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18th November 2009 tamam	??? - From: yağmur yağıyordu Maşa, I don't think you'll ever be able to convince me that I like winter...
18th November 2009 tamam	best of luck - From: yağmur yağıyordu I hope the thesis is going well. Turkey is ready for your return.
18th November 2009 Nick	Yaz - From: yağmur yağıyordu Heya, this makes me miss turkey, that walking home photo. Life back home is pretty absurd. Good news is that it looks like I will finish this thesis within a few months. All the best!
11th November 2009 Masha!	- From: yağmur yağıyordu See, it's not all bad! Whiner butt.
10th November 2009 tamam	- From: yağmur yağıyordu çok teşekkür ederim! evet, Bahariye'nin sokakları kesinlikle çok güzeldir. nasılsınız?
9th November 2009 zari	beautiful - From: yağmur yağıyordu tekrar senin yazılarını görmek gözeldir özellikle sizin eve doğru geden caddeyi görmek
18th October 2009 tony g	must dos - From: A city full of boats. Read your blog. Gonna be visiting my son after the 27th of the month. Staying at the Ambassador. Got any must dos for my wife and I?
14th October 2009 tamam	Maşa's visit - From: A city full of boats. Yes, hurry over here. Tickets are cheaper than ever...
14th October 2009 gamze	:))) - From: A city full of boats. happy to hear all these!! :DDDD
13th October 2009 Masha!	- From: A city full of boats. WE NEED TO VISIT!! Also, I'm petrified of teaching next year... I really hope that my experience turns out nearly as well as yours seems to be (regardless of the difficulties) and that I learn to look at pitfalls as philosophically as you are... And I miss talking to you.
29th September 2009 Christie Mustico	Our 3 Sons - From: scattered glimpses The Rochester moms just love seeing glimpses of their favorite boys having fun in exotic places. Thanks so much.
28th September 2009 zari	hi - From: scattered glimpses thank you Jim for your warm hosting , are you getting used to your work . Hope you enjoy it. take care zari
28th September 2009 molly	- From: scattered glimpses That sunset it incrediblleeeeeeeeeeeeee
28th September 2009 Masha!	- From: scattered glimpses I've missed you very much :)
23rd September 2009 tamam	almost a month... - From: İstanbul Oyuncak Müzesi I have plenty of photos and things to write about, but I'm still waiting for internet access at the new pad...
9th September 2009 Masha!	- From: İstanbul Oyuncak Müzesi Mmm K it's been almost a month now :)
25th August 2009 tamam	the tube - From: İstanbul Oyuncak Müzesi gel beraber Oyuncak Müzesine gidelim...
21st August 2009 mehraneh :D	:) - From: İstanbul Oyuncak Müzesi Benim vardı The tube dan, uzun zamandır gormemiştim ve gorunca yine çocukluğumda olduğu gibi heyecanlandım :), kutunun içinde bir suru film şeriti vardı ve çok yaratıcıidi :)
10th August 2009 Sue Kuras	Happy Birthday! - From: Otuz. Happy 30th Birthday, Jim!!! It is nice to know that you are beginning the fourth decade of your life "scrubbed clean from head to toe". Enjoy! Love, Mom
9th August 2009 Masha!	- From: Otuz. O tuz in Russian means 'Oh Ace!' (as in cards)
7th August 2009 tamam	welcome - From: before mom went back across the ocean... I hope that you will be able to visit Turkey someday. It is a lovely place. I also hope that I can visit Indonesia someday. Regards.
7th August 2009 tamam	thanks, Gamze - From: Munchin' please, edit away. you have years of work ahead of you, canım...
7th August 2009 bayu	who want help me to visit there - From: before mom went back across the ocean... wow,i'm indonesian. . . . . wish can get there. . . . GOd,please
7th August 2009 Gamze	god bless you!! - From: Swine Flu! i am happy that you overcame that illness!! thank god you are with us HEALTHY and happy! :)
7th August 2009 Masha!	- From: Munchin' Thank you for the plethora of English this time around :) You're making me jealous and hungry, neither of which could be helped right now.
