Ezra Mannix

The aryan nation rears its ugly head here in strange, subtle ways…

hile toothpaste!

Below are samples of news briefs that I am charged with editing. The English is…um…very peculiar (and written by a senior editor!)

Diyarbakır (IHA) — Diyarbakır anti-smuggling and organised crime bureau police confiscated 8 million 123 thousand cannabis roots within 3 raids they staged. 9 suspects who were taken into custody ,were convicted in the court.

A mother whose name has not been identified yet , was taken into custody in Karsıyaka district of Gaziantep with the accusation of torture on her own little children .The mother is alleged to have stuck hot porks that she heated , on the skins of her 2 and 3 years old kids and to have burnt their clothes .It was reported that the relatives hearing the children crying with pain and fear , saved them from the mother’s hands at the last moment.The mother was restrained but she was later released by police since nobody testified against her.

Adana — Republican Peoples’ Party ,CHP ‘s deputy chairman and Istanbul parliamentarian Kemal Kılıcdaroglu stating Kurds should be allowed to constitute private newspaper and TVs peculiar to them , added: “ PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party ) must lay down weapons so that a solution for Kurdish issues then can be provided ”

Van —- Military activity in east and south-east regions which inclined up with spring is still ongoing.

Last evening , a convoy consisting of 18 martial vehicles including armored ones to accompany the convoy , set off towards Hakkari after getting loaded in Van .

I got a job. Don't you ever forget.

My perspective on my life in Istanbul is in total flux right now. I am at that point where I am no longer a fresh off the boat newbie in this town. My mind has raced ahead to me being fluent in Turkish and fully understanding the culture, but alas, it will always be a long time before I get there, and that is frustrating in this gotta have it now culture. I want to download the knowledge, the Turkish, directly to my head in the next few days…BOOM…as John Madden would say, I am fully acclimated! Acculturation takes time.  Hey! I have only been here two full days!

I applied for a job at Berlitz language schools and I was given a test as to my English skills. I think I passed. I would be a hopeless person if I was not able to pass this sucker. Still looking for digs. My friend Doa was nice enough to take me in for a little while, and I sure do appreciate it.

Yours truly is using this opportunity to explore new areas of the city I have never seen. I love seeing places that I have been to before from a new angle. It is almost better than plunging into a new city altogether, because you have the oppurtunity to have your notions of certain areas of town disproven. Take the area of Besiktas for example. I thought it was a very westernized area. Then my friend who I had dinner with said there weren’t a lot of places to drink beer in Besiktas and…well…if that is not a warning sign of non-western i.e.  “Islamic!!!!” culture, then I don’t know what is. WHERE IS THE TGI FRIDAYS?