Learning Turkish

Turkish is an agglutinating language, which means it makes the bits in your brain stick together and become something akin to Russian kasha.

This is how it works:
Where English and other languages, need seven or so words to say something like "I will not come to the Cinema", Turkish only needs two ("sinemaya gelmiyorum").

This is because Turkish agglutinates all the bits to the verb or the noun or both:
In the example above, the negative (m) is stuck onto the root of the verb (gel) and before the subject (here first person singular indicated by "um"). The preposition "to" is the "ya" at the end of the word cinema.

This all sounds pretty simple until you start trying to identify words as someone is speaking. You might get one or two words, but they could mean a number of things -or potentially the exact opposite- depending on what is stuck on to them.

To add to the fun, the basic word order is "the woman the book read" which again sounds simple enough, cause the book can't read the woman, but wait until the sentence you are trying to understand involves two people and try to figure out who is doing what to whom!

Unexpected use of prepositions with verbs (for instance "I like *from* my friend", which literally comes out as "friend mine from very like I") combined with no distinction in between masculine and feminine (no gender whatsoever) completes the scrambling of neurones.

On the positive side, most of the endings rhyme with the word you're adding them on to and there are only six letters in the Turkish alphabet which do not exist in the English one (of which three vowels, but Turkish has no Q, W, X) so at least I don't have to learn another alphabet!

Fun, huh?


learning Turkish expat musings living in Turkey

Power cuts & flooding - final episode

... at least I hope this is the end of it, although by the looks of our parquet...

Anyone interested in setting up a gym for ants?
I'm pretty sure we could incorporate some kind of roller coaster and actually make it into a fun fair...In fact, if things keep up, we could extend the invitation to larger beasts like squirrels and stuff

Vive la vie en Turquie!

After the power cuts...

't was an eventful weekend for us!

To celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary (Jeez! already!!!!) we decided to be brave, romantic and get cozy all at once, by lighting a fire in our fireplace for the first time!
To be honest, we were weary doing this, seeing as our neighbors told us horror stories of their house- so cautious we were. However - no hiccups whatsoever, no back smoke, nothing fell into the fire from the chimney, ... nope it all went fine.

Until 1h30am when a whooshing sound woke me up - my husband is always making fun of my ultra sensitive amygdala & limbic system, but haha! Am I glad it's alive and well 'cause hubs and dog were snoring away while I rose out of bed... to place my feet in centimeters of water!
Indeed.
No, it wasn't the fire brigade putting out our flaming home!

The boiler had burst!
Hot water was splashing out of a waving tube, bouncing off the door of the laundry room, onto the floor, swimming along the corridor, all the way to our room.
As it turns out - we were lucky. Had it happened during the day time, the whole house would have been flooded, with no one around to notice. (We estimated that the water had been running for a maximum of twenty minutes).

All is well that ends well. We had the boiler repaired this morning and were hot-water-showered by mid-day. Plus, we both took the day off to get this done. Sweet.

This evening, when we lit the fireplace again, more confidently this time around, we were stunned by another whooshing sound... bats! In our living room, swerving around the air in rapid circles.
Maybe this fireplace thing ain't such a good idea after all...

Happy anniversary to us!

Low birth rate resolved the easy way

Learning from Turkey, how can Europe resolve low birth rate?

Often we look for complicated schemes, government incentives, sponsored baby-care... I say, try power cuts! Simple, efficient, low cost.

One in the morning, when people are about to make coffee, shower, dry their hair... -and all they want to do is get back into bed - you just give them that extra push.
One in the evening, but not too late, just when they would normally be washing the dishes, watching TV, or browsing the web, so they're tired, but not exhausted!

After all, don't stats and medical journals show there are baby booms 9 months after power cuts? I say it's worth a try!

Turkish textile gets popular support

Switzerland, being one of the least patriotic countries I've ever lived in, always surprised me with the number of flags hung on national holidays...But the Turks here, are totally in another league.

See, in Switzerland, flags are hung by the authorities on bridges and official buildings. The only flags I've ever seen on people's private windows are "PEACE" flags (except maybe during the World Cup where all sorts come out).

Turks however, are fully on board when it comes to national holidays! Have you ever seen so many flags?!