7th August 2009 Gamze	glad to have you back in turkey Jim! - From: Munchin' i am addicted to your blog :) and as far as i can see i am getting more and more famous in your blog! the second video of mine broadcasted here! :) your turkish needs some editing but it pretty good! welcome to turkey back again! :)
7th August 2009 Sue Kuras	Happy 30th Birthday! - From: Munchin' Have a wonderful 30th Birthday Jim! Missing you! Love, Mom
5th August 2009 Masha!	- From: temmuzluyoruz. New entry please thanks!
19th July 2009 Natalie	- From: temmuzluyoruz. I wish I could understand this entry! I get some of the endings (from what you taught me), but not much. Anyway, I hope you are learning lots/having fun in Turkey. I miss you back here in the states! I've been trying to learn how the guitar works, and also the uke. So far so good. Maybe I'll record some songs some day? Who knows.
13th July 2009 tamam	- From: temmuzluyoruz. Maşa, you'll just have to get your Turkish sorted out.
13th July 2009 Masha!	- From: temmuzluyoruz. Like writing mostly in un-English so I can't read it :p . I'll just go pout in a corner.
10th July 2009 tamam	? - From: temmuzluyoruz. like what???
10th July 2009 Masha!	- From: temmuzluyoruz. Fine, be like that! And I got all excited too...
9th July 2009 klima	glad you are well! - From: temmuzluyoruz. Good to know you are back on your feet again! Hope you are enjoying the time there (looks like you are!) Hot here in Dallas - it will feel like 110 degrees today. I left Prague at about 65-70 degrees - this heat will take some getting used to! Dr. Klima
7th July 2009 Mary	swine flu oh NO - From: Swine Flu! Jim so sorry to hear about your unwanted mistress, hopefully you have ditched her 4ever.
4th July 2009 Masha!	- From: Swine Flu! OMG OMG OMG OMG JIMA!!!! OMG JIMA!!!!! Holy crap don't pull these kinds of shenanigans anymore!!!! &$&^$^%#&#^&#^%#&*$&^%%^#%$@@#$!@!!!!!!!!! THAT'S RIDICULOUS! You shouldn't make me worry like that, don't you know it's a bad idea? :-/ Never let a Russian woman worry... Oh jeez, I need to talk to you now to make sure you're OK for real and not just because you wrote a witty entry. HOLY CRAP JIMA!!!!
3rd July 2009 Christine	My Goodness! - From: Swine Flu! Oh Jim! I am glad you pulled through such misery! That is so crappy! My mom read your blog and just kept shaking her head saying, "Oh, that poor, poor, thing!" I do love reading your blogs (even under such yucky circumstances), and I especially enjoyed your creative letter to H1N1. I hope you continue to recover and hope you can accomplish all things things you originally intended to accomplish during your visit. Best Wishes! Christine
3rd July 2009 Mom	:) - From: Swine Flu! I am the happiest mom on the planet! Thank God you beat it, Jim. I love you!
22nd June 2009 Mary	about time you added something - From: sixty minutes and counting... Hi Jim Hope everything is going great for you. Hope you have had a chance to spend some time with your girlfriend.Remember to come back next Fall.
21st June 2009 Masha	- From: sixty minutes and counting... YAY
19th June 2009 Masha	:D - From: aught eight I am so excited to read these again!!!!
18th May 2009 tamam	- From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) Thank you for your response. The figures from the source you provided clearly show that yes, Prizren is overwhemingly Albanian (though, to be fair, after more than a thousand years of diverse inhabitation, the utter purity of anyone's ethnicity in the region is questionable - but your point has been taken - a vast majority of Prizren's citizens identify themselves as Albanian). We both agree that Turkish remains widely spoken in the city even though the Ottomans left generations ago. This demographic information is not really important to me, though I understand that it has unfortunately long been considered very important to people throughout the Balkan Peninsula. Perhaps with time, such attitudes will eventually soften. I only hope that last year's long overdue severing of Kosova from Serbia will contribute to greater peace and cooperation in the region. I wish for a prosperous future for all the people of Kosova, regardless of how they choose to identify themselves.
