Reintegration begins Now- And the Turkey Journey Ends Here

Ottawa Life Begins
It’s so hard to believe that just last Sunday I was strolling by the seaside in Uskudar with my good friend Nikki, absorbing the incredible view of Istanbul lined with mosques, palaces, and towers across the Bosphorus river. And now when I look out my window from the 5th floor of Ottawa’s West End, I see many bare trees, houses with spaces in between and gardens in front and back, apartment buildings and a bit of the Ottawa river. Winter has gone and there’s barely any trace except for the random chunks of snow in the oddest locations, the trees that soon will develop leaves and will make my neighbourhood look like a forest and the still somewhat chilly breeze, which isn’t so bad since the air is crisp and clean.

Re-adjustments
`Re-adjusting` hasn’t been so difficult so far. Well it hasn’t been even a week yet but I haven’t experienced major shock. All changes I’ve noticed have been minor: different keyboards, light switches, toilet handles, the variety and quality of beer Actually, the most major diff. has been the topics of conversations at the pub, ranging from the exteme (like a certain someone’s sexual escapades) to the mundane (anything to do with pop culture). Yup and I am definitely out of touch, and I kinda like it, not knowing the latest gossip on celebrities, shows, or whatever silliness is going on at the moment.

Canadian Politics
The only thing that I need to do some serious reading and catching up on is Canadian politics and I’d forgotten how much fun it is and how it comes up in many conversations- and oh what I’ve missed! Apparently, we might have another election coming up soon. Tonight Prime Minister Paul Martin will address the country and shed more light on how he plans to address all these sponsorship scandals. Anyway, if you are interested in the latest of Canadian politics and scandals you can read it here: www.canada.com

Turkey in Ottawa
I’ve gotten a few weird questions so far, but mostly people don’t know what to really say, so they don’t say much about it. An old Turkish friend called me last because he had heard I got back from Turkey. It was really cool catching up with a Turkish person and talking about locations in the city and country. I went to the Istanbul store at the neighbourhood mall of Lincon Heights and they had everything from those tutku cookies Nikki got me addicted to, to olives, sucuk, teas, coffees, jams, Turkish delights, tahin, nargile, evil eye jewellery, even borek. It is soooo great. I showed the owner the new Turkish lira that he was seeing for the first time. Now I’m on the lookout for Turkish people and concerts or parties.

I miss you all Istanbulies, trainees and host family!! You all made my stay in Turkey so fantastic!!

PS: I plan on putting the pics up on my website next week!