rebecca soble

A little of this, a little of that… a roundup of the last month-ish. Mostly working … a fair bit of walking … not enough knitting! Now that the weather is nice, all I want to do is sit outside in parks or outdoor cafes, watching people and ferries come and go and KNIT KNIT KNIT. And drink tea.

My work schedule is now at maximum (24 teaching hours plus travel time) but since all but one class is 1-1 students, every week I have a cancellation or two that eases the load. I’ve been walking to and from work more often now that the weather is warm. It’s about a 40 minute walk total over easy terrain except I’m still befuddled about the correct etiquette for passing people on the sidewalk. The rule seems to be “The foreign lady should step off the curb into the street while the three turks walk down the sidewalk arm in arm with 17 bags completely oblivious to anyone else on the sidewalk”.

A few weeks ago Emrah and I rode a new ferry (for me), from Beykoz meydanı to Yeniköy, and then had a nice twilight walk to Istinye and back. I took a picture of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridge, keeping the shutter open extra long because of the dark. And then we drank some tea.

Last weekend it was raining, so after giving up on a plan to go to Camlıca, we ended up at DenizAtı Cafe above the Kadıköy iskele (ferryboat terminal) reading the newspapers and watching the ferries. I worked on the crossword puzzle – in Turkish – and actually got five answers! The problem isn’t understanding the clues, which are relatively simple to read, but thinking of ANOTHER word that means the same thing. Emrah helped me with a few but I don’t think he’s crazy about crosswords, so I let him read the paper. And we drank tea.

This was a while ago, but a couple ex-students Zafer and Tuba (in photo) came to my place and cooked lunch – spanish omelet. We drank tea juice. Also, on the 6th Emrah and I went to a dinner party in Sultanahmet, the 25th wedding anniversary party of a couple friends of mine. We drank champagne, ooh!

Below are a couple of the things I’ve been knitting recently. First, a set of cute coasters for my boss’s birthday. They’re from the Mason-Dixon ballband dishcloth pattern (see Mason-Dixon knitting in my rather short blogroll to the right). And a pillow sham I’ve barely started, using some turkish patterns I found on the internet. I got the yarn for that from the Yarn Han in Eminönü, on a shopping expedition with Anne. The yarn for the coasters came from my local yarn shop – they’re starting to get to know me there, which means they don’t feel the need to follow my every movement while I’m in the store. Every time I buy something, they say goodbye with “güle güle kullanın”, meaning approximately “go and use it happily”.

Good news, the aquarium is alive again! This time the fish (5) are a bit smaller, Emrah replaced the gravel with a more natural variety (his theory for why the original fish died), and I’ve put in a few more plants to give them places to hide and play “obstacle course”. I’m not 100% sure fish like playing obstacle course, but I would if I were a fish.

I still spend a fair amount of time absorbing news from the internet, and I like to keep up with long-distance friends via livejournal and facebook. Whenever I look at facebook and find myself feeling envious about particular aspects of other people’s lives, I contemplate how they undoubtedly must feel different on the inside than they seem from the outside. Everyone has the mundane moments of doing laundry, the difficult moments of personal relationships, the occasional moments of extreme personal angst, right? Yeah, they’re running marathons, doing aid work in Africa, and designing their own knitwear, but for the most part, most people have pretty normal lives, right? Is it possible that my 87.8% mundane life seems interesting to other people who only see it from the outside? Is it possible that I’m living my life okay even though I’m somewhat unsocial, rather scattered career-wise, unmarried and childless, and a bit pudgy, given that I’m also mostly happy? Is it okay that I’d rather knit and drink tea on a sunny afternoon instead of collecting trash while scaling a mountain, rescuing kittens or doing a million other possible good deeds? Can making breakfast for my sweetie count as a good deed? Sometimes I wish I had an overarching purpose for my life, like Al Gore with his slide show, so I could feel useful to the world and less worried about wasting my time here on earth. But on other days I think it’s okay to be just a normal person, living as millions of other normal people do, never to make history or even a really exciting facebook profile. And the fact is that no project has come up yet that makes me want to give up knitting, walking the streets, people watching, and drinking tea.

