Yesterday Erdem and I have a good discussion about pharmacy education and I learn a lot about what they do in Turkey. There are plenty of medicinal chemistry type courses, and even things having to do with plants but no counseling practice anywhere in the curriculum.
As I'm showing him my curriculum at Jefferson I realize for a minute how fortunate we are to be practicing from the time we start the program. It's a very good design. Turkish students get none of that training.
The street behind the pharmacy there is a little alley where one of Erdem's friends owns, of all things, a dance studio. We sat and drank tea there for some time. It never ceases to amaze me how many friends he has.
Lately he has been in some negotiation with a supermarket chain that wants to occupy his space. He would move just next door.
He reasons it would be an attractive deal. The supermarket is designed with a kind of organic, quality foods type theme kind like whole foods, in the States. On their way in and out they would walk right by the pharmacy. The only thing the space he has now was basically renovated by him and his family - they put in floors, ceilings, and all the cabinets. That would be the same work in the new space. Anyway there is a lot of talks going on lately. Every once in a while I will see different men come in and they will enter into discussions.
Later that evening I headed out to Grand Bazaar to find some small things. On the way in the metro I meet a random guy who's a restaurant owner, seafood. His name is Celal, a very nice man speaks good English, probably late forties and we talk for a while about Istanbul, work, and traveling. He has been to States and has a brother who's a lawyer on Wall Street.
I take his business card and he welcomes me to dinner at the restaurant, it's not far from the Grand Bazaar. Tonight I have no plans with any of the students so I say sure why not.
We get off at the station and he actually treats me to some pieces of Baklava. Then we go our separate ways. I go to do shopping and say I will be down in an hour.
After shopping I go to the place. I don't know what to think. It's close to the water. I don't want to say it's exactly out to catch tourists but let's just say there's many restaurants that look a lot like each other all other, doesn't make me feel good. On top of that when I get then and ask for Celal I'm told he's not there and may be back in 30 minutes. I don't know if I buy that. These are the same type of waiter guys that come swarming to sell menus to tourists.
I look at the menu and of course it's a little pricey. 20-28 TL for an entree. It's obvious to me now if I were to come here at all it would be with a group of people. If I could talk with Celal I'm sure he would be glad to serve me the best from the menu and at a more than fair price, but he's not there so I pick up and leave. Perhaps I'm a little upset to take up an invitation and there was no follow through but whatever.
Later that night the dorm guys know about a little concert in Taksim. It's traditional music with surrounding booths with different craft items on sale from different smaller towns throughout Turkey. One of the guys gives me a sort of running commentary of all the customary items each town is famous for. Some of the places, they are eager to mention not without a hint of pride, are where they come from - if fact none of my guy friends at the dorm are from the city, they are all from smaller towns throughout Turkey.
We stop for midye afterward (cheap and delicious street food - mussels stuffed with seasoned rice and drizzled with fresh lemon), suck them back for a minute and returned to the dorm.
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