Travels, books and life in general

Beypazari

2011-03-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

Ankara is the world's most boring city, a city of dust, ugly buildings and nothing to do, yet, 1 hour away from Ankara sits the adorable town of Beypazari, the perfect escape from the misery of Ankara. Home to carrots, silver jewelery and all sorts of spices, Beypazari makes for a great afternoon excursion. Yadi and I frequently visit, setting out mid-morning from Ankara in search of a tasty Turkish breakfast, complete with fresh village bread, jams, honey, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, menemen and, of course, Turkish tea. We normally finish breakfast with homemade baklava. The perfect place to go for breakfast is along the small river just outside of town where a number of little restaurants have set up home.

For those who seek to make Beypazari a full weekend excursion, Yadi and I recently stumbled upon a brand new hotel located on the hills outside Beypazari. The hotel is called "Doganbey" and it's super cute: log houses with fire places and balconies which make for a relaxing night away from the noise and dust of the big city (www.doganbeyturizm.com). They serve a tasty breakfast and the price for one night is not bad at all, I believe the owner said 130 lira for an entire rustic cabin (unfortunately, we both forgot to take pictures of this wonderful hotel).

In addition to tasty breakfasts, Beypazari is nice to wander through. The traditional ottoman architecture is a relief to eyes injured by Ankara's bland architecture and the village people are friendly and welcoming. Sample some carrot juice and some carrot lokum (Turkish delight), check out the numerous silver shops, and take some pictures. Wander through the narrow alleyways where villagers hawk their wares from table clothes and scarves to any type of household good that you can imagine - and the prices are cheap! Yadi and I love it there and you probably will too!

Reflections on my Egyptian travels

2011-03-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

They came at us like zombies

They came towards us like zombies drawn to fresh meat, attracted by the sound of our voices and the slamming of the car door. There must have been about 20 of them surrounding us, jostling us. “Take a camel ride”, “Horse drawn carriage, very fun!”, “Guided tour”, “Sphinx too far to walk”. Fighting our way through the melee of hustlers, we were finally able to gaze upon the magnificence of the Giza pyramids… until they were once again blocked by a grumpy looking camel and an animated driver, “Get on, get on! Cheap prices!” Choosing to walk rather than succumb to the pressure of the camel drivers and horse drawn carriage owners, we set out, trying to make the best of the pyramids despite the constant onslaught of cat calls, invitations and warnings that it was impossible to walk to the Sphinx. Within 10 minutes we were in sight of the Sphinx and had escaped the hoards of salespeople.

Although Egypt offers fantastic attractions and a rich history, these attractions have been ruined by an overabundance of visitors and an overreliance on tourist dollars. In the week that I was there, my friend and I were approached constantly with demands for money, trinkets for sale and horse drawn carriages to ride. The persistence of these money makers and their constant haranguing made the Egyptian experience border line unpleasant. Offering to take our picture, the tourist police would then stick out his hand and demand a tip. Want a nice place to photograph the temple in Luxor? The security guard will point it out to you for a fee. Take a horse drawn carriage ride quoted at 8 pounds… only to find out that the driver expects 8 British pounds (which we did not pay, leaving him with a fistful of Egyptian pounds and his curses and threats to call the police ringing in our ears). The fear of being ripped off and our subsequent distrust of everyone around us cast a dark glow over our holiday. Greeted with a cheerful “Hello!” on the street, we would avert our eyes, lower our heads and walk quickly onwards.

While in Luxor we decided to go camel riding – an uncomfortable experience to say the least. After finally descending from the camel, we were urged to tip our guides. After being tipped individually, the guides then compared tips and came after us, complaining that one had received more than the other. A friend once told me that she paid to get up on the camel and was then forced to pay more to get down (camels are tall). Others have reported paying to get their cameras back from a man who offered to take their picture. Beware of the owner of the donkey “Ramses II” who will pick you up and force you on to Ramses’ back and then expect a large tip for his actions (although, the tale of our forced ride on Ramses II and the subsequent pictures make for a good laugh).

Atop Ramses II

All this being said, we did meet some wonderful and helpful people, yet my personal feeling in the tourist areas was that I couldn’t trust anyone. Everyone wanted something. I don’t think that I will go back to Egypt, nor will I recommend it to anyone. I loved the sights, the pyramids, the temples but I couldn’t handle the harassment.

Kilimanjaro

2011-03-11T11:07:00.001-08:00

Darkness surrounds me, illuminated only by a few stars and the headlamp on my head. One foot in front of the other, I plod on, gasping for breath, yearning for a rest. A distant airplane flies overhead, I wish I were on it, travelling to golden sands and relaxation. 6 hours to go. In 6 hours I will stand atop Kilimanjaro, Africa’s tallest mountain and the highest freestanding mountain in the world. Right now, I’m pretty sure my body is giving out and I shall lie on the slopes of Kilimanjaro for eternity, commemorated only by a stone marker and tales passed on to future tourists of the Canadian who died there. We pause to rest and eat a chocolate bar for energy. We’ve been hiking for five days but today was the most extreme: 8 hours to base camp, four hours of sleep and then off again at midnight to reach Kilimanjaro’s summit by sunrise. Chocolate consumed, we are urged to continue, to go “slowly slowly”. Darkness surrounds us; I have no idea how much further we have to go. I put my head down and resolve to make it to the top. The first lights of dawn streak across the horizon in shades of red and orange. We are almost there. One foot in front of the other we plod on. Slowly slowly. We pass other weary travelers resting along the pathway. We trudge steadily forwards. The sun is rising, it is getting lighter. We pass the once mighty glaciers and peer in to Kilimanjaro’s crater. One foot in front of the other, onwards onwards. And suddenly we are there: Uhuru Peak, 19341 feet above sea level. Exhilaration overtakes exhaustion. Out come the cameras, click click click. We sign the guestbook “Yes! We made it!!” and triumphantly pose beside the congratulatory sign on the summit. We share gleeful hugs. The sun fully rises, bathing us, the intrepid traveler, with its light, shining on the glaciers and giving us an unparalleled view of Tanzania, of roads, farms, villages and the neighboring Mount Meru. An immense feeling of accomplishment and pride overtakes me. More hikers are arriving, it’s time to go. Going down is easier than going up, my sister and I leap and run down the slopes to base camp, my parents descending a little more cautiously. It’s time for a rest, some watermelon and a warm cup of hot chocolate before our final descent off Kilimanjaro. Reaching Kilimanjaro’s summit is an accomplishment to be proud of and a trip to be remembered forever.

Safranbolu

2010-12-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

I have a funny tale to tell. It started (and ended) in Safranbolu, Turkey.

Safranbolu is a neat little place, a UNESCO world heritage site made famous for its well preserved Ottoman houses. To learn more about Safranbolu, click here

Anyways. I visited Safranbolu with my friends Tim and Myza. It was a freezing cold day, much too cold for such adventures, yet we went anyways. Whilst wandering the cobblestone streets of old Safranbolu, a tin smith hailed us.

"Where are you from?" he asked
"We're from Canada."
"OH, I love Canadians. Come in to my shop."

And so we did.

"Sit down, sit down" said he. "Read my guestbook."

While uninterestedly yet politely turning the pages of said guestbook, Myza's hands were suddenly grabbed. What followed was very interesting.

The pages of the guestbook read something like this "Beware. If you are reading this, you are in this man's shop. He will grab your hands. He will start massaging your hands, your face, your arms..." As we read this, the massage gained in momentum. The guestbook continued "Be prepared for the grand finale". Suddenly, Myza was turned around so that she was back to back with this man. He locked his arms with hers, bent over and hoisted her on his back, bending so far over that she was upside down. It was rather uncomfortable looking and awkward to be sure. I collapsed in a fit of giggles.

When he attempted my massage I'll admit that I made my excuses and escaped quickly. Meanwhile, Tim was nowhere to be seen - so much for manly protector.

The next day I was talking with some friends and it turned out that they experienced the same thing on their visit to Safranbolu. So I say this: go to Safranbolu, visit this man and experience his infamous massage.