29th April 2009 Ardit	Response to tamam - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) My knowledge of the demographs of the population of Prizren is from first hand experince of Prizren and from the fact that my family lived in Prizren. I can assure that that there are not that many Turks in Prizren they are actually a very little minority in Prizren. The reason why so many people in Prizren speak Turkish is because a the Ottomanization of Prizren during Ottoman occupation. Most of the Turkish speakers in Prizren are actually Ottomanized Albanians. Here are the demographics of Prizren scroll to the bottom of the page. :) http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Prizren
8th March 2009 tamam	response to "Misinformed" - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) It certainly is a lovely place. My experiences, during my very brief stay there, confirm that there is indeed a large presence of Turkish-speakers, many of whom identify themselves as Turks. I was able to converse not with everyone, but with nearly everyone I met there, in Turkish. Still, I have no reason to firmly defend the source that I used, and I am not implying that you are incorrect. Where did you get your population figure from?
5th March 2009 Ardit	Misinformed - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) "(I heard that 75% of the Prizren population is Turkish, but I'm not positive about that figure)" Is a huge mistake. Who ever told you that information was very mistaken. Albanians make up more than 81% of the population. I am glad you enjoyed your stay in Prizren. Its a beautiful town with a lot of touristic potential.
8th February 2009 tamam	- From: Splashin' it up in Skopje and Surfing Sofas in Sofya (Balkan peregrination, part 2) I'm sorry to hear that she got sick! Hopefully enough time has passed that it is remembered as a rather funny story now...
Manny and Jennifer 1st February 2009 The Steiners	Oops! - From: Splashin' it up in Skopje and Surfing Sofas in Sofya (Balkan peregrination, part 2) Hey, we ate at Oops! when we were in Sofia and my wife was starving as usual and had to have pizza. Well "Oops" it was because she was sick for a while after.
16th January 2009 Masha!	- From: aught eight Please, Jima, do not abandon this upon your return! You will go back and then you can pick the blog up right where you left off, K? I think I'd miss it too much if it went away entirely.
6th January 2009 tamam	- From: Merry Christmas! thank you for the clarification
6th January 2009 anonymous	- From: Merry Christmas! that deer in the bin is a representative figure from ancient hiit (eti) civilsation around ankara ;)
31st December 2008 Masha!	- From: word <3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
30th December 2008 Dr. Klima	Priceless! - From: word I could not even make this stuff up! It belongs in our ESL mistake book, "Germs of Eloquence." Save these!! These are definite "germs" for keeping!
30th December 2008 Christine	- From: word Oohh, signs and translations are so much fun! Love it! Hope you are doing well!!
28th December 2008 Masha!	- From: Merry Christmas! Rome was not built in a day
27th December 2008 tamam	- From: Merry Christmas! So far, it doesn't seem to be working...
26th December 2008 Masha!	- From: Merry Christmas! Of course you can embrace the weather, my dear Jima! I have faith in you!
24th December 2008 Masha!	- From: Splashin' it up in Skopje and Surfing Sofas in Sofya (Balkan peregrination, part 2) K, so I know we talk online all the time which is awesome, but I do miss reading about your adventures and misadventures as well... I'm sure I'm not the only one!
22nd November 2008 Masha!	- From: Splashin' it up in Skopje and Surfing Sofas in Sofya (Balkan peregrination, part 2) 2 in one week??? Whatever have I done to deserve such happiness??
22nd November 2008 Masha!	- From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) That's cool I <3 salamanders as well
18th November 2008 tamam	- From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) From what I've heard, you could probably get a lot more technical, if you were so inclined... Thanks!
18th November 2008 Mark Rooks	It's a salamander - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) Actually, if we want to get technical, it's a spotted salamander.
17th November 2008 tamam	cheers Ma_a - From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) Thanks, as always, for the encouragement. I don't think it's gecko, though. Aren't geckos fast lizards? These weren't very fast...
16th November 2008 Masha!	- From: Priştina is appropriately proud, Prizren, an impressive prize... (Balkan peregrination, part 1) <3 new blog posts! Also <3 that gecko on Matt's shoe because they're my favoritest animals ever and so I'm very jealous! I am also glad that you let Matt convince you to go on this trip.
9th November 2008 Masha!	There's my new post! - From: 5 November 2008 :)
5th November 2008 tamam	Kisses from 0zmit. - From: 5 November 2008 I forgot to mention that Sercan's mother called me today. She seemed giddy about the election outcome and before we ended our conversation, she told me "Amerika'ya öptüm," which means "I kissed America." She is adorable.
17th October 2008 Masha!	- From: Beytepe Campus New entry soon mayhaps? Plzkthnxbai!
