managing on all fronts
i happened to run into the work of Taner Ceylan, a turkish artist who will be featured at the Istanbul Biennial. the website is not very user friendly, but his work really is cool.
Trainwreck was a really fun movie to watch, i was surprised. the premise didn't seem too interesting. but i found myself LOL'ing a lot - that's a good sign, and rare!
next on my list is Jafar Panahi's Taxi, which seems interesting and will probably remind me of our trip to Iran. although the trailer also reminds me of Turkey - the 2 countries do share culture.
doctor is undergoing a small nose surgery on monday. its a routine thing, and maybe he could live without, but it could improve his life quality. and its better to get everything 'in order' while we are still in turkey. ill go and stay with him at the hospital of course, thats one of the good habits ive picked up on in turkey. i am also looking to get my sterilization finally, i have been calling around for prices etc. i think im old enough to decide, yet still young enough to benefit (its would hardly be of much use 10 years later). so this is a year of...body management for us?
people react to this sterilization thing like i was telling them that im going to a belgian clinic to get euthanized. "well, it is a big decision, if you are really sure, i guess...". but it's not just the words, it is the tone of voice. i am 35 for f*'s sakes, not 20... one friend admitted that she realized she would react much more carelessly to a man making the same choice. there is still this stigma in women who say they don't want children. even if i have been saying it for years and years, the mention of sterilization seems to surprise some people. what, am i just supposed to juggle with contraception all my fertile life?
my friend Billur is moving to Cyprus. kind of suddenly too (by finnish standards!), she got a job there like 3 weeks ago (or so). it was a good offer, she is a psychologist and its a university and ...well, it fits her well. in turkey things change fast. you meet someone in february and they are happy in their job and then you meet them in march and they have a new job and say that the old one was actually shit anyway. something like that happens all the time. people change flats and jobs like shirts. maybe this is not the right time to roll eyes over it since Billur is actually not a textbook case, i knew what kind of work she was looking for for a long time, but to me it still seemed sudden and it reminded me how things are here sometimes. me and doctor went to see Billur to her place, she has a nice terrace in the top floor flat, and despite living in the city, we could see a lot of stars, and in september the air is still perfectly soft and warm in the night... it was a lovely evening.
the refugee discussion is going on wild. today i was thinking how money is sometimes in the wrong place... i dont know how much it costs in finland to upkeep/feed/etc the refugees, but my guess is that its not cheap. i think thats a fair guess.. i currently live in a country which does host more refugess than any other, but at the same time, many of them see turkey only as a gateway to europe. turkey is a pit stop. not good enough to stay. because really, besides the camps by the border, and some fragmented NGO work, there is nothing in turkey. europe offers the real chances, from social benefits to other help.in finland the homes are on average quite small, so hosting refugees is not an option for most families. of course its not just a space issue... but its also a space issue. in turkey, the homes are big, but if you were to take a syrian family, you would need to feed them too, cos, it's not like they have income? it's all on you. so it's not very common here. maybe in the east, but i doubt it. this country has its prejudices too. but honestly, if finnish gov sent me a fraction of the money it takes to "host" a refugee family in finland, let's say 400 euros a month, i could go find a syrian family to stay in our guest room (before they take a boat across to europe, or attempt to) and feed them and it would cover our increased utilities too. even if not, the money would at least feed them and help with the basics. i bet a most syrian families would rather stay near their home, in a culture thats similar... with the finnish money it would theoretically work here. but i realize thats just fantasy. just saying. they are already in turkey and there is space and big homes here, too. the refugees should be stopped here, by giving them what they need. but of course essentially millions of people shatter the balance here too. and turkey has its own unemployment problems etc. oh well. i just messaged someone who can take our clothes donation bag to an organization helping the poor and the refugees in Istanbul. once a year or so i collect extra clothes and it's nice to pass them forward.
Trainwreck was a really fun movie to watch, i was surprised. the premise didn't seem too interesting. but i found myself LOL'ing a lot - that's a good sign, and rare!
next on my list is Jafar Panahi's Taxi, which seems interesting and will probably remind me of our trip to Iran. although the trailer also reminds me of Turkey - the 2 countries do share culture.
doctor is undergoing a small nose surgery on monday. its a routine thing, and maybe he could live without, but it could improve his life quality. and its better to get everything 'in order' while we are still in turkey. ill go and stay with him at the hospital of course, thats one of the good habits ive picked up on in turkey. i am also looking to get my sterilization finally, i have been calling around for prices etc. i think im old enough to decide, yet still young enough to benefit (its would hardly be of much use 10 years later). so this is a year of...body management for us?
people react to this sterilization thing like i was telling them that im going to a belgian clinic to get euthanized. "well, it is a big decision, if you are really sure, i guess...". but it's not just the words, it is the tone of voice. i am 35 for f*'s sakes, not 20... one friend admitted that she realized she would react much more carelessly to a man making the same choice. there is still this stigma in women who say they don't want children. even if i have been saying it for years and years, the mention of sterilization seems to surprise some people. what, am i just supposed to juggle with contraception all my fertile life?
my friend Billur is moving to Cyprus. kind of suddenly too (by finnish standards!), she got a job there like 3 weeks ago (or so). it was a good offer, she is a psychologist and its a university and ...well, it fits her well. in turkey things change fast. you meet someone in february and they are happy in their job and then you meet them in march and they have a new job and say that the old one was actually shit anyway. something like that happens all the time. people change flats and jobs like shirts. maybe this is not the right time to roll eyes over it since Billur is actually not a textbook case, i knew what kind of work she was looking for for a long time, but to me it still seemed sudden and it reminded me how things are here sometimes. me and doctor went to see Billur to her place, she has a nice terrace in the top floor flat, and despite living in the city, we could see a lot of stars, and in september the air is still perfectly soft and warm in the night... it was a lovely evening.
the refugee discussion is going on wild. today i was thinking how money is sometimes in the wrong place... i dont know how much it costs in finland to upkeep/feed/etc the refugees, but my guess is that its not cheap. i think thats a fair guess.. i currently live in a country which does host more refugess than any other, but at the same time, many of them see turkey only as a gateway to europe. turkey is a pit stop. not good enough to stay. because really, besides the camps by the border, and some fragmented NGO work, there is nothing in turkey. europe offers the real chances, from social benefits to other help.in finland the homes are on average quite small, so hosting refugees is not an option for most families. of course its not just a space issue... but its also a space issue. in turkey, the homes are big, but if you were to take a syrian family, you would need to feed them too, cos, it's not like they have income? it's all on you. so it's not very common here. maybe in the east, but i doubt it. this country has its prejudices too. but honestly, if finnish gov sent me a fraction of the money it takes to "host" a refugee family in finland, let's say 400 euros a month, i could go find a syrian family to stay in our guest room (before they take a boat across to europe, or attempt to) and feed them and it would cover our increased utilities too. even if not, the money would at least feed them and help with the basics. i bet a most syrian families would rather stay near their home, in a culture thats similar... with the finnish money it would theoretically work here. but i realize thats just fantasy. just saying. they are already in turkey and there is space and big homes here, too. the refugees should be stopped here, by giving them what they need. but of course essentially millions of people shatter the balance here too. and turkey has its own unemployment problems etc. oh well. i just messaged someone who can take our clothes donation bag to an organization helping the poor and the refugees in Istanbul. once a year or so i collect extra clothes and it's nice to pass them forward.
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