Not every entry a piece of art.....

PREAMBLE (SHAMEFACED): I have to accept that if I am to blog I cannot make every entry equivalent to an assignment for my creative writing class. The problem is my model blogger is my (ex) wonderful creative writing teacher from Chester (ex teacher, not ex wonderful) who writes inspirational and artistic pieces every time. I am more mundane... But short can also be good : another of my lessons for life, as anyone who has heard me recount a funny story will know (lesson not yet learned).

The International Women of Istanbul (IWI)  printed a piece of mine in their magazine about my very first day in Istanbul and it reminded me, as I edited it, that our family has really come a long way since then. The thing that fascinates me about opening my eyes and ears in a new country is the way that everything startles your senses - everything you smell, touch, taste,see and hear makes you feel alert and alive - although its not always pleasant. You cannot believe it will every be commonplace and form the well worn backdrop to your more stable inner world.

On my first morning in Istanbul I was overloaded with the unfamiliarity of everything - from the higgledy piggledy buildings with barnacles of air conditioning units stuck to them, to the shape of the bread and smell of the Bosphorus winds. It felt as though my whole body was being reprogrammed to some new scheme. Nothing was familiar or could be done on auto pilot - buying water, how to post a letter, where to buy a phone and how to use it.... Every small purchase or objective achieved was a challenge - sometimes a triumph , sometimes a knockback disaster of frustration. 

This reminds me of Raffy sniffing the non meat shepherd's pie I whipped up from an Unidentified Frozen Object (probably soya mince) this evening, while trying to watch Obama's inauguration. It was a new concept reflected in both my cooking and the 'remaking of America'- a combination of known elements  (tomato salsa, mashed potatoes) with unknown consituents (the UFO) into a wholly novel dish. Every faculty was awake to this new sensation and informed a discerning opinion from my youngest son : 'this is disgusting'. 

Hopefully the verdict won't go the same way with the new US President.