I moved to another house. I live with two Lithuanians now. It was easy to move, it took me 3 days to move – clean – decorate – go to police and so on. It’s cheaper, bigger and better. I will see some of the Lithuanian culture. Interesting and good for me J

My new address is 

YenibaGlar Mah.
Güzide Hanim Sok.
Önder Anadolu Sitesi E blok
Daire 8
26470 Eskisehir

Now I will continue my ridiculous work schedule!

By the way in the night of 27th and 28 of june I will be back in the Netherlands. I booked my ticket today :)

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The results of the first photography project are to be seen in the previous topic. Analog photography and working in the dark-room made this an experience that feels like ‘the real photographing’. I liked it very much, not only making the photos, but also the subject: relaxing on the campus, because this way I met my canım.

This item will tell it's story by the photo's I present you. From now on all my photo's will be uploaded to my picasa.

Yazılıkaya selectıe - Yesterday we went there
Barbequen - Last week we went there

Both trips were GREAT, thanks Zerkan and thanks Erasmus organisation.

I am doing very fine these days.. looks like I got a girlfriend. She is Turkish and doesn't speak English so it will be a very interesting relationship... not only for the language but also for the culture and religion.. hard relationships are difficult but can be good ones so I go for it. I hope it will work out well, but so far it’s good! We spend a lot of time together. She is the only one for me. Until we've established a solid relationship I don’t want to tell too much about her so this is all you can get.

Relationships absorb time, so does school. The Cinema and Television Erasmus students are probably the busiest students amongst all Erasmus students. I am very pleased with the teachers and the lessons/projects. Effective, fun but also a lot of work. With some other Erasmus students I am working on a film that’s about Erasmus life and Eşkisehir. Also I am analysing films in context of visual composition.

Now I’m going to watch Prison Break. Today I only went to fitness and spent some time with guess-who besides studying.. so I need to relax some.

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Bu proje yer: Anadolu Universitesi campüs
Fotoğraf fotoğraf makinesi almak yapıyorum: Pentax K1000
Uyruk: photoğraf docu 
Fakultesi: Sinema ve Television

Daha: bu günler ben çok iyiyim. Bugün ben gidiyorum Turist Merkezi. Bay almak photoğraph bana daha: ben ve dört almanialer. Neden? Anlamiyorum, Turkçe dillll... çok zor :D

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In the weekend I organised a big party at my house. I could only invite one third of my friends, because if I’d invite more, the house would be too full. I plan to organise another one this weekend. Then I will invite other people.

Yesterday I had my first Cultural Diversity and Communication lesson. Most Erasmus students attend this class. It was quite full, 70 people. It was very funny, I got myself an applause twice. Yes, also in Turkey the freakshow is in tha house, if not only because of my ridiculous length.

The first applause was because I had the most (step) brothers and sisters (7).

The second one. I was with a Turkish girl and a polish boy. We told the teacher we all liked to sing. Jaap-Ruurd told the teacher that Jelmer wanted to sing a song (did I?). So, later the teacher asked: ‘Jelmer, can you sing a song for us?’ Of course I could, but I had het op de longen (I don’t know in English), so I answered with a croaky and hoarse voice: “Yes I can”. So, I sung a little Turkish song for the class. “Hajaib haiwandera benzierzin, Hajaib haiwandera benzierzin, Elibier ekrandera benzierzin, Elibier ekrandera benzierzin” (You look like a strange animal, you look like a strange animal, Your head looks like a television screen, your head looks like a television screen. lalala). After I sung the first sentence all Turkish students laughed, but the Erasmus students don’t speak Turkish so they just smiled. It was very funny. Same happened in the cinema (cost of a ticket: 80 eurocents). We watched Lucky Luke in Turkish, sometimes everybody laughs and then we Erasmus students were guessing what they were laughing about…

It’s seriously heads up this week. I am very busy with my website (you will be informed when it will come online) and arranging internship. I got in touch with a multimedia company in Australia. In the Netherlands, as a result of the Twinspiration market this monday, where all concepts from last semester were presented, four companies showed serious interest in the EduTaal concept. Furthermore at school I am working on a photo documentary for the Anadolu University. In 15 years they want to be able to say “Look, this was how our campus was like 15 years ago”. I attend to this assignment with some other students. In-between my occupations in the evening I usually take a walk outside. Mostly I run into some acquaintances and have a drink or something like that with them somewhere.

