Holidays, etc.

Over the weekend and into the first part of the week, we worked on settling into our apartment. I had been looking for beds, but even the second-hand store was so expensive that I eventually decided to buy a matching set of really bright red futons that were on sale because they for some inexplicable reason hadn't sold. We had them delivered, and they actually don't look half bad in our room. I wanted a rug because the floor is cold and collects dust bunnies after mere minutes, but our housemate assures me that he will wash his used Turkish-style rug and we can use that, so I'm waiting. Meanwhile, we got some other essentials, such as two wooden shoe-racks which stack precariously into a tall bookshelf-looking thingy, some plastic boxes to protect our undies from dust bunnies, fuzzy blankets and sheets. I also got Maria a little tub to take a bath in, since she doesn't like showers.

On Monday, the same day I got brand new furniture and woolly blankets, the flatmate asked if Maria would like to have a kitten. I reluctantly agreed, assuming that the kitten would be from a litter of house cats. To my dismay, when they got home, the kitten was dirty, skinny, and crawling with fleas. It was a street cat! They gave it a bath, but I was still concerned about getting fleas on my new bedding, so put the thing out on the porch for the night. The next day all the fleas were dead, and I let it into our room. We are fattening it up on milk, eggs and small portions of other people-food. Maria is learning to clean the litter and entertain the kitty whenever we are inside. She complained a little at first, but is getting used to the responsibilities of caring for an animal.

 

Maria and her Kitty

 

Our room at bedtime

 

On Wednesday or Thursday I sent out a huge pile of job applications, answered some preliminary questions from one, and am still waiting.

Friday was a major Islamic holiday, (Eid Ul Adha) Kurban Bayrami--AKA Feast of the Sacrifice. Most people left to go to their hometowns to perform the sacrifices and Istanbul has been silent. The neighbors slaughtered a cow in the space between the apartment buildings, and I listened to their chatter for several hours as they skinned the animal and portioned out the meat to each family. In the afternoon, when the last of the meat was gone, they washed the area with water.

Monday is a national holiday, Republic Day, the day the modern state of Turkey was founded back in 1923. We'll probably go down to Taksim and see if we can buy a flag and participate in the festivities.

We have stayed inside for the past two days, only going out last night to buy some pide and stock up on some essential groceries. Today we'll get out and enjoy the sunny weather.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading.

This is me, signing off...