Today, September 9th, Izmir celebrates the 1922 "evacuation" of Greeks from Smyrna (Izmir) who administered the city and region for three years following the Treaty of Sèvres (1919). Four days later, on September 13th, a four day fire all but destroyed the city, paving the way to it's current concrete waterfront.

So today, Izmir is screaming with flags to celebrate both Ataturk - pictured on a lot of the flags - and liberation from the Greeks....and they're not forgetting their growing textile industry.
Even their brides are patriotic!

Neon signs aren't always enough!

Have you ever felt that what you are trying to express is as obvious as a HUGE green neon sign, flashing over your head, but that the person you are trying to get the message to, is just not getting it?

It's just so frustrating!

Here's the blurb:
About three weeks ago, the nice Frenchman's wife and kids arrived. Remember, he's nice and smart and fun, and works with my husband. She, on the other hand is really starting to get under my skin.

She's by no means nasty, or wicked, no. She's just pushy, self-centered, totally narcissistic (in a half naïve, half smug, child-like way) and will not take a polite, diplomatic, no-thank-you kind of answer to anything. (And I'm not the world's greatest diplomat, take my word for it! I tend to be rather direct!)

A couple of days after they arrive, via her husband, Hubs and I get asked over for a drink. Nice. Except, we practically have to get ourselves a drink (remember it was 40°C!!!) and end up sitting in the garden looking out for their kids in the pool while She's checking her newly installed Internet connection, checking if Skype works, occasionaly asking us for technical support. He was unfortunately sorting out some other issue with the techie who'd just shown up.
Not the greatest "we're all yabanci (foreigners), let's bond and help each other" moment... but, hey, it can happen.

A few days later, She contacted me by e-mail and wrote: "(She would) gladly accept my offer to help" - nicely put, don't you think? Considering I hadn't offered anything yet! Anyway, this was her way of NOT asking me to take her to town. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and obliged.

She needed to get to a furniture shop in town, but didn't quite know where it was.
My sis-in-law was visiting and we figured we could do a few things in town ourselves, so we drove by hers and She followed in her car with her kids, to learn the way into town.

We all park at the closest parking and meet-up at the elevators. We catch the lift up, walk to the street where her shop is, and I sigh:
Ok, well, see you around...
"Actually, I just want to quickly have the kids pictures taken" She throws over her shoulder as She pushes into a photographer's shop with her kids. (Um, am I missing something? What does that have to do with us?) The door shuts and I catch her motioning for us to wait at the café on the corner. Fine. Whatever. We could use a bite.

Twenty minutes later, sis-in-law and I have had some drinks and a bite, and things are dandy. Here She comes, sprouting their pics and all smiles.

Off we go.... Oh, no! Off She goes; a million questions & comments on everything and anything.
Where does sis-in-law work? What does she do? Must be difficult working with orphans? How come we bought a car instead of importing one? How much did we pay? And She orders lunch for herself and the kids...

OMG, the lunch!
She spent the whole meal yelling at her ten year old son to shut it, competing with her two-year-old for attention, and making sure my sis-in-law (or anyone else in the restaurant charmed by the little one’s cuteness) would repeatedly take her daughter to the toilet so the never-ending flow spurting through her lips could go on uninterrupted. (Forgive me, am I being catty? I'm not usually, She's just toxic, what can I say, some people just get under your skin! And remember I’m writing this with hindsight and perspective!)

I get the bill and we finally manage to get away and out of sight.
No news for a while thankfully, and I believe my sis-in-law when she says I made my point.
Sweet illusion!

She e-mails, She has been trying to get in touch re: our Turkish lessons (yes, She has enrolled via the company in the same beginner's course) but I seem to be out a lot (for the record, I have not stooped to not answering or cutting her calls, so I don't think so lady...) and so, could I call her when it suits me? (How about never?)

I send her the links and all the enrollment details for the language classes as well as their contact details -everything I had, Scout's honor. I even put her in contact with the International Women's Group here, hoping for relief in numbers.

Monday was the first day of my Turkish classes, and for a week now, I've been dreading the call. (See, this type of person only contacts you when you can be of use. And I knew, the princess She is, had probably not found her way to the school nor registered).