Yesterday evening was very exiting for me and exiting ánd emotional for my roommates. There was an important football match. Last time my roommate (no names) put his head through the window because his team Fenerbahce lost. Before the match started he warned me about his destructive behaviour. When I took my walk outside I got an sms: “You had better leawe house tonight, min 10, we lose 2 0.” So after 10 minutes Fenerbahce was 2 points behind. Back home I hid a knive under the carpet, but after the penalties Fenerbahce could fortuonately celebrate, and so could I… I thought. Melih’s cousin hugged my to death and the exiting jumping through the room caused the electricity to shut (OK, that’s a joke). The electricity does fall out daily by the way. And don’t get me wrong about my roommates, we’ve become very close friends!

If you want to see complete photo albums of my stay here and be in my foreign network you should create an account on facebook. This weblog is not suitable for uploading or watching entire albums (slow and cloggy). Create an account if you don’t have one and lookup my name: Jelmer de Jong.

Tomorrow I will go to a Raki party, but before that I need some sleep. Iyi geceler!

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Yenibaglar Mahallesi
Seylap Caddesi 13/7
26000 Eskisehir
Turkey

If you want to send me anything, you can use this address. It will take about two weeks to arrive. The appartment is neat and good looking. I am very happy with it, as well as my roommates Melih and Volkan. You will find out when our wrestling video will come on-line. I don’t have a picture of all my friends but from those who I do have, I posted it with this item.

Last week me, JR, Arne, Pina and Aga would visit a nice area near Eskisehir. Unfortunately we took the wrong train. So we made it a daytrip Ankara.

In Eskisehir, I wrestle, I do kick-boxing for fun with JR and I do fitness at Dayüsa Spor Kulübü. Yesterday I got kicked so hard that I walk like a disabled person now. The damage will heal 100%, but it’s painful and silly.

This week school started. My lessons are:

Producing and Directing
This the most difficult subject within the Communication department. It is actually meant for 4th year students. I will make a documentary and something free of choice. Fun but VERY hard working.

Visual composition
Film production and film directing in relation to camera, character placements and setting.

Basic photography applications/excersizes
I will do three photography projects. I will develop an understanding of how to use different lenses, films and others equipments in different subjects. 

Turkish
I told the cashier of the supermarket after she handed me exchange money ‘tessekurlar ve dugun cok guzelsin’, which means ‘thank you, and I think you look beautiful today’. Her face went all red and she replied ‘WHAT?!’. I said ‘Amaaan!’ (which means ‘never mind!’. Some people saw this and they were smiling and surprised by my act. I was just practising my Turkish. I will learn new vocabulary at school.

Another funny thing: I told the waiter of a restaurant in Turkish that his tea tasted like shit (like a joke). He laughed out loud and gave me another tea.

Cultural Diversity and Communication
About Turkish and foreign cultures, and communication between different cultures. Very interesting and fun, because we’ll have a lot of debates. I like to participate in debates.

All in all I’m having a great time here. I’m too busy with fun things. Gestern wir hatten eines Deutches party im unsere house, tonight we go to the cinema (lucky luke), tomorrow we have an Erasmus Party...

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This evening, we would meet with Fiko at the trainstation near the airport. However, I couldn’t come. I had some problems with my visa (wrong dates) at the foreigners police. It would take time to solve this problem. But Fiko couldn’t await us due to circumstances. Therefore, I let Jaap Ruurd and Arne go. I would come alone later.

Around eight ‘o clock in the evening I had the problem solved. I decided to take a taxi from Sultanahmeth to Tuzla Piyade Okulu Arazisi. This is quite a short ride. I knew it wouldn’t cost more than 10 YTL. The taxi-driver was a very nice man. We had a good conversation.  He even considered me as his friend. When we arrived at the trainstation I asked how much the ride was. My friend Ahmed told me that the prize was 120 YTL, but because I was his friend, I would only have to pay 100 YTL. This is around 60 euro’s, ten times more that it should cost. I trusted this man. I felt the adrenaline flowing. I wanted to kill this man. This fucking asshole was trying to delight me.

