Somehow, everything happened so quickly, and now I'm already in the middle of the semester/university life. Advanced Physical Chemistry is pretty intense—I've spent the last two weeks mostly with Schrödinger and the particle in a box. I have no idea what else the professor has planned for us this semester because, theoretically, I can already solve a quarter of the RUB PC3 past exams. Practically, though, it's a different story... but luckily, there's a welcoming library that always takes me in.
In two weeks, I’ll also be giving my presentation in Astronomy. I would have loved to talk about the Big Bang Theory (no, not the TV show!), but I ended up with Black Holes instead—which is actually even better!
I dropped Environmental Chemistry and the Turkish course from my schedule and replaced them with Physiology 2 with Stefan Fuss! The latter is from Germany, and I must say, his lectures are really refreshing! He often starts his explanations with, “Imagine you get run over by a bus…” and eventually arrives at the conclusion: “Pain is always painful!”
But the best part is when he tries to speak Turkish... though I shouldn't say much about that, since I'm not very advanced myself. I now have a tandem partner, but honestly, she confuses me more than she helps. Unfortunately, I wrote on my application that I speak Spanish… so now, in addition to my daily Turkish/German/English mix, I also have Spanish in the mix. When we meet, she basically explains Turkish to me in “Spanglish,” and by the time we leave, my brain just wants to shut down. I had completely forgotten how exhausting foreign languages can be...
As you can see, university keeps me really busy, and sometimes I almost forget that I’m in Istanbul. But whenever I have some free time, I sit on the observation deck at the South Campus and enjoy the view of the Bosporus (see photo). I could spend hours there… the yachts in front of Bebek gently sway on the turquoise-blue water, and in the distance, the cars on the Boğaziçi Bridge reflect the occasional sunbeam, making the entire bridge look like a glittering pearl necklace… I wish winter would never come.
I keep thinking more and more about enrolling here again next semester (technically, I’d just have to say I’m staying, and it would be fine). But deep down, chemistry still holds a more important place in my heart. :-)
Since I already partied enough this week, I’ll probably go on a trip with the paragliding club this weekend. At first, I thought it would be too much, but the temptation was too strong. I’ll only find out tonight if we’re really going—it depends on the weather. But since there hasn’t been a cloud in the sky for days, I can hardly imagine it being canceled. I’m really looking forward to it, and I’ll definitely write about it! I haven’t been in the mood for taking photos lately, but maybe the next entry will have something nice to look at again… ;-)