More recollections from Istanbul and math

First and foremost, I added even more pictures of Istanbul to my picture account. Now, some more random memories of Istanbul:
* They fly the Turkish flag everywhere. They are so proud of that crescent moon and star that the logo decorates most art as well.
* I watched the cartoon Aladdin, and I couldn't help but notice how similar the narrator's actions at the beginning (when he's trying to sell the audience a lamp) are to the behaviors of the vendors in Turkey. Everyone is "my friend." Everything is "very good quality." Everything "will not break." What cracked me up is that the narrator tries to sell a "hookah and coffee-maker, that also makes fries." French fries are practically a food group in Turkey. Who knows how that started. Also, Turkish coffee is famous for a reason. Finally, there are hookahs, or "water pipes" offered to you at every restaurant, coffee shop, or bar.
* I forgot to tell about my experience at the Turkish baths. I went into the infamous baths with the expectation that they would be similar to the hot springs in Budapest: rather like expansive, steamy swimming pools. My, how I was mistaken. Turkish baths aren't bathtubs, they are public saunas where an experienced worker physically bathes you. Upon entering the building (which apparently was centuries old) women were directed one way, men another. From then on, the genders were completely separated. We were each given a locker where we placed our clothing, a thin piece of fabric that we assumed was a towel, and a something scratchy that looked rather like an oven-mitt. We moved through the corridors into a room full of toweled women, one of whom took pity on us and directed us to a side-door. We pushed the heavy flaps aside and entered into a broiling, humid, gigantic sauna. There was a raised marble platform upon which perhaps twenty women lay, mostly in the nude, on the mats that we had assumed were our towels. I understand the European lack of modesty, but this stopped me (momentarily) in my tracks. Anyway, we joined the ladies on the marble platform, which was pleasantly warm and soothing, gradually losing all reticence. As I got over the shock of my immediate situation, I started to notice the ammenities of the circular room in which I lay. There were basins into which running water fell every few feet around the rooms. Occasionally, a woman would stand and reach into the basin to pull out a shallow bowl, fill it with water, and pour it over herself. Anyway, the purpose of laying on this platform was literally to sweat out all the toxins in your body. After a while, a large, motherly woman would beckon you over to lie at the side of the platform. She first drenched you with water, and proceeded to vigorously scrub your entire body with the rough oven-mitt I mentioned earlier. Watching, I saw dead skin just peel away, taking the sweat and dirt from my pores with it. It almost hurt, but it was so satisfying it felt amazing. When you were absolutely smooth, you layed back down, and the lady took a huge basin of soapy water, filled some sort of enormous, bloated cloth with suds, and soaped you down. What proceeded was a washing of the body, but really it was more of a massage. It was the most decadent feeling of my life. After about 15 minutes of this soapy bath, they poured a pitcher of water on you to rinse the suds, and then took you to one of the basins of running water, where you sat as they shampooed and rinsed your hair. You were treated to one last thorough drenching before you were led to a slightly cooler room to drink tea, wrapped in cozy towels, and marvel at how you've never felt cleaner. The whole experience sounds simply weird in many ways, yet apparently the Turks used to rely on these public bathhouses to stay clean, and this is just an age-old tradition. Regardless, after shedding modesty, it was the most relaxing hour I can recall.

Now that I'm back to the routine of school, I thought I should give an update on how classes are going. I'm still in my five classes: Elementary Problem Solving, Combinatorics, Number Theory, Historical Aspects of Mathematics, and Intermediate Hungarian.

Problem solving is amazing. I have never been introduced to so many super topics in such an interesting and condensed manner. However, tomorrow I have a test/quiz on geometric inequalities and combinatorial set theory. I've been preparing for it for a couple of hours and feel generally pretty good. The trick to solving a geometric inequality is usually to use the triangle inequality, which is very easy.

My midterm in Combinatorics did not go well for me. However, the entire class did miserably on it, so at least I wasn't alone in my ignorance. It was just a poorly written test. After the midterm, we did a short session on the Catalan Numbers. I hate them. I can't explain why. It's the same unexplainable hatred I have for Dihedral groups. They're nice and pretty, yet I despise them. Thank goodness we're into the Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion, and moving on to Graph Theory. That stuff's all pretty interesting.

Number Theory is still brilliant. I love my teacher, and we're studying primitive roots. My teacher is always saying, "order is the soul of everything," and I'm starting to believe him. I like order better in this context than in group theory. It's prettier. I also was very happy with my midterm.

Historical Aspects of Mathematics is still very interesting but very long. I'm preparing for my final presentation, and I'm planning on speaking about Carl Sagan and his achievements as a pioneer in modern astronomy, as well as what makes him my personal hero.

Intermediate Hungarian is.... well.... it's Hungarian. Let us recall that Hungarian has 14 vowels, the word order doesn't have a set formula, there are more irregular verbs than not, and the conjugation of the verb depends on the number of a's u's and o's (plus the accents and strokes) verses the number of e's, and i's could go either way. UG. I'm getting better at the language, more because of immersion than anything else. The past two months I have successfully gotten a new metro pass speaking entirely in Hungarian. I also can order in restaurants, and exchange pleasantries on the street.

That's all folks.