vroom vroom!

i had my first driving lesson yesterday. from the school we went with the teacher and 2 other students and doctor, to the car and he drove us near Feneryolu, there was a parking lot. not huge but big. full of cars of course but ok. i got to be the first one too. it went ok, sort of, if i just earn to avoid the sudden stops and starts...  lift the foot from the clutch slooooowly! after 10 mins of driving around the teacher told me to head to traffic. its not a super busy area, but its definitely city traffic - cars, motorbikes, trash collectors with their carriages, people jumping right in front of you and traffic lights. my mistake was that i tried to obey the speed limits and the white lines on the street...  but now i know better...  the rules are not so clear to me, but i learned survival, nobody died and not even close. in fact i felt it went well and the teacher also congratulated me after the 40min lesson :) he says that i have a good control of the steering wheel too, which me and doctor dont really agree with, but so i guess it could be worse. he says its the most important aspect in the driving exam, so, yay?!  i will have 2 more lessons and then the exam.

me behind the wheel at the parking lot. as a driver i am cool as ice! after all, the school's car is insured!

yesterday was also the independence day here, and halloween. we had to choose between several very nice halloween party opyions but ended up going to Umut's party in Feneryolu, half an hour from here. it was quite nice! i hadnt had the time or money to invest into a costume so i opted for a cheap solution: (conservative) muslim. pretentius conservative, to be exact. with heavy make up and high heels, i mimicked women that i have seen in istanbul, covering hair as if to be a 'good muslim', but contradicting the intended modesty with strong make up, especially in the eyes, and with jewellery and other things. i understand actually that its very human, we want attention one way or another, especially with our looks and style, but its quickly against what Muhammad wrote about modesty, so i see that kind of behavior as two-faced. in that way i think burka is appropriate, its seriously modest, doesnt show any more or less sexy parts and leaves no space for flashing. my opinion on the veil is anyway that it doesnt make sense, face can be so much sexier than hair. a woman could be bald under the scarf, but the eyes and lips....   and i wont even start with how 'inappropriately sexy' men can be, and how they should definitely wear a burka as well if they intent to be modest and not arouse any dirty thoughts.

my outfit gathered attention at the party and bar afterwards. i had watched a youtube video of how to appropriately tie the scarf and i looked "professional", and some people at the party werent sure if it was a costume or not :) the amount of attention in the bar, later on, surprised me. some women came to talk to me to find out whats 'the story'. they didnt approve but couldnt say why. surely one might claim that it is offensive to dress in a religious 'uniform' (well, i covered my hair and body with my own clothes, but anyway), but i didnt actually do anything, ok much, wrong. i drank alcohol, but that would be between me and the prophet, not for others to judge. but dancing in a bar at 1am isnt forbidden in itself. its just expected that a good muslim GIRL is at home sleeping at that hour, as one stranger explained to me.

the party itself was nice, i met a lot of new people. 

in the taxi with Senni (who went for the replicant look in blade runner), provocatively with a wine bottle.

everyone left the party and headed to kadiköy's bar street.

the bar street. always busy on a saturday nights. i really like the atmosphere.

the flat in Agva (livingroom) last monday.



















a local shoemaker who is actually only making dr martens style boots (of all kinds), had a campaign, so i had a pair made for myself. i chose the leather color, sole thickness etc...  it was 60tl (25e)...for real leather (and fake fur lining) id say that was a good deal!they look chrry red in the pic but are basically pure christmas red. i might want them darker, should be doable with shoe polish.

doctor needed new shoes too. we bought these Replay sneakers from Optimum shopping mall tonight.

our shower mixer is dripping water and the landlord didnt raise a finger so we decided to buy a good quality mixer and will take it with us when we move. we got this one from Artema, 5 yr guarantee. 120tl/50e.

now its Arttu's last evening in Istanbul and tomorrow hes going...  we are also getting busy with the trip preparations...  i still need to buy a dress or something that actually covers some skin...and weneed to get travel insurances, do some laundry and so on...   and i will hopefully get my visa tomorrow. im actually getting quite excited...