None of these questions are rhetorical, answers are wanted. And, especially, from what you know of me (assuming you are a friend reading this), what kind of life-project could you imagine me taking on? Inspiration wanted.

Registration for commenting has been temporarily suspended as I await your answers. Big hugs to everyone. XOXOXO Now, how about a glass of tea?

I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. I’m really excited about your campaign and its possibilities for the future. I’m one of the hundreds of thousands who have contributed to a political campaign for the first time because of you. I’ve searched for your name on YouTube, I’ve read every NYTimes editorial and listened to every public radio podcast about your campaign, I’ve counted delegates and pondered superdelegates, I daydream about who you might choose as running mate, secretary of state, attorney general… I’m amazed that there are still people in this country who aren’t yet convinced you’re the best candidate, by far.

But imagine a typical someone: mid-thirties, unmarried, in relationships time after time only to be disappointed by each one in turn. One lover cheats, one can’t let go of earlier commitments, another is completely self-absorbed. And all of them eventually lie. So when a new flirtation comes along, it’s perfectly natural to feel some apprehension along with the attraction.

That’s just how I’m feeling now. And I imagine a lot of people, of both genders, feel similarly. I’m hoping with all my heart that you become the Democratic presidential nominee, and that you subsequently kick major Republican backside in the general election. But here’s some advice for afterwards, to help keep the tarnish off the delicate relationship you will have started with the American people.

Don’t be a politician, be a government representative. Of course the Democratic Party and a lot of other factions will have helped you achieve your goal of the presidency, but never forget that your post-election responsibility is to ALL the people of the country. When you make decisions, make them for civic, moral, and honorable reasons, not political ones. In a recent New Yorker article about New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer, he replies to a question about moral guidance by saying “… the toughest decisions and the right answers to those tough decisions are still the ones that you come to when you just sit down and you say, ‘O.K., what are we trying to do?’ What are the right moral values to guide it? Ignore all the politics. Ignore the screaming and shouting.”

If you really want to change Washington, you will have to ignore the inevitable screaming and shouting that will come when you push against the status quo. Instead of talking politics, develop the 21st-century equivalent of FDR’s fireside chats and communicate directly with us, clearly, honestly, and often. Encourage the American people to get educated about the issues, not by preaching or drowning us in details, but by teaching and leading by example. In a recent interview with Bill Moyers about her recent book “The Age of American Unreason”, author Susan Jacoby said that the President’s responsibility would be better defined as “Educator-In-Chief” rather than “Commander-In-Chief”. When you embark on a new foreign policy agenda, show us the map, introduce us to the people, give us the background and the perspectives. For health-care and other domestic issues, talk to us clearly about the pros and cons of various approaches and explain your choices. Show the American people that conservation equals patriotism, consuming less does not mean giving in, and a State of the Union address can be as gripping as an episode of American Idol. Give us an avenue for feedback other than polls. Then, when you need support for change against old-school politics, come to us. From your mouth to our ears and back to our Congressional representatives. You’ve been saying that it takes working together to accomplish meaningful change, and that will continue to be true after the election as well.

Change the Bush White House of Secrets and Deception to the Obama White House of Openness and Truth. Renounce the unconstitutional Executive privileges the Bush White House has procured and exploited and bring our government back into balance. Remind Congress of their responsibility to demand accountability from all areas of government and encourage their investigations on behalf of the American people. Ferret out and squash the activities that have been going on in our intelligence and military operations that have caused us to lose the respect of the rest of the world. Publicly take action against the use of torture tactics, eradicate Blackwater-type mercenaries from our military, act in accordance with the Geneva Convention, and close Guantanamo Bay. Reconfirm that, in this democracy, we are all indeed equal under the law. Last but not least, in your cleaning, scrub deep down into the fluorescent halls of government agencies like the FCC and the FDA. Remind them of their mandate to work on behalf of the people of this country, not the business entities. Get Congress to help you, and the people will help them.

