Ece is in a BAD MOOD today! I told her so. She said, in a whining voice, "What does 'bad mood' mean?" I said, The way you are right now, whining, crying, sad face. She stamped her foot and cried, "I am NOT in bad mood! Nooo, I am NOT in a bad mood!" I was working with Defne on her lesson book, Ece wanted me to help her cut something with scissors, I said, "As soon as I am finished with this I will cut it for you." She began to cry and whine. I said "Be patient, it will only be a few minutes." She pitched a fit. I said, "Bad mood!" She said, "I am NOT NOT NOT in a bad mood!" I ignored it, so she proceeded to cut it out herself. Then she tried to open the tube of glue. I wasn't paying attention. She couldn't open the top with her fingers so she tried with her teeth and succeeded, therefore getting a mouth full of glue. She shrieked! She ran around like a chicken with it's head cut off, spitting as she went. It's rather windy outside today so most of the glue-spit blew right back on her. We washed her mouth out with water, brushed her teeth and tongue and gargled. I told her bad things happen when you're in a bad mood and impatient! She's eating lunch now, she says it tastes like glue. She's acting rather meek at the moment :-)

I knew the girls loved Barbies before I came here, and bought a book of Barbie stickers that say things like "You are awesome" and "Brilliant". This book of stickers is my weapon...or call it a bribe. If they don't behave during their lessons, they don't get a Barbie sticker. This is a terrible blow, the worst kind of torture, if they don't get their Barbie sticker for the day. Today Ece didn't get a Barbie sticker. Defne did, it said "Genius!" She asked what "genious" means, I told her "Very very smart". She was putting the sticker in her book and said without a smile, "Oh, like me."

I haven't been writing much in my blog lately for several reasons.
1. After living here for a few months things are starting to feel really "normal". Not saying I don't learn new things about Turkey/Istanbul every day (impossible not to!), but the differences aren't as glaring as they were when I first got here.
2. I have made some good friends and I have been busy doing things with them and with the family that I stay with. Knowing there's not much time left here I am spending a lot of time with the people I have come to know, and the kids...rather than being the tourist. Nihal wrote to me yesterday, "Briget Pls don't say to me 'I will leave' because I am feeling very bad . I am feeling that you are one of the my relatives."

I feel the same way :-(

"I was walking in Istanbul.."

Yesterday I started at Taksim and walked for five hours! I had no plan, just started walking. (I like to do that in NYC, too!) Ya never know what you might find. (Photos below)

I found an old junk shop in a posh area of the city. The man who owned it said he was a movie actor. I was a little bit skeptical...a movie star who has a junk shop? Then I thought...well maybe it's a hobby like Paul Newman with his race cars? He spoke barely any English but he had a Turkish-English phrase book, and it was filled with pick-up lines in English!!!!!!!!!! HAHA! He pointed to my camera and to him and me...'blahblahblah' in Turkish so I said "Ok' and had someone take our picture together. Then he looked at his phrase book and said, "You have beautiful eyes" and looked at me seriously. He paged through his book again and said, "Did you come from heaven?" I couldn't help it, I just laughed and laughed. He looked puzzled. He must have thought he pronounced something wrong so he read it again: Did you come from heaven? Which only made me laugh even harder - my stomach hurt from laughing so hard and I was practically crying! I don't think he knew what to do so he laughed as well. Then he turned the page of his book, I was trying to leave, but he held up his hand like "wait"...so I waited and finally he got to the page he wanted and said, "May I see you tonight?" Since he couldn't understand English there was no way to tell him "I am busy" or whatever, a nice excuse of some sort... so I just had to say "No" in Turkish. He looked very sad. He pointed to his guest book for me to sign as I was leaving. It had a space for name, from where, and email address. Oh, big mistake! When I woke up this morning I had an email, "Hello Briget, how are you this morning? You are lovlier than a rose."

BTW, I did google him and he's had a few bit parts in some movies, including one this year: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884805/usercomments

Further on I saw a mosque I wanted to photograph. The best angle was from a parking lot. The old man who was the attendant saw me and ushered me into his "office" for what he thought was a better angle for the shot. His office was outdoors, along an old wall which had a great view of the Bosphorus and the mosque. He must have been working there for years as he had all the comforts of home right there. There was a grape arbor above, pots of flowers, chairs, a table and beyond this he had his supplies...food, pots and pans, an habachi...and his prized possession and the only English he knew, "Jack Daniels"! He offered me some, I declined :-) He gestured toward a chair and I sat. He sat across from me. We chatted for a few minutes, him speaking in Turkish, me in English and neither of us minded that we didn't understand what the other said. We admired the scenary and discussed it. I admired his flowers and roses, and he told me all about them. He asked me to take pictures of him, then I said I had to go, and he nodded and smiled and bid me farewell.

