The Reason I haven’t been writing any entries and An Update

     Every few days I have a notion of concocting a blog entry out of something, only to be at a loss for inspiration and put it off. This cycle at some point turned to a curiosity about why I don’t seem to have anything to report anymore. Still not certain about the reason, I think it might be that I am no longer in ‘travel mode’ but ‘living mode.’ My life in Istanbul is really unbelievably idyllic, in part because I really am just living here, instead being in the constant state of discovery and surprise that I was previously. Public transportation has become routine, I know what I like to eat and where I get it, I know what’s what and where it is, and how to go about what I would like to be doing.  

     My past weekend here I think exactly parallels what it would have been had I been enjoying a summer at home with minimal obligations. On Friday after class I went with a Greek friend to a hamam, the preparations for and recovery from which comprise an entire afternoon. I went home and napped, then headed out for a night dancing with my Peruvian friend and her classmates from another Turkish school. Of course, exactly the same as at home, I had to be a little hoodwinked into the situation.  I had been told there was a rembetika band they’d like to see and we’d get some drinks.  But many many hours later we were still dancing with the old Greek men and young hip Turks and I was thrilled to be there. I spent Saturday with the same Greek friend, her Turkish boyfriend, and their friends from college. We rented a boat and cruised the Bosporus, eating watermelon and going for swims. On Sunday I finally relaxed, grabbing breakfast with my American roommate, mozying over to the Greek Patriarchate to catch the end of mass, doing internet errands in a café, watching cartoons with my Turkish roommates.

     This weekend, I think, is pretty much what it would have been were I at home, but Turkish.  Thus, no real revelations or mishaps to report. Even going to the hamam was a comfortable familiar experience this time.

Probably my blog will resume soon though, as my summer enters its next/last phase. My two months in Istanbul end this weekend when a friend from home, Kerry, will come. We will travel together via Lesvos to mainland Greece, from where we will fly to Paris. In Paris, Kerry will go on to England, while I’ll meet a friend from middle school, Kami, with whom I will spend two weeks making an as-of-yet unplanned circuit of/jaunt through France. We will begin and end in Paris, and probably hit at least Geneva (not France, I know, but close), and Strasbourg.

     Then, finally confirmed, I will be headed to the southern Swedish peninsula of Blekinge, where I will live and work on a farm, of sorts. The organization WWOOF sets up exchanges for volunteers to come to organic farms and work in exchange for housing and food. My host, David, is a beekeeper, and I will be learning a bit about his trade, living in the renovated boathouse, and picking wild berries and mushrooms with his primary school-aged children. I’ll stay there for two weeks or so before taking the short train to Copenhagen, where I will explore for a couple days until my flight home. (Home! Home.)

     I wasn’t actually interested in going home at all, until very recently (I left home some 4 and a half months ago). Three weeks ago I realized I was halfway through my stay in Turkey and panicked a bit, not at all nearing ready to leave. The result of that was that I developed a firm intention to come back to Turkey, as soon as just after graduation. With that comfort in place, I stopped panicking, and began looking to the rest of my summer. Including going home. Perhaps now that I have a date, and a plane ticket, I’ve begun to allow myself to look forward to it. It’s all in flux, though. Once I’m on the move again in a few days, home might regain its place as a distant, non-urgent eventuality.