Thinking back, I realize that my blog is not truly reflecting the entirety of my opinions and thoughts regarding Istanbul. I have written about a lot of the good, but largely skipped over the bad, and I feel that I have, in some ways, omitted a lot that I should have included. Thus, I am going to go over a few things that have been slightly less than peachy:
Linguistic Frustrations:
Having never lived in a country where I couldn’t speak the language, I don’t know that I was properly prepared for what I have been encountering here in Turkey. I assumed (stupidly) that English would be prevalent in Istanbul since it’s a major world city and was one of last year’s European Capitals of Culture. I thought that there would be plenty of signage in English, especially on the public transit system. That, however, has proven to be completely false. On several occasions, I have realized that what I was doing could have been accomplished in half of the time with incredibly heighted efficiency if only there were even poor attempts at having signs in English in some places. Take, for example, last Thursday when I went to pick up my residency permit from the police station. You would think that at a major police station in a city of over 10 million people would have signs in English, especially when it’s where foreigners must go to get registered to reside in the country. No, I had to walk around with me receipt with my best Bambi-like expression on my face until someone pointed to where I had to go at which point the Bambi face had to continue until they finally gave me my permit without a single word of English. Similarly, I’ve spent countless hours wandering around because I couldn’t figure out where to go because of a lack of signs. At several metro stations, you have to just magically have to know where to go or speak Turkish because there is no indication in English as to where the different exits let out, and I have found a few stations where the various exits cannot be accessed from one another (Thus to get from Exit A to Exit B, you have to pay to go through the metro station). Once I wandered around at an interchange station for almost an hour realizing finally that the signs to the other metro line just take you in a circle back to the original line that you just got off of. Don't get me wrong, a lot of places do have good signage, and I have to acknowledge that there have been some enormously helpful Turks who, despite speaking no English, have helped me get where I need to go. This talk about the metro leads me into my next frustration…
Public Transit:
The transportation system here is a bit ridiculous. One of my biggest pet peeves is when there are multiple metro lines and you have to exit and re-inter the metro at interchange stations to get from one line to another. Istanbul has this system, and I find it enormously vexing. Washington D.C.’s metro, though it hideously looks as if it’s been neglected since the late 60’s, does not have this issue nor does Singapore’s world renowned system. I do not, however, really feel it is fair to condemn Istanbul’s transit system simply for being less clean and magnificently efficient than Singapore’s impeccably designed one. There are, several other reasons that I justified in deeming Istanbul’s system as obnoxious. Like Beijing’s metro, Istanbul’s transit system (busses included) operates on a flat fee, so if you want to go 20 stops or just 1, you pay the same price. This is another practice that I find annoying. Instead of paying just a few cents when I want to hop over to the nearest mall, I have to pay the same price that I’d have to pay for the hour-long ride into the heart of the city. I just don’t care for it, but such is life. We can’t have everything we want all the time, and it’s far from the worst system I’ve seen.
Coffee:
The next in the line of things that I will complain about is the Coffee situation in Turkey. Yes, Turkish coffee is good; however, it’s not really a drink as much as something you sip gingerly as it’s extremely thick and comes in a cup the size of a shot glass. This alone does not constitute my minor bafflement regarding coffee in Turkey. No, what baffles me is that in a country that is famous for it’s coffee you have two options. Option 1 is Turkish coffee – strong but palatable, tiny, and not really a viable option for something you want to drink instead of sip. Option 2 is Nescafé – a rather vial branded instant coffee drink popular also in China. Why anyone thinks this is really an OK beverage, I will never know. It doesn’t really taste like coffee. It tastes more like a memory of coffee, as if you kind of recall the flavor, but are having difficulty remembering most of the subtleties and nuances of it. It reminds me of foods that have been left in the refrigerator and have taken on a flavor that blends the tastes of its neighboring items in the fridge. Nescafé has taken on the flavor of the packaging. It is truly only something I can drink when desperate for caffeine and willing to endure the unpleasant feeling it leaves in my stomach. Why Turkish citizens allow for this injustice on their shelves, I don’t understand. Although, I also don’t understand why they like Ayran (Salty yogurt drink) or car horns that play the theme to the Godfather. Some things I will never understand, but to each their own. At least there are plenty of Starbucks outlets here that provide me with my much needed "real" coffee.
Limes:
My final frustration that I will voice is the lack of limes. Why is it that so many places don’t have limes? They are delicious! Do people just not like them, or are they just such a foreign item in some places that there is no demand for them? I couldn’t find them in China. I can’t find them here. It makes me sad. Singapore sold lime juice like it was crack – they have the right idea. Perhaps there are some small little exotic grocery stores somewhere that may stock them.... I'll have to check with some Turkish friends.
