October 2015

Privato Cafe, Istanbul

This was a strange month, where the first half was so good and the last half slipped away from me.

I went to Bulgaria and spent a week exploring Communist monuments with my friends from Yomadic. I got back from Bulgaria full of energy and then had one of those killer weeks where everything felt possible. I was on top of my work, had time to run, went to a capoeira class (for the first time!), met up with friends and visited part of the FotoIstanbul exhibit, started working on some blog posts, restarted my Turkish lessons. This is how it should be, I thought. The next six weeks in Istanbul are going to be awesome.

Then I got a cold. And it stuck around. I went through a discouraging phase with my work. I tried to visit a biennial exhibit on an island on the one day it was closed. I put off seeing friends, running, and returning to capoeira because of my persistent cold.

And suddenly it’s November. Where did this month go??

Buzludzha, Bulgaria

Best Of The Month

Bulgaria was a clear highlight. I’ll be posting more about this in the next week, and you probably saw plenty about it if you follow me on Instagram, but exploring the Communist remains of Buzludzha, the monastery at Asenovgrad, and the winding cobblestoned streets of Plovdiv changed my opinion about Bulgaria. Also, this was the first trip I took this year to a new place that wasn’t related to work or family.

Other highlights were seeing bits and pieces of both FotoIstanbul and the Istanbul Biennial, and feasting on the tasting menu (with full wine accompaniment) at Mikla, a fancy restaurant on top of the Marmara Pera Hotel. Surprise, it’s spectacular.

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Worst Of The Month

Getting sick really messes up plans. The weather got very cold very quickly here, and everyone got sick at the same time. My cold was truly mild, but just bad enough to hijack my grand plans. Resting is all well and good, but there’s so much I want to do!

Kadikoy, Istanbul

What I’m Loving

Reads: While sick, I read a book called Waiting by Ha Jin which was enjoyable at first, but was dissatisfying by the end, which made me like the book less. I read more interesting articles this month, like this one from the New Yorker about Alice in Wonderland. I also read this two-part BBC article about the exposed bodies on Mt Everest, which was riveting and sort of horrifying.

Music: My favorite album this month was Big Grams, the collaboration between Big Boi and Phantogram. It felt like this album was made just for me, it’s exactly what I love to listen to. (Along with Balkan trumpets and Afrobeat, obviously.) I listened to these seven songs on repeat all month.

It rained quite a bit when I was in Plovdiv, so I spent a lot of time listening to Golden Age hip hop with Nate while we waited for the weather to clear up. He’s the one who introduced me to Luchini by Camp Lo, a really catchy song from 1997 that I’d never heard before. I love it. Only 18 years behind the times!

Plovdiv, Bulgaria

The Film Files

I had film problems at the one worst possible place: on top of Buzlduzha, the monument I’d come to Bulgaria to see. When I was rewinding my second roll, the film snapped off the reel inside the camera, which means I couldn’t take it out without exposing it to light. So I shot with my Holga and phone for the rest of the time at Buzludzha, which was fine but not ideal. Luckily, a photo shop in downtown Plovdiv not only got the film out of the camera, but also developed the roll for the cheapest rate I’ve ever encountered.

The Istanbul Biennial at the Galata Greek Primary School

Ephemera

I went to see the FotoIstanbul exhibit in the orphanage in Ortakoy with my friend Martina. She’s an incredibly talented photographer, and shot some beautiful photos of me as we wandered around the exhibit. The benefit of hanging out with photographers!

Buyukada, Istanbul

Upcoming

I’m in Istanbul for a few more weeks, and then I’m going to California for a full month! My parents and my sister live on the West Coast now, so I’ll spend Thanksgiving and Christmas at “home.” I’m particularly looking forward to a side trip my sister and I have planned while I’m in LA… it will be colorful, and wild.

How was your October? What was the best part of your month?