a dolmuş (mini bus) to get there. Thanks to folklore, I have now mastered the public transportation system of Afyon: it isn't very complicated, we only have dolmuşes here. But I have also learned how to use the subway in Ankara, the ferries in İzmir (the city is located on the water, so you take ferries everywhere), and the subway in İstanbul. I feel accomplished.

This past week in Edebiyat (Literature class) my teacher asked me to write a short paragraph about the beginning of America. So I did, and the exciting thing is that I wrote it in Turkish! I am putting it here because it is the first school thing that I have written in Turkish and I am proud of it:

Amerika İngiltere'nin kolonisidir. Ama, biz bizim bağımsızlığımızı istedik. İngiltere ve Amerika'nın arasında savaş vardı. 1776'da bir kongre vardı. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, ve başka adamlar gittiler. Onlar nasıl yeni bir ülkeyi başlatmak istediklerini konuştular. Thomas Jefferson bağımsızlık bildirgesini yazdı ve herkes imzaladı. George Washington savaşı kazandı ve Amerika kendi ülkesi oldu.

It says: America was a British colony but we wanted our independence. There was a war between the American colonies and England. In 1776, a congress was organized. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and other men went to this congress. They discussed how to start a new country. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, George Washington won the war, and America became an independent country.

Not bad for someone who's only lived in Turkey for 6 and a half months, huh?

At the end of the month, there is a school trip to Antalya for 3 days. It should be really fun. If nothing else, it will be warm there which will be a nice change: it has been between 0 and -3 degrees here in Afyon for the past few days, which has not been so much fun.

Happy Birthday Mom! And Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow everyone!

Here are some pictures from the folklore competition:

One of the elementary school groups at the

folklore competition

A different university group at the competition

My friend Merve and Me in traditional

Afyon costumes

Merve and Ahmet in traditional

Afyon costumes

Here are my pictures of İstanbul!

İstanbul!!!

View of İstanbul as seen from top of

Galata Kulesi (Galata Tower)

İstanbul

Egyptian Obelisk in İstanbul

Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque)

Interior of the Sultan Ahmet Camii

Me and Ellen

The ceiling of the Sultan Ahmet Camii.

See all the blue tiles?
That's where the name "Blue Mosque" comes from.

Clara, Hannah, and Me

Another picture of the Sultan Ahmet Camii

A picture of the ceiling

The Sultan Ahmet Camii has these big

columns inside which support the ceiling.

They are called "elephant foot columns".

Another picture of the inside of the Sultan

Ahmet Camii

One more picture of the Sultan Ahmet Camii

Headscarf Hotties! Fernanda, Gina, Hannah,

Amy, Izzakate, Kaleigh, Me, and Clara

Courtyard of the Sultan Ahmet Camii

Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia)

This mosaic depicts Emperor Leon VI and

Jesus.

The interior of the Ayasofya

Another picture of the interior of the Ayasofya

There are 6 large wooden circles decorating

the interior of the Ayasofya. Written on them

are the names of Allah, the prophet Muhammed, and

the first four caliphs.

Another picture of the Ayasofya

Still the Ayasofya...

And another picture of the Ayasofya

Part of the ceiling of the Ayasofya

And another picture

Still the Ayasofya

I thought the Ayasofya was gorgeous,

so I took a lot of pictures...

Another view of the ceiling

This mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary and

Jesus as a baby. Standing next to them are

two emperors.

View of the interior of the Ayasofya

as seen from the second floor.

This mosaic depicts the Virgin Mary, Jesus,

and St. John the Baptist.

Süleymaniye Camii (Süleymaniye Mosque)

Another picture of the Süleymaniye Camii

Picture of the ceiling of the Süleymaniye

Camii

Another view of the interior of the Süleymaniye

Camii

The entrance to the Dolmabahçe Palace

Topkapı Sarayı (Topkapı Palace)

Courtyard of Topkapı Sarayı

Topkapı Sarayı

Camii in Ortaköy (it means middle village,

and it's a neighborhood in İstanbul).

Here are more pictures from my trip! These are from my visit to Asclepion, Troy, Çanakkale, and Galipoli. Enjoy!

Miranda!

The hospital at Asclepion

Look! I'm a statue!

Theater in Asclepion

Another shot of the theater

James in the tunnel leading to the main

hospital building

Izzakate in the main hospital building.

This is where patients would walk around

and think happy thoughts in order to feel better.

Amy

Amy and James

Me and Amy

Fernanda, Gina, and Geoff

Jorgan

Kaleigh

The wooden horse in Çanakkale.

This is the horse that was used in the film "Troy".

Amy found a puppy when we were in Troy

and adopted it for the duration of our visit.

Isn't the puppy cute?

There were actually 9 different Troys, which

were built on top of each other. These are

the city walls and the numbers indicate

which Troy the wall comes from.

More city walls of Troy

Phillip

James

Stuff from an archaeological site in Troy

Another picture of Troy

Yet another picture of Troy

The theater in Troy

The original Trojan horse. Unfortunately,

it was under construction, which was

very disappointing.

Hannah, Me, and Martin on the ferry going

across the Dardanelles from Troy to Galipoli.

A speech Atatürk gave after the battle at Galipoli

Galipoli

Pretty ocean

Galipoli's gorgeous beach

Miranda, Kaleigh, Tim, and Ellen at Galipoli

The cemetery on the beach

Afyon!

The main cemetery for the soldiers who

died at Galipoli

The monument to the soldiers

Galipoli is beautiful

Really amazing view

James hiding in the trenches at Galipoli

(the original trenches used during the battle

against the Anzac forces are still there)

Another wonderful view

Türkiye is such a beautiful country

Martin, Jorgan, Hannah, and Ellen in front

of a statue of Atatürk