The Best Monday in a While

It seems like things just clicked for me today, much like a jigsaw falling into place. First I got my tax number which was required in order to get a bank account. Then I went to Garanti and opened a bank account, which was required in order to get a residency permit. I have an appointment for next Tuesday to get the permit. In the meantime, I have to gather a couple of forms, get some passport photos, and put some money in my new account.

After he bank, Kuthan, Murat and myself went to go apartment hunting (for me). We looked at a couple furnished apartments and one non-furnished one.Of the furnished ones, both were in really nice locations and much cheaper than you'd expect for being where they are. In looking at these apartments I went to Kadıköy for the first time. It was awesome! There were pedestrians everywhere walking narrow brick streets lined with bars and cafes. Many of the people were in their late teens and early twenties. It was just such a vibrant atmosphere. In between apartment visits, the three of us went for burgers. Mine was a garlic mushroom burger. It was super delicious. After the meal, the waiter asked me if the burger I just had was better than the ones in the states. I answered yes, though honestly it really depends.In the evening we watched a movie together, ate dinner, and then went to Murat's place to watch a football match. While there, I called a close friend from Skype and also chatted with Murat's dad a bunch. The conversation eventually found its way to Scottish music and bagpipes, at which point Murat produced from nowhere, a bagpipe. He claimed that it didn't work. Immediately I jumped up to investigate. Then Kuthan joined the effort and after a short while, Ahmet (Murat's dad) came to help. I learned a whole lot about how a bagpipe works. After about an hour of fiddling with reeds and pipes, we discovered that the biggest problem was a leak in the bag. Still it was fun to try to get the thing to work. We all really put our heads together on it.Still in a problem-solving mood, my eye caught the Bulmaca section of the newspaper. Bulmaca is basically a crossword puzzle for anyone who doesnt know. I never get more than 2 or 3 of the words (out of about 30-40 maybe). The reason for this is obvious. First of all I have to understand the clue and secondly I have to know the answer! Both are of a low likelihood. Well I studied the board and answered a couple of the questions. They were easy though. For example, the first one I got was "Rusça evet" which is "Russian yes". Da being the obvious answer. Murat, Kuthan, and Ahmet came to help me out. At one point, I noticed the clue "Sezen Aksu şarkısı", which corresponded to the largest answer on the board. A few of the letters were filled in. This is what I had to work with:

_ _ _ _ _ D _ _ I _ _ Z

I stared at it for a short time and then the answer faded into my mind's view. Masum Değiliz. I pointed the answer out to Ahmet who had the pen. He was genuinely shocked out of his mind. He suggested that I might be a reincarnated Turk. I explained that a close friend once introduced me to the music of Sezen Aksu, and in fact Masum Değiliz was one of the first songs of hers that I ever heard.A similar moment occurred a short while later with the clue "Elif Şafak bir roman". I only know the titles of two of her books, but one of them happened to be the answer. It was Araf. It turns out I have read this one (the English translation of course). Curiously I read the book on the suggestion of that same close friend.

Monday had success, apartments, good food, bagpipes, and Bulmaca. It's been the best Monday in a while.