Iyi Bayramlar - part II

Almost 2 years in Turkey...yes it is true and at the same time it seems a lie...so many things to share, so many experiences lived...

Nowadays I have more turkish culture in me than in the past, that is for sure.Very humble and working people, people that don't give up easily for the things they want, people that in the end have lots and honourable  respect by the others. It is not the case while driving but even thouhg we have more or less the same situation or even worst in other countries.

The famous tea - çay - is something really coming from the Gods. It is really really tasteful and we can drink any time of the day. Just ask for a çay and you will have immediately in front of you the flavour of Gods.

The food is also other thing that nobody can complain about it. Sure it is traditional, sure it has its differences from other cultures (specially portuguese) but it is also for sure that is tasteful and you can have from meat to fish great dishes.

This experience is to go on with more and more information as much as I can post. Now I am on vacations but I promise that I will try to update everyone as much as I can in shorter periods.


Iyi Bayramlar

Iyi bayramlay

And my adventure goes on. It is time to make an evaluation of the work that I have been done until now. And I can reveal that I have made so many mistakes....and I am happy with that. I would be more concern if somehow I would not be able to clearly identify any mistake that I have commited until now.

Because I live under the principle that in order to learn something you have to commit mistakes. The difference between a person who grows from the one that won't grow is based on the capacity to understand and accept where he/she commited a mistake and next time to avoid that way and choose a better one.

At least all the things I have learnt up to know are based on that.

And with the people who are working with me? However we have some cultural differences, the reality  is that if you show that you are there to help; to make the day better and of course to learn, nobody will refuse such a kind of attitude. That is a human being interaction that even though you do not know the language everybody is aware of it.

People have the value that we give to them, and if you really appreciate people by what they are and respect them for that we will have a good feedback afterwards and for sure we will have the unique opportunity to feel really good with and have true feelings for the other ones.

Call me naive but I truly believe this, and I have always lived under this. At the end I feel so so good and grateful to be and to have such kind of things in my life.

As a conclusion, of course the evalution until now is more than positive, not only in work but also in personal life, with new friends that will be in my heart forever...

Iyi bayramlay,

And the adventure continues...

It has been so long since my last time here, but now I hope to come here frequently. I have been really busy but the truth is, there is no excuse to not to come here to write my experiences for you.

I think I'm lazier than in the past...my bad. Well, since my last time I have been in many quite interesting places, like Çesme, a very well known place in Izmir. Çesme has the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen with wonderful people around there. Denizli is other place that I have visited but without time to explore. It was just for work.

One thing I can tell for all of you is that, if you are going to Turkey, your driving skills will improve for sure...these guys are completely crazy when they are driving and they don't care at all about driving rules...it is dangerous of course but at the same time funny.

Last week I have had my first car accident. Nothing happen, just a scratch, but I was stopped and a Fiat Tofas went literally against me...the guy did not see me at all...LOL. My turkish is better but nothing in special...my fault. I have met a lot of people too, and some of them very special...

I am very happy about that because I have never been the kind of person that evaluates the other one by their name, color, race or religion view, which means that like in Portugal, there are good and bad people. At this very moment I feel more turkish than portuguese. I drink lots of tea and the food here is wonderful. I don't miss pig from Portugal but sometimes I want to eat... :p.

Other thing I can tell you is that Izmir is completely different than the other cities in Turkey I have ever been. It seems like an European city, with everyone hanging out and trying to relax. Really wonderful.

Ok, I have to go now, in order to make my dinner, but I leave with this song that is a kind of "Ágata" from Portugal. This is the turkish "Ágata"

Turkish habits

If you're planning to travel to Turkey, there's something first you should know about Turkey (if you don't know yet).

Turkish people have some natural daily habits (as all countries) but one of them that is very well recognized is drinking tea (almost) all the time. In Portugal we can also find out people drinking tea, but undoubtedly the most popular and nationally recognized habit is drinking coffee (specially after meals).

But the most spectacular thing about "turkish çay" is that is healthy and wonderful when you have to recover from a hangover. "Turkish çay" dehydrates all cells of your body and from my personal experience when you feel with a bellyache and you take a "turkish çay" you will get better. I prefer take "turkish çay" with sugar but I've never tried take it without sugar.