5th October 2008 Sonja	- From: Beytepe Campus It is amazing - reading your blog and looking at the photos (I am waiting desperatly for every new entrance (!)) I miss Turkey and you guys more and more (seems a little bit like self-torturing but I like your blogging more than it hurts to miss my time there) I hope you are enjoying Ankara/Beytepe . As I can see you are starting to discover the reasons why I liked it so much :) take care and greetings from Austria to everyone!
5th October 2008 emrah	valuable... - From: Beytepe Campus I really appreciate what you do, dostum( my dear friend). Your writings have literary value.Please do not stop...
1st October 2008 Jordan	Fantastic - From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) Jim, Thank you for sharing this with me. What a wonderful adverture you are on. I wish you all of the peace and happiness and good friends the world has to offer you. Take care my friend.
1st October 2008 tamam	- From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) fair enough. I guess I've just seen soooooooooo much Atatürk in the past year that he looks to me only like Atatürk.
26th September 2008 Masha!	- From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) Oh I meant the outfit, posture, etc. After all, Hitler and Charlie Chaplin had some similar appearance business going on as well. Just remember Jima, "there were some... problems" ;p
25th September 2008 tamam	Stalin?! - From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) I can't say that I like that comparison, Masha. Atatürk was a great man in many ways. I have nothing positive to say about Stalin no matter how far I stretch my imagination...
24th September 2008 Masha!	- From: the best mosque I've ever Sinan... (or fighting boredom in Bodrum by being blabbering bum...) As per your part of the story: Ataturk looks a tad like Stalin, no? As per Orxan's: LOL
11th September 2008 Masha!	- From: Syria photos Time for another update methinks. Yeah.
2nd September 2008 anonymous	- From: meet me in Mecidiyeköy, tatlım, and take me to Taksim... And Turkish....
31st August 2008 Masha!	- From: Syria photos Per Damascus 3: In Israel we also had guys driving around selling produce, except they drove around in pickup trucks with megaphones and yelled out the name of the fruit in as many languages as they could summon. It was kinda cool thinking back on it.
24th August 2008 nitivia	Great pictures - From: an İstanblink of an eye... hey man! I love istanbul too. the best part is all the cats! Well, next to all the really cool people. I want a puppy!
18th August 2008 Masha!	- From: meet me in Mecidiyeköy, tatlım, and take me to Taksim... Ah! Balkon = balcony in Russian :)
9th August 2008 tamam	the bag... - From: before mom went back across the ocean... As soon as we arrived in izmit I told Sercan's mother the story and she got right on the phone with the bus company explaining the situation much better than I every could over the phone and they said that they would look for the bag and a while later she called back and they said that they had indeed found it and when we got back to istanbul it was waiting at the main terminal which is annoyingly far away on the western outskirts of the city but whatever so I got the bag back with a minimal amount of hassle and nothing seemed to be missing from it and all was happy and life went on and that's about it, Masha.
9th August 2008 Masha!	- From: before mom went back across the ocean... I think we all deserve to know the story of how you got your bag back. Go on now
8th August 2008 emrah atasoy	Hi... - From: before mom went back across the ocean... Yeah how hard it was for me!!!!!!:)Work and travel in Ku_adas1.):)Thank you Jim for everything:)I have a really HARD JOB!!!:)
8th August 2008 Masha!	- From: worth about 16,000 words... New post time now pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!
30th July 2008 Ian Gambon	- From: Congratulations Gemma & Svein! Glad you enjoyed your stay mate, was great to meet you and loved your blog entry, you little Bill Bryson, you!!!
25th July 2008 tamam	hiking... - From: worth about 16,000 words... I spelled Fethiye incorrectly. Also, Josh: If you can, GO TO HASANKEYF before they destroy it! It is an incredibly friendly place and it's quite easy to get to from Mardin or from Batman. There are some breathtaking hikes around the canyons - at least a few days worth. However, I must warn you that if you are heading there soon, the weather will be quite hot. It was 46 celcius degrees while we were there (in July). Happy travels.
25th July 2008 tamam	go hiking Josh - From: worth about 16,000 words... Turkey is an excellent place for hiking. To mention just a few possibilities: Some friends of mine raved about the hikes on the Lycean Way near Fehtiye. The Kaçkar Mountains are supposedly brilliant places for hiking. Kapadokya has plenty of fantastic places for hiking. Deep in the southeast (near Hakkari) there are supposed to be some stunning hikes too. Have a great trip!
