It's raining, it's poring, the old man is snoring

Hello hello,

After a brief hiatus, I have largely nothing to report.

It has been raining here fairly consistently over the past week - although last night it snowed! It was well over freezing temps (39 degrees F), but we had some serious flake-age. I went out to our balcony to check it out and saw quarter to half-dollar sized flakes falling on my trusty zippered hoodie. I asked my Turkish roomates how often it snowed in Istanbul - over the past five years? Maybe 2-3 times.

In other news, I decided to go out to Taksim: THE place to go in Istanbul if you want crowds, lots of labyrinth-like shady alley ways, and shops in which to buy any trinket imaginable. As ususal, I was hungry as we arrived to the main drag, so we stopped off at Burger King - think outside the bun (wait, that's not it) - to get some guaranteed fodder. No, that's not a thizz-face, just a gangsta' "I love eating two all-beef patties" face. Soydan on the left side of the photo.

I've created a web album on Picassa to see the rest of the photos from the night. Some highlights include Sterling's deer in headlights, Soydan's chit-chat with his absent girlfriend, a group toast, and a crowded Istanbul club. There's also a movie in there somewhere (fourth from the end) with sound of some of the Turkish dance music. Pretty cool and high energy.