Anxiety Attack - Syireen's University Application

Syireen' s just entered Oasis for Grade 12 and I found out that she's almost too late to apply to some US universities for Fall 2012! (September intake) - which is a whole year away!!!!
With Syafiq it was easy - everything was taken care off by INTEC and MARA - this I have to do one my own and there seem to be a million and one things to do - all with DEADLINES ( Wait - I think I'm having an anxiety attack right now! hyperventilating here...) Just take a load of the things I need to do - and I'm not sure if this is the complete list - am still learniong as I go along:

THINGS I NEED TO DO:
1. Register Syireen for the SAT exam -  no way is she ready for the one in November (too close) so she'll  probably take the one in Dec 4th 2011. That's abt the latest she can go. Ideally she shd have abt 6-8 mths for preparation. She only 2 mths!! !

 Rushed over to Kizilay to get her big fat SAT book - which costs a hefty 85TL!!!(RM170) so that she can start practising IMMEDIATELY.

2. Then I have to get all her upper secondary transcripts in order - from MRSM - plus get it translated and veriified as original (no copies allowed!) - kinda hard arranging that from here...aduiiii!!! Yang part translate tu susah nye!
3. Also have to sign her up with the SAT College Board to register her for her on-line practice sessions, news updates etc
4. Then I need to oversee all her on-line applications to the 'appropriate' colleges & check their separate  requirements, and separate deadlines
5. Then have to get the relevant people to write the Teacher Evaluations - it would have to be 1 science/math teacher and the other a Arts/Social Science teacher.
6. Then will have to oversee her Personal Essays... ( very, very important - sometimes this is regarded more than the school grades/transcripts!) She needs to read samples of successful applicants' essays bfore doing hers
7. Next step is to submit the right documents to the different colleges online  - before each university's deadlines.
And  during ALL that time make sure Syireen does her SAT exam practice sessions diligently! Problem is each SAT exam practice is 4 hours long and she has loads of homework every single day! Most days she sleeps at 1:30 am!!! Kesian tu kesianlah tapi...nak buat macam mana. Dah lah she only has 2 mths to prepare instead of the recommended 6-8 mths!

Thinking of universities with good to strong Information Tech programmes like - Michigan State U, University of Oregon at Corvallis, U of Colorado at Boulder, U of Massachussetts at Amherst, Rochester College of Technology NY...
Syireen's main question was - sejuk tak sana?" My response was "Woi! Kalau boleh survive Ankara winter mana2 boleh survive..." hahhahaha!!
Of course securing a MARA scholarship is another story....
Well - pray for us & wish me & Syireen luck cos we're gonna need PLENTY of it.

An Invitation to a Turkish Wedding

When we got an invitation to attend a 'Nikah' (Jay's colleague at FNSS), we thought - "Oh! ok so a Nikah is a religious occasion right?"  So everyone got dressed like we were going to a nikah ceremony - formal attire - all covered up,something long,  baju kurung etc etc!

some wore baju melayu

others wore batik shirt, baju kurung,,,

I wore a long skirt and blouse...

Whoaaa...get a load of this - the bride turned up in a strapless dress!!! and the bridesmaids (in the pic - in orange following the bride and groom) were in miniskirts with a train.... wooohoooo!! Talk about cultural difference!

the bride and groom

Actually the wedding is close to the western concept - the bride and groom (sits at the table) says "evet!" (yes/)I do) to the person conducting the ceremony. Then they sign a document -  to much cheering from the guests.

"Evet!"

wedding guests at nikah ceremony

The bride and groom then stands by the hall entrance  and the guests wishes /congratulates the couple as they leave the hall





Then everyone goes to the reception held in another venue.






As soon as we sat down we were served -  hahahha -I thought it was the main course and bantai everyting on the plate...I discovered it was only the appetisers....

so later when the main course arrived and later dessert - I couldnt eat a thing!

So in between the courses of the meal (and there was a lot of food!) there was much dancing and merry making. The ladies were all dressed 'cok  seksi' (very sexy) and really they look more european than middle eastern! Some of the girls are really lawa...

Mula-mula we all duduk-duduk je, makan & pretend to be engrossed in conversation ....hahahha! Then -.we were compelled to join in.- these ladies making a bee- line for our table.

"Let's get these party-poopers to move..."

So - joinlah jugak, kalau tidak nampak sangat macam party-poopers pulak!

                    Eventho' some of us didn't know what the heck we were doing....hahhaha!!!! CLUELESS

bantai-je lah....

