Saturday Night and the Sunday After

Dear Family, Friends, and Interested Observers,

It's been another exhausting week of classes followed by another exhausting weekend of fun. The week followed the usual cycle of classtime, coursework, swim work, and naps. Tahir, my roomate, did the same types of things, although he took frequent breaks to fuel his addiction to "mixed" fruit juice (karışık meyve suyu).

However, we began to read and analyze poetry in class this week, and it was a nice change of pace. I wish that I had my camera with me when Selim Bey drew a sketch of the ideal Ottoman poetic "beloved," an enchanting and horrific temptress whose eyelashes are arrows, whose eyebrows were bows, whose saliva is the water of life, and whose ravishing locks of hair are the bloody hooks of the butcher's shop. The meters can be complicated, but the outcomes can be sublime. Here are some verses from the poet Nef'i (1572-1635):

The weekend got rolling on Saturday night with a potluck at professors' pad. I brought home-made salsa, Doritos, and a bottle of vodka to mix with sour cherry juice (vişne suyu). The spread was incredible: fried summer squash in yoghurt sauce, eggplant stew, cheese-filled pastries, potato-filled pastries, baked lentil balls, and so on. Health to the hands of all who cooked (Hepinizin ellerine sağlık).

But, of course, the dinner party inevitably eroded into a drinking event, as you can see from the discombulated faces of the revellers above. Joking aside, I joined in several very interesting conversations over the course of the evening. And I got drunk. I ended staying up until about three in the morning, when Nurcan Bey and Selim Bey had to nudge me gently out the garden door. The other diehard Andrew (the guy on the right), lurked in the shadows to offer me a nightcap, and I couldn't refuse. I didn't get to bed until four.

At nine the next morning, I stumbled to my feet with a headache, dry eyes, and a raspy throat. I also realized that the day-long boat tour I had signed up for, along with its blistering sun and briny sea water, were morally inescaple, as I had requested it in the first place. And, after all, I was not the only one who would be fighting a hangover (see below):

And, after the first hour or so, I became more comfortable and began to enjoy the day. The brisk Aegean water was just what the doctor had ordered. I had a pleasant trip and relished the company of my new friends.

Well, I think I will sign off for now. The weekend has caught up with me.

Görüşmek Üzere, jkbinturkey