Istanbulizzard 2012

I hear shrieks of laughter outside my bedroom window as I wake up.  I pull back the delicate, white, shimmering curtains to find not one, but two, families rolling balls of snow down their sidewalks toward the growing snowmen at the street. It has been snowing for a week. My students tell me this is the most snow Istanbul has seen in 15 years. I welcome this sort of novelty. It came at the perfect time. Something to push all Istanbulians outside their comfort zones- something I’d been experiencing for the two weeks prior. I feel like it leveled the playing field a bit. Who doesn’t love it when 90% of people are carrying snowballs while walking down the street- regardless of age? Snowball fights everywhere. People walk so slowly, trying desperately not to fall on the icy, snowy, slushy streets and sidewalks. I passed two men playing fetch with their dogs with snowballs today in a park around the corner from my house.

The past two weeks have found me feeling infinitely more grounded. I did move again. Into another one of Cherry Mama’s apartment buildings. I’m pretty sure that if there is a Bahcelievler mafia, Cherry Mama is its Godmother. It’s a bigger space, closer to the metro, on a quiet sidestreet a block removed from a busy street in Bahcelievler. It is definitely somewhere I can live for three months, which is how long English Time will pay my rent. After that, I trust that I will feel comfortable navigating the world of apartment rental. We’ve got two perfectly 70s orange sofas in the living room, a TV stuffed in the corner that hasn’t been turned on once, and beautiful, shimmering curtains in every room. It’s a quiet neighborhood, close to grocery stores, metrobus, restaurants, cafes….

I take language notes in my phone and practice them at every opportunity. I quiz my students about Turkish. They laugh at my pronunciation, but its obvious they love to correct me. I love it- its fun. I feel more confident to explore now. Fear has left me. Culture shock has worn off. I feel happy, content, no anxiety anymore. Settled. I am able to lean into the unknowns now with the curiosity that inspires me to travel. I am feeling my personality come out more, even through the language barrier. It is incredibly fascinating to see which personality traits surface in such a foreign environment. I am learning how much I truly love people- across cultures, oceans, religious beliefs, socio-economic status. I want to know about all of them. I want to understand. Demographics are fascinating to me…. What leads people to have the life that they do?