25th July 2008 josh	woa - From: worth about 16,000 words... those pictures are awsome. i heading to turkey with my dad and i would like to go on a hike with him. any suggestions? josh
24th July 2008 emrah atasoy	hello - From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... I like your writing a lot and I see that you are very talented:)I am grateful to you that u have put me here as well:)
17th July 2008 Paul	Enjoyed the blog - From: Congratulations Gemma & Svein! I'm from Liverpool myself and I thought your entry was excellent and I'm glad you enjoyed your time in the City If you listen to other people (not from the city or who have never been) they have you believe its a shit hole and dangerous I'm glad you didn't believe the hype and seemed to enjoy yourself
16th July 2008 Meg	- From: mom's first machine gun. I love the titles you come up with
16th July 2008 Masha!	- From: mom's first machine gun. <3 Mrs. Kuras!!! Please tell her hi!
6th July 2008 Masha!	- From: Congratulations Gemma & Svein! The one and only time I've ever had real fish and chips was in 2005 and I've been dying for some ever since... You lucky bastard.
5th July 2008 Masha!	- From: SYRIAsly glad I went... Did the Sayyida Ruqayya Mosque have neon signs like that cathedral church thing in Moscow did? The one that used to be a pool (and if it had already come to that should have just stayed a pool).
17th June 2008 Masha!	- From: Hope You Happy Travel I have yet to meet an unfun Dutchie.
6th June 2008 Masha!	- From: Mi español es bu kadar... Fun fact: 'Alon' means 'tree' in Hebrew. I am jealous of your Israeli interactions.
29th May 2008 Masha!	- From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... Last play you were in you played a psycho killer HS teacher... Now George Bush... How does dear sweet ol' creepy Jim get stuck with roles such as these?
29th May 2008 tamam	te_ekkürler - From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... ahhhhhh, that makes more sense... cheers.
28th May 2008 hhg	- From: turning in your blog late doesn't affect your grade... sut misir is a breed of corn that`s lighter in color and softer.
1st May 2008 Masha!	- From: I'm a robot! (long weekend pt. 2) I certainly hope the hotel babushka wasn't anything like museum babushkas. marshrutka is sorta a Russian word! I'm very happy that you haven't let it die completely ;)
30th April 2008 Sue Kuras	Merhaba Jim! - From: Ani rocks!!! (long weekend pt. 1) Go Jim! Thanks for all the vicarious trips! Your stories and pictures are awesome. I feel like I vacationed in Kars this weekend too! I really liked the story about Yaprak and her family! Enjoy, take care, and keep us posted! anne
29th April 2008 Masha!	- From: Safranbolu I did mean 'loosen' of course, not 'listen'. ^
23rd April 2008 Masha!	- From: Safranbolu Tickling babies usually gets them to listen their grip a little. I would recommend this course of action next time you are faced with the challenge of baby vs technology.
15th April 2008 tamam	compassion and empathy - From: SHAME Cheers for your comments. Batman and Ani, right on. I'm not shocked to discover that I am on the same page with you guys. I've certainly come to realize over the years that people in all corners of the globe do not judge Americans using the American government and its policies as a yardstick. This situation is of course no different. I think it is the fact that the war is still very much a defining part of everyday life in Iraq that made me percieve this situation as more intense, more personal. Zainep has family there now, including her mother who went back and got stranded because the Baghdad aiport regularly shuts down. Some American friends of mine were there not long ago, as soldiers. With thoughts like this in mind, when all Zainep and I knew about one another were each others' nationalities, it was hard for me to feel comfortable. And Masha, I'm sure you understand that my criticism of the war is in no way meant to forgive any of Saddam's atrocities. It is incomprehesible that such a monster was able to sieze power for so many decades. His sins are vast and unforgivable. Still, our world is ruled by monsters. It is hard to argue that Iraq is better off now than it was before this war. As the newspaper reports progress and improvements in Iraq, it seems to me that things are shifting from very, very horrible to perhaps only very horrible. We've taken a country f1lled w1th people l1v1ng under an oppressed system and somehow made life there much, much worse. The shame is not mine, but it remains a shameful situation.
