Christmas Snow and Other Visitors in Istanbul

Well, it took until Christmas Eve, but Istanbul was finally graced with a small amount of snow this week, just in time for a white Christmas. It was gone almost as soon as the morning sun made it glisten, but it was beautiful while it lasted, and restored this Minnesota girl's faith in Christmas miracles,

however small they may be.

Earlier this week my friend Mark visited for a couple of days with his sister Karen; I wasn't much of a host, I'm afraid, as I had a cold turned strep throat blooming in my body, but they seemed to enjoy themselves and we had a nice pre-Christmas dinner at the school's alumni club.

Now they're off exploring Troy and Ephesus, and promise to report back on what they see and how they got there for any future visitors who might come my way.

Our big find together was in the Aya Sophia, which we searched from top to bottom and finally (purely by accident) found what my dad had read about, Viking runes carved, graffiti-style, into the stone of the church. The only word still visible mentions a guy named Halvdan, who apparently felt the need to leave his mark, during his 9th-century visit.

Home for a Holiday

Kurban Bayram, the Holiday of Sacrifice in Turkey (based on the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his child), provided an unexpected opportunity for an impromptu trip home last week. The reason for my trip was unfortunate: my grandmother is in the hospital after a head injury, but is getting better every day; but the trip was a welcome chance to meet a couple of the babies that have been born since my departure (congratulations Stella, Seth, Jason and Erica!)and to see some of my family and friends just before Christmas.

I had planned on going to Virginia to see my best friend and my Goddaughter Chloe, but obviously family comes first and I'm glad I was able to go see my Grandma Page even if she doesn't remember me being there! I got my fill of Christmas cheer and literally brought home the bacon; it costs about $100 a kilo here!

Merry Christmas everyone. Sorry if I didn't get a chance to see you all, but I'm sure you understand that my visit was too brief to include every single person I wanted to see!

Amadeus at RC

Robert College, the school where I teach, is well known for its RC Theater Company's extravagant performances. Many would agree that none has been so grand in recent memory, however, as this week's much-celebrated performance of Amadeus, the tragicomedy about the lives of Mozart and his contemporary and rival, Antonio Salieri. Replete with sumptous costumes, copious makeup (applied in part by yours truly), and amazing live performances of several of Mozart's works (including a portion of "The Marriage of Figaro", sung in Italian), this play was truly epic. I am incredibly proud to be the teacher of such talented students (four of my current students were among the cast), and to have been asked to assist with the hair, makeup and costumes of the cast.