Welcome to IT'SDAMNBULL

It seems like an eternity since we left Changi Airport, when in fact it's just been 6 days. It has been A LOOOONNNNNG week for me here in Istanbul. It's been so trying.

Wanted to post this earlier, but the Internet connection in the hotel is terrible and sustains for about 1 minute. It's supposed to be wi-fi, but the connection drops all the time.

Apart from Mummy, Daddy, Mark n Wendy, Dor Ee, Mel & Sasha, Betty Ee, Zer & Leonard came to see us off.

Dor Ee was super duper sweet and made us 2 big boxes full of her famous walnut brownies for the 13-hour plane journey. (We had to stop for 1 hour in Dubai). We are still saving the last 2 browines today with immense gratitude and appreciation. Mainly because the Turkish food here SUX BIG TIME!!!!! It tastes NOTHING like the Turkish food in SG, UK or Australia. Will go into detail later.

I almost wanted to cry at the airport saying goodbye to everyone, especially Daddy, who looked so sad. Held back my tears because I knew it would distress him even more if I cried. Last minute before we went in, he hurriedly pressed his old rosary into my palm. Later I discovered that Mummy had also slipped something into my bag without me knowing - 3 little wallet-sized cards with cute pictures and phrases like "God is with you! Expect a Miracle". I like stuff like that...little notes etc. It makes me feel loved.

JF left for Paris on on Wednesday and I've been on my own, house hunting with the relocation agent. It's not been a walk in the park. There's enough material there for a whole other post, which I'll do later.

Here's what I've experienced & observed in Istanbul so far. If you are Turkish or love all things Turkish, U may want to stop reading here cos some of it may be offensive to Turks. (BTW apparently U can get thrown in jail here for insulting "Turkishness".....the govt here has taken its own Turkish citizens to court over this....writers, political cartoonists.)

1. I discovered that I really dislike Turkish food here. IT SUX. FYI it tastes nothing like Turkish food I've tasted in other countries, even UK where there are Kebab shops at every corner. The local food here consists mainly of:
- Dry and smelly meat. (I hate lamb & mutton...even the beef here has a bad smell) And that seems to be present in EVERY MEAT DISH
- Sour sauces on vegetables
- Flat bread

(No wonder Vim warned me. She and her hubby, both Muslims visited Turkey and they HATED the food here even though they really enjoy Turkish food in Singapore.)

In short, the food smells like it has B.O. NOT KIDDING. To my utter dismay, I had so-called seafood spaghetti at a cafe the other day and it smelt like B.O. SOUR LAMB to be exact. BLEAH. Maybe they cooked it in lamb fat.

2. Surprisingly, although Istanbul is right next to the sea (The Bosphorous, Sea of Marmaray etc) IT IS SO DAMN HARD TO FIND FRESH FISH. On every menu, everywhere, meat meat meat but no fish. The relocation agent even told me not to order fish if it's not a specialised FISH restaurant because high chance that the fish will be off.
This is a rude shock for me coming from Singapore where $3 can get U fresh sliced fish soup in every hawker centre or food court.

3. Have not seen any markets. Before coming here I thought there might be abundant fresh food markets bursting with fresh veggies, fruits, fish etc. Well, NADA, NONE so far. Just some sad looking minimarts.

4. Sad to say this but my nose has discovered that quite a number of people here have bad B.O. From the taxi driver who took us from the airport to hotel, to shopkeepers, to people squashed up against me in the METRO. I want to FAINT!!!!! It's probably not a hygeine issue because I read that Turkish people are fastidious about cleanliness. I think it's mainly because of the FOOD. If U eat B.O smelling food everyday at every meal, U can't help but smell bad.
TO ADD TO THE ALREADY BAD B.O, unfortunately a lot of guys here seem to favour OVERPOWERING COLOGNE. So imagine bad B.O mixed with strong perfume. CAN DIE.

5. Everyone here (Men, Women, Grannies, Hip Chicks, Teens) smokes smokes smokes, in aircon places, in food places, in the metro station, EVERY DAMN WHERE.
I think that will be a big problem if I'm pregnant here....all that second hand smoke!!


6. MAJOR MAJOR LANGUAGE PROBLEM. I don't speak Turkish, they don't speak English. As a tourist, it's fine and U can get away with one or 2 weeks of sign language and smiles. But TYRING TO SETTLE here is a nightmare. I went to check out home applicances yesterday and everything from the buttons to the the instruction manual is in Turkish.
Of course I will take Turkish lessons once we are settled, but it seems SO HARD. I don't know how to describe what it sounds like. It's not even like Arabic. JUST ROJAK.

7. You can't drink water from the tap. The Turks themselves don't even drink it or make ice from it.

8. Every place U go, from the metro station to shopping centres, there are security scanners (just like at the airport where U walk through a scanner and put your bag in the X-ray) It's a bit unnerving.....For me it's a constant reminder that I'M LIVING NEAR THE MIDDLE EAST. Ok technically that's not 100% correct because part of Istanbul is on the European continent. But still, this country is neighbours with Syria, Iran and Iraq. Not to mention all the unhappy Kurdish separatists.
On the plus side, people seem to be quite friendly and ready to help.

OK this post seems like one long RANT. But I'm feeling very alone, depressed, worried, anxious. JF is not even here.

I miss my family and my cuzzins.....and I miss Blossom so much. Coming home and seeing her happily wagging her tail and jumping up and down really cheers me up.

More house hunting today. Oh yah this seems silly, but it's kinda part of my happiness barometer.......the shoes and bags here are VERY UGLY and QUITE EXPENSIVE. Sigh. THAT'S Depressing. In France and UK they were expensive but at least they were beautiful and there was a wide range. Here, all the shops seem to have the same ugly shoes in the same colours. Even the most unfashionable auntie or tacky Ah Lian in Singapore won't be caught dead it them.

:(