I leave you with a video that summarizes everything about "turkish çay". Hope you like it :).

Second half: Bursa adventure

It has been a while since my last time here. I went to Portugal for Christmas and happy new year's festival time and of course to be with my family. Then in January I returned to Turkey, Bursa. I am currently living in Bursa Mordern, a kind of houses' complex where you can find almost anything you desire.

There is a swimming pool for residents and I heard that is available a gym as well, but I haven't found it yet...It is very good living here, however it's totally different than living in Istanbul. As I said in one of my previous post, Istanbul is totally cosmopolitan and european and Bursa in spite of having everything, I  think it's more "turkish" than Istanbul.

The weather is quite good now, but it was snowing last week and the other before. It was a new experience since in Portugal there is only one region you can find snow, called Serra da Estrela, and for what I could see here, I believe Serra da Estrela is far away from having so many snow than here.

Driving with snow is an adventure...and dangerous too. But driving carefully is the recipe for being successful in such an adventure as this one. But anyway, I'm safe and with all my bones inside, which means that I have survived to snow.

Now, I'm living alone, without a partner but the experience is good. I've never gave so much value to housekeeping than now...thinking everyday what I'm going to eat at dinner or if I have to go for shopping isn't totally new but it still is tasks that I'm not use to do.

I am trying to learn Turkish too, and I have bought a book to help me out. Now I can understand some conversations and I just know to speak a little bit. The basics words to be more specific as "good morning"; "good afternoon"; "good night", "thank you"; "how are you"; "hello", and other ones...

I think that's all for now. Stay tuned for more news :)

Life in Turkey

Since my last post, many things happened :).

I understand now why traffic here is so chaotic. There are only 2 main roads here you can travel and inside each area you have avenues you can drive. Turkey is economically growing and that's why folks here haven't felt European economic crisis yet. In spite of the huge price of cars and electronic things, lots of people have got a car and iphones. Ok, Istanbul doesn't represent the whole Turkey but I'm only speaking about what I've seen since I arrived here.

At least, there are 2 types of taxis here. The universal taxi that everyone knows and one called Dolmus which is a Ford transit properly decorated and it's much more cheaper than the normal taxi. A good advice for everyone who wants to be in Istanbul is for small distances you can get "the normal taxi" but for big distances is better to get a Dolmus in order to save more money.

Unlike you could think, girls here are conservative and very straight about relationship ideas. They have a different mind than european girls which we can consider more open minded ad talkative. Of course, language here is a barrier but if you are an expatriate you can do everything you want without many problems. They also have very hard police rules and it's better to follow the rules than to break it or you can be in a very serious troubles. But after all, it's ok and unlike you may be probably thinking, Turkey isn't an unsafe country at all nor you feel unsafe here or particularly troubled about police guys.

Still, they seem to eat very little and drink lots of alcohol. Yes, unlike I was expecting, they drink lots of alcohol but alcohol here is very expensive even wine at restaurants. And with hard polices rules, I definitely prefer not to drink than to have other kind of stories written here.

Summarizing, life in Istanbul - Turkey is very cosmopolitan, modern and unbelievable. Only being here you can prove what I'm saying and obviously tasting the special environment which is surrounding us....

Take care and stay in touch :). I leave you with a video of Taksim. It's just unbelievable and wonderful

Emanuel

Christmas in Turkey

Since Monday until today, we're living a kind of Christmas in Turkey so that we haven't worked yet. They call Bairam and this is a muslim celebration like a festival but they proudly say "this is like Christmas for you". I haven't seen Santa yet nor his parents appearing in my room, so I don't believe I'm going to receive a present this year :p.

Nevertheless, the whole crazy environment in the streets is alive and there's a lot of people  walking on the street. This country never stops living and I actually like it pretty much. One thing I can say to all of you: alcoholic drinks are very expensive and their politics about it are very tight. Of course we can drink alcohol but they manage a way for avoiding these things. 

I'm getting used to their way of driving and it doesn't seems to be very difficult. The only thing you have to do is: to honk all the time and to light signals for the car in front of you. These two things actually work very well and unlike we may think they don't stop discussing with anyone. They just go away for their destination.

Well, life in Turkey is almost like I've been describing. Hope you all have a Merry Bairam...or Christmas...whatever...