“VISUALTRAVELING – MEET THE STANS
‘Meet the Stans’ documents the journey of skateboarders Dave Bachinsky, Jimmy McDonald, Laurence Keefe, Dan Zvereff, Stas Provotorov, Gosha Konyshev, Walker Ryan, Kenny Reed and Michael Mackrodt traveling along the ancient Silk Road traversing China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan through the lens of director Patrick Wallner.”
(Source: sixand5.com)
9.9.12
Sorry for the radio silence friends and family! Life has been so busy that I haven’t gotten the chance to sit down and really write about it (no complaints here about that!). Istanbul has been an absolute delight. I live in a district on the Asian side of Istanbul that is very family oriented and as far as I know has no other foreigners living here (so almost no one speaks English), so pardon my lack of photos documenting the area around my house (it would be incredibly strange to take pictures in this area haha). On every block there are at least 5 little grocery stores/markets, bakeries, clothing stores, restaurants, and anything you could need.
My roommates are awesome. I live with a woman who is in her late 30’s and a man who is in his mid 20’s. Together we have explored Istanbul and helped each other master the public transit here. I am so lucky to have such fantastic roommates, because being alone without knowing Turkish would make life here quite difficult.
I can’t tell you guys how much I love Turkey! The fashion is absolutely incredible; you get to see women in short shorts in the same area where there are women in headscarves and stilettos and they all look great. My style fits in perfectly with Turkish style, and I have already invested in genie pants-score!
The Turks that I have met here have been nothing short of fantastic. I work with a lot of women in their mid-late twenties who are kind enough to take me shopping or out to dinner and help me with my Turkish :) Also, there are little mini buses called dolmuş’ which are a little bigger than a mini van and you pay the driver with cash and he makes change WHILE driving and other passengers will pass you back your change (this also happens on the larger public transit buses). Seriously, how can you not love a country that does that?!
Tea and coffee are everywhere and consumed at all times of the day. Turkish coffee is delicious and a couple days ago one of my neighbors read my fortune in the thick remains at the bottom of my cup and informed me that there was a Turkish man with a boat in my future so stay tuned for updates :) (just kidding of course).
This experience has been incredibly challenging, but overwhelmingly rewarding at the same time, and I couldn’t be happier that I live here.
