Getting things accomplished

So today has gone much better with respect to getting things done. I had originally planned on going to the Turkish Embassy first, then the university, then the AIDS clinic, but I decided to switch up the order, and went to the University first, where I got my AIDS test fee waiver (oh, about the AIDS test—its required of everyone, but especially of foreigners, and usually it costs money but since I have to do it for the university they give a little document thing that allows me to get the test without having to pay) and the application for the program. As a part of my “be nice to your nose” program, I’d taken a taxi to the university, which got me to the gate of the university that I needed to go to, which was good. There’s a large road between the university and where the taxi dropped me off, but there’s an underground tunnel where they sell stationery and books and notebooks and whatnot, so you just walk through that and you get to the main gate of the university. Piece of cake, when you have a better idea of where you need to go. I also scheduled to take the placement exam the next day at 10 am, which you have to pay 500 lira for.

After getting the application and the fee waiver and scheduling the placement test, I went to the AIDS clinic, and they took some blood and then told me to come back the next day for the results. After that being done, I went to the Turkish Embassy, again with a taxi, and gave them my passport and told them I needed this letter for the university. They told me to come back at 3 pm to pick up the letter and my passport, so I decided that instead of going back to where I live, I would just hang out in the area. So I was just walking around, and I ran across a mall, so I just went in and walked around and found a café and sat down and hung out there for about an hour where I ate and drank coffee. It was fun. I left there and walked around some more and saw a park, so I just sat there until it was time to go to the embassy to pick up the letter and the passport and read my book (which is again, Elif Shafak’s Forty Rules of Love—definitely recommend it). I picked up the letter and whatnot, and then I walked back to my place and dropped off my stuff and went shopping.

I came back and put away the stuff I’d bought in the fridge, and then went to the internet café where I talked with my mom and dad over Skype.

My phone came back, by the way, so that’s been solved as well. The reason for it not working hasn’t been solved still but at least its back, elhamdulillah.

So I used a total of three taxis today, which began to piss me off somewhat because they just ask you for so much money. The first two taxis I used were really nice, to their credit, and they used the meter so I just paid them a little bit over the amount in the meter as that’s what you’re expected to do, and I’m pretty sure due to inflation and whatnot it works out fine since they don’t adjust the meter to fit, so I’m okay with that. But the third taxi driver? We went quite a way from Zablatani (زبلطاني) to where the Turkish embassy is located, and the meter said 72.50 lira, so I gave the guy 75 lira, and he got pissed off at me and said that in Syria they always give 100 lira when it’s at that amount, which isn’t actually true. So I just said okay fine and gave him the money, but it was just really annoying for him to get mad at me. Taught me my lesson though, I’ll obviously always be overpaying no matter what. And I'm going to try and use the taxis as little as is possible, insha'allah. Everybody has to make a living, which I get, but I have a budget too yo.

That was it pretty much for this day, May 18, 2010. Tomorrow it’s my placement exam, so we’ll see how that goes. Insha’allah kheir!