Life Before Cyprus

Hi everyone,

Sorry that I got so far behind in my blog posts. I'll try to write one a week from now on (so two today). I

actually have been in Cyprus for the past five days so more information about that is to come. I first wanted to post a few pictures of things that I have seen in Istanbul to catch up on the week before I left.

First, I wanted to show the view from my campus. Like I said before, it is on a mountain like Lehigh. This is on a foggy day, so it looks even more beautiful on a sunny one! So far I still

haven't started school yet. We had registration last week and after I went through it, I only ended up with one class. After talking to a lot of professors, I ended up getting four classes, one of which I am hoping

to switch out at add-drop for another. I am taking Intro to Electrical Engineering, Beginning Turkish Language for Foreigners, Simulation, and Thermodynamics. Instead of Thermo, I am hoping to take a 400 level class on Case Studies, but I have not been admitted yet. I start classes on Monday so I will update on how that goes later.

Tourism wise, I went to the Blue Mosque last week. The inside and outside are both equally amazing. They made us leave during pra

yer time, although I would have like to see that. Even while ju

st walking the streets of Sultanahmet, you will see hundreds of men praying outside the mosques during the call to prayer.

During that trip, I also went into the spice market and ate under one of the bridges of the Golden Horn. I ate a fish with a head and eyes on it for the first time. I'd like to think I'm being very experimental here with the foods I'm eating, even though I know I'm not in comparison to most people. I attempted to take a picture of it in order to show my mom because she was so surprised I actually did it.

There's not much else really. I'm just getting adjusted to the city. I went out with my roommate for her 21st birthday and we found a really authentic Turkish bar that played traditional music.

I'll try to write about Cyprus tomorrow. Hope all is well with everyone from home!