Turkeyness

Hey Guys
So I'm finally in this small little town called Decemko (pronounced dechemko) near Izmir in Turkey. I left India yesterday in the morning absolutely wasted. (Thanks Aman for taking care of me). Like, I remember in one moment I was singing and dancing and in the next I'm at the airport and Aman and Massi are telling me to puke into a Plant because I had to catch my flight. He was forcing down dirty shots of coffee and lots of Snapple.Aman was constantly on the phone with Anya (Who was also freaking out) OMG!! I must have given them such a heart attack. My massi luckily was working at the Oberoi's, so I got an airport representative to take me inside. I had no idea how I got my bags checked in (or did I?). That guy was killer - I think his name was Neeraj or Nagraj.
I still dont remember how I cleared the security and emmigration. I remember that Neeraj guy telling me to fill up an emmigration form, only I know how I held that pen and wrote my name on it. Lol..What fun!! So finally when I reached the lounge, sense came to me and I sobered down. Guys you need to do this. Get on a flight drunk. Lol. Still cant get over it!!

So anyhow, when I got on the flight the stewards were all Men, but you already know that because I just called them stewards. No females! My plans to pass some time with the ladies bombed and I just slept through the flight. The food was not surprisingly Shit! My flight had to land at 9:15 am in Istanbul, and I had a connecting flight to Izmir at 11. My flight actually landed at 9:30 and by the time I came out it was 9:45. I knew I was dead. The immigration line was HUGE. And I mean HUGE. I asked people for help, but no one knew English and told me to fend for myself. I died. I knew I was going to miss my connecting flight in a country whose language I didnt speak. I just had it then. I made the sorriest face you must have ever seen, had a tear in my eye and jumped the que saying "I dont know Language, i will miss flight..boo hoo" Quickly got my passport stamped and made a run for the domestic terminal. Checked in and before I knew it I was of to Izmir.

During the flight, the scene was really breathtaking. And I'm not even joking. The Landscape of turkey is very hilly, (loads and loads of hills) with lots of lakes thrown in. Its like we were traveling on mountain tops. Its sunny with a cool breeze blowing. So very green and CLEAN. The women are really pretty and everyone has green eyes here. The people are gorgeous! They have this bronze tan, well built, all thin, with short hair and green eyes. The women are Fair with long flowing straight blonde hair. Im actually surpirsed they're not walking the ramp. FYI, I love green eyes, so I was staring at everyone like a letch.

I landed at Izmir, got my money changed and headed off. When I exited from the airport, I had no idea what to do next or how to reach Dilkili. This is where my adventure started. And boy, what an adventure!!Before I left the airport at Izmir, I asked the help desk how I could reach Dikili. They told me to catch a bus from outside and go to the Ottogar. Two questions, where is the bus stop. What the fuck is Ottogar.Actually three questions, How much does it cost? I really took these things for granted back home, but this was a completely different ball game. After asking nearly 6 people, who thought I had lost it, I finally found the bus stop and then went to the Bus Station (Ottogar in Turkish). When I reached the Ottogar, I was asking for Dikili.

After waiting for half an hour, the bus to Dikili finally came and I put my luggage onto the bus and got in. I thought we'd buy the ticket inside once we've started. This ugly looking man comes and starts screaming at me telling me get off the bus. He kept speaking in turkish and all i could do is shrug my shoulders. This other lady pointed at a kiosk and said Ticket! Ticket!. And I was like Oh!! Thats what u were saying. So I got off and asked the guy for a ticket. He started muttering something else. I lost it this time. I shoved the money in his face and started screaming. DIKILI DIKILI!! He shouted back and told me to leave. By then, my bus had started reversing and was going to leave. I knew I was dead for sure!! The bus had my luggage, my money, my passport, everything. So i was basically going to be raped really hard. I ran and stood behind the bus, "Ab toh aar ya paar", My bhangipanti actually saved me. The guy got off, took off my luggage and left.

I went back to the kiosk and started asking him for a ticket again. Thats when I found my saviour. He asked me "Do you speak English?" And I was like "HELL YEAH!!" He spoke to the guy behind the counter and told me that the previous bus was full and that I had to buy a ticket for the new one and that he was on the same bus so he could help me out. FINALLY!! I thought, someone who can save me. He told me that he was going to this town called Candarla (Pronounced Chandarla) for an audition for playing the guitar. Killer guy he was. Just passed outta high school, chilling. His name was Bekhtir, or soemthing close to it.