10th April 2008 Jaime	ani says... - From: SHAME i have many thoughts on this but i tend to think ani difranco says them better than me... i thought of this part of her song "animal" as i was thinking about this: And there's this brutal imperial power That my passport says I represent But it will never represent where my heart lives Only vaguely where it went Cause I know when you grow up surrounded By willful ignorance You learn that mercy has its own country And that it's round and borderless And then you just grow wings And rise above it all it's a bit idealistic, i realize, but i think there's truth in the need to think of ourselves outside of the labels that others might use to define us. so you're american. that can mean whatever you want it to mean.
4th April 2008 Masha!	- From: SHAME My Arabic prof is from Iraq. He told us how before he came here he and his family, along with other Shiites in some town (whose name he wouldn't mention) were part of an underground rebel group who fought against Saddam and his troops - his house was the headquarters where they stored weapons and fed the fighters. Apparently during one of the uprisings, when he was just in HS, he was shot in the leg by one of the government troops. A little later Saddam attacked the city full force and he was forced to run with his family and drive a car-full of people and stuff even though he didn't even have his license yet... They only took his mom's pocketbook and a few bags of flour because they were so sure they'd come back, but every time they would move the government forces would advance on them so that they could only go further away from home - part of the problem with this, though, was that during the uprising 2 of his brothers disappeared so that they farther they went the less likely finding them became. They traveled in the desert for 3 months and finally came to the border with Saudi Arabia where they found a bunch of American troops who sent them to a refugee camp. Unfortunately the Saudis who helped 'guard' the camp were Sunnis so they weren't too friendly. For some strange reason a few months later the Americans just up and left, deserting the refugees in the hands of these guards who constantly abused them and randomly killed people. They had to build houses out of mud and go to school under a huge tent where they would get laughed at because 'there was no point in studying if they were all going to die anyway'. Somehow 3 years later he managed to immigrate to the US and luckily his 2 lost brothers somehow turned up too (his story got a little fuzzy at this point). It was completely insane and mouth-dropping for us to hear this because looking at him you would NEVER imagine that this is what he came from - not only does he look like a 10 year old with a bunch of out of place wrinkles but he's always smiling and laughing about everything. I guess Jima, I understand your guilt and you know that I hate what this country is doing/has done over there as much as you... But you have to remember that their own government has hurt them pretty badly too, along with other Arabs in the area. Unfortunately Iraq got a really crappy deal left and right by some really strange turns of fate. While your guilt is understandable, just remember that it isn't ALL on your American back.
4th April 2008 Matt	- From: SHAME As weird as this sounds, I would say, cheer up, you really have no part in the actions of the American state. Probably you and I have about as much to do with what the American military does as we have to do with what the Chinese military does. I'm not just talking about the vote, either; I'm not saying that you (or anyone) is not responsible for what the Bush administration does, just because you didn't vote for him. Maybe you did for all I know, although judging from this entry I would say the likelihood of this is "low." I guess I would say that the vote itself is more of a token or an illusion that we usually think it is. We are sort of put in a situation where, under duress, we must choose between two very bad alternatives. It's like when Batman is forced to choose between saving his girlfriend or saving his sidekick. This never happens, but if hypothetically Batman was only able to save Robin, we would probably say that it was not Batman who killed his girlfriend, it was the villain who set up the whole demented situation. We are told from a very young age that the state is the people, that we are all joint participants in self-rule, cogs in a grand democratic machine. This is in some small way sort of true, but I think it's more accurate to say that we are subjects of our government than co-rulers of our government. Another way of looking at this is to see that no action you could have taken before March 2003 would have prevented the American military from entering Iraq. You seem to be self-identifying as an "American;" "Americans" invaded Iraq, you're an "American," and so you're responsible in some way. My thought is, you and I are part of the American people but not the American state. I hope I do not sound like too much of a conspiracy theorist when I say that the state (pretty much every state, around the world) makes an enormous effort to propogate a grand lie, namely that "I, the state, am the people." States come and go, often quickly and violently; what endures after such a coup is the people. I would not hold yourself any more responsible for the war, than I hold my Chinese friends responsible for their government's actions in Tibet, or than you hold Zainep responsible for what Saddam did to the Kurds. Much more appropriate than shame here are simply compassion and empathy. I always prefer to relate to people on the human level, and compassion (in the Latin the word literally means "suffering-with") is a more profound and even sacred force I think than anything to with guilt or responsibility.
