Sunday morning statistsics: freshly showered, back in bed, coffee in hand, cozy apartment inside, whiteout/low ground fog outside with a chance of snow threatening... What else... let me see. What am I forgetting? Oh yes, the BIG protest happening in downtown Gaziantep this afternoon protesting NATO & the Patriot missiles that are our new neighbors...
Yes, how could I have forgotten. Of course Solo_ojo and myself are curious (as we were in Tunisia as well)... AND Settar's lovely rambling villa is just oh-so-close to Demokrasi Meydani... At any rate, we are heading to Settar's for some breakfast and a little something something in the coffee. Ahhhhh it's so great to have the weekends to flee this 'normalacy' of living here.I have a rather restless beat here in Gaziantep...
But I digress- back to today's protest du jour. As an anthropologist, it is nearly (entirely) impossible to ignore this gathering. I mean, I have to go. What is unfortunate is that the world of protesting seems two-fold these days; to have turned into this reason for bored peeps to go and cause trouble. I can already envision the kids there that will be throwing rocks at 'the others' not knowing why they are doing so. It's a rite-of-passage of sorts perhaps? A topic of conversation at school the following day? Well, most certainly the topic of conversations at school, any school, will not be homework or reading for pleasure...
I'm not really sure what this post is about yet, but I see a trend here, so I will continue on... Yesterday morning I went to the local mall here (ugh), Sanko Park. We went early because we didn't want to witness loads of people mindlessly spending their money on crap made in China- well I did anyway. We went to the 11:00 am showing of "Life of Pi". How wonderful a job Ang Lee did directing the movie. Fantastical images that I conjured up while reading this book 6 years ago sequestered away in a (then fairly remote) valley called Kabak on the Aegean, well they were delivered onscreen with the movie adaptation. My point (I think) being that upon entering the mall at 10:30 am on a Saturday morning was like seeing an empty nest, and heading out of the theatre at 1:30 pm was like witnessing a bad dream of people just taking their money and lighting it afire. It was so crowded and it was like zombie-land. I mean, I get quasi-infected with the spirit as well when I put myself in the situation- which is why I never put myself in the situation to go to Sanko Park I guess. Admittedly, I have a tast for things which generally aren't made in China... unfortunately this means I spend more money.
So it's the new year according to the Gregorian Calendar. This means out with the old and in with the new? Sometimes. I know I've been infected with this spirit and the wheels are spinning. There is so much in motion inside my cranium at this time, but I'm not ready to let it go, or flow from my keyboard onto any documentation just yet... I will happily 'assume the position' and continue on my journey until... Portugal!
Yes, as any expat knows, vacations are essential to our sanity. Of course this is the case anywhere, but it's especially important when living abroad I have decided. It's so necessary to get out of one's head. As a (at this time) single entity, vacations are key because it's just you- you get to decide anything and everything. Not your family, not your work, not time- just you. ~You make the rules, and this is awesome. So soon I put on my backpack and throw my Canadian Goose Down sleeping bag inside (affectionately coined "my husband" by Major Pain") and go.
Where I sleep, I don't care. I want the ocean. I want the ocean to fill me with currents that have traveled the world only to crash on the beach that I will sleep on. Well, it is wintertime, and it will be cold so it's likely I won't be doing this every evening... Doesn't matter. I follow a different beat.
My only concern is that of my love for... BOOTS! I know I won't be able to get away without discovering a pair of must-obtain boots. There are a few other items on my list, but most I won't be able to take away with me. As a side note, my favorite pair of boots have been recently purchased right here in SE Turkey in Karamanmarash.
Back to following a different beat. I always have. It didn't matter back on Maui about this beat because everybody was on similar beats as mine. Here it is quite different. Many peeps doesn't know how to react to my beat. You also have to realize that you can't change anyone else's beat. With this in mind, you don't even want to. Everyone moves at their own tempo as it's called a 'comfort zone' and just respect and it's all good. What is respect is the question? Everyone also has a different attitude about respect. Normal, right? Anyway, I dig my beats.
Sometimes the beat is lost, and you have to find your way back. Sometimes you have to make adjustments to compensate for a lost rhythm, or dropped beat. Sometimes when you get outta your mind, you realize you were living according to someone else's beat, and that you don't really enjoy that beat on a continual basis. It's a cacophony of dead beats according to you. When this happens, it's a fine line. You can either just turn the volume down and continue to be quasi-bothered by this beat, or you need to run. Run with it with precious knowledge that you will in fact get back to your style of rhythm. Ahhhhh yes, go for it! I'm going for it! I found my beat again! This beat needs to be nurtured by all that is amazing and spiritual and mysterious and and and...
Onward. Time to make a move out of the beat of this bed- this warm, comfort zone where the most amazing coffee is served. Time to beat it, pick up the tempo and start thinking about heading downtown where I will witness folks of yet a different beat. A beat I am curious about. A beat unfamiliar to me in a sense, but I understand the beat. A beat I want to know more about. It is the beat of human will that fights for its right to demonstrate (hopefully) peacefully against things out of their individual controls, yet collectively gains strength in beat. I expect a heightened BPM today.
over and out
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