Royal Roads University

2010-11-19T16:56:00.000-08:00

Beautiful Hatley Castle

I'm back at school. I decided to do a Master's degree since, really, everyone and their dog has a Bachelor's degree today and finding a job is quite difficult. After much deliberating, soul searching and hair pulling, I set my sights on a Master's of Professional Communication at Royal Roads. So far I am very happy.

The program is online which is convenient as it allows me the flexibility to live wherever I want. There are two residency periods for the whole two years and each one is three weeks long. I am, in fact, writing this from my dorm room at Royal Roads during residency number one in lieu of doing work.

Royal Roads University is situated on the stunning grounds of Hatley Park and smack in the middle of this park is Hatley Castle, a 100 year old (haunted) 15th century inspired castle. Surrounding this castle are carefully tended gardens inhabited by peacocks, rabbits, raccoons, Canada geese and massively obese squirrels. There are also countless trails through the surrounding gardens and forests, the most impressive of which is Charlie's Trail, a beautiful stroll revealing small waterfalls and massive felled trees. I'm sad that I don't get to spend more time here.

Tiny waterfall off Charlie's Way

Victoria itself is fantastic (well, the little of seen of it anyways). There are some great restaurants and shops as well as a beautiful harbor surrounded by unaffordable, elegant hotels. Oh to be rich.

Sadly, the beauty of this place is marred by the fact that it never stops raining. My dorm room provides a view of the ocean and a mountain range located in Washington, however, I have only managed to have glimpses of this amazing view since it is generally too cloudy to see anything but grey. Sadness.

New friends

I have one more week in residency and so far I am impressed with Royal Roads. The profs are fantastic, very knowledgeable and all able to provide real-world application for concepts learned. Engaging assignments provide motivation for learning, especially one entitled "The Communications Challenge" where, as a team, we examine a communication problem from a real organization and provide an anaylsis and solution. I've also met some fantastic people and learned a lot from them. And the best part: the raccoon family that nightly resides in the doorway of my dorm building. I love them.

The raccoons

So far, so good.

Olympos

2010-08-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

The beach at Olympos

The first place I visited in Turkey (after Ankara of course and Istanbul) was Olympos. Drawn by the idea of sleeping in a tree house by night and lying on a beach by day, Heather and I took the long bus ride to Olympos. Upon our arrival we were horrified at the tree houses because they weren't bug proof (I'm not sure what we were expecting to be honest) so we quickly changed our room choice and got a bungalow instead. But seriously, who wants to awaken in the middle of the night with a big-ass insect on their face, an insect most likely intent on inserting poison or eggs in to their ear? The bungalows in Olympos offer air conditioning (woo hoo) and a toilet and shower. The shower is pretty much unusable since it is positioned directly above the toilet, but it's nice to know that it's there.

Lycian ruins

Olympos is not a town, it is merely a street lined with pansiyons - all offering tree house accommodation, and, for the less adventurous and bug haters like myself, bungalows. Most of the hotels (or all of them) offer a room, breakfast and dinner included in the price so it's actually a pretty good deal. The pansiyons are not located right on the beach because of the Lycian ruins but it is a beautiful walk to the beach. You have to pay to use the beach (but its really cheap) and that ensures the protection of the ancient buildings. As you walk to the beach, you will see ruins: walls, houses, bridges etc and if you venture further back in to the foliage you will find streets, more houses, some mosaic floors, tombs, an ampitheater and a very impressive gate. The ruins have never formally been excavated and it's very interesting to explore the ancient city in the state that it is in now, without any reconstruction.

The Chimera Flame

I love Olympos, not because there are tons of activities to do, but because there aren't. It's a good place to hike, relax and swim. There are boat trips available as well as sea kayaking (great fun but hard work). At night people can walk to the Chimera - a place which has natural, continuously burning fire coming out of the rocks. It's pretty cool. I've heard stories of people coming for a day and ending up spending weeks there - it's just that great.

Kaş and environs

2010-08-23T01:37:00.000-07:00

Lycian tomb

"Kaş" means eyebrow in Turkish but it's also the name of a little town on the Mediterranean, one of my favourite spots in Turkey. Once a picturesque fishing village, Kaş is now mostly populated by tourists, although there are still fishermen (I watched a man catch a sting ray when I was there). Nestled between the crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean and some mountains, Kaş is also a photographer's dream. Look look up the hillside while you wander the cobblestone streets filled with vine covered houses/shops and you will see many rock cut tombs carved in to the mountainside and you will wonder how they got there.

In my opinion, Kaş is the ultimate destination. It's not a place of excitement so if you want nightclubs, creepy Turkish men hitting on you, loud and obnoxious British, Russian and German tourists and overpriced food, take yourself down to Alanya (a.k.a Hell on Earth), Antalya, Kuşadasi (where you can eat all the bacon you want), Bodrum or Marmaris. However, if you want relaxation, good fish, mezes (cold starters), friendly people and relaxation, Kaş is the place to go. Kaş offers great outdoor cafes where you can challenge the tavla (backgammon) champion of Kaş to play with/beat you, where you can chat with local people, and where you can simply enjoy life. There are also some really nice shops in Kaş and a great jewellery store located off the main square, at the beginning of the street leading up to the big Lycian tomb. Kaş is also an ideal base to explore the surrounding area and I recommend renting a car if you aren't scared of facing Turkish drivers and the fact that there are NO road rules in Turkey. Trust me: NONE.

Place for suntanning and swimming in Kas

Kaş does not have a beach but it has some nice (free) suntanning terraces which jut out in to the water and which you can swim off of. If you want a beach, Patara beach is about 20 minutes away (by car) and is absolutely pristine: huge, golden sand beach completely unspoiled by tourism development. Patara is a protected area and you can only suntan in certain places as it is also a sea turtle (Caretta Caretta) refuge and so it should remain that way. While driving to Patara beach, you will encounter the remains of the ancient city of Patara. The Lonely Planet and other guidebooks don't say much about these ruins but I can tell you that they are stunning: there is a lot to see, a lot more to be discovered and there are NO tourists (unlike Ephesus where you can't even see the ruins because of all the tourists!).

The ruins of Patara - ampitheater and surroundings

Another ancient city to visit (just a little past the Patara turnoff) is Xanthos. I didn't think it was as interesting as Patara, but my opinion about ancient ruins should not be trusted: after three years in Turkey and trips to Italy and Egypt, I am pretty much "ruined out".

On the way to Patara and Xanthos is another cute little seaside/fishing town called Kalkan. Kalkan is smaller than Kaş and, unlike Kaş, it has lots of seaside restaurants, one of which also served "Turkish Sunshine". Kaş' restaurants and cafes are mostly located in the main square, in the winding cobblestone streets and on rooftop terraces. Kalkan did, however, seem more expensive than Kaş. I really liked Kalkan and plan to go back to spend a night there at some point.

Come to the Turkish Mediterranean and this is guaranteed!

If it's adventure you seek, Kaş is one of the biggest scuba diving centers in Turkey, and it also offers paragliding adventures, and boat tours. The boat tours take visitors to Kekova where there are Lycian tombs which seem to float in the water and the "Sunken City" - the ruins of an ancient city from the 2nd century AD which was sunk by an earthquake. The boat tours also offer chances to swim in beautiful bays... but beware, boat tours in Turkey usually come equipped with a creepy Turkish man (always a boat staff member) who will spend the day hitting on you and making you generally uncomfortable. If you can deal with that,then the boat tours can be quite fun.

Another interesting place to visit (by car) is the ruins of Myra (located close to the uninteresting town of Demre) which has some very impressive rock cut Lycian tombs and a very well preserved ampithater. Demre is also the home of Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) who was the bishop there - you can go visit his church if you are so inclined, I wasn't and therefore have nothing to tell you about said church.

Rock Cut Lycian Tombs - Myra

I love Kaş. I would love to own a holiday home there or perhaps a small pension. It's a great place to relax and explore the surrounding area.