Finally, in regards to the idea of “re-branding America”, I know you’re the best one for the job. We need to reinstate confidence in American values around the world and show the rest of the world that we are one of them, and willing to listen as well as talk. Help yourself by finding as many equally hopeful and dedicated diplomats and public servants as possible, people who are wise to the ways of the world without having been jaded by them in the process.

I know this is a really tall order, and more than anyone should expect from a new affair. Don’t worry, we understand change doesn’t happen overnight, and we can be patient. But from “Day One”, you need to show your commitment in this relationship, and prove that you’re serious about working with us on this change thing. I’ll vote with my heart, then hope, watch, and wait for your call to join in.

It’s spring here, how about where you are?

People here in Istanbul like to ask me how their city compares to New York City, and in some ways they’re very similar: both the primary cultural center of their country, where the intellectuals, artists, and people with alternative lifestyles choose to live, both the most politically liberal and ethnographically diverse city in their country. In terms of geography, Istanbul is a huge sprawling city, which people might say is also true for NYC if you include the outer boroughs and the bedroom communities, but is definitely not true for the island-bound, vertically-growing borough of Manhattan. But the primary geographical feature of Istanbul is the Bosphorus, the strait that delineates the border between Europe and Asia, and splits the city in two. The Bosphorus is the reason for Istanbul’s existence, is a huge part of the beauty of this city, and is, transportationally speaking, a permanent challenge for Istanbullus needing to traverse from one side to the other. I personally choose to ride a ferry instead of a bus whenever possible. Here’s some pictures I took yesterday when Emrah and I went to Eminönü to buy an aquarium!

This pic is taken from a ferry that looks very much like the one in the picture. Seagulls follow the boats and passengers will throw scraps of bread in the air to them, watching the birds dive and swoop to catch the pieces. Yesterday was a windy day so there were some noticeable waves and I got a little damp sitting outside, but what’s the fun in sitting inside on a ferry?

Another pic from the ferry, showing the Asian side of the Bosphorus bridge in the distance with one of the typical ocean-transport ships that follow the Black Sea to Mediterranean route through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles.

This picture shows part of the European side of Istanbul in the background and in the foreground is some massive equipment that is currently digging a tunnel across the Bosphorus. One year ago it was a lot closer to Europe, now it’s well on its way to Asia. I like this picture because it shows Istanbul as the industrious city that it truly is. Many photos of Istanbul show just the historical parts (which are of course magnificent and definitely deserving of photos) and the business/industrial side gets overlooked. This is the real Istanbul.

Before we got on the ferry, we had to cross through Kadıköy where many of the ferries to Europe leave from (they also go from Bostancı, which is closer to my house, but the Sunday schedule from there is much more limited). Yesterday, the traffic was horrible (on Sunday!) so we got off the minibus and walked. After a little distance, we realized why the traffic was so bad: a major street had been blocked off for a demonstration. There were police everywhere and people were taking advantage of the opportunity to walk in the streets rather than on the narrow sidewalks. Down by the flag you can see the rally was put on by the TKP (Türkiye Komünist Partisi) but the main theme was people protesting against the current ruling party (AKP) and their pro-Islamic leanings. According to this news article, the slogan of the gathering was “No to headscarves, no to the AKP!”

Before we went aquarium shopping, we paused for a typical outdoor snack: I’m having cheese toast and fresh-squeezed OJ (kaşarlı tost ve sıkma portakal suyu), Emrah is having cheese and spicy meat toast with tea (karaşık sucuklu tost ve çay), and, unfortunately, his ubiquitous cigarette. Emrah told me yesterday that he wanted his own web site, so I made him one. I have no idea why he wants it, but he seemed happy with the result. Go visit!

Finally, the newest residents of my apartment:

March 27, 2008 update: All the fish have died. I’m really sad about this and the living room feels empty when I walk in, but I don’t think I’ll get any more fish, I can’t figure out what killed them all (one by one) and it’s too hard to try to communicate about it with fish sellers.