SAME!
Literally went to Star Wars night to come back to 80 notifications…to reading we go!
@schroscat Have fun! 
@collapp77 Looks like I’m set to infiltrate the thread again!
@schroscat I’ve been silently reading everything on this thread, and your posts always make me laugh or ponder things. And I have wanted to visit Turkey FOREVER…your cultural experiences have so intrigued me!
IM UP! I TOOK AN UNEXPECTED TWO HOUR NAP BUT IM UP!
Oh I remember a time when I used to nap but now track takes up a good amount of time after school
Is it just me or has the applicant status portal changed slightly? There’s a pretty wide gap between the “Thank you for submitting your application…” paragraph and the “Verify Address/Important Dates” section that I swear wasn’t there before. Maybe they’re making space for our decision letters… or am I just overanalyzing things
@collapp77 My first experience in Turkey was a mess, oh my gosh.
STORY TIME!
So my entire family, excluding my uncle, lives in Turkey. Everyone in Turkey looks alike, especially when you’re related to them. It’s honestly really scary and, oftentimes, confusing. So, here I am, about to embark on my first plane ride to a land that I’ve obsessively looked at in pictures , and I tell my uncle, “Hey, do you wanna, like,…help me put a face to the names of my family members?” And he says that I’ll be fine, “Don’t worry, you’ve already talked to them over the phone!”
He was so incredibly wrong.
Not only did my entire family show up to my grandparents’ house, THE ENTIRE FREAKING TOWN DECIDED TO JUST WAIT FOR MY ARRIVAL. So, here I am, a mere pre-teen, and I’m bombarded with…
“Hey! Do you know me? I was your mom’s best friend in middle school!”
“I’m sure your mom mentioned me!”
“I’M YOUR COUSIN HELLO I KNOW YOU!!!”
And then my grandmother paraded me down to eat a feast…at midnight.
AND IT DOESN’T END.
So in the land of Turkey (as well as any Muslim country…or anywhere in the presence of a mosque), a prayer is read 5x/day. The local mosque in my community just so happened to be right. next. door. And I had no idea what time the prayers were going to be read, nor did I know what these prayers sounded like. (Hint: it sounds like a guy singing. singing in a completely different language.)
So, my uncle says, “Hey, I’ll wake you up early in the morning so we can go for a walk.”
It is 4:30. I hear very loud music. I assume it’s my uncle trying to wake me up. There is no sign of my uncle. I hear a pitter patter around the house, but to no avail was anyone checking up on me. I go back to bed.
The following morning, my grandmother asks how I slept. I make the dumb mistake by saying, “Oh, I slept well…until some random dude started singing in the middle of the night!” She, of course, had not a clue what I was talking about. I venture to my aunt’s house, and she asks the same question, and I respond in the same manner. We are now sitting on the terrace, and suddenly, the afternoon prayers are being read from the speaker. I yell, “THIS IS THE SINGING DUDE I WAS TALKING ABOUT.”
My family was mortified. My mother did not hear the end of it. I am still mocked for my stupidity.
And there concludes my first memory in my homeland. I hope you enjoyed it.
@collapp77 Also, thank you so much! I try my best to be funny throughout this thread…it’s my mechanism for stress If you ever go to Turkey, let me know; I’ll be more than happy to send you a list of places that you MUST visit!
Magnificent story! @schroscat
@Jinxxx Why, thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed my misfortune
@schroscat That sounds interesting! I can’t say I’ve had many of the same experiences going to India, but I know I was a pretty mischievous young child. I’m sure I can dig up a story about me playing with monkeys or swinging from vines…maybe…cool story, though! It made me laugh. 
Who wants to hear the story about when my brother broke his nose?
@collapp77 Dig them up! Childhood stories are the best!
@tuty143 I’d love to!
Would the letter show up as a link on the status page?
Me: Okay, I need to study for tomorrow’s test.
takes out book and notes
starts reading
moments later
Brain: aye lmao
Me: what
Brain: …
Me: ???
Brain: now that I have your attention, check CC, you shouldn’t be this calm and productive. DECISIONS COME OUT THURSDAY.
Me: you right
-based on a true story.
@schroscat there’s a mosque near my house and the adhan wakes me up every morning :-S
@karakoram Whenever I go home, it always takes me a week to adjust to the ezan. During Ramazan, we become nocturnal and go to bed after sahur. It’s reeeealllll great.
@snackpack02 Lmbo that got me cracking