Lake Winnipesauke, New Hampshire, USA
July began in Boston and should have ended in Nigeria. But even the best laid plans can be full of surprises and instead I closed out this month in Turkey, full of contentment and awe at how splendid this month was.
Somerville, MA, USA
Best Of The Month
My trip to the US was so much more wonderful and invigorating than I had anticipated. An unexpected treat was that my Spanish friend Nacho (an important member of my Istanbul family) ended up there with me. His first day in the US was July 4th, and watching his bemused and delighted reactions to all of the America-ness of that day was great. I have conflicting feelings about July 4, but the day itself was full of so many beautiful New England things that I truly did enjoy myself.
I also spent a jam-packed weekend in New York City and caught up with some of my favorite people; I left after 48 hours absolutely buzzing.
Istanbul, Turkey
Back in Istanbul, I officiated the wedding of my dear friends Natalie and Burak. They asked me to do it quite last minute and it was such an honor. And the wedding was magical, with fairy lights and actual trees and beautiful people.
I celebrated another pre-wedding on a boat. Boating on the Bosphorus is the best Istanbul summer activity and this one was special, as I got to spend time with so many people I care about.
CerModern, Ankara, Turkey
Worst Of The Month
Unfortunately, I am not going to the wedding that the boat party was celebrating. It’s in northeastern Nigeria, and I spent days going back and forth to Ankara to get a visa from the Nigerian embassy. And I’m the end, they rejected me over a technicality. I was devastated, of course, and felt bad for my friends getting married. But I don’t like to stay down for long, so I am enjoying this unexpected extra time in Istanbul.
Newton, MA, USA
What I’m Loving
Reads: Years ago, when I worked in an office in Boston, I read a book called Joe Gould’s Secret about a man who said he was writing an oral history of the world— but maybe he wasn’t. The author of that first book, Joe Mitchell, was an accomplished New Yorker writer who was unable to write at all after he published that book; the story goes that he spent the next 30 years reporting to his office at the New Yorker and writing nothing. I picked up the book Joe Gould’s Teeth by Jill Lenore at the Harvard Bookstore’s warehouse sale and breezed through it; it’s a follow-up on Joe Gould’s life and whether or not his oral history ever existed.
Music: File under “songs I should already have been listening to regularly.” Satellite of Love by Lou Reed is a great jam, and I especially love the enthusiastic David Bowie backing vocals.
Jamaica Plain, MA, USA
Movies: When I was in the US, I read some reviews for a documentary about three identical triplets who were separated at birth. The reviews all said that it was worth going into the film knowing as little as possible, so I was desperate to see it. On my last day, hours before I got on the plane, I went with Carrie and Greg to see Three Identical Strangers. It’s fascinating, and you should see it too.
Podcasts: After traveling so much, I’ve been trying to take advantage of my time at home to catch up with podcasts. I am so happy You Must Remember This is back through the end of the year. I also started listening to The RFK Tapes even though I usually have little patience for conspiracy theories, but the show is so well-done and riveting that I’ve found it’s perfect to run to— I am so eager to hear every new installment. I’ve loved listening to Rough Translation, especially the episode about Jane Austen in Pakistan and fake news in Ukraine. And I listened to an old, re-aired episode of Radiolab that was so intense I ended up reacting out loud in my empty apartment. The Bad Show talks about Milgram and chemical warfare and murder and I highly recommend it.
Brooklyn, NYC, NY, USA
The Film Files
One of the highlights of NYC was spending time with my photography collaborator Alison. We spent the last day indulging in photography projects, shooting portraits and cityscapes around Brooklyn and turning her apartment into a makeshift studio. It was inspiring, and so much fun.
Lake Winnipesauke, NH, USA
Ephemera
Two quick pieces I wrote for National Geographic about visiting Istanbul was published— my first in National Geographic!! It’s not the most involved thing I’ve ever worked on, but still very exciting. You can read them here and here.
Also, I keep indulging in pretty summer dresses, and it brings me great joy.
Camp Nokomis, NH, USA
Upcoming
I’m not in Nigeria, but I’m also not sitting still— I’m finally going to do a little hiking in the Kackar Mountains. The season to go is so short and I miss it every year, so as a way to turn lemons into limonata, I’m off to make my feet (and soul) happy.
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