Bingo! Last Saturday, an e-mail. About the classes...could I call her? Uh-uh. No way.

I send her the address and list enrollment docs, -again - and tell her I'm off to Istanbul for a few days. (Simultaneously, I find out from the school that there are too many beginner students for one class! Yay! There'll be more than one! And, no She has not registered - they ask me about her since the company has given her name but She has not confirmed attendance yet).

A day after we're back from Istanbul, She calls. Damn!

"Can we go together? It would be fun. The ride, the talk, starting classes together?" Just writing about it is making my skin crawl!

I try to weave my way out; "I have errands to run in town after class, and it would be more convenient to be independent. I wouldn't want to keep you in town, with your kids coming home from their first day in school...." She insists, and insists.... "Look, can we talk later?" Agh!

The day prior to class, She sends a text - we could meet at hers in the morning.
Fine, I'll go to hers. She can follow me the first day, so She can find her way there. Then, I'll somehow get into a different class, and cut the ropes. How hard can it be?!

I show up at hers with my car Monday morning bright and early explaining that She can follow me to the school, but that due to errands, I need my car. She pouts, but agrees. Off we go.
We're stuck in the traffic and I can see her through my windshield reaching for her mobile phone... a fraction of a minute later mine starts ringing- Nooooooo! I turn the music up and sing. I can't believe the woman. She's totally fusional!

We arrive at the parking in front of the school, and as luck would have it - there's a wedding thing on, and the parking is full... (Groan) The valet tells me (and then her) that there's an Otopark further on... I turn the car around, there's another one just behind us, that'll do fine, thank-you! Plus we're not exactly early as it is.

Alarmed, She looks out of her window, and screams: "I can't turn my 4x4 here, can you please wait for me?" - and drives off to the other fxxx otopark.

I park, and wait. And wait. I call her up. She's looking for a parking space. Am I waiting for her? Yes, I am. (How did this happen? She's the one who needs, and I'm the one constantly waiting?!)

Fifteen minutes later, She breezily walks up the street as if She were sight seeing, strolling at the speed of a tortoise. I breathe deeply and attempt a smile. We cut through a toyshop so as not to have to walk around the block and She starts telling me about the toys She bought her kids here. Aghhhh. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

We finally get to class. 30 minutes late. Packed. There are no seats left. The teacher goes out to gets some more chairs and I manage to sit at the other end of the room from She.
After 20 minutes we break and another teacher shows up with the first one. He splits the class right down the middle, explaining there are too many of us.
Yay!
I walk down the hall with my half of the room to another class - No! Wait! "I'd like to go in zee ozer class, wiz my frend?" And within a second She's sitting right beside me.
I am totally despairing.
She is totally eating up my oxygen.

Class starts, and after being given a few basic words and phrase/question structures, we are asked to work in pairs criss-crossing so that everyone gets to ask and answer every question.
The teacher is super encouraging with all of us, even those of us who have the worst accents or swallow the suffixes on occasion - but She will not have it.

After a mere hour of Turkish classes, She is cutting off the teacher and correcting everyone with "no it's not that, it's this" and drowning out every other person's voice.

The teacher diplomatically changes tactic. He calls out a specific name pointing at a word on his board so we can form a question, getting someone else to answer it. She asks and answers every single one of them aloud!!!

Class finishes and I'm down the stairs- She catches up with me asking if I can wait for her while She registers so I can show her where the close-by otopark is. (I know, I seem really dumb and a total masochist by now, but She's wearing me out!) Ok, I tell her, I'll wait in a café outside.

I order a drink, open my book, and withdraw from her and the morning for a few minutes.

She returns and immediately asks where I'm going for my errands and won't I have lunch? But the few minutes of escape in my book have re-energized me!

I manage to pay and make my way out, helped by the noise of traffic and people as we walk to where my car is parked. I hand in my ticket and drown her out, concentrated on paying my parking and getting away from her.

"Will you have errands to run tomorrow? If not could we drive in together...?"

I wave her goodbye in the noise of the street, knowing that tomorrow I will drive myself to class, without stopping by her place, with my music on full blast and my mobile phone deep in my bag.

Looks like for me, Turkish class is going to be more than about learning a new language...

