The wake up call came at 7:00 this morning, and we had breakfast at the hotel before making the 45 minute drive to Koc University, where we'll be having our classes while we're in Istanbul. Koc is located in the top of a hillside, so we had an AMAZING view of the Bosphorous Strait on the ride up. There are two main families here, Koc and Sabanci, and the Koc have funded a private university. We had a presentation from the Dean of the business school, took a campus tour, talked little about our project, and spent the rest of the day hanging out at the school.
This was the last day of class for the students there, and they were having an all-day event of a talent show/festival mix. Different groups would take the stage in this outdoor arena and sing/dance/play music. Between the festival and people-watching I was entertained, but I would rather have been out exploring the city. After a summer of doing whatever I want in Australia, it's a little bit harder to travel strictly following the group itinerary.
Around 4:30 we left Koc and headed to a restaurant on he Aegean Sea for dinner. We ate outside, overlooking the water, and the view w
as beautiful. The food was good, and once again I took my medicine and tried new things. I even managed the eat the fish they served me even though it's head was still attached.
After dinner we went for a drive through city, but we were all so tired that most of us fell asleep for at least part of the tour. Now we're back at the hotel for a low-key night before starting all over again with class tomorrow morning.
So far there are a lot of things I like about the city--the view of the water, beautiful flowers growing everywhere, European style housing, lots of people who speak English :) (p.s. all the classes at the university are taught in English)--but I really hope we have time tomorrow on our own to look around and explore and get a better sense of what it's like here.
This was the last day of class for the students there, and they were having an all-day event of a talent show/festival mix. Different groups would take the stage in this outdoor arena and sing/dance/play music. Between the festival and people-watching I was entertained, but I would rather have been out exploring the city. After a summer of doing whatever I want in Australia, it's a little bit harder to travel strictly following the group itinerary.
Around 4:30 we left Koc and headed to a restaurant on he Aegean Sea for dinner. We ate outside, overlooking the water, and the view w
as beautiful. The food was good, and once again I took my medicine and tried new things. I even managed the eat the fish they served me even though it's head was still attached.After dinner we went for a drive through city, but we were all so tired that most of us fell asleep for at least part of the tour. Now we're back at the hotel for a low-key night before starting all over again with class tomorrow morning.
So far there are a lot of things I like about the city--the view of the water, beautiful flowers growing everywhere, European style housing, lots of people who speak English :) (p.s. all the classes at the university are taught in English)--but I really hope we have time tomorrow on our own to look around and explore and get a better sense of what it's like here.
No comments:
Post a Comment