"An effort made for the happiness of others lifts above ourselves." - Lydia M. Child
Another trip, another emotions and another country that I can cross off my must-go list. This time I visited Turkey with a few other compatriots. The trip for us, Estonians, was organized by Urmo so huge thanks to him for that. At first, the nine of us went to Adana where we participated in an Erasmus+ project called "Mother Earth" which was focused on agriculture topics. Besides our country, there were also other countries - Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey. After staying almost a week in Adana, we went to Istanbul with our Estonian group and played tourists for a couple more days before we headed home.
Estonian Mafia - Jan, Johannes, Toomas, Siim, Madis, Tõnis (Silver & Lisbeth are missing from the pic)
Project "Mother Earth" group
First of all, I knew that this trip was going to be lit because I knew most of our group before going to this journey and they all have unique fucked up personalities so what could've go wrong, right? When we arrived to Tallinn Airport, we had our first chats and beers. I resisted alcohol as long as I could so I didn't order any beer but when I was told that there are free drinks and food on our flight, I lost my sobriety. We drank wine, whiskey & beers on the plane to Istanbul and were quite tipsy when we arrived to the first destination. "Vacation-mode" was fully on. On the second flight to Adana we already started to feel our first hangover symptoms but that didn't take away our mood and energy. In Adana, we were picked up by the Turkish organizers and taken to the hotel we stayed the following week. My roommate for the week was Madis.
On our way to the hotel
The first official day at the project was like Erasmus+ projects always are - the quietest. People don't know each other yet and some conversations and get-to-know-each-other games are awkward. Thankfully, it didn't take long before the ice was broken and we all got along very well. We also went to explore Adana and went shopping. Our Estonian Mafia held together but one Turkish guy showed us around. Eventually, he turned out to be one of the coolest dude during this trip. Thank you, Buğra! Although, this evening everyone from our Estonian group except Tõnis were too tired to go out to the city with the others. We sat on the balcony and pretty much talked about the meaning of life. Tõnis kept our Estonian flag up and partied in the city with the others.
Madis & Siim's Tank Top Inc.
Jan & I walking past a little swagger
Motorcycle culture
"I know you are bored, I am bored too." - lecturer x)
Proudly presenting our country
Tõnis, Urmo, Johannes & I posing with Türkü's mother @ cultural evening
The third day was really hard to get going. I've only slept for an hour and I had a headache but I didn't care, I knew I needed to push myself. We started the day with customizing our own T-shirts and hats. Estonians again were the most childish ones and you can see what we wrote on our clothes from the pictures. When the clothes were ready, we had to get on a bus and we went to a huge farm - Ali Baba's farm is one of the biggest in Adana. The countryside air and walk in the farm was refreshing. The only thing I hated was that that there were peaches growing and we were allowed to eat them but of course Toomas Erik is allergic to good stuff like peaches for example.. However, I can't eat many fruits and vegetables but I can eat kebab. After the farm tour, all of us went to Ulaş Kestek Kebap Restaurant. I love Turkish kebab but I wouldn't eat it every day. Stomachs full, we headed back to the hotel. Also I think it's worth mentioning that all the bus drivers in Turkey are like Jason Stathams and Vin Diesels - they drive like maniacs, they have pimped & tuned buses and they let the music play really loud for us so we could dance like crazy. When we went back to the hotel, we partied so hard in the bus and waved at the city folks. We even made a stop to dance outside. It was crazy! Finally, when we got back to the hotel it was time for the second cultural evening - Hungary and Turkey this time. Turkish food will always be one of the highlights of the cultural evenings.
Getting the farming clothes ready
Pimp My Bus
Farmville
Farm princess with her workers
Serenay, Siim, Türkü, Tõnis & I @ Ali Baba's farm
"Afiyet olsun"
Thankfully, the last night didn't end in the morning so I had so much energy on the fourth day. We went to visit The University of Çukurova that day and we enjoyed the massive scenery of this wonderland. Sadly, the university itself left me cold because when someone asked that what makes that university special then the presenter pretty much said that they have a lake. This was really odd. The presenter didn't really do her job well in my opinion but no hate. After the lecture, the fun part started. We were given pickaxes, shovels and trees to plant. This was the part were I got the chance to finally use my energy overflow. We sang "Sepapoisid" which is a well-known Estonian song about working and planted the trees so we could come back there in future to show these grown up trees to our grandchildren. I think that it was fun to work like this for an hour or a two but doing this regularly from day to day at this temperature would be a total nope for me. We were quite exhausted when we arrived back to the hotel. Instead of sleeping we played around with the Estonian group. We played ninjas and ran around in the hotel and then we started to knock on people's doors and when they opened, we threw water into their faces. I'm sure some of them thought that we were drunk or did some drugs but nope - pure boredom was our drug. After this, we also went to see the old town of Adana. Even later when we were tired of walking, half of us went to a bar called Sir Şinasi Bar and we grabbed some beers. Tõnis danced like crazy (this was casual) and I just had a chat with the others. At our end of the table (Estonian Mafia side) was also Buğra and once again, he proved to be a really cool dude. We shared some secrets and practiced his English because he had an English exam coming up. I remember that I really wanted to chat with Türkü but she was so busy all the time because of she had to organize everything. Finally, when she could sit down with us, I talked with her and got to know her even better. She tried to prove that she can cook but she still has to prove it to me. ;)
Estonian people are beautiful
Third-wheelin' with Hanife & Samet
One Bob Marley quote you said to me would fit here, Türkü :)
Minecraft 2.0: Turkey
Los Adanas
"Lunar surface on a Saturday night"
Last selfie before leaving the bar
On the fifth day, we went to enjoy the sunny day at the beach. The water was so warm and salty and as clever as we arrogant Estonians thought we were, we tried to swim to an island "nearby". It seemed to be closer than it actually was, also it wasn't easy to swim against the waves. I & Silver turned back earlier than the others but they were picked up by the coast guard a little bit later and returned to the shore. Furthermore, when I went for a walk alone, some Turkish kids invited me to play football with them. I think they were like ten years old or something close to that. We played on the street and at first I was barefoot which I regretted so bad later. I had and I still have huge blisters on the underside of my feet. Later that evening, I went out with Türkü. In addition to that, Tõnis also had a date with a Turkish girl so first we dropped him off and then we went to enjoy each other's company in La Noche Bar. We brainfucked until Tõnis called us to pick him up. When we arrived and Tõnis got onto the car, he was so excited about his fresh experience with this Turkish girl. Yes, the guy got laid. Anyway, this night was I think the greatest of the whole trip. I had some sweet dreams that night.