Update: As planned, on Tuesday I leave her to find her own way to class. Driving there, my phone rings, but I don't reply. When I enter the classroom she pouts and greets me through tight lips. Just in case, after class, I run, but she manages to catch up with me by the parking... I stick to my guns, and miraculously escape lunch! Yay! On Wednesday, after two days of sitting next to her, I managed to move to another seat, and by Thursday she is no longer talking to me. Yay! Yay! Yay!
Nasty, huh? but sometimes you have to go to extremes to make a point!

Too much sun!

Just back from a few days in lively Istanbul.

On Tuesday, just as we were coming out of the Blue Mosque, it literally started pouring. It rained so hard, that even under cover you got soaked from the drops bouncing off the asphalt.
I never thought I'd say this, but I really enjoyed the clouds and the rain!
I hadn't realized how much I missed "continental weather" until it dawned on me, these were the first clouds and rain drops I'd seen in 3 months. I guess, you just don't appreciate the sun and warmth when it's perpetually 38°C ! And the gray sky really set off the gold on the top of the Blue Mosque and the peachy orange of Aya Sofia.


Luckily for us, the rain only lasted an hour. The next day, the sky was cleared from dust and pollution and the air was crisp and clear.

Where the hell is Matt?

If you haven't yet seen this, do have a look - it's really worth it!

Beautiful music, beautiful world, great idea, a good laugh and watching it just made me feel really happy!

Enjoy the dancing!

Good news of the week

Some of these are minor, itty-bitty, mini, tiny, little things, but they felt like Christmas had come early in the context we're in, so indulge me.

1. I managed to order Nespresso coffee capsules for our Nespresso machine! Hurrah! No need to load up on the stuff when we go back to GVA. (I know Sev, you would be happy to send it over, and thank-you so much, but if we can find it here it's even better) Not only is the Nespresso website bilingual, it actually took my order, and the coffee was delivered 3 days later. That's impressive! Oh, and I loooove my morning espresso!

2. I have finally found some fresh ginger! (made even better by the fact that I had totally given up on ever finding some and bought the powdered stuff), cherry tomatoes and lime!

3. The fence around our garden is finally Balou-proof! (only after having being patched up at least 5 times...) So now, I can go out without worrying that he's going to have a dog party with stray non-vaccinated-full-of-parasites-dogs, or be run-over by a speeding local driver. Pheew!

4. I am finally enrolled for Turkish language classes! Only took two months...

5. I have my very own new car! After having driven six different rentals (due to local "bureaucracy"), of extremely varying quality and condition - you don't want to know!- this is absolument fan-tas-tique!

6. Tomorrow, complicated bureaucratic procedures for me to obtain my very own Turkish permit kick off. This means that there is hope that the spouse that I am, will be able to get a few things done around here without needing my hubs signature and presence! Now that's a life saver!

7. And the very best news of all (drum roll here...) my sis-in-law is visiting for two whole weeks! We thus proclaim her second bravest person; Sev was first, visiting even before our furniture had arrived! Now that's brave!

Ecolonomy makes the world go round

We are surrounded by big companies that produce and sell "products that make every day better for the world's consumers” thereby "creating a world of difference in people's lives everyday”.

Billion dollar, often global brands in beauty care, health care, baby, family and household care. All trumpeting that sustainable development and corporate responsibility, are key. All claiming their first responsibility is towards those that use their products, (sorry, "high quality products") their employees, and the communities in which they work and live.

Huge, successful, heavy weight companies all striving to make the world a better place. That's a lot of money, a lot of people.

I guess the environment is part of this better world they are making. The shared, global environment, we live in.

So why is it, that in today's modern world, inhabited by these huge, powerful, responsible companies, who prone sustainable development and create social corporate opportunities, why is it, that at the door of Europe, in Turkey, (and I'm pretty sure, the Balkans, Russia and other developing countries would be no different) I cannot find one single refill for my soap, shampoo, detergent? A refill, which has less wrapping than the actual tube or bottle used to market & sell the original product. A refill, which allows you to keep the previous packaging (hence causes less waste) can be more easily recycled, and is usually environmentally friendlier in its components.

The technology exists. These environmentally “lighter” refills exist. The machines, the packaging, the prints. It’s all there. It's being sold in Western Europe and America, so why is it not used globally?