All in all it was a fascinating experience!!!

The happy bride and groom!

Cappadocia

Hi Guys! This is all about our family trip to Cappadaocia when Syafiq visited us in summer in mid August!

Took the bus to Cappodocia  - only 25TL pax and abt three and a half hours from Ankara.The bus transport here is really efficient and smooth - like being in a plane! Ada snacks and drinks served on board and the seats are equipped with a TV screen with movie channels... hahaha tapi movies all dubbed in Turkish!

Reached Cappaodocia abt 1:00 pm, checked in into our cave hotel (yes! honest to goodness...a real CAVE!) For those intending to come and visit & do cappadocia as well - take a load of these pics..

J enjoying the Turkish day-bed in our room

The rooms are really cool in the afternoons - natural air-cond!

.
This is the corridor from my room to the kids' room downstairs

and the boys doing a happy jiig.....??????

After checking in we hired a van & tour guide and headed for the underground city :

The scenery around Cappadocia seems almost extra terrestrial - really fascinating. It was really a HOT day tho and we were all fasting!

The town is small and quaint - anad about a five minute stroll from our hotel.b Lots of interesting little shops you can browse round for knick-knacks, souvenirs, yes! the kilims and carpets too! AND let's not forget the eating places....!

Ayo! Like actors in a low-cost   B-grade movie!

Checking out the carpet handlooms - and then the carpets...

and the pottery and ceramics -  whoaaa...great temptations! This shop was on three levels - and in a cave as well!

Really, really had a great time - also because Syafiq was also with us and the place was diffferent & unique. I was sorry to miss the hot air balloon ride - but at 150 euros pax we had to give it a miss this time at least. 

Hope you guys will be able to visit Cappadocia when you come out to Turkey!

Introduction to Istanbul (101)

Whole family went on a trip with the other Malaysian families here. Will definitely have to go again to Istanbul but NOT in summer! The place was full of people and crowded everywhere we went! Also didn't spend time at places I liked..At times we would go to a historical site and then just looked at it from outside the premises. Macam tu lah group tour pun - ikut group consensus ... so anyway I considered the trip as as more of an introduction to Istanbul - ISTANBUL 101!

Woke up bright and early , all excited! Left Ankara at 6:00am when it was still nice and cool - it was already light at 4:30 am.

The nice thing was the tour bus belonged to the Turkish company-counterpart here (given free) complete with an unofficial tour guide - and we could make stops along the way at scenic spots.

 We stopped at a few lookout points. Climbed uphill to a ski resort called Kateteppe - which is snow-less at the moment.

Had a real great lunch in the middle of the woods - the food was baked in a large open clay oven. Had baked Fish trout in claypot and Kofte kebab with plenty of salad and home-made bread (yes, they bake their own bread here too!). Was really nice and cool and we could hear the sound of the streams and waterfall nearby.

The waiters were incredible - they were running around ( although the terrain was uneven) and serving as fast as they could..

Stayed at Madisom hotel - right next to Taksim road - one of the busiest and 'happening places' - memang senang car makan & go shopping on your own time especially in the evening...banyak summer sale mas tu!!!

 Tapi the crowd was incredible - semak otak betul...that part was definitely not enjoyable because you have to keep dodging and elbowing people and to get anywhere!

But there were so many many interesting places to eat - we were interested in the Turkish food of course although there were also the usual western fast food places as well.- McDonald's etc! 

Saw the ususl attractions - the Blue Mosque, wasnt very impressed actually...Missed the Hagia Sofia - because no one else was interested...

Then entered the Topkapi palace (at last!) which was quite close to the Blue Mosque  - but only two families (including ours entered) the others waited outside.

Only managed to gawk at the Dohlmacambe from the outside - the entrance fee was expensive !







Visited the Rumelli castle - all the wives opted to sit out on this one instead of climbing the stairs to the castle... I gave up halfway  because of the height; The children continued climbing

Did manage to go to the Grand Bazaar - which EVERYONE was interested in - shopping kan?

Yup! That's me having a good time ....shopping heaven!

The uninvolved parties get reallly bored..ho humm! Syireen & Dad here looking really bored as I go through the carpets,,,hahahhaa!!!

Also did the Egyptian Spice Bazaar...

....only here for an hour because by this time everyone was tired and wanted to start the trip back to Ankara.

All in all it was Okaylah - except I mised out on quite  a few of the historical sites...