I've been to Kaş three times and on each visit I stayed in the Kayahan hotel - it was recommended to me through word of mouth. It's an affordable, clean hotel, located about a five minute walk from the town center and a two minute walk from the suntanning platforms. The rooms all have airconditioning and balconies and you should ensure that you get a sea view. There is a great rooftop patio which gives fantastic views of the harbor and the Greek island of Meis (you can take day trips there if you want). The hotel price includes a big buffet breakfast on the rooftop patio. Deniz, the owner, is really great and if you let him know which bus you are coming on (if you are arriving by bus) he will meet you at the bus station. Hotel website: http://www.hotelkayahan.com/en/index.php

Bozcaada

2010-08-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

Bozcaada town as seen from the Fortress

My friend Erin visited me last week and we set out to explore some places that I had never been to. One of these places was Bozcaada, a beautiful island in the Aegean sea. Bozcaada isn't a place where one "does" anything specific, it's a relaxing place where one can wander the streets, look at the colorful doors and window frames on the white washed houses and take photographs. There are also three local wine producers who make nice wines, lots of nice grapes and tomato products (tomato jam anyone?), many cute cafes and some really good food. Bozcaada townsite also has an impressive fortress which you can tour for a whopping one lira and 50 cents! It's a great place to take some photos of the town and harbor. Apparently, the side of the island opposite to the town has some nice beaches (we didn't have time to go).

Erin and I only stayed in Bozcaada for one night but I wish I had stayed a bit longer. Bozcaada is a small island, about 6 kms wide, and having a car to explore it would have been nice. As it was, we had arrived sans car and with large backpacks on our backs. It's easy to get to Bozcaada provided that you can first get to Geyikli where you catch the ferry to the island. Erin and I were staying in Ayvalik (about 3 hours away) which I had thought would provide us with a simple enough connection to Bozcaada, but I was wrong. It would have involved taking three different hot, slow moving, chicken filled buses to get to the ferry boat and neither Erin nor I was interested in that kind of adventure (we are no longer spry, patient 20 year olds). Instead, we found a Turkish tour company taking Turks on a day trip from Ayvalik to Bozcaada. We craftily booked ourselves on to the tour, negotiating a reduced rate since we were only going one way, and arrived in Bozcaada in style with our own comfortable air conditioned bus. The tour guide was very friendly and even had the tour bus driver drop us right at our hotel which was located a ways out of town. He did, however, first force us to endure a Turkish language tour of a winery where Erin befriended a German speaking Turk who translated the Turkish to German which she then translated to English for my benefit! In all, it was a very successful way of getting to Bozcaada.

A beautiful door in Bozcaada

The hotel we stayed in is called the "Uzum Butik Otel" (http://www.tenedosbozcaada.com). We had a big and comfortable room with a sea view and a nice sea breeze coming in the (screened! A rarity in Turkey!) windows and our bathroom was HUGE and included a jacuzzi tub (not very useful during high summer though!). There is a great garden where they grow tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and spices and for lunch they made us a fantastic menemen (Turkish omelet) using these fresh vegetables. Breakfast was great with lots of nice jams to choose from, fresh veggies, cheeses etc. The hotel owners were really nice, especially Elif, who answered all our questions and drove us in to town. Uzum Otel is not located right in the Bozcaada townsite so it's either a long hot walk to reach it or a taxi. The taxi ride is about 11 lira. The hotel is located close to a small beach and it's a great, quiet place to stay!

This is the view from the Uzum Otel

Cappadocia

2010-08-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

Dome and pillar shaped formations dotting the land, underground cities where people hid in times of war, fairy chimneys where you could easily imagine seeing a smurf or an alien, and cave houses/ churches: Cappadocia is a land of visual wonderment – a land of strange and intriguing formations created by volcanic eruption and the subsequent erosion. The people of Cappadocia carved these “chimneys” in to homes, Christian churches, stables and anything else that they needed. When the area was under attack by large armies, the Cappadocian people fled to the underground cities that they had dug for times of trouble. Cappadocia has a colourful history, a history involving conquering armies, Christians hiding in caves and, according to heresay, is where Saint George slew the dragon. (To find out more history of Cappadocia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia). Today, Cappadocia is a huge tourist destination offering hot air balloon tours, nice wines, ATV rides, bike tours, underground city exploration and much more. Cappadocia is also where George Lucas shot the scene of the Sand people’s homes in the first Star Wars.

I keep coming back to Cappadocia because I think it’s fantastic. I’ve visited Cappadocia four times, each time bringing a new visitor with me. I always stay in Goreme because it is a fairy chimney town, people still live in them, you can eat your meal in a fairy chimney, or you can stay in a cave hotel (hotel rooms carved in to fairy chimneys). Arriving in Goreme is like arriving on the moon or in to Smurf ville – I always half expect to see a little blue man with a large hat dart out from behind a building. On my first trip to Cappadocia I invested in a balloon tour. I say “invest” because this was quite an expensive experience – around 130 euros – but it was well worth it. I had arrived in Goreme at 11pm the previous night and hadn’t seen anything, just the outlines of the fairy chimneys as we made our way to the hotel in the dark. My balloon tour was the next morning, with a 7am pick up from the hotel. This is, in my opinion, the best way to start your stay in Cappadocia. The balloon takes you up and over the various valleys and you get a great chance to see the awesomeness that is Cappadocia. The balloon company will pick you up and take you to a large field where they serve you some tea or coffee and some little cakes and where you can watch the balloons being inflated. Then you will clamber in to the balloon and be whisked over the amazing Cappadocian landscape of which you will snap hundreds of photos (in my case at least) and take in the sunrise over the fairy chimneys. The balloon tour lasts between thirty minutes to forty five minutes and finishes with a toast of cheap champagne (which, in my case they will spray all over you) and a flight certificate. It’s an amazing experience but make sure that you dress warmly as those Cappadocian mornings can be quite cool.

In addition to ye ole balloon ride, Cappadocia offers lots of other adventures. Let’s start with horse back riding. My advice: Don’t do it. The horses are not well trained, prone to breaking in to a run, especially down hill, and also prone to biting and kicking each other with a rider still on their back. Worst of all, the guides don’t care. I’ve tried horse back riding in Cappadocia twice with two different companies and each time was a terrifying experience for both myself and my friends.

Visitors can also partake in various guided tours. I participated in the one which takes visitors to the Ihlara Valley for a hike and lunch, an underground city and the Selime Monastery – an amazing archaeological feat, carved high in to the rock. The tour is nice if you don’t have your own transportation and you can easily book them through your hotel, I believe that they are about 50 lira.

Goreme offers an interesting open air museum, a UNESCO world heritage site, where one can wander through ancient churches built in to caves and admire what remains of the paintings (note that all the faces of the saints have been scratched off because the Muslims who arrived much later don’t like faces in their art).

Cappadocia is also the home to wineries, hiking and biking trails, and for those of you who enjoy damaging the environment: ATV tours. It also boasts many souvenir stores and is a good place to buy carpets and onyx.

As for accommodation, I have stayed in a number of places in Goreme. The first time I went, my friend and I stayed at the Shoestring Cave Pension (http://www.shoestringcave.com) . It was inexpensive, clean, had a nice breakfast and offered us a stay in a cute little cave room with a private bathroom. It’s carved in to a cave and has a very nice ambiance. We stayed there at the end of October and the nights were COLD and the room was just not warm enough. We ended up sharing a bed for warmth, cuddled together in a shivering ball; however, I think it would be a perfectly comfortable place to stay in the summer time. My real complaint about this hotel was that we received a warm welcome until it became clear to the owner that we weren’t going to book any activities through him (we had done it all ourselves beforehand) and he quickly lost interest in us.

The next two times that I visited, I stayed at Kemal’s Guesthouse (http://www.kemalsguesthouse.com/home_en.html) which provides a gorgeous breakfast in a beautiful garden as well as a very tasty dinner (extra cost) if you want it. The owners of the guesthouse are very friendly and welcoming and will help you answer any questions you have about the area. The rooms are a little unexciting but comfortable and I would definitely recommend this hotel.

The third and final hotel is the Elif Star Cave hotel (http://www.elifstar.com ) which was a step up from my usual Cappadocian hotels because my parents were visiting. I really liked this hotel, from the welcome when the hotel’s owner surprised us by meeting us at the bus station and driving us to the hotel and the beautiful, tastefully decorated rooms, to the warm showers and fantastic breakfast (the first time I have ever had French toast - with maple syrup- in Turkey!). The hotel is beautifully designed and carved right in to the rock – I loved it!

As for eating, try the local specialty: Testi Kebab – chicken, beef, lamb or vegetarian mixture cooked in a clay pot which you break before consuming it!