Once I got on the bus, The ride to Dikili was beautiful, Between these hills were lakes and beside these lakes where beautifully coloured houses with people laying on the beach. The olive trees growing everywhere, the conifers(Surprisingly!) It was Awesome. By the time I reached the Ottogar in Dikili, it was 6:15. I had to reach my resort. The funny part is, that i did not know whether there was anyone to meet me there, or whether there was even a conference going to be held. For all you know, they canceled it last minute and I'm stranded in this beautiful, but scary place. Once I got down, I asked for Decemko from this shop. The middle aged women did not know what I spoke, and I did not hers, but I asked for Decemko and said Otto (Figuring out that Otto had to be bus). She said Saat and made a seven sign. Saat actually means time. I sat in her shop till then. She gave me free food and drinks and just smiled at me. It was so interesting that for me to even ask her how far Dikili is from Decemko, I had to draw this diagram and ask her for the distance. She then called her son, who wrote 10 km for me and smiled.

The bus finally came, I got on. The bus took 3 Turkish liras and played Turkish Songs. By the way, Turkish songs sound like a mix between Bhangra and arabic music. Damn interesting.

When I was appraoching Decemko, I knew this was it for me. It was late and If I couldn't find the Decemko Holiday Resort, I was doomed. The driver dropped me off randomly at this one place and told me to search for the resort on my own, because he did not know what "Holiday Resort" meant and I did not know how to say it in Turkish. So I got off with all my luggage and started tugging it aimlessly. When I reached this one random resort, I asked for the Holiday Resort and asked whether this was where the Climate Advocacy Institute was. She coldnt get me at once, CLIMAX!! but then smiled and invited me. I knew I had reached. I no longer had heavy boots. My adventure had ended, or infact had just been taken to another level.

This other American woman came down from upstairs and said "Oh Samar, we've been so worried, we realised too late that u had to come, we sent a taxi for you, we even had announcements at the airport, we thought you were lost." And I just said one thing "It was worth it"
Dikili and Decemko are at two ends of the bay overlooking the sea. There are green hills behind and a sea infront. A little warm with cool air blowing. No really, this is how I saw Turkey. Even though I havent seen alot of countries, Im sure that this has to be the most beautiful place. You dont know what to get awe struck by, the people or the scenery. My resort is on the beach. The people are nice and life couldnt get better. There is a wireless connection with a speed of 500kbps. So all I do is sit at the beach with my lappy and when i get bored I read a book with this beautiful scenery infront of me.

I miss my hindi and chat pata food, but sometimes you need to go away from somethings to realise its worth.

ALOHA!!
:D :D

Dear Diary..

"Can I lower your berth?", asked the old man as he shook me out of my not-so-deep sleep. The train was to arrive in one hour and there was already a lot of hustle bustle at eight in the morning. I was sleeping on the middle berth and everyone was awake except. of course, me. For people who know me, would also know that they ought to stand at least ten feet away when I get up and shut their ears while they're doing so. The profanities, screaming and grumpiness are barely enough to express my disgust. As you must have realised, I'm not really a morning person. In no mood to shout, today was the man's lucky day. I didn't want to start my first day in Mumbai on such a bad note. Yes, you got that right. A seventeen hundred kilometer journey from Delhi to Mumbai, a sixteen hour transition from my past to my future.Here I was, ready to let go and move on. The train chugged into the station. It was forty five minutes late.

As I tried to tug my juggernaut suitcase out of the train, while balancing my red airbag and my guitar, I saw my mother waving at me with her huge Makavity cat smile, without the evilness of course. After one cup of tea and a vada pao, we were off to my new home, Navi Mumbai is what my mother told me, someplace called Seawoods.

The moment I entered the house, my dog had her paws all over me, greeting me in her own warm manner. I love it. She had aged, but had grown more graceful with the years. An uncanny adjective to use for a dog I thought, but it was true. And here I was, at my new home, breathing the humidity, sweating like a pig, unpacking my suitcase and my mind for a whole new world.

And before I knew it, I was on a local train to Colaba to meet my other Delhi friend who had come down for a day. Even though I knew virtually nothing about the city, I felt I had to show her around, considering the fact that I am technically a local now. My mother told me to buy first class tickets as she dropped me off at the station, "or else you'll get raped in second class." Not the best choice of words, I told myself, But I got the picture. Being the notorious adventurer I am, I bought a second class ticket and was on my way to the Victoria Terminus, or is it the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus? Indians and their obsession with changing perfectly decent names. "The biggest Sex change in the history of mankind", is what my father called the terminus. Anyhow, coming back to the story, 'We were like packed sardines', is an understatement to what was going on in the coach. At the peak hour rush, with a second class ticket, I knew I invited death for a cup of tea. But I tolerated and reached, alive and thankful.