I was thinking… then I told him something like this: “Ahmed. You are an amiable driver. I think we had a really nice conversation during the ride. It pleases me. I have been through a lot throughout my life. Nowadays I am doing quite well. I decided to stay on the right path. I need these refreshing conversations we just had. However, some people sometimes give me a hard time staying on the right path. I hope you understand, my friend. So, Ahmed, I will ask you again: how much do I have to pay for the ride?”

He looked into my eyes. Then he responded uncomfortably by pardoning his calculations. “Oh sorry, sorry, I meant 10 YTL. I worked all day and I am very tired. Blablabla.”

LIAR. I know these tricks, I read about them. Sultanahmeht’s taxi-drivers are famous for fraud. My human-knowledge confirmed the presupposition that this man was trying to delight me. In psychology, looking to your left means constructing thoughts. Looking to your right means remembering thoughts. He looked to his left while he was responding. So, he was making up a story.

I told him this straight in the face. I dared, because I felt to be in a more powerful position.

As I opened the door I said: I do not pay for anyone that tries to fuck with me, only girls may do so. Then I walked away.

This taxi-driver did better put a secure window between the front and back-seats, and let the passenger sit behind that window so that the taxi-drivers like Ahmed are safe from people like me.

Then I took the boat to Hasydarpasa and the bus to Pinar (my dostum).

Note: This is a story from the Strong Story Series. These stories are fictional. I base them on events I experienced. Strong stories are recognizable by a [X] after the title, where X represents the number of previously written Strong Stories. This note will not be present in the next Strong Stories. So if people don't read this note or forget it, they will get fooled. And I will laugh my ass off when they start talking with me about what they've read.

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Now I am in Eskişehir. The 5 hour train ride from Istanbul was enjoyful. There was a bar in the train. Here I met a theater-maker and a director of a foreigner prison. They couldn’t speak English, but we spoke for an hour using body language and simple words. Afterwards we exchanged e-mail addresses. In Eskişehir we can go out together sometime. Things like this are happening every day many times. Too much happens in a short time. It’s overwhelming.

I noticed my Turkish develops rapidly. After half a year of studying language learning, I created a talent for learning a language. Turkish people are jaw-dropped-on-the-floor about my Turkish language-skills. And I am here only for one week now!

Yesterday we visited an interior architect. They need a new logo and a website. I also met a Turkish documentary maker, Hasan Özgen. He is international famous. I can contact him for internship. I will see about that, because I, Jaap-Ruurd, Arne, Fiko and Pinar want to run internship abroad in the same city, in the same country. We are arranging this now. (What are you saying? You want to go abroad for 5 months again when you are back in the Netherlands?) Yes. I want. I was very happy in the Netherlands, but I am even more happy abroad.

Every day we meet new people whom we go along with. For example, this afternoon we go along with Fiko and her roommates, tonight we go out to eat with our new roommates and after that we go get to know Pina and Aga (Erasmus students) better. But meeting people also means that one time you need to say goodbye. My best friend Pinar went back to Holland yesterday. I will miss her so much. Before she left we promised that we would meet again sometime (internship!).

I will get accepted in the Anadolu University. The campus is huge. It has an airport, cinema’s, club’s, theather’s, shopping center… it would be a pitty if it would get burned down. So, they’d better accept me. I will arrange this, I was told that it will be fine.
EDIT: it's all arranged and done now! And my permanent address has changed!

Hoşçakal (see you)!

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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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Istanbul is magic!

Not many people are to be seen on the photo’s, but I tell you: we met a LOT. In the city, during travelling and in the hostel. We are staying in the same room with two Swedish, one Brazilian and one French guy. There are no locks on the doors. Therefore, it’s important to trust the people you are staying with. Fortunately, we do. I can tell a lot more, but I don’t have much time to do so, because the roof terrace is waiting for me. If you are bored: I noticed Arne has also a blog.

Görüsürüz!