My favourite man - Rigel

2010-03-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Photo: Rigel - Summer 2009

I'm sitting here, absorbing the news. It's not a surprise, but it's still a shock. A few weeks ago, Rigel experienced muscle collapse on one side of his face. The vet wasn't sure what it was but just thought it was some kind of common disorder that dogs get for no reason and which usually clears up. It didn't, and Rigel began to lose weight and energy. Today Rigel had a vet appointment with the specialist and he has been diagnosed with trigeminal neuritis which I guess is a brain tumor. An MRI will confirm this diagnosis but that costs $4000. Even if diagnosed as a tumor there are very few vets who will touch something so close to the brain. So basically, my little boy will just have to live with it - meaning he has anywhere from a few months to up to two years to live. It's really hard to accept this as he is not even four years old. I wish I were home right now to see him.

I first saw Rigel when he was just a few days old. A little potato shaped object who couldn't walk and couldn't even open his eyes, Rigel captured my heart from day one. The next time I saw him, he was eight weeks old, a fat, rambunctious little creature, with a sad face but a happy heart.

We brought him home when he was eight weeks old and he has since brought joy to our lives. He's always been a bit of a comedian, he loves to play, wrestle, be chased and receive attention. His favorite game is "stick" and if you happen to be innocently standing in the back yard of my parents' house you will be challenged to wrestle the stick from his grasp. This is a challenge as he is very strong and doesn't let go easily. The only way to end the game of stick is to pry it from his grasp, throw it across the yard, and run away as quickly as possible while he runs after the stick. If you don't do this, the game will continue all day as Rigel is a tireless "stick" player.

Rigel also loves his walks but hates the leash and will roll around on the ground when leashed just to piss you off. He loves to run in the offleash areas, meet his girlfriend Rosie for a race, and meet other doggy friends along the way (he is very popular on the Brentwood bike path). He is insanely jealous when other animals receive attention, especially my guinea pigs, and will insist on eating whatever they eat, be it guinea pig pellets, carrots or grass. He hates when people spend time on the computer and will nudge your arm, bump you with his nose, place his head on your arm, and if all else fails, jump up so that his feet are on the keyboard, preventing all typing. He never barks except at the lawn mower, and he loves every one and everything.

Video: Rigel and the lawnmower

I've known him since he was a few days old, I took him for his very first walk on the first day we got him, and I've missed him so much since coming to Turkey. Each time I return, he greets me like an old friend, with a wagging tail, some kisses, and a race to his nearest toy so that I can make up for lost time.

Yadi says that he doesn't want a dog because of the pain of losing them. I disagree. Yes, it's hard to lose them, but nothing compares to the joy of having them for the short period of time you get to spend with them. Nothing will love you as much as a dog, nothing else in the world will listen to you moan and whine without complaint or judgement, and nothing will forgive you as easily and quickly as a dog. Dogs don't gripe about our bad breath, our stinky feet, and our mood swings, instead, they listen to everything you say, compete with you for first place in bad breath and loud snoring, and readily accept the blame for a stinky fart. Dogs are our best friends and the perfect boyfriend - always home, happy to see you, and completely trustworthy.

I've always had pets. My sister and I started out small with fish. Fish are unexciting. They live for a few days and then make the lonely journey to Fish Heaven via the sewer system. We then graduated to guinea pigs, who, contrary to popular belief, make fantastic pets. They love to cuddle, they love to be fed, and you can even train them to squeak on command! They recognize their owners, love to curl up and lick a hand or a face, and will sometimes pee on you (always a pleasure) or take a bite out of the book you are reading. We then had some rabbits while living in Ethiopia. Rabbits are a difficult pet, at times loving and at other times snarling and snapping. They also have really long claws and I still bear the scars of angry rabbit kicks. I don't recommend rabbits.

After moving back to Canada, we finally got a dog. A lovely, gentle, affectionate boxer by the name of Daphne. Daphne gave us ten years of friendship and loyalty. She loved everyone, would protect her family to the death, was gentle with guinea pigs, children and elderly people and was an all around sweetheart! She had a love for getting in to the garbage, but would always apologize profusely afterwards - a dog with a conscience!! We loved her very much.

Photo: Daphne in Madagascar

Daphne was such a sweet dog that we wanted something from the same pedigree as her. My mom did the research and found Daphne's great niece (or something), Rigel's mom. And guess what? Puppies were on their way! We staked our claim and were soon awarded with Rigel!

Photo: Rigel's mom and her baby boy

This post isn't a goodbye to Rigel as I'm hoping he will live for awhile yet. This is merely a way for me to unload some feelings that have been plaguing me for the last few weeks. I'll update as I learn more about his condition. For now, he is still the same, loving, sweet boy but a little less energetic and apparently a little strange looking. I can't wait to see him in August!

One reason a dog can be such a comfort when you're feeling blue is that he doesn't try to find out why. ~Author Unknown

Fasil - not fossil - night

2010-03-07T06:01:00.000-08:00

Photo: Kate and Yadi

Last night my friend Kate, her friend Ender, Yadi and I went to "Hanci" for Fasil. Hanci is located in the tiny historical neighborhood in Ankara known as Ulus, the area where you can buy carpets, see a castle and visit an Anatolian history museum. Ulus also has the best Fasil place in Ankara (allegedly). It was so much fun!

We took a taxi from Tunali (cost about 10 lira) and arrived at the Fasil place. It was dark inside and lit by candles. We sat at our table which was laden with mouth watering mezes: ezme (a spicy tomato paste), Turkish tzatziki (I'm actually not sure about the Turkish name), a delicious eggplant dish (yes, I put eggplant and delicious in one sentence), pickles, a potato salad and a normal green salad. We were served our choice of alcohol: wine, vodka, beer or Raki (a Turkish drink which tastes of aniseed - similar to the Greek "Ouzo") and we proceded to eat and drink while watching the Fasil performers - a group of people playing Turkish instruments with a woman singing traditional Turkish songs. Although a continuous supply of mezes would have sufficed for the evening, we were of course served with a main course. The main course was disappointing: a slice of chicken, some rice and some veggies. I can't remember what chicken in like back home in Canada but I find chicken in Turkey to be really dry and flavourless and completely unappealing. I gave my chicken to Yadi and continued enjoying the mezes. Dessert was a plate of fruits. Once dinner was finished, the Turkish women in the restaurant began to get up and dance... and with some encouragement and some help by the unlimited alcohol supplied, so did we! It was fun. Once the Fasil performers finished there was a DJ for about 45 minutes followed by another performer, this time a Turkish man singing popular tunes. It was fun to watch Yadi sing and dance and a really interesting cultural experience! I can't wait to go back and do it again! Food, dance and unlimited drink for 50 TL a person is actually not a bad deal!!

Photo: Alex and Yadi (I promise you he is not a serial killer, even though he looks that way)

A few recent reads - a quick summary

2010-02-16T01:20:00.000-08:00

Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
I loved loved loved this book. Oryx andCrake is set in the future, after the collapse of civilization, and follows what might be the only human survivor as he goes about his daily routines, attempts to survive, and reminises about his life and loves before civilization collapsed. This novel explores scientific developments such as genetic engineering,particularly the creation of transgenic animals such as the friendly "Rakunk" and the vicious "Wolvog". It also covers such issues as the break down of morality and ethics in the publicized executions, assisted suicides and commodification of sexuality, particularly online child pornography. The gap between rich and poor is another issue covered in the book, with the rich living in safe, germ free environments where they have access to the best schools, malls, and food, while the poor - or pleebs - live in squallor.
I liked the book because it wasn't too far fetched - this could happen in the future and is happening already. We are already developing new, germ resistant plants and I'm sure that'll extend in to animals (if it isn't already). We already have a taste for the grotesque in the movies we watch (like the Saw movies), so how long will it be until we are watching the real thing - real beheadings and real torture? And the child pornography and sex industry is already thriving.
As we follow "Snowman" - the last remaining human - we learn about this dystopian society, about the scientific developments that got so carried away that they resulted in humanity's collapse, about Snowman's love interest Oryx and his friend Crake (here we have a religious theme which seems to liken Oryx and Crake to Adam and Eve), and about Snowman's quest for survival in a world without other humans.
The reviews that I read for the book were critical. Many people said they were disappointed with this book, that Margaret Atwood shouldn't write science fiction etc etc but I feel the complete opposite. This book was great. It was very readable and gripping. Unlike many of the books I have read, I didn't just finish it and move on with my life without a second thought, it was a book that made me think and want to talk. I highly recommend Oryx and Crake!

