kalkan.... here i come.
i am sitting here with half-lidded eyes, sweating, and feeling
absolutely exhausted. if ever i needed a holiday, now is the
time.
oh kalkan, please be fun. please be relaxing.
here is a website with some nice pictures. :)
south turkey....
ok, so after talking to my friend gaelle i decided to get the hell out
of istanbul and go to south turkey! my boss OK'd it so i bought a
bus ticket and will leave on sunday after i finish work.
all i want to do is sit on the beach. that's it.
last time i saw gaelle we were hamam-ing it up in cemberlitas,
so now we can go be beach bums in south turkey. it will be nice
to catch up, get out of the city, and clear my head for a couple
of days.
plus, i might be able to see baby turtles. oh. my. god. baby
turtles! baby turtles make everything alright. :)
random thoughts for the day
1) turkish people have very interesting surnames.... my last hour at
school today was "chat hour" and we discussed names. students had
last namesthat translate to "star," "leader of the troop," "stones," "desire,"
etc. but my favorite name of the day translated to
"son of white forehead."2) on the train, i saw lots of boys sporting the "off-the-ass" jeans that i
thought (and hoped!) i left behind in oaktown. their jeans looked like
they were about to fall off..... ugh! i hate that.
3) dolmas are so freaking good. i need to learn how to make them. a simple
recipe is
here. stuffed grape leaves are my favorite, but the green pepper
dolmas come in a close second!
4) some brands of turkish yogurt have a thick crust on them when you
buy them. you have to break through the crust to get to the yogurt....
5) turkish pop has grown on me. i just wish i could understand the words!
6) new apartment tomorrow.... well, taking some stuff over and will probably
stay there for the first time. weuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!
29
well, it's my birthday... celebrated last night with aydan & family, drinking
turkish wine and eating milka chocolate.... i also picked up the keys to my new
apartment in cihangir, which i will move in to whenever i can get a ride from
aydan or ferdi. i'm in florya now, which is a suburb of istanbul. very nice,
quiet, and beautiful... but a little
too nice, quiet, and beautiful for me. :)
i can't believe i'm 29 though. hmmmm. happy birthday to me!
a poem from rumi
how long
can i lament
with this depressed
heart and soul
how long
can i remain
a sad autumn
ever since my grief
has shed my leaves
the entire space
of my soul
is burning in agony
how long can i
hide the flames
wanting to rise
out of this fire
how long can one suffer
the pain of hatred
of another human
a friend behaving like an enemy
with a broken heart
how much more
can i take
the message
from body to soul
i believe in love
i swear by love
believe me my love
how long
like a prisoner of grief
can i beg for mercy
you know i'm not
a piece of rock or steel
but hearing my story
even water will become
as tense as a stone
if i can only recount
the story of my life
right out of my body
flames will grow
-rumi (mevlana)
10 days to 2-9
29 is just around the corner. depending on how you look at it, i've
either done a lot with my life thusfar or very little. right now, i'm
feeling like i've accomplished some good things, but that i definitely
need to do & see a lot more.
it's funny, actally... i remember when i was in high school, listening
to "the phantom of the opera" soundtrack over and over and over,
thinking i would
never see it,
never go to new york, and never
see the world beyond my rocky mountain state. the world just
seemed beyond my grasp, impossibly far, impossibly difficult to
navigate. denver seemed like the farthest place i would ever live,
maybe, just
maybe i would be lucky enough to live in california
since so many of my relatives lived there.
well.... i saw "phantom"
wayyyyyyy too many times to publicly
admit, i've visited and worked in new york, travelled quite a bit
for work and pleasure and now....
....now i live in istanbul, turkey. what the hell happened??!
(i'm also sitting here listening to shakira singing "la tortura" and i think it rocks. what is happening to me!??!)hmph.tomorrow i am leaving at an ungodly hour to go to bakirkoy,
where my school is, to catch the bus to bursa. ohhhhh boy! i
saw the agenda last night and i'm scared.
really scared. we
arrive at the hotel in uludağ, have dinner and some awards
ceremony, then have a late night reception (party?!). then
the real fun begins on thursday morning....
