A splash of Theatricality is the Medicine for the Mundane

Hello all! I am rapidly approaching the end of the workweek, and it can’t come fast enough. As my work day starts with me getting up at 5:30am and getting back home at 7:30pm, it’s a bit taxing, and I’m ready to hit Saturday hard. I have yet to actually go inside the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, or Grand Bazaar; thus, My plan on Saturday is to get on top of that until my camera dies or I do – whichever comes first. In the meantime, I have a few interesting experiences to share with everyone.

There is a van, a white van to be more specific, that I have encountered several times – especially at night. To clarify, I did not know this vehicle was a white van when I first encountered it because I did not see the vehicle, instead I heard it several times late at night. I discovered the identity of the vehicle this morning when it drove past me. Now I know what you’re wondering. How could I possibly identify this van purely by sound? I’ll tell you. A la Dukes of Hazard, this van has a highly unique horn (They must have payed a visit to car horns and more) – it’s the theme to The Godfather. The first time I heard it, I was taken aback and had to think for a while before I identified the tune. I have now heard this van several times, and it never ceases to amuse me. Ah the choices people make….

As the title may lead you to suspect, I had a wonderful theatrical moment today. I found out that my supervisor is a musical theatre enthusiast, and I got the esteemed privilege of introducing her to “Taylor the Latte Boy” after finding out that she like Kristen Chenoweth. It was definitely not something I expected to be doing in Turkey. I’ve had some interesting things happen recently.

I’ll leave you with some additional images that I’ve yet to share. Stay tuned for more updates – I’m about to run grab some dinner in a few, so I may have some more for you tonight depending on what crazy things I get myself into. Also, I'm going to share below a few phrases I've come across recently that made me snicker:

"this is an exceptionally rare example of production value elevating mediocrity" - Article on Chinese Branding regarding China Mobile

"We should not cause visual pollution by using
excess font and color." - email protocol document

Work - Day 2

Work day number 2 went well. I think I have an idea of what kinds of projects I’m going to be working on for the summer, but I will not be certain until my intro meeting on Thursday – things are running a bit behind due to my department getting struck by a bought of marriage and pregnancy and off time etc. As it looks right now, I’m going to get to recycle a good bit of research I did while in Singapore and for BUSI 554 last semester for some projects – hopefully I’ll be able to prove my worth despite my inabilities to communicate in Turkish.

Speaking of communicating in Turkish, I think I may have made a new friend – or at least a new fan, and by that, I mean the guy who sells the delicious Tombik down the road. I know just enough Turkish to get a Tombik and a tea, and to explain to him that I’m from America and here for an internship with Mercedes – or at least those were the answers to the questions I think he was asking me. He seemed pretty amused, and I was blissful because my mouth was full of spicy street food. After dinner, I hit the grocery stores to stock up on some drinks. About to check out in one, I thought to myself and decided that I should use some of my free time to enjoy myself grocery shopping and hop around and price compare. Little did I know where that was going to lead me.

On my way to grocery store number 4, I looked to my left and stopped dead in my tracks. It was a delightfully grungy night market – I’m talking about some wooden spoons on a blanket on the street kind of night market. Do I even need to tell you that I took that detour? It was glorious. I left with a kilo of apricots and a kilo of cherries (roughly 4 or 5 pounds of fruit) all for around 4 or 5 USD. I then proceeded to the grocery store and grabbed a cheap carton of cherry juice, and triumphantly made my way back home. I’m probably going to snack on some of my fruit tonight before bed, which will be soon since tomorrow is another wonderful morning of getting up at 5:30 am.

Work - Day One

Day one of work was an experience. I had to get up at 5:30am to get my shuttle to the immaculately designed compound that houses a host of Daimler entities pretty far west of the City. Arriving at 7:30am, I met my fellow marketing intern, a Turk named Ufuk. We chatted until work actually started at 9:00am (or at least that’s when my department tends to show up) – yes friends, that’s right, I get the joyous pleasure of arriving at work an hour and half early every day due to the transit situation. Leaving work at 5:30pm, my brain was dead, and I was thoroughly exhausted. I got back to my apartment, put on some jeans, and then life started. More accurately, life started at 8:00pm when I ventured out for some food (I know, I know, another food post- I just can’t help myself…. It was SOOOO good).

