So Alhumdulilah rabil alameen... I have passed the mufredaat stage of sulus and have now started the murekebaat stage of sulus. I have also started a bit of nesih. Man, nesih is TERRIBLY hard. I cannot believe how insanely difficult it is, and with all sincerity if someone can learn this, they REALLY deserve an ijaza. InshAllah I will be among the chosen ones ;) ;) ;) LOL.
In other news, I just finished my Dilmer Turkish class, and now I have a basic understanding of Turkish language.. I am so glad I signed up as I can now navigate my way around and make small talk with folks. I can also understand snippets of general conversation and laugh at jokes in class.
I found how much I had really learned after apartment searching recently. All of the realtors I met know NO english, so I basically had to find apartments, bargain, buy furniture, appliances, get wireless set up, all kinds of stuff using the minuscule Turkish I know. sigh. Absolute craziness... but I did carry a pocket dictionary to help somewhat. I think I will wait a few months before signing up for the next class inshAllah... Tabii, Turkce kurs cok lazim cunku simdi Turkiye'de oturuyorum. hahahahaha, ok let me stop showing off. astagfirullah adheem.
Okay so... I also decided to scrap grad school for now if they won't grant me a 2 year deferral. Alhumdulilah I got into the dual degree masters program at University of Michigan for public health and social work. Initially I was granted a one year deferral, but that is not enough time here.. so I decided I will stay in Istanbul for 2 more years and coincidently the internet package I signed up for is a 2 year agreement, so I guess that makes it official... hahahahaah.
I ended up finding a nice new apartment in Uskudar that is quite close to the iskele area. It is a brand new building so everything is fresh and clean. A small place, but I really fell inlove with the balcony attached to the kitchen. I cannot wait to throw papers all over the place and plaster calligraphy samples everywhere... I will be mixing inks and trying to make ahar papers to my heart's content. Yasasin!
Also, I must say that I have grown to admire and respect my calligraphy master so much. He is quite gentle, funny, and intelligent mashAllah. I hope I can learn to embody these good qualities from him. He is definitely a treasure of a human being. May Allah bless him and his family with every happiness.
Okay so that is all the updates for now from Istanbul. Over and out!
