So I have been in Ankara, Turkey for a week already and I have to say that this country isn’t like anything I’ve experienced before. Ankara is… BIG. If you thought London was an urban jungle, then think again. I live close to the city centre; as soon as you come out of the yurd (dormitory), it’s a completely different world. Cars and buses trying to get through the busy traffic, people running around everywhere. – it’s noisy and it’s messy.
Since I’ve come here, I’ve been trying to sort out everything – university, residence, phone numbers etc. But I did have time to go on a little trip with some friends on Saturday. We went to Mavi Gol, a lake close to Ankara. It felt quite good getting out of the city for a bit, just relaxing and more importantly having fun. It was some outing organised by some student organisation so surprisingly the trip was completely free.
Yesterday my Turkish classes started and I have to say, it is quite challenging. Whilst some of the words are quite similar to French and Urdu, it remains hard to try to remember everything. I have a feeling they’ve put us in a fast track course – we have four hours of Turkish everyday, and on top of that, we get homework. By the time I’m done with everything, it’s already dinner time. But then two days of Turkish classes, I already know how to count so I guess it’s effective. I’m hoping to be able to at least have basic conversations very soon. It would be really nice to be able to speak to my Turkish friends in their mother tongue.
For now, the plan is learn the language and and explore the country.
Tales of a Mauritian 