The Turkish word of the day is “Tombik.” Say it with me now… “Tombik.” Good. That word is my new best friend. It’s difficult to describe, but think shavings of meat from a spit, pickles, spices, peppers, and other goodness stuffed into something along the lines of a sourdough hamburger bun – exquisite. After a 3 lira dinner consisting of a tombik and çay from what may have become my new favorite local venue, I decided to treat myself for my thriftiness and grab a post-dinner treat in the form of a pastry and a cappuccino.

Weird pastry that I will probably not order again: 1.5 lira
Cappuccino: 4 lira
Turkish waitress 10 minutes later explaining that there was no more cappuccino: -4 lira
Subsequent free çay: 0 lira
Getting money back: priceless
Thank you tip: 1 lira

Tonight turned out quite well. I’m not going to discuss work for a few days so that I can properly process my opinions, thoughts, and experiences once I have a better feel for what kind of tasks I’ll be doing – right now it looks like I’m going to be doing a lot of editing and supporting web 2.0 applications like search engine optimization. I bid you all a goodnight, and I’ll update you soon – probably next time I get a tombik. (I linked a picture of a Tombik so that you can see what it looks like - I failed to bring my camera out to dinner tonight. Alas, I do not have a photo of my new beloved)

Food Part II – the feasting continues

As if there is nothing else to write about, I’m going to yammer on to my hearts content about the food that I have consumed thus far. By thus far, of course, I mean within the last 24 hours because they have been, in short, gustatory heaven. My previously sad existence revolved around düner and durum and street food of many shapes and sizes. Today, to say I branched out would be an understatement. I spent the better part of over 12 hours today looking at, preparing, masticating, swallowing, and digesting foods of all shapes, sizes, colors, and difficulties of pronunciation.

To simplify things, allow me to provide some context. Today started bright and early as my room mate and I went to drive to a very removed forest within the city to have a picnic with some of his other classmates. A few grocery stores and a wonderful car ride in a convertible complete with Alexandra Stan, Ke$ha, and a fantastic jubilee of international and Turkish music later, we arrived. We had salad, mineral water, çay, meats, and breads, and cheeses, and watermelons, and probably a bunch of other things I’m forgetting right now. Long story short, we ate quite a bit.

Shortly there after, a few of us drove up to where the Bosporus meets the Black Sea and had yet another mini-meal there. It involved several foods that I do not know the name of including two desserts that were unlike anything I’ve ever had before. One was a dish made of figs with a dusting of nuts and a little sliver of very creamy cheese on top – AMAZING. The other I could only describe as crème brûlée-like. It was a warm pudding-like substance that tasted of butter and pecan with a browned crusty laver on top, floating on which were two pecans. It was incredible. This dining experience also featured fried mussels with a fantastic yogurt sauce, a salad with pomegranate dressing, and fresh fish – you know how I like my seafood, and it was superb. The view was equally fantastic as we watched ships come in and out of the little marina.

You would think that after all that I’d be through, but oh no…… I rode into Taksim (the city center) on the metro where I poked around a bit and got the chance to fully experience Istanbul’s population. Let’s just say that last time I was packed in like I was tonight in Taksim and on the ride back out to the suburbs, I was attempting the insane – traveling during the Full Moon Festival in China (Just to put that in perspective, imagine the American travel rush for Thanksgiving combined with Black Friday and Christmas eve and cram it all inside of one train station). Anyway, I decided to reward myself for a day well spent, and got myself a delicious chai tea latte while simultaneously continuing my hunt for the ever-illusive Istanbul Starbucks Mug – I was in a dairy kind of mood, so the chai hit the spot…... for a while. When I finally arrived back in my neck of the woods, Florya, I was almost at my front door when I stopped and took note. There were simpy WAY too many people out for it to be quarter ‘til midnight, but a quick check of my watch confirmed that it was, indeed, almost midnight and there were people with children perusing the shops that were still open. I kid you not, there was a guy getting a shave in a barbershop… at midnight…. In a residential part of town – not even the city center. This place rocks. Of course upon discovering the unexpected wave of late-night energy these Turks seem to have around here, I walked over to the main pedestrian street to see what was happening. It was love at first sight. To fully express why it was love at first sight, I’m going to have to channel Julie Andrews and put it (at least initially) in song form.