Two other recent reads:

The Spanish Bow - Andromeda Romano Lax A slow moving story which follows the life of underpriviledged child prodigy Feliu Delargo as he develops his cello skills, bringing him in to contact with kings and queens and political leaders during World War I and World War II. I didn't like this book, I found it boring and I wasn't interested in any of the characters. It was a torture to read it.

The Visible World - Mark Slouka This is the story of a child of Czech refugees after World War II trying to find out about his history - a history which shaped him but which he doesn't know much about. His parents' past remains a mystery to him, understood in fragments of conversation, stories and whispers but never really revealed. The one big mystery is his mother's unhappiness, brought on by the fact that she never ended up with the man she truely loved. The book is divided in to three parts and I enjoyed the way it was written. The first part of the book describes the narrator's childhood spent in the States in immigrant communities. The second part is about his travels to the Czech Republic in search of information about his parents, where he meets people who remember the difficult times during World War II, who quarrel amongst themselves about events, yet can't shed light on what the narrator is looking for: information about his mother and the man she truely loved. The third part is the narrator's fictional version of the events surrounding his mother and her lover, and the fictional truth about the relationship between his mother and his father. I thought this part was a bit of a stereotypical love story and didn't add much to the book. I did enjoy the book however, and I particularly enjoyed the historical references to life in Prague/Czech Republic during World War II.

Valentine's Day at "The Wine House"

2010-02-15T23:22:00.000-08:00

I'm not a fan of Valentine's Day. I used to think that it was important, that chocolates, flowers and gifts were of utmost importance. But then I was disappointed time and time again. Now that I am older and wiser, I realize that Valentine's Day is not significant, that if I love someone and if they love me in return, we should know that every day, not just on one day. Valentine's Day is just an excuse for Hallmark, chocolate makers, and people who grow roses to stress people out and rake in the money. Last year Yadi and I did not celebrate Valentine's Day, but this year he - a Valentine's Day non-believer - took me out for a really great dinner at a posh place called "The Wine House". It's located somewhere near Panora mall in a converted house located in a very wealthy neighborhood (huge houses, high fences, guard dogs and security... not to mention streets lined with Audis and BMWs). The restaurant was perfect. The walls and rafters were decorated with red streamers and heart shaped balloons. We had a quiet table to the side and were served with a cheese plate and salad to start, followed by steak medallions, and a heart shaped chocolate brownie to conclude the night. We also had a nice bottle of "testi" wine (stored in a special container). It was a really nice night with good conversation, fantastic company, and even an accordion/violin serenade. I'm not sure what the normal menu is like at this restaurant (it was a Valentine's Day set menu) but it is a really nice place and very romantic, but a little expensive.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows

2010-02-02T10:48:00.001-08:00

This book (I'm not re-writing the title as it's too long) is a feel good book, it's an easy read and it will make you smile. The book is written as a series of letters between an author, her publisher, and the residents of the island of Guernsey. Guernsey is a tiny island off the coast of England that I knew absolutely nothing about. Apparently, it was occupied during World War II by the Nazis who built all sorts of defensive structures using slave labour. The resources on the island were quickly depleted, leaving both the residents of Guernsey and the Nazis to struggle for survival. This book is set shortly after World War II and tells the story of the people of Guernsey, how they dealt with the difficulties of life and how they made the best of everything.The people of Guernsey provide fodder for the author (Juliet's) newest novel by recounting their experiences under the Nazis. Juliet grows to admire and love the people of Guernsey and decides to visit them. Thus comes a heartwarming tale filled with hardships and perseverence.

My latest adventure: Çanakkale, Gallipoli and Troy

2010-02-02T01:40:00.000-08:00

Semester break. My colleagues are travelling to exotic places like Zanzibar, Egypt and Georgia, but I am not. I have decided to save money and travel in Turkey - after all, winters in Turkey are generally mild and snowless, especially along the Aegean coast... right? Wrong. The trip to Çanakkale was supposed to take four days, but we fled, tail between legs, after two days. It was so cold.

On Sunday night, Rick, Tim and myself boarded the overnight bus for the ten hour ride to Çanakkale. The weather was mild in Ankara, but Istanbul had been hit with a severe snowstorm the day before. The weather reports for Çanakkale reported sunny weather and above zero temperatures so we weren't too concerned. As the bus drove in to Çanakkale I looked out the window and saw snow, ice and bundled up people. My heart sunk... we were in for four days of cold, pursuing activities that involved being outdoors. We disembarked from the bus and hailed a taxi whose interior was colder than the coldest day in Antarctica. After a short, yet freezing, cab ride, we arrived at our hotel and found that it was not open. Luckily, there was another, cheaper hotel right next door which provided us with breakfast, rooms and warmth.

After breakfast we decided to head to Troy, the city made famous by Homer's book "The Iliad". We walked on treacherous streets to the dolmus (mini bus) station and caught a freezing cold mini bus to Troy. I was quite excited to see the place made famous by the siege of Troy, the Trojan horse, and the beauty of Helen. I wanted to walk in the footsteps of Hector, Achilles and Agamemnon (not Paris though because he was a loser). Troy was sorely disappointing. First, you pay too much money to get in (for the quality of the place). The first stop is an information bulletin about Troy, which you can read if you want to be pummelled by the Arctic winds whipping about. Visitors then stop at the replica Trojan horse, a great photo-op because your friends can climb up and poke their heads out the windows. The stairs up in to the Trojan horse are extremely steep and, at that time of year, ice covered. Not for the faint of heart. Following that, visitors can stop in a very poor excuse for a museum while a small cat follows, meowing loudly. Then, visitors follow a path through loads of rubble - the foundations of houses, walls etc. This may have been interesting had we decided to take a guided tour (not an option at that time of year apparently) or if there had been one of those little information radio guides to listen to (also not available). The ground was slippery, the weather cold, and my appreciation very non-existent. My advice: Don't waste your time and money on a visit to the ancient city of Troy. And if you must go, go in the summer.

That evening, upon our return from Troy, we were so cold. I don't know what the temperature was... but it was SOOOO cold. Turkey is a country of cement buildings without insulation, where warm air gets sucked out as soon as a door is opened. That evening we were unable to get warm so we retired to our hotel early, played an invigorating game of "Bananagrams" and were asleep by nine.

We awoke the next morning, ready for another cold day but feeling happy because we had a car booked for our tour of Gallipoli. Wrong. The car rental company which had OK'ed the rental the previous day was now claiming that it was too dangerous to drive (although no new snow had fallen) so we were forced to take a tour. I really enjoyed the tour, the bus was warm, lunch was provided, and the guide was very knowledgeable.

For those who know nothing about Gallipoli, it is a peninsula south of Istanbul where a large battle was fought during World War I. The British/Australian/New Zealand/French troops wanted to take control of this important area to have easy access to Russia and the food the Russians could provide to the troops, as well as to control Istanbul. The Turks, under the command of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who were on the side of the Germans, weren't having any of this... and thus, a long, drawn out, bloody battle with lots of casualties on both sides. Gallipoli is especially important to Australians and New Zealanders and is commemorated every April on ANZAC day. The tour took us through the major battle sights, allowed us to visit a museum (which needs a lot of improvement), Anzac Cove (where the Anzacs landed), various war memorials for both sides, as well as the trenches. There isn't a lot to see on the Gallipoli peninsula and it's hard to envision the huge battle that took place, but if you are interested in military history or if you are in the area, it is worth going to.

Although Gallipoli was interesting it was also SOOOO COLD. By the end of the tour we were all ready to go home. It was Tuesday and we had plane tickets to Ankara booked for Thursday but we couldn't envision spending another minute in that cold, inhospitable land. Like cowards, we ate our plane tickets and booked a bus home. Unlocking the door of my warm apartment and crawling in to my comfortable bed was heaven.

