Shades of Blue

Rumeli Fortress

Within walking distance of our dorm is not only Bebek, but also a 15th century fortress built during the collapse of the Byzantine empire as a last attempt to fight off the Ottoman expansion.


It was lots of fun (and terribly scary) to climb all the very steep and narrow stairs


Our Istanbulldog group minus one.

Lots of Cats!

Stray cats and dogs replace squirrels as the campus wildlife. They are way more cuddly and fun :)

Merhaba Istanbul!

Instead of getting over jetlag the traditional ways by catching Z's, yesterday I decided to pretend that there was no 7hr time difference between Istanbul and NYC and had the most amazing first day in Istanbul!
After I got dropped off at my dorm, I went on a walk around Bogazici University where I am staying. Bogazici University is situated on a hill overlooking the Bosphorous and in Bebek, which someone told me is the richest region in Turkey. The scenery explains why. According to one Bogazici student, Bogazici is the best university in Turkey.
Because this week is Yale Week in Turkey, the Turkish alums organized a beautiful dinner cruise on the Bosphorous for us and performers from YSO (Yale Symphony Orchestra) and YSOD (Yale School of Drama). We passed by the Wall of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, and lots of other cool architecture structures that I didn't recognize.

A view from Bogazici University of Bebek


Our fancy Yacht party on the Bosphorous

Ortaköy Mosque



Yale Drama School performance

Spring Salvage

For the past few days, I have been staying behind at Yale to work for Spring Salvage, a program sponsored by Yale Recycling and the Yale Office of Sustainability. In effort to reduce the waste stream, we are hired to take reusable items that Yalies throw out during move out and make them available for other Yale affiliated individuals and charitable organizations. After collecting things for days--rain or shine--and taking it all back to "the Whale" (aka the Yale Ice rink...refer to a previous post for picture), we finally had an open house where we let people come in and grab what they wanted.


9:20 before doors open


10:30 doors open


by noon: all gone

Going to the beach!

Connecticut is an interesting place...
Today, Maylene and I biked to Lighthouse Point from New Haven. The bike ride was tons of fun, and it was one of a handful of times I've actually biked here. But New Haven is so industrial!!! We passed by many mining and construction sites. I had heard good things about Lighthouse Point, but when I got there, it was kinda crappy and cold. The sand was rough and there were tractors on the beach. While it was good for New Haven, it definitely made me miss home...
However, the clouds throughout the day were amazing!!! They could have been stepping stones for an invisible giant of the sky.

When I am not working as a Spring Salvage worker, I work at the University Theater on the Paint Crew. We are responsible for painting all the props. Here we are getting ready to paint the floor! The Paint Crew keeps very weird hours because the Prop Crew, Light Crew, etc has to use the theater during the day to set things up. Last night, our call time was from 9pm to 2am. Today, we are suppose to go in at 1am, but luckily, due to some fortunate event, it has been move up to 12:15. Oh joy!

The "UT" University Theater

A new Yale beginning

My new room in Vanderbilt. It's all suite cases