3rd April 2008 Masha!	- From: Yemek çok güzeldi, parmaklarımı yedim. K, it's been over a week - time to update! And srsly, I WILL write back soon!
23rd March 2008 Klima	Great pics, as usual! - From: Yemek çok güzeldi, parmaklarımı yedim. Hey, Dima, check out this site James found: http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=50672 He's a musician, I believe from Istanbul - have you heard of him? The music is really beautiful! Love your pictures - looks like you are having a great time! And midterms ALREADY? Time does fly!
19th March 2008 Masha!	C'mooooooooooon - From: Albanians by the busload Sheesh Jima, update already! I'm melting into the floor of boredom in VT and constantly look at your site in hopes of entertainment, sadly disappointed every time. The bonds of mayonaise require that your provide me with amusements of sorts!
18th March 2008 vildan	- From: Hot for teacher... ok, i think i owe you an apology for my words because they were a bit harsh. "hostility" is a very unpleasent word and i dont want to be known as a hater. sorry for that. what i think about "türban" issue is that people should be free to wear it. thats a person's own choice. but in our country some people force others to be what they want, which is smth i am opposite of. i think that people should respect other peoples opinions, political thoughts, religions, ethnicity. we should be really free to express our opinions not partly. but this is not possible and i dont think it will be. welcome again
13th March 2008 tamam	Response to Vildan - From: Hot for teacher... Well, now... I sense just a mild trace of hostility in your post. Let me first address the türban issue, once again. I meant to cause no offense with my blog. I had intended to spread a little light humor over the widely controversial issue. I have found that it is a very polarizing issue here, one hotly debated on the evening news every night. You have misunderstood me if you thought that my words were in anyway a criticism of Islam or of Turkey's fine society. I am simply trying to make sense of this complicated issue, and enjoying doing so in this fine democracy, where public opinions are (for the most part) freely expressed. As for the USA/Iraq/comments, I feel that you are addressing some unrelated subjects. At the same time you are assuming that I fit into your idea of what it means to be American. It would be naive to believe that in a nation of 300,000,000+ people, vast ranges of differing opinions do not exist - especially on something like the war in Iraq. Furthermore, by attacking me rather than presenting your own arguments, you are committing a logical fallacy, known as "ad hominem." Please revise your arguments and explain how you feel about the türban issue. Thank you for welcoming me to Turkey, though I must say it is not the warmest welcome I have received.
13th March 2008 vildan	- From: Hot for teacher... dear marco polo, we are so appreciated that you have come to our country .it gives us such a pleasure that i cant explain . And i am quite happy that you have some "brilliant" ideas about our big problem which is named "türban". As we all know USA is known as a "country of freedom"and what i think is that you should bring us some democracy like you are doing in Irak. before critisizing us you should look at your own country and see whats going on ?
12th March 2008 Anand	nice bloggg - From: hurry up & wait... hey I am about to come down to ankara for My summer internship at Cs department in BILKENT UNIVERSITY . reply to my mail I need to ask you a few things . I am an undergrad from INDIA
12th March 2008 Masha!	sniffles - From: Albanians by the busload I miss the Turkish breakfasts so :(
22nd February 2008 Catherine	- From: Hot for teacher... Hillarious! Thanks for your wittiness Jim! :)
17th February 2008 Christine	- From: Happy "Darlink's Day!" Have I mentioned how much I LOVE to read your blog?!? It is fantastic to hear about your adventures and life there. :) Miss you here though---take care and study hard!! Christine PS--To me, your turkish sounds wonderful, fast, and correct!
15th February 2008 Masha!	- From: Happy "Darlink's Day!" Well it can't be a copyright breach if such breaches don't exist! Do they in Turkey?
JUSTINA & PETER 12th February 2008 Phenomenological Us	thanks - From: FOOD! thanks a lot, this does help! :) xx
11th February 2008 Masha!	- From: Hot for teacher... Ah the dorm is precious! Almost looks like a cute suburban development house... At least it's not ancient and rickety so that none of that evil winter wind can intrude on your comfort. Feel better!
