What's past and what's looming

Well, it's been a while since I posted much on here. That's primarily because there's not a tremendous amount of news. My life still centers on language school. The side issues are spending time with my various friends, reading and studying, and exploring my new section of town. The best is when I can combine exploring and spending time with Turkish friends, usually with Dersan and Duygu (D&D).
The weather has turned rainy here for a lot of days, so I'm not carrying my camera all the time. Thus, whatever pictures I post aren't new ones. I started exploring a new direction yesterday and will probably check out a bit more of that area this evening, unless I have too much to do for the test tomorrow.
Speaking of that test, today is the final day of class work for my first month of language study. Tomorrow are the various tests to see if I can move on to Level 2. Some of them should not be too bad, but at least a couple are pretty difficult.
On Thursday, I am planning to spend the day trying to figure out the details of what I need to do if I am going to go to the University next spring. That could well be an all-day thing, or it might end up being relatively simple. We'll see what happens other than that.

rambling babbling thoughts about music and the heart

I've been reading in 2 Samuel for a little while now, and 2 Sam. 6 is the passage that is the topic of this post. But first the context:
My personal context is the fact that the most appropriate place here for me to attend Sunday services is with a group of people who are working here but are not IFBs. I see their worship coming from their heart and I see the work they are doing in a place that others have not gone, and it makes me wonder which is the greater issue. Is the issue some people who are passionate about proclaiming Christ among the nations and who use a drum each Sunday (and this week two electric guitars in the song service)? Or, is the issue those people who focus more on whether an electric guitar or drum is sin on Sunday than they do on the nations who are lost? That's my personal context.
2 Samuel 6 is the passage where the ark of the Lord is being brought back to Jerusalem by David and all the people of Israel. I am going to assume your knowledge of the story and just note some personal observations.
1. David dances before the Lord, and Michal rebukes him using the "stumbling block" or appropriateness arguments. (You're going to make the servant girls stumble./That's not appropriate to do in front of the servant girls./You're not being above reproach.)[Yes, I think these arguments have their place.] :)
2. Michael didn't get it because she wasn't out worshiping when she should have been; she was judging. Why was she not out bringing the ark back with the others?
3. The servant girls weren't stumbling because they were worshiping too; that's why they were there. In fact, they would hold David in honor for what he did, even if Michal's opinion deteriorated further (vs. 22).
4. The fact that they were "before the Lord" does not automatically prove that they were right. It is possible to be "before the Lord" and be wrong; David and Israel had just done that back in verse 5, the first time they tried to bring the ark back.
- Compare I Chron. 15-17 for more information about the situation.

I'm not drawing conclusions, just pondering. I think we would do well to consider where we would have been in the celebration of the return of the ark. Somehow I think that there is a strong possibility that I would not have wanted to associate with those people and might have even judged them. And I would have been wrong, not them. I would have been the one whom the Lord judged; and the reality is that the issue actually went to the core of who Michal was... this wasn't a one-time heart issue for her.

news tidbits

Friday evening: I spent some time with new and old friends visiting the country for a couple days; that was fun and a blessing. We had a good supper and talked for quite a while.

Saturday morning/early afternoon: I missed ultimate frisbee for the first Saturday since I've been here! (I actually am missing it on Tuesdays too, because of Turkish class.) :( Instead, Dersan, Duygu, and I went out and visited a place called Pierreloti and had a nice time up there. We had ice cream, talked, took some pictures, and generally enjoyed ourselves; then we proceeded to go shopping for a door for my room which we should be able to get on Monday.

Saturday evening: Just as we were getting back from that, some of the friends I'd been with the night before called, so I got to show them around the area where I go to school.

Today: normal Sunday things, and getting ready for the next week.

Moved in, hopefully for a long while

Well, I figured that I should give a housing update again, since I'm sure a few of you are wondering about me. I got myself and my stuff into my new room as planned Wednesday evening. Yesterday I got my stuff basically unpacked and arranged, and that is about the extent of "moving in." The picture is of the room as is; for the observant, no that's not all my books but the desk to small for the rest of them, so they are in the wardrobe.
I am getting along quite well with Dersan and Duygu. We will probably be going out for breakfast tomorrow morning.
In other news, yesterday was the first day of Ramadan. Other than that, life is full of language learning and other more minor events and studies.