Lit-up café signs and jeans from a sketch van
Fruit stalls are open and nowhere a trash can
Some venders all selling some very fake rings
These are a few of my favorite things

Cones full of ice-cream and brand new converses
Wallets and knickknacks and cheap L.V. purses
Blue plastic beads strung up on some strings
These are a few of my favorite things

Needless to say, I had almost as much of a blast wondering around there for 20 minutes or so as I did writing the above verses. Anyway, I thought it worthy to note that my local Burger King, according to what I assume are the days of the week in Turkish and the numbers that one can only assume to be times next to them, stays open until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays and closes at Midnight all other days of the week. From the looks of it, the Domino’s does as well. Sadly, Little Caesar has an earlier bedtime as he was already put down for the evening when I walked past.

Tomorrow is being designated as a far more “cultural” day, so stay tuned for some slightly more erudite commentary, and fewer posts that seem like the daydreams of a human hippopotamus… maybe.

Food

Let's talk about food. I've mentioned it a bit before, but I haven't gone into nearly as much depth as I feel is necessary. Yesterday proved an interesting bundle of experiences with the Americans who should be shipped off to rural Serra Leone for some intense character building and a fresh dash of perspective. Regardless, Today is a new day, and I know that I have carelessly skipped over some of the most exciting highlights of the past few days - namely, what I've been eating.

Actually, let's start with what I've been drinking. As I have already mentioned, I have tried Turkish coffee, and I must say that I’m a fan. It’s bold, delicious, and best when sipped gingerly while editing photos to upload and share with all of you wonderful readers. A slightly less potently caffeinated beverage is the ever-popular çay (pronounced chai) which is basically a hot black tea (not like spiced masala chai from India). It’s really nothing strange or different from drinking tea in most places, although I’ve never seen it served with milk. The think that is interesting about this çay is hardly the drink itself, but the container in which it is served. The glass, like a mini-vase holds a few ounces of the hot liquid, and I will most definitely be picking up a few of them to carry back home.

I’m also a big fan of the juices here. I believe I’ve already mentioned Cherry juice (vişne suyu – yes, I’ve learned the Turkish for it), and it is excellent. Also, peach juice is readily available; however, its deliciousness is not quite on par with its cherry counterpart. There is one drink I have tried here that I did not care for. It's called Ayran, and it's a yogurty drink think. As I cannot handle the tanginess of yogurt normally, drinking it is not exactly my think. It's kind of like one of those gogurt things back in the US, only it tastes fresher and I'm sure it has far fewer preservatives and additive.

Not surprisingly, American fast food chains are readily available. On this topic, I do have a bit to say. Going abroad, you pretty much expect your McDonald’s or Burger King; however, yesterday, I saw one that truly threw me for a loop. I saw a Little Caesar’s. I didn’t even know they were still in existence, much less international, but I saw one yesterday only a few blocks away from where I’m staying. Speaking of pizza, I am sorry to report (for those of you who have been to China) that Pizza Hut here is like it is in the US, and not the glamorous ordeal it is in China with linen napkins and waiters in black-tie (I poked my head inside just to check).

I know I've mentioned it several times before, but the street food is what I really live for. There is a place near where I'm staying that has döner for 1 lira. Döner is like a sandwich of the meet roasted on a spit and lettuce, tomato, and other deliciousness inside. I'm a big fan of getting them for less than 1 USD as well. There are also street stall selling mussels and chestnuts, neither of which I have tried yet; however, I promise to let you know as soon as I do. I have been a bit sketched out by the thought of eating shellfish on a street corner, but they look really good. I think I'm going to wait until I see several people buying from a vendor before I choose to partake. Anyway, I think I'm going to leave my food ranting there and share with you a few pictures I've taken while out and about. If anything exciting happens, I'll keep you updated.

