I Met Dad!
Once I had a girlfriend in the States whom I had met one October. The December of that same year, we went to her parent’s house out of town and met her parents and her little brother. That night I stayed in her room, in the same bed with her. We had no intention of […]
East Just as Stunning, Hospitable in Winter
Spring finally is arriving in Anatolia – and the travel season begins. But let’s not forget that traveling in Turkey in the winter can be enjoyable, too. Below is an overdue post on traveling in East-Southeast Anatolia in late January. Keep it in mind for next winter — or any time of course. (Also, Palandökken […]
If I were a Romanian…
Like Turkey, Romania seems to dance with its mixed identity in a way that is at once intriguing and not quite sure of itself. It has warmth and hospitality and many of its people have olive and latte colored skin. But to call it Mediterranean would be like calling Louisiana the Caribbean. It has a […]
A Life Experience I Thought I’d Missed
Teaching English at a Summer Camp at Uludag (A faint chant starts in Turkish somewhere in the back of the dining area, with its views of the mountains below. It grows slowly louder, until all the dinner tables erupt into the climactic chorus:) Gel-e-ce-gin yil-diz-lar! Yil-diz-lar! The nostalgic chant reverberates through my head as I […]
The Gold Standard
There is a classic Seinfeld episode where Jerry, not knowing what to get Elaine for her birthday, gives her cash. Elaine: Cash? Jerry: What do you think? Elaine: You got me cash? Jerry: Well this way I figure you can go out and get yourself whatever you want. No good? Elaine: Who are you, my […]