ANZAC Day 2011

By 3am I was at the Kolin Hotel with everyone else who was going to ANZAC Day services at Gallipoli. We went on the VIP buses across to Gallipoli. We arrived at North Beach in time for the Spirit of Place ceremony where names were read of some of the New Zealand and Australian soliders that died. Then the Dawn Service began. I cannot describe the feeling of being at Gallipoli for the Dawn Service. It was unreal and extremely moving, I feel so privileged that I was able to be there. The wind was icy and I couldn't feel the tips of my fingers but I didn't care. After the Dawn Service we went and had some breakfast at a hotel. Then went to Lone Pine for the Australian Service. Afterwards was the Turkish 57th Regiment Memorial Service. Then we made our way to Chunuk Bair for the New Zealand Service, this was the best part of my day. It is an odd but great feeling standing on the land that my ancestors once stood on. It was very peaceful and it made me feel so much closer to my relatives that fought at Gallipoli. I cannot thank RNZRSA and AFS enough for this amazing experience, I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.This has been one of the most amazing days of my life and I will never forget it.

New Zealand, Australian and Turkish flags at the Dawn Service

The Australian Service at Lone Pine

Turkish Service

New Zealand Service at Chunuk Bair

Istanbul

I am in Istanbul for a few days over the weekend. We arrived late last night, it is about a 3-4 hour drive from Canakkale. On our way to Istanbul we stopped in a town called Tekirdağ. It is really famous in Turkey for its amazing meatballs. So we stopped and had some for dinner, they were really nice.

Today we went to Istinye Park which is a HUGE shopping mall. It has nearly 300 stores and is very easy to get lost in. We were there for about 8 hours and now I am very tired. I did a lot of shopping, I bought a few things from H&M and few other stores that we don't have in New Zealand. The prices were quite cheap so I didn't actually spend that much money.

The Shopping Mall

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My days shopping

Turkey

Life in Turkey has been great, I have been settling into life here and trying some new things. Last weekend I went for a ride on the back of my host fathers Harley, it was very cool. I might have to save up and buy myself a motorbike.

School is good, I sometimes go to different English classes so they can practice speaking English, they are really good. I've been to most of the classes at the school and the kids are really funny. At school there is a canteen with lots of different lollies and things. The woman who works at the canteen knows I don't speak Turkish so she tells me how much things are by holding up her fingers. My friend Elifcan bought me this chocolate treat the other day. It comes in a small tube (like a toothpaste tube) and is filled with chocolate- like Nutella. You suck it out of the tube, it tastes really nice!

Nutella in a tube

My First Week in Turkey

Time has gone so quickly, I have already been here a week and it has been one of the greatest weeks of my life. I can't believe I only have 5 weeks left. Here are a few photos from my first week in Çanakkale, Turkey.

A few pictures from 18th March fireworks display and torchlight march

Sorry they're not very good, I couldn't keep the camera still.

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The 18th March is an extremely important day, it is like the Turkish version of ANZAC Day. Everyone is out celebrating Turkey and WW1 and remembering the lives that were tragically lost.

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My host sister, Mira and I at the beach near our house

My host family's dog, Cadi

The beach near our house

School

I have settled into living in Turkey and I have started school and have been there for few days. It is very different form my school in NZ. I go to Çanakkale Koleji, it's a nice school, it is really big but there aren't that many students. The school is for all ages (years 1-13). I'm in a class with about 20-25 other students, I am a couple of years older than them. They do a lot more subjects than what I am used to, and the classes are a lot harder. So far I have done biology, physics, English, English speaking, Turkish, history, geography, maths and this afternoon I had German. The classes can get a bit boring because I don't understand what is happening, I try and guess what the teacher is talking about but I rarely guess right. I have made some friends at school, they are really nice and they know quite a bit of English which is good, but we still find it a little difficult to communicate.

At school they have a zoo. It's a little area where there are goats, roosters, hens, ducks and peacocks. I find it a little odd having a zoo at school but it is actually quite cool.

Some pictures of my school and the zoo.

School is longer in Turkey, in NZ I would normally finish at about 3.20pm but here we finish about an hour later. They also have more periods a day than I'm used to, they have about 8 periods a day with breaks in between each period. At school we get lunch given to us, we get a tray and it is dished up for us, in NZ I bring my own lunch to school each day. I catch the school bus to school and home. It's not what I would call a bus, it is more like a mini-van with automatic doors. I catch it with my host sister Mira and the other kids that live near us. The other kids are a lot younger but they are very entertaining and cute. They try and teach me Turkish words and they all get very excited and yell "EVET" (yes) when I get the words right. So far I have learnt the Turkish words for couch, tea and light, I can also say "my name is Heather". Getting the bus is the best part of the day.

Arriving

After a very long trip I have finally made it to Çanakkale. I flew from Wellington to Auckland to Singapore (where my flight was delayed) then to Istanbul a total of 34hours travelling. Then I meet with a couple of very nice ladies from AFS who drove me the rest of way to Canakkale (5hours and then a ferry ride). I arrived in Çanakkale this afternoon where I finally met my host family who I will be living with for the next 6 weeks. They are a lovely family and I am very excited to be here. I am extremely tired, I slept a little on my flight to Istanbul but not enough. We are going out for dinner tonight and I think I am starting school tomorrow. I am a bit nervous about school considering I don't know any Turkish but hopefully it'll be fine. After a shower and some food I am feeling a lot better but still very tired. It is really cold here, I'm glad I bought lots of warm clothes.

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A few pictures I took on my way to Çanakkale from Istanbul

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A war memorial

The women who brought me to Çanakkale, I think, told me there is a Turkish side and an Anzac side and, there is a figure of woman in the middle- a mother. I think it is in Eceabat but I'm not too sure, I was quite tired and don't remember the names of the places

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View from the ferry