10 things I'm looking forward to

I'll be home on the range very soon. Well, not quite a range, but something with a yard and outdoor space with trees and plants around, possums in the trees and non-feral cats prowling around. The good old Burbs. There is nothing like them. Tranquillity and peace. No dolmuş tooting constantly and no endless traffic jams. Lots of things to look forward to, but here are my top ten so far.

1. Seeing my mum, dad, sister and two nephews

2. Drinking real soy latte's (weak ones, of course)

3. Jock's ice cream

4. Day out with my sister at Aurora Spa Retreat

5. Cups of tea and biccy's as mum, dad and me watch CSI or Law & Order

6. Driving on Melbourne's well made roads

7. Catching up with all my girls

8. Home cooked meals (that I don't have to cook)

9. The change of pace that Melbourne brings in every aspect of life

10. And, of course the long awaited arrival of our first baby

But to the upside, is always a downside, and there are certainly 10 things I will miss about Istanbul.

1. My husband :(

2. Summer

3. Köfte (Turkish meatballs), Ayran (Turkish yoghurt drink),Lahmacun (Turkish flat pizza), and all associated mezze or small dishes

4. Simit and tea for breakfast

5. The unique craziness that is truly Istanbul

6. Street food

7. Kendin pişir, Kendin ye (cook yourself, eat yourself) outdoor bbq gardens where you order köfte, lamb chops, chicken wings, salads etc and the bbq is bought to your table and you cook the meat yourself. No dishes! They clean up after you.

8. Cheap manicures, pedicures and blow outs

9. The beautiful Bosphorous

10. Shops open early until late, 7 days

Do you see what I see?

Isn't it funny how life can just start to change in the blink of an eye. It can put you on a path that's like a one way street where you can never turn back. It's exciting, the thought of the unexpected and new, but scary at the same time. 

I am on that road now as I hit my sixth month of pregnancy. I'm thrilled, happy, scared, worried, elated and getting bigger with each passing week. 

Today as I stood in the kitchen and looked down at my feet I noticed that I could see more of my tummy than my feet and it seems to be all so real now. I spent the first twenty weeks wondering if it was all really happening and worrying about what could go wrong but once I felt those little feet tapping the inside of belly, I knew it was for real.  

Becoming a parent brings up a million and one emotions, fears, thoughts, expectations and concerns but I am glad to be where I am now. We have played the failure, disappointment, patience, try again game for a while now so we are ready for what the next stage of life has install for us.

I'm going to try my hardest not to turn my blog into a pregnancy and parenting blog, but forgive me if I fail. Over the remaining months I'll be back in Australia blogging about life back home so I hope to have lots of fun and different things to share.  

Is it nearly over?

gorgeous image from etsy by abcdimages

I mean winter.

I recall having first worn my coat last year around October which means that I have been wearing it now for five, nearly six months. This was the case also in 2008-2009.

The last few days have been so pleasant and lovely. The weekend was glorious and the sun shone all weekend. On Sunday I walked from Yeniköy to my house, which as about an hour with a neck breaking hill right at the end. But it was so nice to be out feeling the sun on my back as I strolled through Istinye by the water watching people eat their balık ekmek (fish sandwich) freshly cooked off the back of a boat, children running and playing, and people out eating late breakfast while overlooking the Bosphorous. This is what I adore about Istanbul. These beautiful Spring days where you can smell the change of season in the air, blossom is blooming everywhere and days begin to stretch for that bit longer. 

Speaking of blossom, it is Sakura season, also known as Cherry Blossom season in Japan where people celebrate the arrival of Cherry Blossom. The season runs from January to June in various regoins throughout Japan, but most festivals fall between March to May.  

 image from google

image from google

During this season, each day Cherry Blossom forecast volunteers are out taking pictures of the flowering blossoms from all areas of Japan and reporting their finds to the authorities who keep a track of when and where certain Cherry Blossoms are blooming in order to plan the festivals and for travel agents to schedule tours.  

I would love to visit Japan during this time to see the Cherry Blossom and to attend a Cherry Blossom party, or Hanami 花見 "flower viewing" as it is known. People gather outdoors under Cherry Blossom trees to eat and drink and celebrate the season. Looks like fun!! 

No news is good news

This is my moto when it comes to local news. I have found that I am best off not reading the news as it either upsets or aggravates me, or bewilders me to no end.

If it's not Ergenekon, it's Erdoğan. If it's not human rights, it's honor killings. It's so tiring. Why can't there be at least one good news story of the day like the birth of a baby elephant in captivity or the like. It's all bad. Bad, bad, bad.

I really cannot recall a time when I read a light hearted non-political article in the news here. I can't understand how people can cope with this kind of news day in day out. It is depressing. People are gripped each day by what the press has to say and they are glued to newspapers, TV, internet news and current affairs in the evening streaming the "son dakika" last minute news of the second.  

So, for me, I'll stick with my news from Australia where I can at least read restaurant and movie reviews, stories about health, well being and epicure while living in ignorant bliss of all things newsworthy in Turkey.

