Triumphant Return!

So, first of all, I apologize for not blogging in the past month. I straight up suck... there, I said it.
But I kind of have a reason... the fact is that I'm crazy and I do things that logic and reason would stop the wise people from partaking in. In short, I went to Istanbul for a fun 4 day Get-Together hosted by IAESTE, the organization with which I am interning in Switzerland. Lots of sightseeing, partying, and only about 12 hours of sleep in the 4 nights I was there. And somehow, probably in a drunken and exhausted state, I stumbled upon a Greek girl named Vlasia Anagnosto...somethingsomething. The acquisition strategy was actually quite simple... 1. Pretend you know where Greece is and that names of islands have some relevance to you. 2. Spout off a few American slang phrases that you know she won't realize are terribly out-of-date and uncool. 3. Try to fulfill every American stereotype, because what European wants an American that acts European. Would you want to be with a European that was a wannabe American?
And it's just that simple. The only irony is that even though I fooled her (with classic American tricks... and maybe a few pills), it was I that decided to ditch work for 10 days and drop a cool G to go back and see HER a mere 2 weeks later. I guess we could argue about who tricked who until the cows come home, but instead let's just admit that we were both wrong and move on.
Istanbul (take 2) was pretty awesome, but Vlasia worked during the week, so I had to entertain myself. Unfortunately the first time I apparently saw just about everything cool to see in Istanbul. So I made it a daytime hobby to walk around the Grand Bazaar and by the street vendors (who are everywhere) and buy really cheap crappy things, though at least I resisted buying a spirograph. In summary, I bought a lot of food and now I'm totally decked out in classic Eurotrash clothing: pumas, Gucci belt, fake designer sunglasses, fake Rolex, counterfeit jeans, and a 35 cent bracelet. In short, I look "fabulous".
So after I killed a few hours compulsively haggling deals, I would usually slam down a couple of dollar "döner kebaps", compressed meat shaved into flatbread with some vegetables and sauces, and meet Vlasia for some nargile (hookah). Since there is too much to write about for one entry, I'll continue with 2nd and possibly 3rd installments in the next few days. The most main purpose of this entry was to go public with my wheelings and dealings...