While February felt jam-packed with so many wonderful things, I felt like March just overflowed with TOO MUCH. There was a lot of good, a LOT of bad, and not enough time sleeping at home, really. After two back-to-back busy months, I’m relieved this one is over.
Best Of The Month
Three days after I got home from Berlin, I boarded a plane for another trip– a long weekend in Tbilisi, Georgia with two of my girlfriends. The goal: drink as much Georgian wine as possible. The weekend was sunny and joyful and full of feasting; I’d been unenthusiastic about traveling so soon after returning from Berlin, but it ended up being exactly what I needed. It also reminded me that Georgia is AMAZING.
Worst Of The Month
The worst was, without question, the terrorist attack. There is nothing normal about bombs exploding in Istanbul, and this one happened on Istiklal Caddesi—a main pedestrian thoroughfare and an unavoidable place in my life here. I felt completely shattered by it and the dread of it still lingers in the air, though things have mostly returned to normal here.
Also, my visa renewal process has become more complicated than it should be, which is all I will say about THAT here. Just know that this is the main thing in my life that causes me incredible stress, so I’m not pleased about it.
What I’m Loving
Reads: I picked up a book on a whim in Tbilisi’s Prospero bookstore and ended up completely enthralled. The Orientalist is a novel-length expansion of a New Yorker article I read years ago about the mysterious author of Ali & Nino, one of the most beloved novels in the Caucasus. Was the pseudonymous Kurban Said a mysterious Muslim prince named Essad Bey? Was he an idiosyncratic Nazi baroness? An Azerbaijani Jew named Lev Nussimbaum? Turns out he was sort of all of these things, and his journey from Azerbaijan through Central Asia and Persia, pre-Nazi Germany, and fascist Italy is fascinating, riveting, and educational. Really I can’t recommend this book enough.
Music: Everything’s coming up Kendrick. The untitled/unmastered album that he surprise-released this month has been a total treat, not the least because it contains a version of the excellent unreleased song he performed on the Colbert Report. (Though, it must be said, the live version is still better: it’s the reason I became a fan of Kendrick Lamar. Click on that link and start the video at 4:04.)
Movies/Television: I don’t see enough movies in Istanbul, which I always regret. But I joined my friend Patrizia spontaneously one evening at a small movie theater (coincidentally, a space designed by my former roommate!) to see A Perfect Day, a film set in the Balkans with an appropriately dark sense of humor. I hadn’t even heard of it before I went, but I enjoyed it immensely.
I don’t watch very much television, but I have been keeping up with Girls for years now. Normally I wouldn’t bother to mention it here, but episode 6 (“The Panic In Central Park”) was terrific and reminded me why I enjoyed the show so much in the first place.
The Film Files
The more I shoot black & white, the more I realize I should shoot more black & white.
Ephemera
I wrote a post about the bombing for Context Travel that has become my most-shared piece EVER (of course one that isn’t on my own blog, whatever). I’m immensely proud of it and unashamed to say so!
Also, my friend Emma from Gotta Keep Movin’ visited Istanbul just to record a couple of podcasts with me about travel and photography… It might be a little while before they are released, but I can’t wait for you to hear them.
Upcoming
Check this: I have NO upcoming trips in April! I’m looking forward to month in Istanbul full of friends and tulips and sunshine… and, at the end of the month, my birthday!
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