So, here we are in Istanbul at the Kadir Has University participating in the summer school. Quite a different setup as to what I'm used in Holland but the change is very welcome. I didn't need any time to settle as some of my friends who live here immediatly made us feel at home, and the different climate reminds me of the weather back home where I grew up (Curaçao).
The food is a different story though. We've heard a lot about the Turkish cuisine, but somehow we have managed to avoid all of it. We've gotten some tips of the guys here so our quest to experience some fine Turkish dining continues tonight.
The group I'm in (Group C, with Tove and Berrin) is pretty good. I sense that not everyone is totally comfortable yet and tries to not step on anyone's toes. And the difference in cultures is also quite evident. Whereas we in Holland are really direct and forward with our suggestions, I feel this is not the case with everyone. This was something I mentioned in my 'to-do list' before I came here and something I want to work with.
We're also the only group with 3 people, the guy from Austria didn't show up due to some unclear circumstances, and I hope it will not limit our products in the end. I don't think it will as we are quite capable of pulling off some amazing stuff. One thing that does worry me a bit is the lack of technical expertise in the group. None of us are experienced with programming or scripting, so we have to go in a different direction with the concept that will suit are skills better.
We've just finished our MindMap, and it turned out quite nice. It's fun to see how much ours differs from the rest of the groups, both in content and execution. We are still swimming in the sea of options that resulted from the MindMap session on how to continue with this. I'm leaning heavily towards the modern form of Caligraphy, Graffiti & Tattoo'ing, primarily due to my interest in these art-forms. Tove said that she also liked that direction, we just have to find something that goes with this and Ottoman Caligraphy, if Berrin agrees that is :).
The museum was also quite interesting, the guide sucked and annoyed me, but I ditched her pretty quickly and made my way through the pieces on my own. It was really interesting to see the different styles. I was somewhat dissappointed in the amount of different Caligraphy pieces though. There were very few exotic ones as the few shown in the presentation, I would have liked to see more of those.
I see that the class is starting in a few so this entry will have to come to an end. 'Till next time
-Willem
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