All Aboard

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December 31, 2011

Today I took my first real shower since the early morning of December 25th - "real" as interpreted by western standards of the following: adequate space to move around, warm temperature, and a proper drainage system. Our apartment in the outskirts of Athens lacked all of the above and could be comparable to the tiny water spouts that exist near beaches and waterparks.

I know this because I have spent countless hours near waterparks - one in particular. Memorable summers during my high school and early college years were spent working the early morning shifts at our local waterpark. One of my closest childhood friends and I had the priviledge of arriving at 5am each morning to ensure that the place was in spectacular shape before crowds arrived for the waterslides and playland area. One of our many less than ideal responsibilies as an "early bird" was to clean out the pits below each of the park's shower spouts; with exhaustion from the previous summer night, we would complain every second of the way through as we dug out piles of sand on other human debris that trickled down following their spell in the lazy river or sand pit. When the park would open hours later, it would be the role of another pool employee (we shall call them daytime attendants) to inform guests on how to properly use the spouts - "Sir, please rinse off before you proceed to the next area of the pool," they said pleasantly seeing as their work shifts did not start until 10am. If us early birds would have had to stick around to fulfill this instructional role ourselves, we would have simply said: "Hey you! Wash your feet here or else."

Maybe that's why our boss sent us packing at 11am everyday.

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Alas! Our new flat is located on the east side of Istanbul (Asia!) and includes not only a functional shower but two indoor cats. One has been sleeping on the exact same floral pillow since we arrived yesterday evening at 9pm.

Hassan tormented me on each day leading to our arrival to this city on account that had not yet secured a Visa and could potentially be denied entry. Most of his sentences began with, "Well after you get deported, I'll..."

It took approximately 1 minute and 20 seconds to exchange my twenty dollar US bill for my turkish sticker, a.k.a. Via. The woman at the counter hardly gave my picture a glance when stamping it. Good think I'm legit eh?

My brief research on Turkey informed me that thsi was the cosmopolitan center that connects the east to west. In our attempt to located the bus that would carry us to our next form of transportation - a ferry - it became clear that English speakers would be a rare occurance. After many hand gestures and pointing at the neighborhood of "Kadikoy" scribbled down in my notebook, we paid our 5 Turkish Liras each (equivalent to 2.50 US) and were off.

When I reached for my messenger bag to pay my way for the ferry, the man working the booth spoke through the intercom and stared directly as Hassan. He asked, "How come you are not paying? You are the man." Hassan's 15 TL reached the counter before mine could and leaned in and whispered "Welcome to the Middle East."

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