making plans

the other week when my sister was visiting before her trip to china, we stopped by a bookstore so she could pick up a few books for her class. i couldn't help but look at the istanbul guide books, though i hardly ever use guide books to guide myself to the nearest 4-star hotel, but really only enjoy reading the strange facts and unusual customs parts of them. i found a copy of the book Styleguide: Istanbul and it looks really promising! The photos are beautiful and i remember saying to my sister, "Gosh they make Turkey look so much nicer than it really is!". What was nice was that there were a whole bunch of listings for small boutiques and friendly cafes in there, and with the pictures looking so beautiful, I will definately use it to check out some shops! They even have a couple of listings for junk shops where you can get vintage furniture. and to get me around, i picked up a map guide put out by Knopf. I like these little books a lot. we used to have a bunch of them lying around the ELLE offices. they are great map guides...and for some reason, for the life of me, i could never really find a good map of istanbul. but here's one that maps out the small tiny streets and ferry pathways and metro vs. tramway vs. tunel lines. should be useful!

i talked to samet last night on the phone and he helped me sign up for turkish courses at a local language school in istanbul. supposedly the pricing for turkish vs. foreigners is different (this happens a lot in turkey...where foreigners/tourists get charged 2 or 3x what turkish citizens get charged...and not just at bars or shopping places...but at museums and schools!) anyway, they wrote back to me and a 8-month course (3 days a week) will cost me about $450.00 USD. they have different levels, but i'm going to have to start out at beginners. apparently my old english teacher manager (from last summer) is taking some intensive turkish classes there. i'm looking forward to it, having something to do and a schedule that will get me out of the house at least 3 days a week!

going to renegade on saturday...promised myself not to buy too many things...i am looking for things specific to my travels...i need more little pouches to hold personal belongings, and i forgot what else. i'm sure i'll find something though. :) on sunday, i'm going to get my laptop!