The picture above shows a beautiful quote from Ataturk:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives, you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country, therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us, where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are at peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie

2010-01-21T06:01:00.000-08:00

Last year I read Ms. Adichie's novel "Half of a Yellow Sun", a novel about the civil war in Nigeria. It was a great novel - well written and informative and one which I highly recommend. I hadn't known anything about the war in Nigeria (nor did I even know that there had been a war in Nigeria) prior to reading that novel. I enjoyed that book so much that I was eager to read more by the same author. Purple Hibiscus was Ms. Adichie's first novel. Set in Nigeria and interspersed with local dialect and imagery about life in Nigeria, Purple Hibiscus is about a 15 year old girl, Kambili, who grew up under an authoritarian and extremely religious father who kept a strict household, a household with no smiles, no freedom and lots of beatings. When the political climate in Nigeria turns sour, Kambili and her brother are sent to stay with their aunt and her family. There they learn to sing, to smile, to have fun, relax, and more importantly to assert themselves. She begins to see her father not as a man who inflicted pain for her benefit, but as a kind of tyrant, but she continues to love him. This book examines the problems created by religion and overzealous faith, domestic violence, and personal development. It was a quick read but an enjoyable one.

Bliss by O.Z. Livaneli

2010-01-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

An eye-opening book, Bliss captured my attention from the first page and I was unable to put it down. This is a story of three unhappy lives brought together by circumstance. Meryem is a young, Muslim girl living in a fundamentalist family in the East of Turkey. When her uncle rapes her, Meryem's family shames her and hides her away in a shed while they decide her fate. Meanwhile, a university professor - Irfan - is dissatisfied with his life of luxury which he feels has no meaning. Faced with the choice between suicide and escape, he chooses to leave everything behind and set sail on the Aegean sea. While Meryem sits in the shed and Irfan sails the sea, Cemal, Meryem's cousin, is finishing his military service in the remote mountains of Eastern Turkey where death by PKK rifle hangs over his head each day. When Cemal returns from the military, Meryem's family informs him of Meryem's "sin" and gives him the mission of killing the girl in order to erase her sin. Cemal's father (the uncle who raped Meryem) decides that the best way to get rid of Meryem is to take her to Istanbul, a huge city where no one will notice two new people and where it will be easy to dispose of the girl and then return to his hometown. So Cemal and Meryem set off on a journey that will change their lives...

I enjoyed this book because it showcases the contradictions and confusions inherrent in Turkey: Religious fundamentalism vs. mainstream practicing muslims vs. secularism, to wear a headscarf or not, Western vs. Eastern culture and family demands vs. own conscience.

Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie

2010-01-18T11:34:00.001-08:00

This book came highly recommended from a friend of mine, but I was reluctant to read it as other people claim that Salman Rushdie is not an easy author to read. Midnight's Children won the "Booker of Booker" prize in 1993 as well as a number of other book prizes.

Midnight's Children is divided in to three "books" and it follows the life of Saleem Sinai - a telepath with an extraordinary nose - who was born at midnight at the exact moment that India gained Independence from the British. The story follows Saleem's life as well as the turmoil within India once it gained Independence.

Saleem's telepathy allows him to communicate with the other children born around the midnight of India's independence. The children meet inside Saleem's head for midnight conferences. Each child has his or her own power and the ones born closest to midnight are the most powerful. According to wikipedia, these midnight children represent the linguistic, cultural, religious and political differences of the people in India at that time, and through Saleem's telepathy he is able to bring them together.

Saleem's story follows a number of different conflicts in India and concludes with Saleem more or less losing everything as a result of Indira Ghandi's cleansing and sterilisation campaign. Once everything is lost, Saleem shares his memoir with his wife-to-be, Padma , and thus comes the novel "Midnight's Children", a story which has magic, tragedy, romance, war and huge political changes.

The novel is beautifully written and I enjoyed reading it, but I think I would have appreciated it more if I was better versed in the political history of the time. That being said, I don't think that it was a difficult novel to read

Another interesting book that I read (a long time ago) about the Indira Ghandi period in India is called "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry.

No Man's Land - a movie review

2010-01-16T07:38:00.001-08:00

I just finished a movie entitled "No Man's Land" which is set during the Bosnian-Serbian war and I needed to blog about it immediately as it was SO good. This movie won an Academy Award for best foreign film in 2002 and I think you need to watch it.

Three enemy soldiers are trapped in a trench in no man's land. One is lying on a land mine that will explode if he moves. The soldiers manage to have the UN notified of the situation and a French UN sergeant battles with a British colonel (who would rather play chess) to negotiate their safety. But as usual, the UN proves useless because of its own internal problems and it's mandate of neutrality. This movie uses dark humor to portray the absurdity of war, with neither side knowing precisely why they are fighting each other, and with the UN unable to help.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. At times I laughed and at times I cried. The movie brought out many emotions and I was quite stressed throughout. I will definitely be thinking about this movie for a long time and I think it is time that I learned a little bit more about this conflict (if you, like me, don't know much about this conflict, the book "The Cellist of Sarajevo" is a good place to start).

The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith

2010-01-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

If you read and enjoyed Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith then you should read the sequel. At the end of Child 44, Leo finds his humanity and compassion and leaves his post as an MGB officer in Stalin Soviet Union to open a new branch of law enforcement - the investigation of murders, something previously swept under the carpet by Stalin's regime (you can't have murder in a perfect society). The Secret Speech continues to follow the now-reformed Leo and his wife Raisa, as well as their two daughters. Stalin is dead and Krushchev has publicly denounced the Stalin era. Prisoners are being released from the work camps, policemen are being identified as enemies of the state, and someone from his former life is out to get Leo in the most painful way: by tearing his family apart. This novel was a page turner and I enjoyed it as much as Child 44. It took me one day to read it because I couldn't put it down.

Ankara Excursions - Embassy girl

2010-01-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I went to the American Embassy Happy Hour. It was weird. There were Americans, lots of them, and only Americans. They were army type, muscled and tattooed. They sang songs in praise of America on the karaoke machine (but let's not get carried away - they also sang the lastest hits). They served the cheapest alcohol to be found in Turkey - all imported. They also had - gasp - DOCTOR PEPPER AND ROOT BEER. Surprisingly, I didn't have any. Being that we were in little America, everything was imported from the Coca Cola to the cleaning products in the bathroom. I'm pretty sure the toilet paper was American made. Although the experience was ... interesting... and it was nice to get cheap alcohol... it brings a question to my mind: why be an expat, why leave your country, if you stay secluded and segregated in the land of little America, drinking only American products and shopping at the army canteen? Part of the experience of living in this country for me has been finding substitutes for my favourite foods back home, trying new things, and leaving foreigner land to roam the streets with my Turkish boyfriend and friends.

Santa Claus in Turkey - a link

2010-01-06T08:14:00.000-08:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8432314.stm

What is this?

2010-01-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

It's a cold and snowy day today in Ankara, Turkey. Julia's boyfriend is out of town and he left her with his car. It's not often that us foreigners have a car at our disposal so we decided to take advantage. An exciting trip to Real ensued. Real is our grocery store, it is overpriced and unfriendly, yet we can find most of the things we need - albeit at an exorbitant price. It's just the luxuries that we lack. I would kill for Rice Krispies and I never again want to eat another Corn Flake in my life. Cheddar cheese would be a dream come true. Salsa would make me dance a jig. Nevertheless, we can find the necessities and a few small luxuries at Real. So anyways, we drove to Real and we found THIS vegetable:

It seems to be a cross between a cauliflower and a broccoli. We cooked it in the same way as it's parent vegetables and it was nice enough. But what is it? Is it a mutant vegetable??? Life in Ankara is so exciting that I feel inclined to share my vegetable findings with you. But you have to agree, this vegetable is a freak!

Happy New Year from Ankara

2010-01-03T00:17:00.000-08:00

Apparently I am an old lady. Yadi and I did not to go Ankara's one and only western bar. We did not go to the house party that we had intended to go to. We did not drink. To be honest, we did go down to the store and buy alcohol. The alcohol purchasing happened at 5 pm, we ate dinner and then decided to watch a movie (after all, New Year festivities don't really get going until around 10). We watched part of a movie and then decided to take a nap. Bad idea. Needless to say, New Years consisted of cuddles on the couch and Lord of the Rings - bed by 12:30.

