Moving south, Canada recap

Just a few days before my move south o' the border and I'm feeling that pre-move stress, as well as avoiding the whole packing thing till the very last minute. I'll be breakin' it down again to two pieces of luggage, a pretty monster-sized upright and a backpack.

For the most part paring my possessions down for a long-distance move isn't difficult for me, except for one category--books. If I had my way I would bring along a whole library and have nothing else in the house but shelves and shelves of them, along with a cozy reading nook by the fireplace with Turkish carpets, gigantic pillows and a nargile. Instead I'll be narrowing it down to a handful of volumes so that I don't receive cold stares from the passengers behind me and the airline desk staff while I shuffle my books around and into my carry-on in an effort to bring my luggage back under the weight limit.

Returned from Canada earlier this week. So here are some photo highlights from the trip:

View from atop Whistler

Tinikling (national dance of the Philippines) at the musical "Celebrating the Harvest"

Tugboats at a Fraser River dock

B.C. Parliament building in Victoria

Harrison Lake

Queen Elizabeth Park

Towers

Towers of boxes and bubble-wrapped masses surround me. Finally, most things are in a box or bag or bucket or trash can or any other container that can be stuffed. I suppose the one positive aspect of moving is it makes you want to simplify--get rid of all the non-essentials that just build up in your life. I plan to cut my wardrobe by at least half as well as my shoe collection. I'm not a very big shopper but I've still managed to acquire way more than I need. Maybe it's the Taurus in me. But at least I can say that I have much less than I did when I moved from the states. At that point, a couple of my friends from Peace Corps came by to help and hang out. I was getting rid of 6 bags of clothing and tons of shoes as well as camping equipment (which was the hardest to part with). I came to Turkey with just 2 large suitcases and my laptop. (ok, I guess it's only fair to mention that I did get charged for having too much weight, but damn that's only because of the massive bottles of JD's).

My mother-in-law and her friend help pack in the kitchen

Now, outside of clothes, I think we have way too much kitchen equipment. In this flat we were spoiled with a full-surround of cabinets to put it all in. In fact, we still had empty space. But in our Istanbul flat the kitchen is much smaller and storage is severely lacking. I can't blame myself for all the kitchen stuff though. Most of it was given to us for our wedding especially by my mother-in-law. I'm not ungrateful. I just begin to question the point of it all after wrapping my 200th plate or trying to find space for the third Turkish teapot.

I'd really like to just get the truck today and be out of here. I hate the feeling of being in limbo. I guess it's a good thing I'm not Catholic because purgatory would be worse than hell for me. Alas, we must wait till morning. In a little bit Ev will show up. LUcky him! He got to skip this whole ordeal and be in Istanbul. Really, Damn him!

A Crisis of Boxy Proportions

Monkey on the Magic Shelf
Originally uploaded by bursajane

Oooef, Mr. Shelf Monkey! How am I supposed to pack things when I have no boxes?? Why is Cemalatin Bey not bringing them? We asked him weeks ago and have been reminding him ever since and then declaring that the matter was URGENT because the time was near. Now the time is this weekend. The moving truck will show up on Sunday morning. Is it any wonder that moving is on my top 10 list of Least Favorite Activities?

I returned from Istanbul yesterday evening. Yesterday was my interview at the newspaper. Things went well or I suppose they did since I got the job. The whole thing was very informal as all of my past interviews here in Turkey have been. We went and had tea down in the cafe. There was some small talk. I asked some questions. Emrah Bey glanced rather halfheartedly at the application form I had filled out and asked a few questions about my work history. Then we went back upstairs to the newsroom and I introduced myself to the other editors. I sat with them for awhile and bombarded them with questions which they were all very good about. Then they showed me the editing platform that I would be working with. After that I went to find Emrah B. and see if there was anything else that I needed to do. He walked me back down to the entrance and the driver brought me back to Ev's office building. Ev and I stopped briefly at a car dealership to shop for his work car. Then we raced off to the Yenikapi ferry terminal so I could catch the 2:30 back to Bursa.

Extreme Mind Shifts: Portland to Istanbul

So now that we’re slightly past the shock and awe of rejection, we’ve made a new plan. And out of pure necessity we’ve made it fast–we have to be out of this flat by the end of the month. The vision is no longer a move to green Portland, OR, but one to hyper-metropolis Istanbul.

We have lived in the green city of Bursa at the foot of the Uludag mountains for the last year and a half. I like this city and not just for its well-known abundance of trees. Bursa has a feeling of peace and easy-going. I can drive the streets here without feeling as if every trip will be my last (as is true for me in Istanbul). This past winter I got my intro to snow(butt)boarding in the Uludag mountains. These mountains are not of the height of my Sierra or even San Bernardino peaks but they are still the tallest in Turkey and it has given me topographical comfort to have them towering above me.

The streets of my neighborhood have the steeply rolling effect of those in San Francisco. Everything I need is in short walking distance. I can buy fresh fat peaches, a slab of meat and hot bread right across the street! A bus stop lies about 30 feet from the front entrance. My favorite restaurants are a mere 2 blocks down the hill. From our penthouse flat, we have wonderful views of the city and the green zone (which is an area of trees and fallow fields in a non-development zone).

Yes, I will miss Bursa. It’s where I grew into Turkey. But I’m also ready for a change. Istanbul offers a wider array of career options as well as great Turkish language schools (which are unavailable in Bursa). I wish I could skip the whole moving process. It’s on my top 10 list of least favorite things. Ooef, need to find boxes.