I discuss with my husband.
Cost he says.
I figured.
But... does it not cost companies to fork out cash for their annual charities and philanthropic does?
These activities have greater impact on the public; they yield better results in terms of image and reputation.

Sure, sponsoring the medicine that will make a sick child better, makes for touching pictures. But what's the point if the water the child will drink (if any is available), the food he will ingest, or the air he will breathe, are more lethal than the current illness. What's the point of so called developed countries using the environmentally less damaging products/packaging, and making efforts to recycle them, if the much larger rest of the world is not? Or cannot. (I have been looking for a place to dispose of my old batteries, and have still not found one after two months!)

So, mostly we are very short and near sighted. Gratification has to be immediate. We want returns on investment now. We don't look ahead (in time) or around (geographically). But the truth is, we live in a world where in part at least, our present and future inexorably depends on what other people do (and we to them…) Hence, no nation, can be free to act as it will, independent or sovereign in dealing with common, shared, global resources. Ditto for those big companies, and each and every one of us.

I think everybody will agree that in the long term, the cost of environmentally irresponsible behavior is far, far higher than marketing and selling ecologically friendly products globally, even where it is not a pre-requisite for your product to sell or your company to be well perceived. Agreeing obviously isn’t enough.

Coming back to my initial observation on not being able to find environmentally friendly products in shops, my husband comments: Nobody here even knows what caring about the environment is. Let alone recycling. Look at all these people just throwing out their empty beer bottles in the sea, their old sinks on the beach, car parts in the fields. They don't get it. As long as it's not in their face. And even when it is, they don't mind sitting on a beach next to rubbish. They don't see the equation of cause and effect - and they are not the only ones!

He's right. It's amazing to us, but they do sit on beaches that we would consider garbage dumps or throw wrapping out of their car windows. Ok, so they need to be educated. It will take time, but it can be done.
My husband is on a roll: In developing countries, ecology is a luxury. Economy (i.e. basic needs according to Maslow's pyramid) comes first.
Economy, Ecology: opposing forces. I disagree. I think they are so linked that in today's world of economic rule, it has become an impossible luxury to ignore ecology. Amusingly, both terms go back to the Greek word oikos, (household); ecology is the logos (reason or logic) of the household, economy, the nomos (law) of the household. One would think, that reason and law should work together.

I'm not some big ecological nut. I don't know about all the polluting components of the products I use – and I’m sure there are many. Like most, I use what I think smells good, cleans well, etc. But I do, buy things that can be recycled, have less wrapping, and sprout the PET or other ecological logo. I try to remember to take my big IKEA bag when I shop food so as not to bring back dozens of plastic bags that I will not re-use. In Switzerland, I would sort and separate paper from bottles, aluminum from biodegradable waste. It was easy, there was an appropriate place for each type of waste, and so all I had to do was sort. The commune and canton did the rest.

In the German speaking parts of Switzerland, they made it economically sound for you to be ecologically responsible. Each citizen pays tax according to the amount of waste he produces. Initially, I am told, people would unwrap all excess packaging on the spot and leave it in the bins at the supermarket. Gradually, they started buying products that had "light" and "only-where-needed" packaging. Economic pressure on the consumer/buyer, developed into pressure on the producer/seller.

Similarly, tax incentives for green consumers or environmental initiatives are a growing trend and include deductible environmental cleanup costs, lower taxes on hybrid cars, or tax benefits for developing cleaner energy. Pollution tax and fines exist, and although they increase from year to year, too often they remain symbolic in many cases compared to the benefits incurred. More and more companies linked to environmental projects are quoted on key stock exchange markets. So, it seems, the door to ecological responsibility is economical -whether it's the carrot or the stick. The pull or the push.

Following this reasoning of Economy governing Ecology, (notice it’s law governing reason, shouldn't it be the other way around?) means that the same richer countries, (individuals and organizations) are paying poorer and ecologically sounder ones, to buy their unused "pollution points" (or “offsets”). So in practice, while in developing countries, wealth determines your “right to pollute” (in terms of “offsets” or just because you can easily afford the pollution fines or tax), you also pay more for products that are environmentally friendly (from your washing machine to ecologically engineered housing, or bio-food). Simultaneously, developing countries are continually sold the unwanted polluting goods for less.

