Birthday in Istanbul

First of all, I'm sorry it's been awhile since I last posted. It's finals time at Robert College, and I have been extraordinarily busy preparing grades and grading finals, listening to pleas for extra points, and finishing all of the end of the year things we teachers all endure. That being said, today is my birthday, so I thought it would be fitting for me to post a few words about what it is like to celebrate my first birthday away from home. My birthday celebration began with my students, who had secretly prepared a little party for me at the end of the day yesterday. They had bought a gourmet cake (a tradition among these kids) for me, gifts (a purple necklace, a journal, and pictures of them-one seen here), and the Turkish version of "Happy Birthday" sung in English (same tune as the American version, with slightly different lyrics). They bought me birthday card but none of them signed it, in a gesture that shows how they "almost" understand American traditions (birthday cards are not very big here). Very sweet kids. After my birthday celebration, we went to the usual Friday flag ceremony, only to discover that it was time for the kids to learn the Robert College school song, which also had a familiar tune: it's sung to the tune of "O Tannenbaum!" After almost ten months of the Turkish National Anthem, which is pretty severe, this was quite the change. I suppressed my laughter and sang along.

Last night it was time for the adult celebration, a joint birthday party with my friend and fellow English teacher Jake, whose birthday was yesterday. We went to a bar/ restaurant/ brewhouse called Taps; one of the few places I've found where they serve fresh microbrew and mostly American food. Their view is amazing, their front window panels were wide open, and it was a beautiful summer night. Most of our department showed up, as did several other campus residents with whom I have become well acquainted this year, and a good time was had by all. My fellow Minnesotan Ann Marie Mershon also joined us for the celebration; she is the one who had been my source of information about Istanbul in general and Robert College in particular last year after I found out I was coming here, and it was great to see her again. At nine o'clock the waiters began to get nervous about the size of the tab being generated by our group and asked us to cash out and start again; we decided it was time to go someplace where the beer was a little cheaper...the lojman of one of the other English teachers, Phil. His apartment also has an amazing view, and it turns out that he makes fantastic soup (which was consumed in abundance by us in the middle of the night). So we walked from Bebek to Robert College (about a mile or so) along the Bosphorus, which was filled with fishermen and women, families, old folks, and a few odd characters, one of whom had a motorcycle covered with odds and ends: empty film canisters, buttons, bottle caps, and other miscellaneous small items. He posed for pictures as he ate his dinner beside his bike, and told us he was actually a photographer (and a very good one, if his business card is any indication). Just one more reason I love wandering in Arnavutkoy in the middle of the night along the Bosphorus.

Back at Phil's place, we continued our carousing well into the night, had a celebratory toast at midnight in honor of my birthday, watched boats with advertisements go by and watched the moon rise, and eventually parted ways after what was undeniably one of the most fun birthdays I've had in a long, long time!