"Morning After", starring Jan-Erik Sarv & Siim Udras
Naked for attention
Date night
When it came to the sixth day, I realized that we were supposed to leave this place and these people very soon. However, before the leave we visited the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture in Adana. We heard more about this sector works in Turkey. After the visit, we started creating our own tiny greenhouses where we put soil and different seeds to grow. Türkü promised to take care of our gardens and I know you are reading this, you bastard - check of our crops! We also made our own fruit salads but I was packing while my group prepared the dessert. Our fruit salad looked fantastic, maybe it also looked like you get diabetes after eating this but at least it looked good. Right after that, we had our Youthpass ceremony where we got our diplomas. Unfortunately, then it was time to leave for team Estonia. We said our farewells to everyone and Türkü sent us to the airport. I really would like to thank Türkü & Hilal the most for making this project so amazing. Hilal, you are going to be an amazing teacher! Türkü, I still remember the final moments with you in the hotel and also at the airport. Thankfully, I'll see you soon in Germany! Also, Ádám and Angel, you players need to visit Estonia! Hit me up when you are here.
Important faces everywhere
Silver trying out his new job
Gardener Training 101
Hilal & Türkü - perfect match for organizing this project
The same evening, we arrived to Istanbul. It was much colder there than it was in Adana, also it was raining. Adana was really hot, Istanbul was like Estonia in summertime. After the arrival, we went straight into our hostel and even though we were really tired, we didn't want to waste any remaining time by sleeping. The hostel had a really good-looking bar where we decided to order food and drinks before going to sleep. It was mojito-o-clock and we smoked hookah. The city was even more alive than Adana and part of me liked it but people in Adana were way more friendly. It's probably because people in Adana weren't used to see tourists in their city but in Istanbul, the locals (mostly salesmen) saw us just as walking wallets.
@ Hostel in Istanbul
Powerful
The following day we split up into a few groups and everyone did what they wanted to do in this metropolis. I, Tõnis and Siim went to a bazaar which is a huge market in Turkey. We stayed pretty much the whole day there seeking around and buying stuff. I bargained with pleasure. I loved to talk with the salesmen whether I was going to buy something from them or not. It doesn't matter how low you go with the price, if he or she sells you this then he or she is winning for sure. This evening it was important for me and Johannes to get back to hostel on time because it was Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid. We watched the game screaming, letting all the remaining emotions out. I was on Liverpool's side so when Ramos fucked Salah up and dived later I was so mad but Bale's first goal was beautiful, nothing to say against that. Shame on Karius though, he let the team down.
TEMUFI Photography
Champions League Final
Because we didn't stay up late the previous evening we weren't too tired on the next day. We went in groups again to explore the city and this time I wanted to go sightseeing. When it comes to knowing Turkey then Urmo is the right man because it's like his second home. We visited Hagia Sophia and Basilica Cistern. Thinking how people have made these wonders hundreds of years ago is just amazing. The day was relaxing and educating for me. We also met a cool Syrian guy in a spice shop and he told us many interesting stories about his homeland and shared his views on different issues we have in current world. I also bought a pair of fake Vans Converse shoes that day which still aren't broken which is a miracle. The day was relaxing but the night was crazy. As we knew that it was our last night there, we got quite wasted that night. We met some cool people from New Zealand and Australia and the next thing that comes on my mind is that I filmed when Madis used clipper to make Siim his first pair of earrings. After that we even tried to put some in his eyebrow. It was mad.
@ Basilica Cistern
Best spice shop and best salesman - we bought organic "sexual activity booster" and you can see how happy these guys are
Good view, good company and good food
The final day was really sleepy. We had to stay in the airport for a long time and so we slept there. I also slept on every flight. My energy had finally ran out. When I arrived to Tallinn, I went straight to attend an exam which I passed without studying before. However, it felt like I needed a vacation after this vacation. The best sentences that I remember from this trip the most - "Come here, my friend, come to my shop, best price, best shop!" & "Silence pleeease!!!". See you soon, Turkey!
PARTY HARD...
...SLEEP HARDER!