It seems to me, that in developing countries, there can be no pressure from the consumer due to lack of awareness, education, and lack of infrastructure. So that leaves us with “push” or pressure on the producer/seller from the top down. Why is this is not happening?

For human beings who have the capacity to embrace abstract concepts like the “future”, (as opposed to other animals who live exclusively in the present) it shouldn’t be too difficult to grasp that it's like moving your waste from your front garden to your back door. It's the same garden. The same, common, shared planet. And what goes around, comes around.

Any ideas for some environmental lobbying on a global scale?

Ceasefire in the Middle East

A friend of mine who works for an NGO in Geneva, sent me a link to Ceasefire Campaign
In the hope that this petition will make a difference, although history has shown us otherwise, I signed a petition calling on US President Bush, UK Prime Minister Blair, and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert to support Kofi Annan's proposal.

Right now thousands have been killed or wounded in the bombings in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel and the death toll is rising every day. If the US, Syria or Iran get involved, there is a chance of a much larger war.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of international troops to the Israel-Lebanon border, and been strongly supported by almost every world leader. The US, the UK, and Israel have refused to accept it.

If millions of people join this call, and we advertise our views in newspapers in the US, UK, and Israel, just maybe, history does not have to repeat itself and we can help pressure these leaders to stop the fighting. You can go to Ceasefire Campaign to sign the petition.

Mobile phones need Turkish resident permit

Did you know that your foreign mobile phone requires a Turkish resident permit?

No kidding, really, it does.

OK, it's not really a resident permit per se, but it does need to be declared as residing here with you. Huh???!

Here's how it works:

You brought your mobile phone(s) from back home, as one does. You buy a local Turkcell chip with a local number, and place it in your mobile phone. It works, no problem. You're thinking: "Great, I can switch chips according to what country I'm in."

The phone and chip work fine... for about 2 months or so.... just enough time to make sure you're not a visiting tourist.
Then one morning, you wake up to find a strange message on your mobile screen. Something like "limited network" or "no connection".
Huh?!

YOU HAVE BEEN DICOVERED BY THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT!
YOU HAVE ILLEGALLY IMPORTED YOUR OWN MOBILE PHONE
AND THEY ARE BLOCKING IT!

This is what should have happened:

Cellular Telephones entering the country must be accompanied by a certification form showing ownership. Ownership must be documented in the passport of the owner and will be checked on entry and exit.

Source: http://www.ankaracityguide.com "tips and advices for foreigners"

But of course! Silly, me! It's a well known fact, that one's mobile phone should be registered in one's passport! Duhhhh!!!

To get it working again, you actually have to show proof of purchase of the mobile phone in your name. But, of course!

Proof of purchase needs to be faxed to customs so that they can certify that you have legally imported your mobile phone and register it. If you don't have proof of purchase, don't even bother.

Once this is done, they will kindly unblock your mobile connection.

God forbid you lose this document! If they ask you for it when you leave the country - you could be fined for selling your old goods here!

OR

You can just buy yourself a new mobile phone in any Turkcell shop, that will automatically be registered in your name....thereby contributing to the local economy.

Do the big mobile phone brands even know their marketing teams have such staunch support form the Turkish government?

When in Rome...drive Turkish style

Wow! I can see my last post on Turkey and my tribulations here, really moved you guys - judging by the endless amount of comments. ;-( I'm sorry, but today, it's Turkey again - and a bit of an informative rant. If you ever decide to drive here, you'll have been warned!

*For those of you who don't read French, "DUR" means hard or difficult, which is exactly how the Turks relate to "STOP"

After nearly two months of driving on Turkish roads, I can safely say I understand why this country has one of the highest death rates due to traffic accidents.
I had read a lot about the aggressive driving. Well that’s the understatement of the year! Aggressive, can do, but stupid? Lawless? Suicidal?

Signaling before turning is rare. Most drivers signal only after having slammed on the breaks, if they signal at all – perhaps the Turks have secretly invented telepathy and not yet informed the rest of the world?

Ah, and what are those little mirrors on either side of the car for again?