Metro Rides and the Contemplation of Canadian Citizenship

I am still in shock. Today, I witnessed a breed of creature that I had always hoped was completely mythical or at least long extinct. That creature is the terrible traveling American. In my experience, many Americans who go abroad are polite, reasonably savvy, and respectful – however, most of my experience comes from East Asia where, for the most part, only those who are polite, savvy, respectful, and knowledgeable about traveling and local customs go. Europe, however, has long been a playground for young Americans, and I can only say that the ones I witnessed today were worse than anything I had ever imagined. To all of Istanbul, I profusely apologize for them. To all of America, I ask why did we give them passports? To the rest of the world, I hope they are not headed your way next. They were loudly and profanely attempting to navigate the fairly intuitive Istanbul metro system to “go find some f-ing weed.” The conversation promptly turned worse when they started to direct it at me upon realizing that red headed foreigner who sticks out like a sore thumb speaks English.

They asked “do you like it here?”
I said, “Yeah, I really do.”
They quickly retorted, “Well, we don’t. People through there sh*t everywhere, it’s disgusting. How long are you going to be here?”
“Until August”
“Good luck, that’s a f-ing long time.”

And so on and so forth, only they segued into far, far less appropriate topics with considerably less tasteful language and gesticulation to go along with it. Clearly ignorant of the fact that at least the nice gentleman in the suit next to them spoke English (as he politely tried to explain which direction the train was going, though they didn’t take note), they covered a wide variety of shocking topics including but not limited to female genitalia, black jokes, rape, and some jokes about Bosnia that I can only hope to forget. I can only hope they get deported before they can parade themselves around any more. As for me, I spent most of the rest of my way home contemplating Canadian citizenship, and exactly how I would even attempt to recount this is my blog – completely taking the place of countless other topics I had thought about sharing in this post. I think I’m still processing that it happened. All I can say is, if they think Istanbul is dirty, they should be forced to spend some quality time in Chandi Chowk in Delhi. India might just kill them, although they seemed to be good at avoiding dangerous situations as they claimed to have been robbed several times, which they told me was what would happen should I try to visit a whore house here – I informed them that that wasn’t exactly on my to do list. My only wish is that I knew how to apologize to the rest of the train in Turkish – that’s going on my to learn list just in case.

In conclusion: dear friends in America, I know you would never be those people, so when you find those people tell them terrible stories about other countries so that they won’t leave ours – or just send them to Mexico to chill with the drug wars near the boarder. Dear friends from other parts of the world, I promise all of America is not like that, in fact, very little of America is like that, despite what you may see on Jersey Shore.

Home is where the Döner is

Dear all, today’s post is on a wonderful topic that probably belongs on a blunt card: domesticity. Today, I started down the path of truly living in Istanbul. I purchased an Istanbul kart – the public transit card that you use when you are going to be in Istanbul for a while (as opposed to the single use tickets that are also available). Also, I did today what is, perhaps, my favorite thing to do in a foreign country – that is, visiting a supermarket. I love seeing what brands are there and what products are in stock. I made some key discoveries, one of which is cherry juice. I bought a little juice box of it for a half lira and was quite pleased. I also found a little bookshop, which, to my great surprise, was having a DVD sale. I was completely shocked by the selection - I found a great looking Turkish film, and a Chinese film by Zhang Yimou (The director of Raise the Red Lantern and several other very famous Chinese films) each for 5 lira (a wee bit over 3 USD). Needless to say, those are now in my possession as well as a tiny pocket-sized English-Turkish Turkish-English dictionary that cost an additional 5 lira that has proven to be quite useful.

Also, I want to give you an idea of where I’m living is Istanbul. If you will look at the blow map, cast your attention to the green park in the bottom left. That is roughly the area I am living in. Also, below are a few pictures of the area.