Owning Christmas Eve -- Istanbul, Turkey

Accommodation has been an up-in-the-air situation, as of late. As I'm accustomed to living space being less than stable, not knowing exactly where I'm going to sleep that night has only been a mild source of frustration. Especially because it's no one's fault and there isn't anything to be done about it. Umit's parents have been in town for the last couple of weeks, and due to doctor appointments in the city center, they've been staying in the flat near Çapa with Cesim. This means that after meeting with students in the city center, I need to make the commute to Beylikduzu instead of just walking back to Cesim's for the evening. This is an unfortunate extra hour on the metrobus, but it's doable. However, the surgery was delayed and the parents considered returning to Beylikduzu (they have more friends here) yesterday, so I washed my laundry and halfway packed my things, halfway thinking I'd be spending the night in Çapa.

Seher tried to call me at 11:00, but I was listening to Bublé sing about Christmas and didn't hear my phone. As I still have no credit, I couldn't return her call.

Damn. Back to the weird helplessness of not having a phone again. 
 
She managed to get in touch with me at 13:15 to tell me that Umit's parents had decided to postpone until Friday.

Okay... So... what now? I could stay here and practice yoga... paint... work on that laughter play. But I'm lonely and I don't want to spend Christmas Eve by myself in Beylikduzu. I'll catch the metrobus to the city center regardless and just come back later in the evening. I've lived here long enough to have a comprehensive "favorite" list for Istanbul. I can either mope around the flat, or I can own being independent at Christmas and go experience my favorite things on Christmas Eve. Yes. Doing THAT. 

So I went to the Blue Mosque, people watched, and ate roasted chestnuts in the square --

Walked across the bridge to Taksim, passing by the Galata tower and through a cute art gallery on the way --

Ate a small sample of pomegranate Turkish delight and bought some chestnut chocolate -- 

Bought fresh pomegranate juice on the walk back and stopped at my favorite city center café for an enormous cup of hot chocolate topped with a veritable mountain of whipped cream. 

Yes. Owning Christmas Eve.

The metrobus ride back was cramped and uncomfortable, so I put my earbuds in and tried to alleviate my claustrophobia with Regina Spektor. 

This is why some people listen to music so much... I'm creating my space right now. I can't handle the stimuli around me... people pressing in on all sides. I can't cope with his smell, her coughing, his hand so near my chest -- so I tune out to music and try to forget that anything else exists. It's like facebook. I can control who I allow to be my friends, the pictures I'm tagged in, what I see on my timeline -- music helps me to control my environment in a similar way.  

Seher, Umit, Ayse and Ökkü were waiting for me when I blew in the door, cheeks red with cold and ears ringing with Snow Patrol. We chatted for a bit, I ate a few bites of some Turkish rice pudding, sketched the outline for my next postcard and then stumbled off to bed. I had arranged to wake up early Christmas morning and Skype my family, and I couldn't wait to see their faces again.   

I haven't been this excited for Christmas morning since I was seven and still thought Santa might bring me a pony. I turned the volume up on my phone. I will NOT sleep through my alarm, I told myself as I pulled the duvet up to my nose. When I'm recovering from illnesses or am overly tired, I have a tendency to sleep until my body says I'm done. 

I will NOT sleep through my alarm, I repeated adamantly, trying to store the information in my subconscious. You're waking up at four o'clock, Bourget. So you can make sure to get everything with Skype sorted on Umit's computer. 

I woke up every hour until four. I'd blearily rub my eyes, check my phone and -- 

four more hours...

 

two more hours...

one more hour...

I hadn't spoken with my family in over two months. I was excited.

When my alarm finally went off, I jumped out of bed, pulled on my linen pants from Morocco and charily stepped out of my room, careful not to wake the slumbering Öykü. 

I nearly stepped on this package: 

I unwrapped a green sweater the color of my eyes. 

My Turkish family is just the best. 

 After making a cup of coffee, I opened my email account to let my mom know that I'd figured out Skype and would be ready to go -- 

 -- but found a message that read: 

"Jason does not have ability to Skype from his house.  Can we plan for tomorrow night?" 

Oof. Couldn't they just drive down the road to --? Ach. No. Not worth it. Okay.

"ha... okay. Tomorrow at eight pm your time. I`ll wake up at four am then, too. ;) Goodness. Merry Christmas! I love you guys. Talk to you tomorrow."

I finished my coffee and went back to bed. 

At least I rocked Christmas Eve.