Well, winter has arrived here for the second time this year, for me at least. The snowy beast I left behind in New York just got bigger after I left, and even though while in Italy it didn’t snow, it sure was cold and dry enough to make me sick for a day.
Coming back to Istanbul, I knew from last year’s experience that it wouldn’t be too cold (collared shirt only on Jan. 11th [last year]!), and I was right. At the baggage claim, I sweated profusely in the thick down coat that kept me warm as I left the Alps earlier that day. I had forgotten that Turkish people were so temperature-sensitive, having an acute sensitivity to the slightest draft of cold air (remember open window, close the door in mid-summer?). So of course the airport was a thousand degrees (the theme of my winter travels, now that I think of it), even though the weather outside couldn’t have been lower than 50° (that’s 10°C for my metric friends). I always liked the fact that Italian had special words for people who got hot or cold easily: caloroso and freddoloso, respectively. Turks are the latter.
Anyway, my first few weeks here the weather wasn’t too bad – some days got up to 65° (18°C for the metric folks) and there was the occasional rain shower. A jacket was enough. But recently, that all came to an end. The wintry weather has returned to 32°, and the rain has gotten heavier and colder. However, I don’t expect it to snow anytime soon because it doesn’t stay cold enough, although a few hopeful students have predicted snow for this weekend (which will give me 10 liras – I bet a student it wouldn’t snow, and it’s not on the menu). So anyway, the winter has finally come to Istanbul, and it is the worst kind of winter – cold, wet, muddy, and grey.
I’d like to tell you, dear reader, something new, perhaps yet another odd quirk about this place, but I haven’t anything exciting to report at the moment. I have had a lot of free time due to the glut of new teachers at Şirinevler and the strange preference they receive in regards to receiving hours and new classes, so in the meantime I have been formulating an escape plan and battling the juggernaut of roommate laziness and filth (for fuck’s sake I thought that I would have seen the last of it at university!) at home. Winter is here, and I’m fighting the blues (grey) as best as I know how (I’m with you on this one, Mom).
