“I think you are in a real nightmare there.”
“when you told me this Jelmer... to me it feels you are in a real nightmare there right now”. The words of my sister after telling her this story:
Last night I was woken up by Michael, one of the two Swiss roommates. He said to me "I am in deep trouble"…
He and his friend were invited into a nightclub by a nice Turkish guy. He was very kind and would pay for the drinks. There were girls, drinks, fun… until the bill came. The Swiss guys had to pay 3500 YTL (2000 euro’s). Totally flabbergasted, they –off course- objected. They were taken to the back office of the nightclub and threatened with torture. The Swiss guy was very concerned about his friend, who was still in the nightclub. A gang would come to beat him and his friends if he didn’t bring the money in five minutes. I was shocked. Not only he was in danger, so were we and our belongings. Because, from what I understood, was that the gang would come to the hostel. He asked me what to do. I told him to report to the police immediately. He refused, because he believed the Turkish police couldn’t be trusted. For a number of reasons I didn’t agree to that, so I contacted the hostel staff. They contacted the police. It could take a while for the police to arrive. Afraid of the gang to come first, I ran back to our room and hide my belongings. Then I opened the window so I had an escape route, when necessary.
The police came first. The gang did not come. The police took care of everything. The other Swiss guy was saved. There was no chance the gang would come to our hostel another day. I didn’t ask for details. Everything was fine now.
The picture above is a panorama I made this afternoon, in front of a luxurious Fish Restaurant. We had dinner here (seabass) with our new Brazilian friend Vicente. Afterwards, I had an intriguing conversation with the owner of the restaurant. In Istanbul, waiters do everything to get costumers. Some of you might have experienced this, they can be very annoying. I told this man that I’d like to practise my communication skills. I told him that I could do what his waiters do better. Unfortunately, there was not a single tourist passing by that time. I couldn’t show my skills. Then he offered me a job to work in his kitchen to do the dishes. As I refused, he advised me to work in a travel organisation to guide tours. Better job, better paid.
Nevertheless, I have something else on my mind. Today I got an e-mail from the NHL International Office. My application is not completed, because some forms are missing. This means that I cannot study at the Anadolu University, because I am not registered. Registrations were closed at the 4th of January. Fuck that.
EDIT: This problem is solved now.
However, don’t think I feel bad! I do not experience my stay as a nightmare. If I would, it would be a nightmare in heaven. I really enjoy my stay!
Good night!
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