11th February 2008 tamam	food in 0stanbul in April... - From: FOOD! In my opinion, you really can't go wrong eating in 0stanbul. Like anywhere, look for places that are buzzing with locals and then join the crowd. If you have any dietary restrictions, you'd be wise to practice the necessary vocabulary ahead of time - for example: "etsiz yemek istiyorum" (I want food without meat). If you'll be staying in Beyolu, which I'd recommend over Sultanahmet (assuming you're doing a traditional sort of holiday trip), you'll find great food everywhere you look. Some personal favorites include a sunset dinner on the Galata Bridge, a rooftop meal in Eminönü (in between the Rüstüm Pa_a Camii and the Spice Bazaar), lunch tucked away in some corner of Kad1köy (great place for an afternoon wander), and fresh fruit juice at Bambi Cafe (where 0stiklal Caddesi meets Taksim Square, by the old church). I'm sorry I don't have more specific restaurant names to provide, but I'm sure you'll do fine. Afiyet olsun! (Bon Apetit!)
JUSTINA & PETER 10th February 2008 Phenomenological Us	yummy - From: FOOD! hey all of this really looks delicious! we're about to visit Istanbul in April and simply cannot wait! what would you recommend in terms of food? many thanks Jussy x
2nd February 2008 tamam	response to MickGreen - From: Başörtüsü In the last entry, the photo of people sitting around was taken near the Yeni Camii in Eminönü, 0stanbul. The arches/Atatürk statue is located on the Beytepe campus of Hacettepe Universiy, in Ankara. The truck stop is halfway between those two cities (I think near Bolu). A friend just recommended Orhan Pamuk's novel Snow, which discusses this headscarf issue in detail.
1st February 2008 MickGreen	- From: Başörtüsü It's an interesting situation. How far can a nation go to keep its secular identity without limiting religious freedom? Great photos. When were they taken?
29th January 2008 Masha!	lollerskates - From: Giant frog attacks istanbul! - hitchhiker escapes through Persia and beyond... In NYC there is a terrific practically hole-in-the wall bar/restaurant called The Ear that we used to frequent quite a bit. It's got a lot of history behind it. I'll take you some day, you'd like it!
27th January 2008 Christine	- From: Giant frog attacks istanbul! - hitchhiker escapes through Persia and beyond... ok, so as always, your updates trill me! The extra special part for this one was the video of Jaki dancing lol. Now, unfortunately through my special ed background, I have seen a seizure in progress...the video reminded me of that, however this situation was one to chuckle over :) Thanks as always for the updates!! It makes me super excited for you and super excited for me for my soon to be travels!
24th January 2008 Masha!	- From: Janu-wearing thin.. JIMA! I am going to re-learn to play backgammon... Somehow... (haven't played since I was maybe 8?) and when you come back there will be a show down! Oh yes.
22nd January 2008 klima	- From: Janu-wearing thin.. Ya gotta love Love Valley. I think it was impetus for the movie, "The Lair of the White Worm." If not, it should have been.
15th January 2008 Dave	How many credits do you get for this year? - From: hurry up & wait... Dude, I called Ladbrokes, that betting house in London. You are 50-1 against for getting any classwork done. Unless eating and checking out girls gets you anything. I placed a modest wager. Glad to see you are having a fine time of it. Say hi to Sercan (sp) for me.
13th January 2008 Meg!	BLOG! - From: hurry up & wait... I'm so happy you got a travelblog, I just know you're gonna have a blast and now we'll get to hear all about it. I thought of you the other day when I was doing some shopping at my local podunk grocery store and they had all different kinds of halvah. I almost bought some, but then I remembered that I don't actually LIKE halvah. ANYWAY, have fun and drink lots of tea for me!
10th January 2008 nicole	woohoo blog! - From: Mutlu yıllar! im sure you'll be speaking perfect-ish in no time : )
10th January 2008 Klima	Love the contrast - From: Mutlu yıllar! Super contrasting pictures! Great picture of you! Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures! Dr. Klima
8th January 2008 Masha!	Woot I am the first commenter! - From: Mutlu yıllar! Alright alright, The only thing that excluded you from a real FB comment reply is this blog so I will forgive you. K now you gotta update ALL the time because I'll be checking ALL the time and I want results, Jima! It all sounds lovely BTW and I am very very glad everything worked out in the end :) Can't wait for the real stories to begin!