"Cafe Montegar", I ordered the driver as his taxi started. That is where I had to meet my friend. Trying to show the driver that I wasn't a lost soul in this gigantic city, I started discussing names of routes, streets and places with him, (of which I had a very faint idea of course) obviously in vain. After making a fool of myself, I payed the man twenty two rupees and made my way to the cafe. She was standing their, flirting with the waiter trying to get a glass of water. "Some things will never change", I smirked to myself and met her. "Hey, how about some beer or coffee", I asked her. But she had other plans in mind. I should have known - shopping.

Having spent an hour at shops, I finally convinced her that we had to head to Marine Drive to watch the sun set. It was beautiful and calm. Two words that could sum it all up for me. The gushing winds, the sun diving into the sea, the people on the queen's necklace, it was all so surreal and I took it all in. After walking on the pavement for a while, we decided to grab some dinner from Piccadelli, known for its Hommos, Shawarma's and Filafel. Eating dinner and eavesdropping on a conversation between people we thought were gangsters from a local mafia gang, we knew dinner couldn't have been more perfect. We were wrong. The mint tea and the blueberry cheesecake did the trick. I now have a new name for chocolate Ecstasy - Theobroma.

Colaba to Seawoods wasn't exactly close, so I had to say my goodbyes early and catch the local again. After experiencing the 'terrors' while on my way to the Terminus, I obviously bought another second class ticket on the way back( I never learn, do I?). But it wasn't too bad this time round. I found seat, rested my head on the wall, plugged in my headphones and before I knew it, was fast asleep and reached my station. Walked home, met the family and came online. This is where I experienced the highlight of the day. I received a letter from an organisation, congratulating me on being accepted in an institute in Turkey for a three week course, on complete scholarship. I went numb. Absolutely numb. After the Goosebumps, the numerous heart attacks, I finally let it sink in and jumped around the house screaming like a maniac waking everyone up in the middle of the night. With my parents ecstatic and my twin already making a shopping list to send with me, I realised this was real and was happening to me. I hope I havent jinxed it by writing it down here. Touch wood!

The uncertainties from the past gave way to a brighter present and a better tomorrow. My anxieties found new comfort, and the first paragraph of the next chapter in life was written. Such is life, with one door shut, many more open. A cliched and banal statement, but its so true for this moment.

As I write this piece, my other friend in a village in Sarguja, Chattisgarh is writing an article to be published in Tehelka. The same friend who did not know where her life was going 2 weeks back and knew she could never become a successful journalist. There is so much to learn from this and more. Hard work does pay off and hope is something that is real and is now. Life shows its colours in so many ways, its how we absorb and reflect those colours is what determines the course of our life.

Today. I am Happy.

.........

It was over. As the final bell rang and I placed my pen on the table. She took the paper from me and I smiled at her. As I packed up my things, I breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally", I said, "Its over." And what I thought was happiness, was suddenly hijacked by this sense of poignancy. No, my paper wasn't too bad, seems as if I've been praying too hard and someone's been listening for a change. As I stepped out of the hall, that anxiety kept growing, the smile seemed more fabricated and my mind flummoxed. I knew it was the last of my exams, but I also knew that these were my last steps here, my last high fives, my last chai at the tea stall I thought was my second home, the last time out of the gate.

"Life is merciless", I thought to myself as I realised the inevitability of time. Trying to hide my sorrows behind my laughter. I couldn't grasp the situation, I still can't. It was one of the most overwhelming experiences of my life. You really can't live this life again. Here, where everything is taken for granted, where you know people by name and they know yours. As another chapter closes in your life and the page turns, your story shall reveal a new twist. The hourglass has been inverted and as you try to clench your fist to catch hold of the last particles of sand, they melt away into memories.

Memories, you can't live without them, but then again, you can't live with them either. They give you strength to move on and then hold you back. I'm standing at my crossroads now. It sounds cliched, I agree. Its where I go from here with the handful black and white thoughts I possess. These sound like random ramblings. My eyes are heavy and my mind is numb. I leave for Bombay tomorrow, to start afresh..........Words fail me today. I can just sit, pray and watch.

One more thing....

    like really

  where were u all day

  i just listened to jaane kyunnnn

  and like i thought of u

and remembered that i miss u

  coz obviously that's our song

  so like yea

  that's all i have to say

  oh and one more thing

  ajj tau maine us ko suna di

  line par aagagya

  aur one more thing

  i made amazing pasta today

  a little more amazing than urs im certain

                    and one more thing

 
 

   

  the gym was amazing today3.56miles baby

  and ek aur

  I LOUVE YOU!