stillness
The Blue Mosque
Originally uploaded by .......c.........i've been MIA for a while but okan is here now and my friends from california came (i was also ill)... so.... i've been quite busy.
there's a poem by rita dove that is in my mind today, for one reason or another, so i thought i'd share it:
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Wiederkehr
He only wanted me for happiness, to walk in air and not think so much, to watch the smile begun in his eyes end on the lips his eyes caressed.
He merely hoped, in darkness, to smell rain; and though he saw how still I sat to hold the rain untouched inside me, he never asked if I would stay. Which is why, when the choice appeared, I reached for it.
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mr. miyagi would be proud
i woke up to the sound of rain, the crackling voice of my neighbor yelling at her cats, and the hum of the water pipes which inevitably means the water is OFF (yet again! oh istanbul...). looks like a grey day is at hand, but it may very well burn off in a few hours. it's too early to tell. not even 10am yet.
tonight i am going to my friend pam's house (in cihangir, with a gorgeous bosphorus view!) to watch her television debut. turkish television has taken a korean game show and adapted it for turks. basically, there are three turkish celebrities facing pam. behind pam, there's a picture of something-- the celebrities then have to try and describe it to pam (in english!) and pam has to try and guess what the picture is of. it could be very entertaining.... pam just asked me to "bring booze" because she's going to need it -- never seen herself on TV before. it's on kanal 1 tonight at 8pm. wish i could tape it! (where is tivo!?!)
in other television news, last night we were flipping around various stations and selin came across something more beautiful and amazing than i can put into words.
interpretive karate danceyes. interpretive karate dance, my friends. my jaw dropped open and i asked "what
IS THIS!?!?" selin informed me that it's from america (?) and she has seen it many times on daytime TV. i looked on youtube.com for an example of this, but alas.... it was a fleeting moment of interpretive dance glory from a tiny stage in antalya.... the ring lit up in red lights, music blaring, and a lone girl, dancing and chopping her way from one end of the ring to the other. bizarre.
ok.... off to work.
saturday night
restaurant 360
Originally uploaded by Firaz A.
i just ate fajitas, courtesy of selin. selin is the best roommate in the world! it's official.
i worked all day... debated the usage of "affect" vs. "effect," as well as the linguistic origin of the term "mack daddy." (for the record, my boss thought "mack daddy" meant a man that takes young women out for mcdonald's....WTF? a couple of young americans told him this, by the way!)
free time is being spent cleaning, organizing, and planning for okan's imminent arrival.
everything changes
cruise ship and the bosphorus
Originally uploaded by .......c.........
this week has brought many changes.... changes to plans that had been set in place for months; plans that were changed randomly and without any participation by my part! (mainly due to bombs in marmaris and the subsequent drop-off of tourists from abroad). basically, okan is coming next week instead of next month, which is great/crazy/soon!! i have so much to do!
eeeee!
blue
street art
Originally uploaded by .......c.........
it's another monday, another day that just rolls into the next, blurring together. i told a friend last night that i feel like i've completely lost track of time, which i have. i saw a student yesterday and i asked her, "has it been a long time since i've seen you? i feel like i haven't seen you for four months, but you could have been here yesterday. which is true?" it turned out that she hadn't studied for months, but it made me realize how everything is just blurring together, one day to the next. my life seems like a sloppy watercolor painting at the moment.
i really, really, really need a vacation. in the latest issue of "time out istanbul," they talk about little mini-retreats you can do in the city. there's some yoga retreat place on buyukada (the big island) that sounds lovely. maybe somehow i can find the time to go do something for myself for one day. just one day. i'm just exhausted this morning. i'm exhausted from a multitude of things, none of which are substantial, but are adding up to make me want to just go hide in a cave and not come out until spring.
