Settling in to the apartment

The last couple of days have been pretty much focused on getting settled in to our new apartment. I am grateful that we have housing provided by the university; there are many positives: it's rent-free, the utilities are subsidized, it's furnished, connecting to wireless internet was a snap, there's a ton of storage space, both Alex and I have office space, it's in a nicely landscaped complex, there's a pleasant patio with a table and chairs, nearby there's a little grocery store with good veggies and fruit, it's close to the university, and it's not too far from a shopping area in Sarıyer. I have to remember these things when I consider the difficulties.
The number one issue is transportation to other parts of Istanbul--Alex has a monster commute to the Ottoman Archives in Kağıthane (1.5 to 2 hours one way)! The other problems include: the microwave starting smoking the first time I used it, the wash machine doesn't work, there were no kitchen or cleaning supplies when we moved in, the pilot light on the stove doesn't work (we use matches, but the natural gas doesn't have the "smell" added), there was random extra furniture in bubble wrap taking up space, there are no screens on the windows (but plenty of spiders to eat the yummy mosquitoes), and there is no one onsite to deal with maintenance issues. Luckily, my colleague Mary, who has been helping me get acclimated, knew who to contact about the appliances/furniture.
We now have some very basic kitchen and cleaning supplies. Today the extra furniture was removed, and the missing part for the washing machine should be installed soon. I did two days of hand washing in the tub. All I needed was a washboard and a wringer; at least the previous tenant left behind a drying rack!
Today I took a little field trip to Koç with Mary so she could show me around and answer questions. I also picked up my Koç ID card and my debit card for my new bank account with its zero balance ;P (I'm still waiting on the corrected version of my residence permit.)
Step by step as they say...