Fat and tan

I am all sorts of tired. Random things:

1. Today I woke up "early" (my definition of early has now reverted back to anything before 10am), at 7:45, to go take an exam at Boğaziçi Üniversitesi. Why is that you think? Well. I emailed them after I got here with my cover letter, CV, etc. and I got an email inviting me to come take a "teacher's exam". Last night, kind of scared, I opened up my grammar book and tried to remember everything that I've so quickly forgotten. But it didn't matter. I showed up, thinking it was going to be some quick thing, and it was THREE! HOURS! LONG! With: listening, reading, cloze exercise, and writing. The best part about the first two parts was that all of the questions asked were in the order of the listening/reading. Also, the "listening" section involved the test proctor reading the fake lecture(s), and I swear that she emphasized the sentences which had the answers. Hey thanks! (Seriously?) And the cloze exercise was the best slash easiest thing that's ever happened to me. All of the other "teachers" taking the exam were a bit (a little to a lot) older than me though, so I don't really know what to expect but I know that I did well. So, if nothing else I got to spend a beautiful Friday morning taking an easy English test. Holler. On the 4th of September they're going to (allegedly) call us with the results, and then we'll see what happens after that.

2. After a brief/delicious lunch (vegetable soup, grilled chicken, rice, ayran) on the Bosphorus, right under the Bosphorus Bridge no less, I headed over to another interview. This one was basically the exact opposite of a three hour test, where instead I was offered the job on the spot. Negative points: they don't give an FFFF about my TEFL certification (they just care that I'm a native English speaker), the pay is aaaaight, hours can vary (could also be a positive) and there is no set schedule (again, could also be a positive). Major positive point: paycheck every week. After my "interview" (which went a little like this: "Oh you're Turkish? Oh and American? You speak English very well. Your accent is good. What do you think? Do you have any questions? When can you start?") I went and talked to two other dudes that work there who were taking a smoking break outside, one from Georgia and one from Turkey (both with pretty much flawless accents), and they made it sound like a pretty decent place to work. SO. I just sent an acceptance email (and hopefully a position is still available since I met with her at 2:30) and...we'll see. In my dream world, I would get a job that actually used my TEFL certification (since it is so frustrating to think of getting that without getting to use it! gggg!) and pays better (with health insurance - inşallah!) and then I'll keep this other joke job as an occasional evening/weekend job to really bring in some skrill. Fingers are currently crossed.

3. The Turkish television diary continues. Tonight I watched about 5 minutes of "Son Ders: Aşk ve Üniversite" (something like, "The Last Lesson: Love and University" - I know, right?) which was just enough time to see one of the main characters wearing a shirt that said "Sloppy But Safe". That is all.

4. Z's got me missing on California. Just got an email from him in which he wrote

i was at el stio the other day...everyone out here has basically been having bbqs like every day!

Dang! Total bummer bro, chattin' about schnackin' on burritos and having bbqs (2 of my all-time fave things) in the same sentence of an email! Way to make me aaaaall jealous. But. Burritos and bbqs will surely happen soon enough. My eating-life is pretty much incredible right now, as I continue to get fattened up Turkish style.

5. Re: Turkish style...Today was the weekly bazaar in my current neighborhood. Too tired to try to describe it right now, but next week I'll take pictures to assist. We're heading back to the Black Sea tomorrow (with a picnic, no less). I think my fam is determined to get me fat and tan. Sure, sure. That doesn't sound so bad after I type it out, in fact. Either way, peep the picture of my first time holding/shooting a (bb) gun. By the by, I made the shot (right into the Efes beer can!). No duh. We're leaving early so I think I'll try to go to bed before 2am for the first time since I got here. First I need to finish The Joke by Kundera (another reason I need to start making money: so I can spend it on overpriced imported books...yeah vs nah).