Mind your business!

Last week while working away at my desk, someone approached me and said "I see your aknes" (I mean acne, but ak-nes is exactly what was said) while at the same time pointing out on their own face the exact location of my acnes.

Now, not much that comes out of Turkish peoples mouths surprises me much anymore, but I have to say, I was upset.  Hormonal, sensitive and upset.

I replied by saying "thanks for pointing that out because I didn't notice them myself as I didn't bother to look in the mirror at all this morning". But my sarcasm couldn't hide the golf ball welling in my throat which I swalloed away quickly to avoid the tears from welling up. I'm so over peoples straight rudeness. Where is the cultural sensitivity? Or is it all just one way here for the foreigners to follow?

During my time here, I have become accustomed to inappropriate comments and questions, and I accept that some things are very "normal" for these people to ask, but it still seems to shock me about peoples lack of boundaries and sensitivities, also bearing in mind that I am a foreigner and maybe such comments and questions are not the go. But I'm not sure they ever consider that fact.

Kilo aldın mı?, "did you take kilos?" 

Kilo verdin mi?, "did you give kilos?"

Kaç kilosun sen? "how many kilos are you?"

are all very standard questions that I have been asked and get asked by people in Turkey, not to mention questions about my salary, how much rent I pay or how much I paid for a house.

A few days later I was talking with the acne comment person and I told them that they offended me. I kindly tried to explain that that is one of the very big cultural differences between Turks and foreigners and that there are some things you can and can't say to people. But the more I talked about it the more I felt that they were getting offended. So I gave up.

So, tell me people, what is the most outrageous question you have been asked by someone, in Turkey or anywhere? There has to be something worse than the aknes comment.

Diet difficulties

Trying to eat and be healthy is never easy, especially for me who loves to bake!

My attempt today started out with good intentions, as you can see.

But quickly went downhill at dessert....

I baked last night and couldn't resist helping myself to my stash!

It's a tragedy, I know. That I can't even manage to blog a post here and there.

To be honest and provide a small excuse, my access to blogger has been down and I haven't been able to see anyone's blogs, let alone my own.

But, I'M BACK. You didn't get rid of me yet! Stay tuned.

It's been a long time....

I know, I know, it's been ages since I blogged. I think the last time was in November and I got caught up with my travel plans and excitement which took me off course from blogging. But the holiday is now over, so I should get back to blogging and report a bit about my time away.

I headed home to Melbourne on 12 December with a suitcase full of warm weather clothes, only to need to borrow my mum's flannel's and mocco's. It was certainly not warm times downunder. But it warmed up in the week leading up to Christmas and we had a few hot days here and there to warm the bones.

I had some great catch ups with friends and family. I took a couple of day trips to visit friends down the coast in Dromana and Phillip Island and stuck my feet in the sand. I don't think I've had that many bbq's in a very long time. There is nothing like a barbie at home cooked by your dad on his old skool barbie, i.e. not gas. It's oh so tasty.

Man I missed the food back home. I miss the massive variety and options when shopping and dining out. The quality of the produce is so fresh and easy to find. From Italian and gelato in Lygon St to Vietnamese in Victoria St to Sydney Road for middle eastern, nothing beats it.

We had a delish meal at Gingerboy for my sister's birthday which was asian food like I have never tasted and oh so yummy.

After Melbourne, I was off to Singapore for three days with my sister. Singapore is always great. It never lets me down. Great shopping, great service, amazing food and so easy to get around and do things. We ventured out to the best shop, Daiso. We went to the largest Daiso in Singapore, with something like 30,000 sq feet of everything for $2 a piece! Love it! They have absolutely everything you can imagine from stationary to storage containers, chop sticks to deodorant, chinese tea sets to table cloths, and asian food items to cleaning products! I walked out with two big bags full of stuff for less than $100 Singapore dollars. Love a bargain. So now I am writing letters on my stationary, eating lunch from my new lunch box and eating that lunch with my gorgeous chop stix!

So now here I find myself back in Istanbul, holiday over, winter and snow well and truly set in and dreaming of the warmth of far away places like Hawaii and Thailand. I really was not built for this weather. I find the cold so difficult to deal with, especially at temperatures around -4 which it has been this week. Although, it is still such a novelty to me to see snow falling as I never saw it fall before I came here in 2007. The landscape totally changes once a blanket of snow cover Istanbul. The trees look beautfiul and you can really see and understand where the hill in Istanbul are, especially from the 14th floor of my office building. Unfortunately, with the snow comes dangerous raods (and drivers!) black-outs, gas-outs (yes, our gas went off for hours on the coldest day!), slush and mud.

Foggy times!

It's pretty foggy out today. Check out the view from the 14th floor! Winter is certainly on the way.

I was featured!!

A little while back I was interviewed for the Gen X-Pat feature which runs each week in the Sunday Magazine lift-out that comes with the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper. I was thrilled to finally get my hands on a copy from the interviewer this week - and here it is!  You will need to click on the article for full view.