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Deze week logeer ik bij mijn ouders. Zij wonen in een rijtjeshuis aan de P. K. Pelstraat. Gezien het onderwerp van dit schrijven is mijn visie daar ook op ingesteld. Zo bedenk ik mij dat de P. voor Piemel kan staan, en de K. voor Kut. Past mooi bij elkaar. Echter kan ik deze woorden niet gebruiken, want ze zijn grof. Ik mag ook niet meer de muziek hard aan, ik mag niet in de kamer zitten computeren als zij daar even willen zitten, ik mag het licht niet te fel aan... ik ben weer even thuis!

Anyways, in dit gebouw, en wel te verstaan het sanitaire gedeelte beneden, gename de W.C., heb ik een ernstige constructiefout in de toiletpot ontdekt. Ik voel mij verplicht u hierover te berichten, om te voorkomen dat u het volgende overkomt bij een bezoek aan mij op mijn nieuwe adres.

Als een persoon met een mannelijk geslacht zich op dit apparaat deponeerd, op de manier waarop vrouwen dat ook doen (zittend dus), zal hij een ongemakkelijk gevoel krijgen, zowel in de glans als het zenuwsysteem. De wand van de pot helt teveel naar binnen, waardoor er geen ruimte is om fatsoenlijk de pot vol te blaffen én daarbij een plens te doen. Om een te plonzen, moet de man naar achter gaan zitten, om te beren, moet de man naar voren schuiven en een hand voor de fluit houden om te voorkomen dat het kopstuk van de fluit tegen de potwand jengelt. Gezien het feit dat het geluid wat uit de fluit komt tegen de potwand tettert, is het niet fris als het kopstuk daarmee in aanraking komt.

Ik ben van mening dat een persoon van het vrouwelijk geslacht geen last ondervind van deze ernstige constructiefout. Als ik éen van mijn ouders was, zou ik onmiddelijk contact opnemen met de Woon Stichting.

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• His skype user name is haarfijn. If you have Skype too, you can call for free! Add him to your skype: haarfijn.
• His e-mail and msn is jelmerdejong at live dot nl.
• His phone number is 0090 5454 8 65 321

His name is Jelmer de Jong, 21 years old. He lives in Drachten, Friesland, the Netherlands and is too tall. His goal in life is to enjoy it. And he does. He likes to party and to do things that he should not be able to do. As long as he isn’t risking his live, he is not afraid for anything.

For business people:
Jelmer is very enthusiastic and curious about what kind of achievements the future will bring, because at his young age of 21 years he already managed to achieve some successes. Currently he is in 2nd learning year of Communication and Multimedia Design, however, he skipped the first year. After some months he started to work for the NHL-University. His job was to get people enthusiastic to study there. He likes to make people smile.

His field of work is very broad. He has an international network of experts on field of multimedia and communication. His work consists of defining problems and creating a solution that works. Going to turkey is not only for study. He will negotiate with the Anadolu University, the 4th largest university in the world, about internationalisation of the NHL-University. He has plans for cultural projects, like adopting good cultural behaviour of Dutch people in the Turkish atmosphere and doing the same for the Netherlands when he returns. Back in the Netherlands, he has opportunities to engage projects in Georgia and Indonesia. 

In the Netherlands he is founder of EduTaal, a concept that provides a solution for children that have a language-disadvantage. Nowadays he is looking for investors to develop the concept. He improved several advertising agencies by giving advice and training in cost-effective work-methods. He is also director and creator of a commercial for the Leeuwarder Bioscopen. His commercial was to be seen in the Leeuwarder Cinema’s, before a movie would start. When Jelmer is back in the Netherlands, he will organise a party, aiming for a thousand visitors. Previous costumers:

C1000, Nuon, Dalstra Reizen, Veenstra Reizen, Dierenpark Emmen, Friese Milieu Federatie, Alpha College, FisK Concept & Communicatie, Plankenmarkt, Kitchenworld, de Keukenkamer, Breeduit, YN Tytsjerksteradiel, Gehrels Muziek Educatie, Technea, Leenstra, Gosliga, Interdesk Friesland, Association DANA, Simmerdeis, Koopman, Norddesign, Pool HIFI, de Heerdt Haarden, Oosterom Mode, Beautycenter De Vinkenhof, Isla Bestia, Museum Smallingerland, Zakenclub Trynwalden, De SeedyksterToer, Any A's, Dejongedesigner, Redneck Cars, Met het puntje op de I, Paregoric, Stichting Verkeerstuin Drachten, Noordelijke Nachten

Jelmer does not accept new assignments until the 1st of August, but advise is always free. Feel free to contact him any time.