I got a phone call from a friend, who asked where I was? I said I had no idea, so I looked for landmarks. She met me there and we had something to eat at the below pictured cafe.

OH! I was right about the nanny! One day she told the kids to go outside to play, and they did, and they disappeared. She (nanny/housekeeper) came running to me almost hysterical a while later, she couldn't find them. I figured if I were them, where would I go? The swimming pool of course! So I ran down there and that's where they were. NOT GOOD AT ALL! She was honest though, and told Nihal what happened, and the next day she was gone. Now there's another nanny/housekeeper here - Lila.

I am living in the area of Istanbul called Ulus, which is a very nice upper middle class, quiet place. But it's residential and doesn't feel like a neighborhood. What I consider my neighborhood is Ortakoy, just a walk down the hill. When I'm not doing anything else, I walk down there in the evenings. The people at Starbucks know me, when they see me they say "Briget!" (they know because they write it on the cup of course! And they remembered. And they pronounce it "Burget") The people at my little grocery store know me, the people at the sweet shop know me (oh the baklava!!). I buy stuffed mussels from the same street vendor every time. And when they realize you are more than a tourist, they treat you differently. The guy at the sweet shop throws in a few more baklava -- last week they gave me a box of fresh...something between a bagel and a doughnut? Just gave it to me. They were filling up the boxes when I was in there, to sell. The grocer had me for tea one day, and tried to talk English with me :-) (BTW, I don't think I can pronounce a single Turkish word properly!) Oh you would think I'd be getting fat, all this talk of food, but I must walk it off because I haven't gained any.

Ortakoy is a very diverse neighborhood and very tolerant. Greeks, Turks, Armenians and Jews all live there. There are art galleries, restaurants, cafes, bars and two really magnificent nightclubs - Angelique and Reina. http://www.reina.com.tr/2007/ An odd thing here - there are summer nightclubs in Istanbul and winter nightclubs. These are the most popular of the summer nightclubs and right on the Bosphorus. Lots of fun!! Although I haven't been inside, the Ciragan Palace Kempinsky is here: http://www.kempinski-istanbul.com/en/hotel/index.htm?item_id=37670 Imagine staying there!! There is an old Hamam which is closed, unfortunately, right across from the entrance to the "square". The square itself is fantastic for people-watching!

I'm worried about Nihal. In the spring, before I came, she was very ill for several weeks, she said she was almost paralyzed, couldn't move or eat or talk. The doctor's couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then she got better. But the last few days she has been very very exhausted, her calves and back hurt, she walks stiffly and she looks horrible. She cried today in the kitchen and said she was scared what will happen to her. I think something is seriously wrong with her. :-( Her husband, sorry to say, doesn't seem to take this seriously? I believe she should be in a hospital getting every test in the book and he should take her. But he just ignores it.

Meanwhile, Ece wants to know my logon password so we can have the same passwords. I can't make her understand that passwords are supposed to be secret :-) Defne went into hysterics today when she saw raspberry juice running down my leg (the bag I had was leaking and I didn't know it.) She thought it was blood. She screamed like she did when the dogs ran into my bedroom, then ran and wouldn't look at me again for a long time, she didn't believe it was juice. So, she already has a phobia :-) She got very angry at me a few days ago. I took the girls swimming and Nihal told me not to let Defne jump. Well, of course, Defne jumped, because that's the way she is. Twice I warned her not to do it. The third time she jumped, I had to physically drag her from the pool and carry her kicking and screaming up to the apartment to stay with the nanny. She hasn't jumped since :-)

Culture shock?

I googled "culture shock". I don't think I have it....much, anyhow. Here are the symptoms according to Wikipedia:
Culture shock manifests itself in different forms with different people but some symptoms can be the ones in the following list.
*eating more than usual - gaining weight
*not eating enough - loss of weight
*having an increased need for hygiene - e.g. cleaning the flat on a daily basis
*calling home much more often than usual
*being hostile / complaining all the time about the hosting country / culture
*avoiding meeting people
*increased need of sleep
________________________________________.

