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August 17, 2017 In Lazy Letter

Lazy Letter: The Soup

We were on our way back home, to the village, and Marzi was behind the wheel. The plan was to get back home before it got dark, but the sun had already set about an hour ago. My grandma recommended this thermal pool near by, three hours away. So we decided to take a daytrip, enjoy the landscape and relax in the hot pool. It was the perfect idea, and the views were priceless. Mom was taking the backseat.

We weren’t hungry, it must’ve been for the weather, and that we were surrounded by new tastes and smells. I had an urgent craving for Ash-e Dugh. It’s some type of traditional soup with wheat and chick peas and yogurt drink. You can add meat if you want to, and some garlic for taste, but I’m not sure which green herbs they put in; I need to ask my mom some day. We should’ve traveled all the way to Astara to have a bowl of the real deal; I once ate this soup there when I was very young; can still taste its sourness in my mouth. We couldn’t travel to Astara, but lucky for us, this neighboring town also had a reputation for its hearty Ash-e Dugh. We took a half tour around the town to see if we could find any restaurants, or some kind of buffet which served the soup. There was none, and it was late enough to make us give up. We’ll have it another time, another day, we promised ourselves, although there was a chance it might never happen again.READ MORE

August 15, 2017 In A Moment Longer

Restroom Obsession

I had a friend named Tunc. He was not really a friend, we worked together for a short while. He was very tall and skinny, long thin nose, pale skin and dark hair. His two front teeth were slightly overlapping, lisping a bit as he spoke. He had a slim pair of glasses sitting on the middle of his nose which he had to rearrange every now and then. He was weird. Very weird, actually. One of the weirdest people I’ve ever met. I didn’t get to know him that well, to be honest. He was out of his job in about two months.READ MORE

August 5, 2017 In A Moment Longer

The views

“I could see the apartment from here” I looked more carefully “couldn’t I?!” I squinted a bit and tried to find the window of the apartment.

I can clearly see the terrace of the bar of that hotel, I thought to myself as I sat back at the table.

The views are not the same.

August 5, 2017 In Lazy Letter

Lazy Letter: Tough Life

I have already sent you text messages, and have fully updated you with the flood of bad news on my end. But I thought I write all about it anyway. I’m not even sure if you receive any of my letters anymore. Lots of thoughts have been running through my mind, and I’ve been disgusted for so many times. No wonder why my concentration level has dropped down to almost zero.

I’m still in here in town, and there’s no trace of much-expected visa. This is ridiculous, knowing that the program starts tomorrow, and my passport is still empty. I can’t leave, time is dropping me behind. I’m now so far away from the reality I envisioned for myself. Feels like I’m trapped, although I’m still the most liberate person I know. I was walking to the embassy this morning, to see if they could change the date of my appointment. They said over the email that the next available date isn’t until six weeks later. Isn’t that ridiculous?! The woman also said that it’s my fault if I don’t have the visa by now. You should’ve come with your documents ready, she said. I couldn’t complain how uncooperative she was, why she didn’t accept some of my documents in the first place, and that she could’ve registered my application in their system while I gathered up the papers she asked for. She could’ve told me to come back tomorrow instead of making me arrange another appointment. I think a part of me was scared of her. She works at the embassy, after all, she has the power to do almost anything at the moment.READ MORE

August 2, 2017 In A Moment Longer

One Minute

“Your phone is ringing!” Ertu said as he pointed to my phone on the table. I saw the bright screen glowing underneath my wallet. I picked it up. It wasn’t an incoming call, it was outgoing–my phone had ringed someone. It called my dad, and fifteen seconds had passed already. “Hello, hello” he was saying. I said hello to him. It was exciting to hear his voice.READ MORE

July 22, 2017 In Lazy Letter

Lazy Letter: Thunderstorm

The rain was so mad, we had no other choice but to run. We were on our way home. It was pouring on us. It started mad and lasted long, even an hour after we got home. Hard to believe it was happening. How long did it take us to reach home, I wonder. Rather early in the morning, people were on their way to work, the day has just started. Only a bit floody and rainy and thunderstormy. The rain was now feeling brutal.READ MORE

July 15, 2017 In A Moment Longer

Paper

I gave Olga a pen and a piece of paper. That’s the only way how to entertain a seven-year-old. “But what do I draw?” She asked innocently.

“Anything you like!” I answered.

“I could write you a letter.”

“That’s the best idea. Please do!” I was delighted.

She sat there for a few minutes, going through ideas and thoughts she wanted to write to me about. She didn’t write a word.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” I asked.

“I don’t know what to write in my letter.”

“It could be anything. Anything at all.”

She rested her chin on her hand and looked into the space in front of her. She was thinking. And she was very puzzled.

“Do you know what a letter is?” I asked her.

“No.” She said honestly.

July 13, 2017 In Lazy Letter

Lazy Letter: World Run

I was at an insurance agency. I was preparing the documents for my visa. The check-list was almost entirely ticked, and the insurance was the last item. I’d saved the easiest one for the last, but things didn’t work out the way I’d expected. Neither the travel insurance, nor the visa, I ended up waiting for days stressfully. It will never be easy I guess, not as long as I hold this passport.READ MORE

July 10, 2017 In Lazy Letter

Lazy Letter: Canteen

The seminar that I told you about happened yesterday. I found it very informative, good thing that I went. I hesitated in the morning, as I woke up, and wondered if I really needed to attend this event. I’d promised my uncle the day before, and made sure I’d be in the conference hall of the Ministry of Petroleum before eight. It’d look terribly embarrassing if I didn’t show up. Well, good thing that I went!

It was exactly the type of knowledge I needed at the moment, loads of information on a whole other channel to feed my inspiration; my creativity needs a big pinch of salt at the moment. The conference was about oil spill and ecosystem science, and how to prevent the disaster from becoming a tragedy. Each expert explained different aspects of the subject. Pictures of the largest oil spills were shown, facts were told, cases discussed, questions asked and in the end, we were all illuminated that the truth is way deeper, far more crucial than we thought it was. It wasn’t just about the fishes and turtles and the workers of the platform, you see, it was about the shores too far away from the incident to be counted as “damaged”. The environmental impact is infinite. The oil floats on the water, and kills the living creatures wherever it goes. We, the human beings, don’t feel like we are a part of this world, and we’re still acting so alien to the Planet Earth. Still haven’t realized that this is our Planet Earth, and we should stop damaging it constantly.READ MORE

July 8, 2017 In A Moment Longer

Him or her?!

I turned right to the hallway, to the ladies room at the end of the aisle. I wondered if it was the same dog I saw the last time, wondered if he was still alive. It wasn’t, it was a different one this time. And he was napping, I’m not sure if he was dreaming. I’ve been to so many public bathrooms, not as filthy, still disgusting enough for a dog not to sleep on the gray dirty tiles of the public bathroom of the Park. He was pretty, a very pretty dog. What was he doing there?

7.Jun.17 – Ankara, Turkey