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Samen met onder andere Jaap-Ruurd ga ik naar Turkije. Wat ik daar ga doen verschilt echter een beetje met dat wat Jaap-Ruurd er wil gaan doen. Even een overzicht vanuit Jaap-Ruurd zijn oogpunt. Excuus voor de spelfouten, maar zo praten wij nou eenmaal met elkaar. De foto's die bij dit item horen zijn plaatsen die hij wil bezoeken.

Jaap-Ruurd: "daar moet ik heen in de zomer ;) 'no carpet shops, no bus parties, no tacky tourist resorts. Southeastern Anatolia is another world"

Jelmer: "ziet er mooi uit ja! hebben we in friesland niet xD"

Jaap-Ruurd: "the southeast has many treasures and few tourists. dare to open pandora's box - it will win your heart, we swear. come and experience it for your yourself :D"

Jelmer: "haha jij hebt er wel zin in:D ik ook maar dan op een andere manier :P"

Jaap-Ruurd: "jij gaat gewoon zuipen, discotheken in, beetje boekjes leren voor skoalle en wer naar uis XD
ik ga ind er zomer wel de bergen in daar :) indiana jones is een watje straks als ik terug kom :P wil gewoon t echte turkije zien.. dat vind je niet in eskisehir. Maar jij bent meer van de istrie en costa del sol locaties ;) verschrikkelijk!"

Jaap-Ruurd moet daar niks van hebben. "Kansloos, daarvoor ga ik niet naar t buitenland. Zonde van mn geld. wil wel het echte turkije leren kennen. wat avontuur meemaken. minimaal een week de bergen in en echt plaatsen bereiken die moeilijk te bereiken zijn, dan heb je wat om over naar huis te bellen XD"

Nu weten jullie wat we gaan doen en kunnen jullie bepalen of Jaap-Ruurd of mijn weblog interessanter zal zijn om te lezen. Eigenlijk is zijn weblog erg interessant, omdat hij heel mooi kan schrijven en een echte avonturier is.

Misschien word ik dat ook wel. Hij zal mij leren reizen van t zomer. Een eye opener geven. Volgens hem is mijn blog geschikt voer voor mensen van het niveau van breezer slet. Daar ben ik het niet mee eens.

Tijdens het editen van deze post liep de website vast. Volgens Jaap-Ruurd kwam dat "omdat je een kutblog hebt ja". Volgens mij is dat niet zo, maar ik denk wel dat ik overstap op een andere blog-site.

Jaap-Ruurd zijn weblog. En wat reclame Turkije links.

27 januari vertrek ik naar Istanbul om mijn vrouw te bezoeken en te acclimatiseren. 2 Februari ga ik naar Eskisehir (tevens eindbestemming) om mijn nieuwe huis en huisgenoot(te)(n) te ontmoeten en flink te feesten. 17 Februari beginnen de lessen, maar op 11 februari begint de introductie. Mijn agenda zit dus ook in Turkije weer vol, maar eind juni/juli zal ik met mijn vrouw, een geit en 100 kamelen weer thuiskomen.

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Well.. in film-terms, 'Pilot' is the first episode of a television series. I am going to study Cinema and Television for 5 months, in Turkey, at the Anadolu University. But, before I go, I need a Letter of Acceptance first. So, we wait!

While you are waiting to read about my vicious adventures in the Asian part of Turkey, you can add this website to your feeds in advance. Or, if you don't use these, your bookmarks...

What, you also don't use bookmarks?

...

You might want to take a look at my friend Arne his blog. His blog is really boring, but it can't harm to take a look: http://www.********.com/

Edit: I got complaints (hair-loss and self-injury) from people who read Arne his blog. Therefore, I removed the link to his weblog.

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