Loophole

Turkey recently banned blogspot after one person posted some copyrighted materials. Thus the reason that I haven't updated you all in a while. However, after midnight the site seems to work perfectly fine (thankfully, or else I would have to go far too long without my usual dose). So, I'm writing a quick post before the government can stop me (aka the morning).

It's snowing in Istanbul, can you believe it? Still, I'm over the original, overwhelming feeling that there is too much to see, too little time to see it, and that I have too little knowledge of Turkish or public transportation to figure it out. Despite the cold weather, I've been exploring different neighborhoods and trying them on for size. I really like the Galata area and found a delicious Turkish restaurant there that is essentially a woman's kitchen where you go and point to the pots of food on the stove to indicate what you'd like to eat. I thought I had asked for four different things on one plate and ended up with four plates of food (as you can tell, the language barrier is still an issue). Honestly, I've never been so well fed in my entire life. There are also a ton of antique shops and small cafes that look wonderful that I can't wait to poke around more. I visited the modern art museum and saw, for the first time, modern Turkish artwork (something that's understated in a land of ancient ruins and Ottoman palaces). Basically, I've just been getting more comfortable with Istanbul. It seems impossible to start, it is so easy to think that you could ever know something so big, so intimately. But I just had to begin pushing into it. One restaurant/bus route/museum/coffee shop at a time.

So there you have it, all that time without a post and nothing earth shattering to say, but this is the most important part. This is where the most work must be done. Becoming familiar with a place that only a few weeks ago seemed so utterly impervious. Making it my home.


------
p.s. I apologize for not posting photos. I haven't taken my camera out because I feel like an uber tourist, but  I will try my best to change that.