2010 started with brunch at Emir Lake and a trip to the gym. I'm going to re-try Jillian Michaels workout (I tried it once before but didn't follow through). It's a 12 week program where you go to the gym about 4 times a week and do different exercices targetting different areas. We'll see how it goes.

I want to wish a Happy New Year to anyone who actually reads this little blog. I hope that 2010 is fantastic for everyone.

Before the Rain - a movie review

2009-12-31T02:26:00.000-08:00

Yadi loves "international" movies - he doesn't love the typical Hollywood Blockbusters, rather, he enjoys independent films, the kind shown in film festivals like Cannes. I wouldn't typically seek out these kinds of movies, but since meeting him, I have come to enjoy these independent films. Last night we watched one which was very moving. "Before the Rain" is set in Macedonia, during the civil war in Bosnia. The violence has spread over in to Macedonia, everyone is carrying guns and there are hints that a civil war is on the brink. There are three parts, or stories, in this movie which are connected together. The movie's theme (as far as I can understand) is the idea of the circularity of violence and how it affects everyone. The characters in the movie all come from different backgrounds (Albanian Muslim, Macedonian award winning photographer, and London photography editor) but they are all linked together through shared experiences of violence. I don't want to say too much about the movie for fear of ruining it, but it is a story about love, war, the effects of war, and the idea of taking sides.
My only critique of the movie are that there are some inconsistencies in the story which leave the viewer (or at least me) confused about the time line of events (i.e. when the woman in London is looking at pictures of something that hasn't happened yet). Yadi and I actually had to turn off the movie and hash out the sequence of events.
Keep your tissues out because this movie is a tear jerker.

December in Ankara

2009-12-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

It's December. Back home people are listening to Christmas carols, buying Christmas presents and getting together with relatives. Christmas is all around! Surprisingly, I miss the build up to Christmas. I miss turning on the radio and hearing Christmas carols, I miss Christmas parties, I miss Christmas shopping and I miss Christmas food!

December in Turkey is another story. Yes, some shops are decorated with tinsel and other sparkly things, the malls are decked out in lights and trees, and there are strange, scrawny Santas prancing about. (Did you know that Santa was born in Turkey? Well now you do. A little trivia for you). The decorations and Santas are because Turks celebrate New Years and they believe that Christmas and New Years are the same thing. So they have taken the tradition of decorating and trees but moved it to January 1st.

My work gives us some time off for Christmas: the 24th and the 25th. The students keep asking me "Teacher, why do we have a vacation?" and I keep explaining that it is "my" Christmas and that they should just consider themselves lucky to be able to relax for a few days. The response is "But teacher, isn't Christmas on January 1st?" For some reason this makes me want to strangle them. I don't know why, maybe it is my misguided belief that everyone should know when Christmas is, after all, it is pretty well publicized in movies, books and TV shows, all of which my students have access to. Of course if you asked me I wouldn't know when Ramadan is... but I can argue that I don't know because it changes every year.

This year the lead up to Christmas has been particularly hard. I'm no longer enjoying my job and I want to be free. I do still love Turkey but this job has surpassed it's expiration date. It was a mistake to stay at "A" for one more year. I don't regret Turkey, but I regret my decision to continue being an English teacher to a bunch of *********** . Not only is the job bringing me down, but it's hard to be away from everyone for yet another year. And then my grandma died. Ugh. The trips with Yadi to Germany and Barcelona have come and gone and I feel that there won't be much excitement for a long time. So, December 2009 in Turkey has not been a great one.

*** a few days later ***

Christmas happened. It was nice, low key, relaxing. Brunch with friends followed by a pot luck dinner at another friend's: turkey, stuffing, egg nog and yorkshire pudding. It was Yadi's first Christmas so we exchanged small gifts and he participated in the Christmas dinner. It was funny because he claimed that he could not tell his parents that he was at a Christmas dinner! Heathen!
I promise that next year I will be home for Christmas.

What's next? New Years!! It looks like we will be spending that at Ankara's very own Country and Western bar. Dinner and unlimited drinks all night long. Sounds like fun. I'll update you on an Ankara New Years in a few days!

The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

2009-12-22T10:59:00.000-08:00

This book is the follow up to "Shadow of the Wind" but it actually is set just before "Shadow". You will see many of the same places (The cemetery of forgotten books) and people (The Semperes), and, like Shadow of the Wind, it is set in Barcelona. The Angel's Game was an entertaining and fast read. It was gripping from the beginning and made me want to continue until the end to find out what exactly was happening. I finished it in two days. My only problem with the book is that you never really understand what happens - the ending was quite twisted and confusing and left me feeling unfulfilled. In fact, I don't understand the last few pages at all! What happened?!? Who or what is Corelli? Who was killing everyone?

I won't go in to much detail about the The Angel's Game because I feel that more than a little information may ruin the book for you. In brief, this book is about a writer, David, who is trying to find his way and eventually gets offered a lucrative, yet suspicious, offer from a mysterious French book publisher. As David begins to write the book he notices that something strange is happening, that there is a connection between himself, his book, and the home in which he lives.

Read the book and enjoy it, but it does not have a nice, clean ending like Shadow of the Wind did. Maybe there will be a sequel to this book which answers all the questions... one can only hope!

The Gaze- Elif Shafak

2009-12-18T07:57:00.000-08:00

This is the third book by Elif Shafak that I have read and I have enjoyed each book. Shafak is one of Turkey's most famous authors and one who has suffered for some of the things she has written.

The Gaze contains four stories: One about a freak show featuring hideous/beautiful creatures, one about a woman seduced by a "jinn", one about a Siberian explorer in search of fur, and the main story about an obese woman and her dwarf lover. In the main story we follow the woman's daily emotional traumas, her insecurities and her fear of being seen and eventually we learn the truth about her obesity and her realtionship with the dwarf. The book revolves around the idea of the different perceptions of beauty, desirability and ugliness, and the emotions involved with seeing and being seen. The Gaze is a well written book which starts in one place, tells the story, and ends up back were it started. There were a few things that were lost on me in this book, in particular some of the imagery, but it was a good read and I would recommend it.

If you've read it I would love to hear some of your comments.

Books of 2009

2009-12-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

I love reading so here is the list of books I read in 2009 (57 books so far). From now on I'll be writing reviews of the books I read because I am always being asked for recommendations.

