An Unexpectedly Great Day

I love those days where you have nothing special planned, but things spontaneously happen to craft your schedule into an enjoyable one. I don't mean that some massive party erupts, or there is some huge groundbreaking discovery on any given subject. No, it's the occurrence of little things that can make a day special.

Yesterday was one of those days. I had planned to spend it in one of the several Starbucks near my house, doing a myriad of things that needed to be done. However, I was joined after about an hour by my friend, Robin. After some pleasant chat, we decided to head out - out to visit the famous Istanbul Modern, museum of modern art. I have wanted to see it for some time, as the massive collection of art was one of the reasons Istanbul was named European Capital of Culture for 2010.

The sun shone brightly, and a mild breeze swept through the city; the weather was impeccable. We walked down the hill towards Tophane and the Bosphorus. It was a spectacular walk, the mosques having a grandoise effect on the area. Here is also home to a huge nargile park, a collection of places were people congregate to smoke narghile.

The museum was fantastic. There really is a lot to see there. Plus, it was free on Thursday!

After the museum, we took a walk through Cihanger on our way to Taksim. Cihanger is the foil of my neighborhood, Tarlebashi. With it's manicured walkways, quaint cafes, and upscale crowd, this part of the city was very strongly european. I actually caught a few dog walkers here as well - something rare in this city of strays.

After this, I headed home to cook a very late lunch/ dinner. I needed a few ingredients, so I stopped by the corner store right next to my house. I was welcomed warmly by the shop keeper, a poor Kurdish man with a large amount of children (I highly suspect multiple wives!). I'm a regular fixure there, always needing something small. Today, as I gathered the things I needed, an old woman I have seen occasionally came it. She was covered, clearly a devout Muslim. She beamed at me, exclaiming, "Merhaba, canım!"(Hello, my dear!), and gave me a huge hug. I was rather surprised, but also touched. What nice people I have enountered here!

After chatting for a bit with my slowly improving Turkish, I made a rather fantastic meal, if I do say so myself. Feeling inspired, I continued with my culinary activities: making an apple struedal cake - to great avail. Delicious!

I finished my book on the cultural re-education of China after satisfying my appetite, letting go a few tears in the process. Finishing books, especially when the story is so fantastic, is both exhilarating and heart-breaking at the same time. I love to be lost in a story.

I then began to do some research on an aspect of Turkish culture brought to my attention by some male students. I am going to write an essay about it, to be posted shortly. The subject is fascinating to me, though it fills me with anger. I read for a couple hours, copying and pasting quotes, checking data, getting sidetracked into other topics. I enjoyed this immensely - the wheels in my head were really churning. A great feeling.

Robin came over later, for some cake and wine, and we discussed a bevvy of different things. We called it an early night, exhausted from our work week. Though I work only 29 hours, with preparation, travel time, and the awful split shifts (10 - 2pm, 7-10pm : not enough time for me to go home!) I working over 60 hours. It's a long week, that's for sure.

Anyhow, what I intended to be an easy going, relaxing day, actually filled itself up with nice little things. I fell asleep happy, and feeling good about life. The little things can really make all the difference in one's life.