All aspects of daily life are more difficult, of course. How to use the cellphone with no English instruction booklet, what temperature should I set the oven? (c instead of f), how to use the washing machine? Using a foreign keyboard (the "i" is in a different place, and so are other letters and punctuation marks!) Shopping for food. Getting from one place to another is extremely difficult in Istanbul. Haggling over purchases and trying to figure out if the waiter has given you a "yabanci" (foreigner) menu with inflated prices or a menu meant for locals. The list goes on and on and when they add up it's all irritating! But it's a learning experience and I did my research before I came here...I believe that helped quite a bit. There weren't any major surprises for me and I pretty much knew what to expect. So, I'm not having any symptoms :-), but I admit it's a relief to every once in a while be with people from your own culture or similar culture, just because you know they'll "get" you. Last night was one of those occasions!! The wild and crazy expat boat party! (By the way, may Turkish repats as well!)

Put over 100 of us on a boat on the Bosphorus and it gets pretty crazy :-) Really a great group of interesting and fun people! To make things even better the DJ played salsa music for a while and a small group of us danced danced danced! A new guy from Columbia is here - Jorge - and he's a fantastic dancer. We wore the poor guy out!

I showed Ece how to change the background on her computer, she has spent two days now changing it from one picture to another. It's her favorite thing to do now. I also showed her how to look at images on Google, so she's just been googling away and changing the background from cats, to Barbies, to flowers to horses....you get the idea. She thinks I'm a genius that I know how to do this. It's one reason I love kids :-)

I finally had to slap a guy. I was in a shop trying on a skirt, and I came out to look in the mirror. Two guys were running the place. One washe owner and the other an employee. Well, one of the guys came over pretending to adjust the seams, and then he put his hand up my skirt and squeezed my butt! Theyboth spoke English well. I whirled around and said, "You better be gay!" He laughed. I slapped him. At first he looked shocked but the other guy laughed at it and so he began to laugh again. I slapped him again. There was nothing else to do, nobody to complain to, nothing to be done. I wish I knew a big strong guy to beat the *&@)$* out of him!

The Rumi exhibit was fantastic. I still have to write about him and the Mevlevis but no time now! I've been a bad blogger lately and not writing or posting pictures...I've just been really busy!

Update on orange things, and how is my yard art?

A few days before I left Memphis, I was told by a big honcho at work to mow my grass (I rent my house from a university) because one of my next door neighbors had complained of the tall grass. Well, I like the "wild look", my backyard looked like a pretty meadow filled with wildflowers. (front yard was mown short.) My neighbor didn't agree, obviously. He vacuums his lawn twice a day in case a leave falls on his grass. He keeps emergency windex ready in case a bird poops on a flower. How he could even SEE my back yard is a mystery. He must have had to climb the roof of his garage. Anyhow, he complained, so I had to get out that evening and mow the grass in 95 degree heat. The entire time I was cursing under my breath and plotting some sort of retaliation. After all, he had called my work instead of first talking to me about it! Then I thought, no, this neighbor needs kindness. I will make some nice yard art for him to look at from his patio!

I looked around the garage. Ah-ha - I spied an aluminum crutch left from when I broke my foot a few years ago. I taped a paper plate to it and wrote around the rim with bold magic marker, "I Used Crutches Until I Found God". I taped various pills and a cigarette on it, and planted the crutch art at the fence-line, facing his patio. I placed an empty wine bottle on top. Now he had something nice to look at all summer!! AND something interesting to ponder. I am wondering how it is weathering and if he's enjoying it?

Someone on the expat message board DID see the orange flying things: Actually we (my boyfriend, flatmate and me) saw it too!!! I don't know - about a week ago. Very strange! We wonder if it was some sort of military planes?

So, more expats had to comment:
1. are you all joking? or obsessed? they were red hearts! Beautiful shiny red hearts
2. ME: Maybe the hearts came out of the orange things while I wasn't looking?
3. uf ya uf. i can not help you guys. our friends have been traveling in space for eons to throw love on us. hearts!
4. Earlier in the thread I said they were spaceships. I stick to this. Everyone knows that spaceships are orange this year, it's the vogue color right now. They always have their foglights on, too.
5. Blue sky thinking: Has anyone considered that the orange round things in the sky might be... oranges?
6. That's food for thought.
7. Don't masticate over the idea too long, David.

Last night the kids and I were in my bedroom watching a Shirley Temple movie. I had the French doors to the patio open to let in the cool air. The movie was "The Little Princess" and it was just at the part where the Indian servant next door fixes up poor Shirley's bare, cold attic room in the boarding school while she is asleep. Remember? he decorates it, puts out slippers and robes, sets the table and puts food on it, lights a fire....when all of a sudden two dogs ran through the French door and jumped on the bed with us! The girls screamed bloody murder. The kind of screaming where they don't move, they just stand and scream. The dogs wagged their tails and the Beagle licked Defne's leg, and so she screamed even louder, her hair looked like it was sticking straight up. The father came running - I'm sure he thought Freddy was in my room. Then the lady who owns the dogs came running into my room. The maid ran in, Nihal ran in. The dogs barked and wagged their tails, the father yelled at the woman who owned the dog, the girls were still screaming, and through it all, I just wanted to see Shirley wake up and see her room....