Housing

The news of the day is that I officially have a place to stay for the next 4-5 months.
For about the past 2 days, I have been living with a couple of friends who decided that it was time that I quit living in a hostel and volunteered to let me stay with them until I finished arranging the details of getting another place (both offers came Sat. afternoon within a three hours of each other.) So, in any case, tomorrow evening I am planning to move to 4. Levant (Fourth Levant).
We will see how the actual details work out, but it seems to be a very good situation where I will be able to establish a strong friendship with this couple. They are Turkish and are working on learning English better. In any case, I'll plan to email or post an update sometime in the next couple weeks on how that part of life goes.
In other news, my grasp of Turkish is going from abysmal to slightly less abysmal, but at least I can sometimes communicate concepts if given enough time. :)
[The picture is the Metro exit/entrance at 4. Levant. This will probably be where I go for much of the transportation I will need.]

boring...

So, this week has consisted of language school and time with people and study and reading. I don't recall a single exciting thing that has happened to tell you about.
Language school has been good (most of the time); I am definitely learning. I wish I had a Turkish grammar that could tell me the things I don't understand, but that is not the method they are using to teach, so I shall just have to wait. Today we started on verbs. (It's very hard to do much real communication without them. :) But my progress is evident if not rapid.
And one thing that I just thought of that I should mention: I moved into a smaller room in the hostel about a week and a half ago, so I am no longer living with 2 dozen people, just 3-5. It's much nicer, and I typically get a solid night's sleep with few interruptions now.
Anyways, not much more to say, just know that I'm carrying on with a less exciting life now. :)

A day of random wanderings that started with a simple quest

  So, yesterday, my wanderings started with going to a book exchange and trading in two books (and some money) for two new books; plus, I bought a book that someone else had come to exchange since it was one I was looking for and was significantly cheaper that way. Next I wandered off with the intention of going to Istanbul University and seeing if I could find any advertisements for students needing a roommate there. But it was closed.


In my wanderings trying to find "The Old Book Bazaar", I came across the following items:









This first picture is a set of ancient columns that has had a small perimeter put around them; the second picture is a set of columns lying right beside the first ones but without any care. This country has pieces of history literally lying around that in "normal" places would be the centerpieces of museums. This is particularly evident when you see what's lying around outside museums because they only put the best stuff up inside. :)

After finding the Old Book Bazaar and examining it, I went down to a section of town that I hadn't really seen much of before even though it's only about a 10-15 minute walk from here. It has the Armenian Patriarchate and the Church of the Virgin Mary that were interesting to look at. Also, the area has a particularly high population of immigrants and refugees and seemed like an area with very needy people.

More news with some pictures

So, language school has started, and it was not too bad. There is definitely a lot to learn, and it is both slightly overwhelming and slightly exciting at the same time. But today is a holiday here, so I don't have school today. So, I am trying to work on housing and homework today.
This is Istiklal Caddesi, which is a major walking-street in Taksim, the business heart of Istanbul. My language school is a couple minutes walk off this street.
It is remarkably difficult to get a picture of a mosque with 6 minarets; then again, this is the only place in Turkey where there is such a mosque. (Sultanahmet)

about that column's captial

I agree that the answer is D, but what is the actual answer.
The column is in an archway leading into the Blue Mosque. Maybe somebody should ask Dr. Bennett... or maybe we can all just figure this is an anomaly... or maybe there are random capital-types that just aren't as usual....

Saturday evening

Well, it's time for another update. The last several days have not been particularly exciting, but they haven't been unprofitable. I have continued to explore various parts of the city and become familiar. [The US consulate here is virtually impossible to "find", even with two maps that show it in slightly different locations.]
One nice thing is that I am beginning to be able to find non-tourist places to get my meals, and so I am beginning to be able to save money and also eat with more variety as I go around.
The housing situation that I went and looked at did not work out because of various details; however, I am continuing to pursue other options with a Turkish friend.

Trivia (particularly for those who took World History with Dr. Bennett): As I was walking around last night with Dan, a friend from the hostel, we found this:

WHAT TYPE OF CAPITAL IS ON THIS COLUMN???
A. Doric B. Corinthian C. Ionic D. None of the above