Honking away seems to be a national tradition; Preferably at a driver who has - oh the sin! - stopped at a red traffic light (although, they will also honk if you are at a standstill when it has turned to orange, and if it's already green, then you're in for an actual symphony of honks!)

Speaking of traffic lights; the meaning of RED does not seem to permeate the local psyche. You soon learn to look, especially when your traffic light has turned to green, before moving ahead. Actually, I'd like to hang on to my car and my life, if you don't mind...and I'm sorry that you do not care for the color red.

Monotonous the highways are not! It is not uncommon to see cars stopped in the middle of a lane (and I do mean the middle) for no apparent reason, or to encounter someone walking across the highway followed by a sheep or two.
Crossroad regulations have been simplified; priority goes to the bully, the bigger, the better.

Oh, and the lampposts you see on the highways? They're for show unless you're in a busy area of town or someone from the EU is around!

The worst of it is, after a while, you begin to feel like a fine moron when:
- you’re the only one to stop and wait for the traffic light to turn green; while every other car is rushing by you protesting loudly
- you’re lolling along the left lane behind an ancient looking vehicle (40 km/h at its peak) patiently flashing your headlights at him to move to the slower lane; when everyone else is just overtaking from the right

When in Rome…Right?
But you know what? Who cares who was right, if you're no longer around...

Overblogged

I'm totally all blogged out.
Why, you ask? Indeed. It's not as if I've joined the Blogathon, blogging for 24 hours straight to raise money for charity. No, nothing like that. I have, however, been trying to do something for the good of many (including myself). Although it will not save lives or feed the hungry, my little contribution just might help newcomers to Izmir feel a little bit less:
lonely
desperate
stupid
disconnected
lost
frustrated
incompetent
depressed
clueless
to name but a few.
I have set-up a blog for newcomers to this (dare I say it?) God-forsaken city, with the aim of capturing tips, links, best ofs, warnings, recommendations (on just about anything) in one single place.

You'd think, that there would be something like this on the web, (if not at the local Ministry of Tourism. I should chase up that 41 year-old guy with the long pedigree who used to work there). After all, this city boasts a population of 3 MILLION! Not peanuts, say I! Well, nope.
Zilch
Diddlysquat
Nada
Niente
Nichevo
Nista
Que dalle!
Nothing that is of any use to anyone who does NOT want to book a hotel, take a ferry to an Island, buy a carpet, or visit Ephesus.

So, guess what? With my growing-by-the-minute-bookmark menu of Blogger Help sites (damn right! about to turn into a total geek!) Yours truly, set herself to it. I created a Blog dedicated to Izmir. And just so you know that I'm not totally exaggerating here, let me tell you that in its five measly days of existence, Izmir Blog has been been spotted by Global Voices Online and ranked fifth in the top Turkish links of the week. (Ok, it's kind of nice, but it still gives you an idea of my situation here!)

The juice without the pips

Unlike Belgrade, which according to Brooke is not buggy, Izmir has lots of mosquitos. I know 'cause they visit me regularly, wherever I go. In fact I am the perfect anti-mosquito device to take along on holiday.

Hence, it is not surprising, to find mosquito netting for sale in every DIY or larger supermarket around here - they even come in different colors!

In fact, they love their netting so much, they use it for more than to keep the mosquitos from coming in...If you ever have some netting left over, here's a way to put it to good use

As seen in restaurants in this part of the world, where lemon is served with just about every dish.

Need help packing?

For those of you who:

a) do not have a seriously efficient PA (SdM is queen)
b) hate packing as much as I do
c) get stressed/panic at the very idea of packing
d) overpack/underpack
e) forget to empty the garbage before leaving home
f) all of the above

...there is hope and help available! Generate your tailor-made packing list in just a few clicks.

Why didn't anybody think of this before?!

(N.B: if the link doesn't work, copy/paste: http://upl.codeq.info/index.jsp
- sorry, can't figure out why it works once in a while)

Like moths to a flame

I visited mymerhaba.com again to see if there are any English speaking newcomers and also to search for a second hand car.

Checking the forum I was surprised to see a few posts labelled "Women only please". After all, mymerhaba calls itself "A community portal to make you feel at home in Turkey" but whatever...