8:00am - MANDATORY STRETCHING (ahhh! wtf!?)then breakfast
then
10:00am - ?? OUTDOOR TRAINING SESSIONS -
wear your tennis shoes!i don't mind a little outdoor activity, but really.... it's so hot
here i'm hoping we're not running around or doing really
crazy stuff in the sun. i rode on the dolmuş yesterday and
thought i was going to die after the 15 minute ride from
taksim to bakirkoy. ughhhhhh. i told my boss i will be
running straight into the woods and hiding for the day if
it gets out of hand!
8:00am.... gahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
it's too damn early. i was out looking at apartments
all day yesterday, then when i came home, i had to
meet with some tour guests for a last goodbye. they
were 2 hilarious women from southern california,
both teachers for LA unified-- i don't know. honestly,
they were just so open-minded and enjoyed istanbul
so much, it was fantastic! i will miss them.
now i am on my way to work.... well, first a shower
will be involved, then i will get ready, walk to kumkapi, and take the train.
i feel sunburnt and exhausted. the apartment search was fruitless
(shocking) and exhausting.
anyway.... at least bursa is this week! i am excited to escape to a different city, even if it does involve team-building activities and hotel buffets....
10.9 million degrees
it is 10.9 million degrees in istanbul. i am dying. apparently,
i am made for 72 degrees (F), with cool breezes and shade.
i am off to look at apartments now.... let's hope i don't sweat
to death in the process! ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
istanbul from camlica hill
this is the view from camlica hill,
on the asian side, looking at europe.
destination: bursa?
next week i am going to bursa (?!) with everyone else who works at
wall street. it's the annual convention-- 3 days in bursa, lots of "fun,
team-building activities" and an awards ceremony. here is a list of
what i am personally looking forward to:
- taking a long, hot bath. bathtubs are not frequently seen in my day-
to-day life. i miss baths. showers are great, but i really miss a good,
long soak in the tub with some lovely products from lush.
- morning yoga with one of my fellow teachers (who also teaches yoga)
- not hearing "the whistle song" or "my number one" for 3 days
- visit the hotel pool (!)
the team-building activities could be the end of me, but hopefully they
will be fun and not too silly.
sitting next to a big, wet guy on a dolmuş
well.... it's raining here..... a LOT. it's crazy! it's either 40 million degrees
with 100% humidity or it's raining cats and dogs and i'm freezing! i don't
know whether to bring an umbrella or a sunhat!
i do know
one thing, however..... sitting next to a big,
completely soakedman on the dolmuş is NOT fun. i think my entire right side is wet because
of this guy. yuckkkkkk...............
(p.s. a dolmuş is a minivan that takes you places very quickly-- and by
very quickly, i mean the speed of light!)
anyway.... it's late. i should go!
currently melting in an internet cafe....
it's july 2nd. my 29th birthday is in 20 days. oh. my. dear. lord. why
is 29 seeming so much scarier than every other birthday? i feel like
29 is scarier than 30! 29 just seems like you're teetering on the edge,
waiting for the big 3-0 to sneak up on you.... ahhh well. whatever.
i went to a party last night and everyone concured that while i may
be turning 29, i "only look 23." well, ok. thank for you soothing my
ego, party people.
***
i'm in an internet cafe in cihangir right now. it's approximately 10.2
million degrees in here and the humidity must be near 100%. i feel
like my face is melting off! how am i going to last during the summer?
i hate walking down the street feeling like the sweaty american girl.
***
took some people on a tour yesterday (the 3rd day of a 3-day tour)
and we went to
dolmabahce palace,
beylerbeyi palace, and camlica
hill. i have to say that beylerbeyi, the summer house of the sultans,
was my favorite of the palaces. it's small, but far less crowded than
the larger and more opulent dolmabahce palace. camlica hill is also
wonderful.... you can see all of istanbul, the islands, the sea, the
bosphorus, and the bridges.... beautiful!
anyway.... i am off to wander around taksim and maybe go see
(ugh) war of the worlds.
it's too damn early. i was out looking at apartments
this is the view from camlica hill,