What this teaches me:
When people ask me “do you miss the United States?” my answer is inevitably “Psh, no” with usual caveat of “except Mexican food.” When thinking about it more thoroughly, I have learned that there are a few things that I will forever be convinced that the United States does correctly.
Number 1: Mexican food
It is delicious, and I do not understand why the rest of the world does not share the American affinity for it. Everyone I know who has been to the US remarks on its amazingness, yet it is not a prolific cuisine in the world…. Why? There is so very little better than a 2am burrito when you’re a little bit hungry and need something to hug you on the inside like an old friend. The availability of Mexican food is priceless.
Number 2: The Drier
I will forever be convinced that laundry is a several hour process, not something that takes over a day to complete. I do not like air-drying clothes. The feel weird afterwards, and it takes forever. I want the instant gratification and the wonderful feeling of a warm towel. So many other places in the world do not seem to understand this simple joy. The people I have met outside of the US who have driers don’t use them. Why not? Again, some things I will never understand.
Number 3: Central Air
I like central air-conditioning. It feels nice, and it makes sense to me. Window units are just kind of strange, and I just can’t get over the fact that they don’t cool evenly. Also, why is it that so many places don’t have air-conditioning in Kitchens? I will acknowledge the logic of not putting on in there because it’s going to get hot anyway; however, I will always believe that logic is intrinsically flawed.
I have to say that Istanbul is teaching me a lot about myself – things I like, things I don’t like, and much more. It makes me sad that we can’t get fresh produce in the US without paying ridiculous prices (probably our just reward our insanely cheap fuel prices), and it constantly challenges me to reevaluate my perspective on things and reminds me to try not to be too quick to cast judgment. Yesterday, I had a stray dog follow me for about 5 or 6 blocks, and the entire time I was a bit freaked out with my inner dialogue bashing this country and some of its ridiculous ways. A half hour later, with the dog safely outside and myself inside sitting on the couch, I realized how easy it is to jump to quick and ridiculous conclusions about things, especially in stressful situations. Thus, I have far from made up my mind about Turkey, and I’m sure that my thoughts and opinions about the country will continue to change and develop. Simply sitting here and writing this all down forces me to take stock, so we’ll see how things go. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of ups and downs, but for now, I can definitely say that I’m having a good time – I just wish I had some salsa to make it even better.
A final note on portions:
Getting used to the metric system is something that I always have to do when outside of the US, and it’s strange how I’ve come to acclimate to some things while others continue to seem completely foreign. I’m fine with Celsius. In fact, can better gage how the weather is going to feel in Celsius than I can in Fahrenheit. Why that is the case, I have no idea. I actually had a revelation today when I figured out that what I though was my ideal temperature in Fahrenheit was actually about 10 degrees colder than what it should be. How did I figure this out? I converted the displayed Celsius temperature (which was, in my opinion, perfect) to Fahrenheit, only to realize that I really don’t even know my own system. Kilometers and meters, however, confuse me. Though, I do have to say that I also can’t estimate in feet or miles. Distance in general confuses me. I also can’t estimate weight in pounds or kilos. Though I can’t pick up a bag and guess how many kilos it is, I do enjoy buying things by the kilo. I have found that I do have a pretty good grasp on how long something, say a kilo of cucumbers, will last me. I am also pretty good at eyeballing produce and guessing how many cherries I’ll have to stuff into a bag to make one kilo’s worth. Alternatively, I do not enjoy buying fluids by the liter. How long does a liter of fruit juice last? The answer is – not long enough. I think it’s a strangely small unit to purchase in; however, I do enjoy the 1.5 liter coke bottles. It’s a great size since you finish it before it looses all of its fizz, unlike the American 2 liter size. Today I discovered that they also have a 3 liter bottle. Why they don’t market that in the US, I have no clue. It would be enormously popular with Americans’ affinity for grotesquely large serving sizes. Confession – sometimes I seriously miss being able to buy things in disgustingly massive sizes/quantities. Sometimes, you just really want to be able to buy a 5 pound bag of gummy-bears and sneak them into the movie theater or purchase milk by the gallon instead of by the liter.
I doubt anyone knows why there are horns that play the godfather theme. It just appeared 2 years ago and now it can be frequently heard on many districts of Istanbul. I have a theory that it's only one truck and it has been following me.
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