So I posted a note saying I'd arrived a month ago bla, bla... And, to my complete astonishment, received 16 e-mails all from Turkish men asking my age, sending me links to msn/yahoo so we could chat, wanting to meet for coffee, improve their English, etc.

N.B. to those of you who know me and are already sniggering about my blondness... Please note that I do not have my picture on my profile at mymerhaba nor on my e-mail. I might be blond, but I'm not that blond!

Beyond a doubt, the golden medal goes to a man aged 41 who sent me his whole fxxxxxg pedigree!
His e-mail included scans of:
-his 1989 student card
-university degree diploma
-member's card of the Turkish Ministry of Tourism
-all sorts of certificates (ranging from language schools across the country and abroad, to a set of pictures proving he is a "Defunct member of Cave-searching Association" which made me laugh so much!)
and last but not least: a picture of him and his mates in the army titled "The Office of Chief of Staff Antalya-Turkey".

Well!!! That's putting modern technology (and community portals) to good use, wouldn't you say?

It's a shame 'cause there are probably some well-intentioned people among those who wrote, and maybe the man who kindly offered "to be (my) friend and show (me) anything I want to see" really did it in good faith - but I don't think I'm quite ready to try it just yet!

Sweet dreams

We've just had our first dinner guest in our new house in Turkey!

(We actually had our first ever guest here a couple of weeks ago - a sleep-over guest no less, my good friend SdM from Geneva - which was great fun. And we're expecting you back soon with your other half!)

But today, we had our first dinner guest. And we met him here in Turkey (although he is actually French) And it was a really fun evening!

He brought some wonderful wine - been missing that here - and we even found some pork to BBQ - not easy to find in a Muslim country, but yummy. And we talked and drank and ate and talked some more.

So, it's late (past 2 am) and he's just left, and we're going to clean up so as to wake up in a clean kitchen on Sunday morning, but we're really happy! I am really happy!
Perhaps when we write or express certain things the universe does hear us! (Hey, B.B I'm sure you'll agree! ;-) )

Ok, well, time for sweet dreams now... And they will be sweet for we have met someone fun and witty, interesting and perceptive and I am grateful for that today.

I just thought I'd share that.

No man is an island

If you've been wondering where I was...welcome to the club. I've been wondering the same thing myself, except probably for longer... And, I'm not sure I've come up with a satisfactory answer (yet?)

I mean I'm still me right? But I'm just so out of context that I feel much less like myself - for better or for worse.
Not like it's my first time either (moving I mean) - I've done this quite a bit, and practically always to another country, with a new language/culture/school system/way-of-life/ etc.

It's just that it's my first time out of a "system".

Yeah, this time, no school/University/host family/job/ waiting for me, expecting me to pitch up, do my thing, whatever... This time, I'm "the spouse". No one but my little family is expecting the tiniest of squeaks from me.

So I guess, this time more than ever, it's all about me deciding how I fill the days/use my time/brain/hands/body.

It's not as if I weren't busy doing this. I am. Mostly though, I'm filling up with words, views, music, impressions, thoughts, smells, feelings... and not that many people to share them with.
Sure, you can have the most beautiful view in the world, the sweetest meal, the dreamiest music, the most engrossing book, and it's not as good as having half of it, with company you can share it with.

But it's not only about wanting to express things.

I think the most difficult thing, is not being part of something, the lack of input from the world, interaction with family, friends, co-workers, clients, well, anyone, I guess.

Being part of something is not only comforting and gratifying, but part of who we are as social beings. It is key in defining ourselves.

We are all "many-in-one”; a daughter, a sister, a mother, a wife, a friend, a student, a teacher, and different facets of that "me" are revealed and brought forward by different people and/or situations. (For the sake of it, think stress or vacation, a new status or role, a challenge or a loss). We are defined by all of these roles, by the interaction with different people and situations. This too is being part of a "system". They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it's much more than beauty.

We interact with others, and their very being, has an incidence on us, and vice versa.

For me, at the moment, not having much of an interaction with my environment is like playing tennis against a wall. The ball comes back to you the way you hit it - no real input on the other end.

I guess I got to find me a tennis partner or two.

Revamp

Coming soon: No man is an island

In the mean time, let me know what you think of my little blog revamp!