Those orange things in the sky and my birthday

So...I posted a message on the expat forum, "What are those orange things in the sky?" I explained what they looked like, I hoped someone else had seen them or at least know what they are. Here are some replies from some of them:

1. They're coming to take you away *evil face*
2. Weather balloons?
3. Orange moats in your eye
4. Don't worry, that's just David Simpson's bike
5. Saw them, too. They were red. Red hearts
6. Diamonds, asked Lucy?
7. Spaceships, obviously (cue Dr. Who music)

Today the family I am staying with celebrated my birthday with me (since I HAD to see the Whirling Dervishes last night..yesterday was my real birthday), and invited some friends for dinner whom I have met through them and like a lot...and they speak English. It was a feast - tons of food and wine, a birthday cake, and homemade cards from Ece and Defne. Such nice people!! I will write later about the Mevlevis, as I am about to fall asleep.........

Orange UFOs over Istanbul, Burger King delivers and Whirling Dervishes

It's after 11 at night and I just saw three orange things fly across the sky. They weren't blinking like an airplane. They made no noise and they were in a loose formation. Nobody at the apartment is awake so I ran to the guard shack and showed him. He kept saying "camera! camera!" but I just filled up my card and there wasn't time to run back and get it and delete. Then as those ones disappeared, two others flying very close together appeared and went flying over us. Then a few minutes later, a lone one! I always thought I would die in a strange way...I hope not by extraterrestrials in Turkey..I am sitting outside to type this in case any more appear! So far, nothing...except for some airplanes flying in other directions. Normal airplanes/jets that make noise and aren't orange and do having blinking lights..

Anyhow, it's true, Burger King delivers in Istanbul...by motorcycle!

Friday night a bunch of us rented a place, it's in a nice bar, downstairs, and is like a private theater. It is filled with couches, comfortable chairs, tables, etc. and the movie screen fills up one large wall. There is a choice to either bring your own movie to play, or to play one of their's.Then there is the advantage of being served food, snacks, and drinks while watching a film. We watched "The Gods Must Be Crazy". I've seen part ll many times but haven't seen Part l in years, it was soooooooooo funny! Here is a link to the place, it's called Kafika: www.kafika.com

Today a friend took me to see something I've wanted to see very much - the Whirling Dervishes...otherwise known as the Muslim order called the Mevlevis. They are sort of the mystical side of Islam. They perform their "sema" (whirling dances, prayers, rituals, music) only one Sunday a month at the Mevlevihanesi, the Mevlevi "museum", in Istanbul...but their "headquarters is in Konya, Turkey. The sema was outlawed in Turkey in the 1920's, but followers still practiced their faith in secret. Many years later the government allowed the Mevlevi to perform sema only in public. This year is the 800th anniversary of Rumi, the poet and spiritual leader of the Mevlevi. There is an exhibit at the Hagia Sophia which I will go to this week! More about this fascinating sect tomorrow, and more about Rumi's poetry as well.

Why make-up is so expensive in Istanbul

Ah-ha, the mystery is solved. The only "make-up" I have bought here is nail polish. Sure I'd like to try some of the European brands, or even American brands, but the prices are outragous and after talking to a reformed"cosmetics runner", I know why! She'd bring suitcases of cosmetics and stuff from the US to a shop in Istanbul, and the shop owner would pay her 50% over her cost, then retail it 100%-200% more! The business arrangement came to an end over a suitcase full of battery-operated Gillette razors a few years ago. The shop owner requested a bunch of them but by the time she got back to Istanbul, Carrefour was already selling them and the shop owner refused to pay over cost.

Apparently cosmetics are subjected to the following: a 'special goods' (i.e. 'luxury') tax of 20% in addition to the 18% VAT and 10% freight charges. You can then add a 30% distributor margin and a 25% retailer margin. What do you get at the end? A cosmetic product costing $100 to the Turkish distributor ends up on the shelf at the high-end pharmacies for $341!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A lot of Turkish women apparently buy from strawberrynet, which ships to Turkey. So...anyone coming to Turkey, bring a huge suitcase full of make-up with you. If I had only known.... :-)