1. The In Between World of Vikram Lall - MG Vassanji. This was a really great book about an Indian guy living in Tanzania. He is not African and not white, he is in between!
2. The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai This was a really sad book but really well written and and an easy read. It won the Booker Prize.
3. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer. Terrible book, don't read.
4. Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs. Do you want an easy read about murder and intrigue? Do you want it set in Montreal? Well... this is it!
5. Roots - Alex Haley. One of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down, I read it in 5 days and it's over 900 pages!
6. The White Tiger- Aravind Adiga Another Man Booker Prize winner The story of one man's journey from poverty to success... written in the form of a letter... filled with deceit!
7. The Way the Crow Flies - Anne Marie MacDonald This book was an enjoyable read but nothing special sticks in my mind about it. It's about a rape and murder in small town Canada army base and the after effects of it on the people involved.
8. Slam - Nick Hornby
9. The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman. I love this author and if you enjoy historical fiction you will also love her.
10. Animal's People - Indra Sinha Fictionalized story relating to a real life chemical explosion in a plant in India which left many people dead or injured.
11. Dexter in the Dark - Jeff Lindsay - GAG. Worst book ever.
12. Small Island - Andrea Levy Very interesting story about Jamaicans in England during World War two. A subject I didn't know much about but which was very interesting to learn about.
13. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi - Story about the civil war in Nigeria. Shame on me, I didn't even know there was a civil war in Nigeria so it was a very eye opening book.
14. The Sinner - Tess Gerritsen - Easy to read crime fiction. Gripping page turner.
15. Helen of Troy- Margaret George - I have enjoyed her books in the past but was a little disappointed in this one.
16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson - Translated from Swedish, this is a page turner about international crime, murder, and relationships. All good things combined in to one.
17. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger -Kind of a weird story about a man who travels through time and visits his future/current wife as she grows up. It's weird because she is quite young and he shows up naked.
18. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris - True Blood the TV show is based off of this, but the show is better.
19. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Apparently this book is a bestseller but I barely remember it. It wasn't bad but it just didn't have an impact.
20. Past Mortem - Patricia Cornwell - crime thriller, good beach read.
21. Deadly Decisions - Kathy Reichs. Another crime thriller, beach read.
22. Fatal Voyage - Kathy Reichs
23. The Russian Concubine - Kate Furnivall - A fun read about Russians in China, focussing on a young girl who falls in love with a Communist Chinese man. This book was good but the sequel was terrible.
24. Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The autobiography about a muslim Sudanese woman who escaped her arranged marriage and got in to politics - she was actually an advisor for the Bush administration. I really recommend this book.
25. Harelquin - Bernard Cornwell. Good, easy to read historical fiction.
26. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Steig Larsson - Sequel to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
27. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy. I had heard a lot about this book and it didn't disappoint. Not a happy book and a very strange ending!
28. Friends like These - Danny Wallace - Laugh out loud HILLARIOUS!! Novel about a man's quest to find his old high school friends.
29. Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith - Read the opening chapter and you will be hooked - shocking introduction. A thriller about Stalinist Russia and the spies who worked there.
30. Harem - Barbara Nadel - Murder in Istanbul!
31. The Cellist of Sarajevo - I didn't know much about Sarajevo before reading this book and I found it intriguing.
32. Coal Run - Tawni O'Dell. I don't remember this book at all. Sorry.
33. The Black Sun - James Twinning - Some kind of thriller.
34. The Turkish Diplomat's Daughter - So un-Turkish!! A book about a scandalous Turkish woman with lots of lovers!
35. Gomorrah - Roberto Saviano - A true account of the mafia in Naples... you'll learn a lot if you are interested in that topic.
36. White Teeth - Zadie Smith - I loved this book!!! It follows the lives of two wartime friends, one is British and one is Bangladeshi. The book focusses on cultural conflict, assimilation and perservation of culture.
37. The Bone Garden - Tess Gerritsen
38. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid A story about a muslim man who embraced America, worked hard for success but eventually turned against America after the September 11 attacks and the prejudices he saw in people.
39. Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore
40. Valmiki's Daughter - Shani Mootoo. A friend of mine lent this to me and I really liked it. The main theme from what I can remember is about homosexuality. A father hides his homosexual tendencies while his daughter embraces her own homosexuality.
41. The Girl from Junchow- Kate Furnivall. Terrible book. The sequel to The Russian Concubine.
42. Between the Assassinations - Aravind Adiga - This is a collection of short stories about life in India.
43. Lamb - Christopher Moore - A humorous book about Jesus according to his friend, Biff.
44. The Beach - Alex Garland - You know the Leonardo Di Caprio movie? Well, this is the book. Much better than the movie and a good book to read on a plane.
45. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood - a bit slow moving, but very well written
46. DeNiro's Game - Rawi Hage - The story of two friends in Beirut who follow different paths - one towards crime and the other towards escape and a new life.
47. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett. A long book but an easy read. This book tells the story of a priory in England, the building of its cathedral, and the people who live in the town.
48. 1984 - George Orwell - I had never read this book before and am glad I did. It's frightening but unfortunately, I don't think it is too far from the truth.
49. A Song for Arbonne - Guy Gavriel Kay - the story of two lands, one peaceful, the other war loving...
50. The Lazarus Project - Aleksandar Heman
51. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult. The end made me so angry!
52. Snow - Orhan Pamuk. A great read, focussing on religion and the head scarf controversy in Turkey. I really liked this book but you may not enjoy it unless you know something about Turkish politics/society.
53. The Last Light of the Sun- Guy Gavriel Kay. I recently discovered this author. His books are well written and fun to read.
54. Pompeii - Rober Harris. This book is nothing special, but you should read his book "Fatherland" - a murder mystery set in Germany after Hitler WON the war.
55. Dance with Death - Barbara Nadel - Murder mystery set in Cappadoccia, Turkey.
56. The World Without End - Ken Follet. Sequel to The Pillars of the Earth.
57. The Various Flavours of Coffee - Anthony Capella - a story about the history of coffee interwoven with love affairs and the suffragette movement.
58. The Gaze - Elif Shafak - A story about people's insecurities, the way we view others and the way we view ourselves. A novel about body image, men's opinions of beauty and society's views of beauty.

Post number one - Hello!

2009-12-17T06:50:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

I've been living in Turkey for the last two years and I realized that I've never actually shared any of my life with you. I'm not an e-mailer- I tried that in the beginning and after two, maybe three, attempts at e-mailing you my life story I gave up. Hence, this blog. I will share with you any interesting adventures, stories and insights from my life and discuss my greatest passion: reading!

Just to catch you up: I've been in Ankara, Turkey teaching English for a university preparatory school that we'll just call "A" for privacy purposes. "A" is an interesting and challenging place to work. In the words of one of my colleagues, the students are a bunch of little "punks", and the administration of the school is... no comment...

I live in a fish bowl aka staff housing. You may ask: "why a fish bowl?" and I shall explain. The fish bowl is a place where everyone knows everyone else's business, where you can hear the other people through the walls, where everyone is their own biggest gossip and where the negativity flows like a raging river. As a result of this, I have decided, in my third year at A, to steer clear. Nevertheless, I have made some good friends during my time here and have had lots of fun.

Life in Turkey has both its ups and downs. I'll start with the ups.

Benefit number one: Travel! "A" has great holidays and I get a week off every couple of months. Year number one saw me head to Egypt, Vienna and Prague and around Turkey: Cappadoccia, Mediterranean Coast, Istanbul and the Black Sea. Year number two sent me to Vienna (again: flights are cheap from Ankara), Budapest, Rome and to various parts of Turkey. Year number three has so far sent me to Frankfurt and Barcelona.

Benefit number two: Delivery services. You can get anything, and I mean ANYTHING, delivered to your door. Case in point: my boyfriend had a car wash service delivered to work.

Benefit number three: Turkish hospitality and food. The food is great although not super varied, and Turks are incredibly welcoming people.

Benefit number four: Turkish buses! Turkey is serviced by a large number of bus companies, ranging from fancy to sketchy. Busses are cheap, safe and comfortable and they will take you anywhere. In addition, they will provide you with cake, pop and a rather strange smelling cologne that they pour on your hands to refresh you. There are more benefits of course but these are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.

So what about the lows of life here? Of course there is loneliness caused by missing my family, Christmases in a place where Christmas is not understood, near death experiences every time you enter a moving vehicle, and the fish bowl effect but there are a few more things that I want to mention.

Bummer number one: Turkish men. Yes, I am dating one and he's pretty cool but you really have to be careful about who you give your phone number to. An example: Friendly Turkish professional. Well educated - check, own car - check, lives with parents at the age of 33 - check, multiple phone calls every hour - check, multiple text messages when phone calls not returned - check, "I think I'm falling in love with you" on the second date - check. Example two: Friendly Turkish fitness instructor. 40 missed calls and 20 text messages withing two hours of meeting me - check, English proficiency to the level of "You me darling?"-check, want to commit suicide after spending five minutes with him - check.

Bummer number two: Turkish food. Ok, I know I said it was one of the benefits, but seriously, a little variety would be nice. How about some Indian? Vietnamese? A decent burger?

Bummer number three: Shopping. Ever gone shopping and been followed around by someone acting as a shadow jabbering to you in Turkish and pouncing on everything you touch in order to fold it back up and promptly remove your germs? This is common not only in clothing stores, but also in the makeup section of the grocery store. I rest my case.

Bummer four: my students. I won't elaborate further. Spies everywhere!

This is my last year in Turkey (for now) and I feel both excited and sad when i think about leaving. I've had many great experiences, I've grown intellectually, professionally and personally (and probably physically) and I've fallen in love with a really fantastic Turkish man (who I hope and pray will join me in Canada :) )

What's next for me? I've been accepted to Royal Roads University's Master of Professional Communication program. It starts next October. For now I will continue to live in Turkey, develop my relationship with Yadi, and hopefully do some more travelling.

That's all for now.