Stories About Turkey

1) It was nice to have a proper Thanksgiving meal with friends. Chris came over to help get things ready, and he was the one who ultimately took care of the turkey, which was probably for the best as I was still recovering from my mystery disease (which was capped off by a double-case of pinkeye). A week and a half later, there are still some leftovers in my fridge, which should probably be tossed by this point. Given how lazy I am about cooking, if I hadn't left the country, I surely would have consumed them all.

2) Istanbul has a really curious- but cool- relationship with street animals. There are cats EVERYWHERE, and unlike the street cats in other cities I've been to (like Jerusalem), they tend to be clean and healthy-looking and very friendly- not skittish at all. They appear to be tolerated visitors at most shops along the way from the end of Istikal Street down to the Bosphorus, and we were constantly seeing people petting them. Same goes for dogs, which are taken in by the city and spayed/neutered, given shots, and tagged. The dogs, in particular, seemed to have particular shops/cafes in which they would spend most of their time.

3) Seeing the Byzantine structures in Istanbul was *amazing*, particularly the Hagia Sophia. I think part of my fascination with the Hagia Sophia, in particular, is because it was a central focal point of my favorite historical fiction books- Guy Gavriel Kay's Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors, both of which were set in the Byzantine Empire under Justinian. But really, to think about the fact that it was built 1500 years ago is really astounding. ...I did find it a bit sad that many of the mosaics were taken down/covered up by the Ottomans, though. You could also see places where crossed had been taken down/chipped out throughout the building, too.


Must get back to work. More stories later.

In mid-October, I was sick for more than a week. I had a lingering fever and a really nasty cough. By the time I went to the doctor (on day 6 of the illness), they were worried about pneumonia, but luckily the antibiotics did their thing and I got better. So when I woke up on Sunday with a sore throat, I went into denial mode. Surely I couldn't be sick, AGAIN, already. I had plans to go to church with two friends, work at my office all day, and then see the same friends for dinner, so I got dressed and went down the hill. It didn't take long for me to realize that I had made a poor decision. By the mid-afternoon, I could no longer deny that I was thoroughly ill, so I cancelled on dinner and made my way home, where I immediately got into bed. And experienced two more days of feverish misery. I am not sure my throat has ever hurt so badly in my life. And I was out of any sort of pain reliever/fever reducers. Luckily, a kind friend brought me drugs, soup, and 7-Up, so at least I didn't have to go out into the freezing cold (literally- the temp here has been dropping below freezing at night, and isn't getting much above 40 by mid-afternoon). Last night, my fever finally broke, allowing me some solid sleep (finally!), and today my throat is feeling a lot better, although I am still really exhausted.

... I know I need to take it easy the next few days, but I am getting anxious about getting enough work done, and I'm really running out of time before Christmas, especially since I am going to Istanbul next week. Of course, that's part of the reason that I DO need to take it easy- the last thing I want is to spend my 5 days in Turkey feeling sick.

Of course, my trip to Istanbul is not my only upcoming turkey adventure, as I'm roasting one on Sunday for a Thanksgiving party that I am hosting. Per the advice of a friend, I am going to try brining it first- we'll see how that goes. I'm a little, tiny bit nervous. Or a lot nervous. This is my first time roasting a bird!

Stay tuned for details on how my Turkish adventures panned out...

Since returning to Tubingen, life has been full in a way it hasn't been for a long time. I'm jumping on every opportunity to be social- to hang out with colleagues/friends, to see more of area- it's been nice. I am settling into life here, slowly but surely. My German is still not where I would like it to be, but in the last week or so, I've noticed a marked improvement in my comprehension- like something finally clicked. Now I'm hoping the same thing will happen with my spoken German...

I am slowly easing myself into a productive work space, as well. This year is all about finding the right balance (on many levels). I have a number of things I'd like to get done before I leave for the US; I can't believe that trip is just ~6 weeks away. It means that I need to get on the ball a bit more, especially since I have the 5-day trip to Turkey over Thanksgiving. Speaking of which, I should probably go and do some research on what I want to do while I'm there-- since my travel book is in German, it'll also be good practice for my translation skills.

Earlier this evening, I was sitting in my apartment, listening to the radio over Helga's stereo system (thanks to the gift of an Airport Express), when Britney Spears' "Til the World Ends" came on. The song immediately took me back to the late winter/early spring, when the song got a lot of radio play. I have a weakness for bad pop (and particularly for Britney Spears' music), and when the song would come on, I would crank my car stereo up as high it would go. Loud enough that the car would vibrate from the base. And I would speed around the twists and turns on 321/221/the Blue Ridge Parkway and try to lose myself in the music. In any case, I was certainly lost. Life was not happy. I was not well. My life had imploded in quite spectacular fashion.

...Here we are, many months later. In nearly every way that counts, life has improved. I have a postdoc that doesn't require me to do much of anything. I have a really nice apartment. In Europe. I have a full time job after the post-doc is over. And yet, I still struggle, and still sometimes fall into the same well in which I found myself earlier in the year. Those times are fewer and farther between, but they're still there. And while I feel like I am carrying around a neon sign that says "I'm still broken!", what I have learned is that people who are just meeting me do not see it. I have been told that I come across as a friendly, smiling, well-adjusted person. People have actually expressed shock to learn what I have gone through during the last year. This is perplexing to me, because I do not put up fronts. I can't do it. I have no poker face. So how can I understand this apparent contradiction? Because if asked, I would not say that I am a particularly happy person. I don't give up. I refuse to let life beat me down. I am doing the best I can to deal with my life. But happy? Not there yet. And yet, I think I can see my way there. I'll let you know when I find that place.

(And I actually mean to start posting here again, now that my language course is over and real life has begun again)