Anadolu Kavağı

I woke up Saturday morning surprised to discover that I was not feeling so well. I blamed it on lack of sleep and got out of bed anyway. I made it to Beşiktaş where I met up with Nayat and Sezen. We walked onto a crowded boat for a 1.5 hour ride to Anadolu Kavağı, a fortress with a view at the intersection of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea.The Bosphorus is very scenic, but the boat was overcrowded (mostly tourists) and my health was declining again. Once on land again and out in the sun, I began to feel a little better. We hiked slowly, discussing many things.At times I felt really hot and at times really cold. I was beginning to wish I had stayed home. I was starting to feel worse.As I made my way to the toilet, I paused on a stone step next to some bushes. The world was spinning and getting smaller. I was dizzy and confused. I lost perception of everything that was not immediately near me. Some tourists asked if I needed help, and Nayat explained the situation. The world got smaller. I don't know when the tourists walked on. I was vaguely aware that Nayat was behind me somewhere. The world narrowed further until just the bushes remained. I emptied the contents of my stomach into them. Though still exhausted, I immediately felt so much better. The world came back into view. Only Nayat had closely witnessed my deed. A waiter brought some juice and water. I rested for a while before we continued up the hill.

The trip was worth it.
The view was perfect. The weather was perfect. We hung out at the fortress for a while.
Once, on a narrow path, I offered the woman next to me to proceed ahead of me, by uttering a short Turkish phrase. She said "Thank you!" in an American accent. It was a strange feeling. On the boat ride home, I had a nice chat with a Canadian tourist. In addition to our experiences in Turkey, we discussed American, European, Israeli, and Turkish politics and lifestyles. I'm really starting to feel as though I am gaining a more global perspective on these matters. Just because I moved to a country 5000 miles away, doesn't mean I don't live in a bubble. In fact, I'm finding myself in a kind of Turkish/Turkish-American bubble. I found it refreshing to talk with someone on the outside of my bubble. I'm not even sure what this means, but I feel like I'm still finding myself in many ways. Of course I might look back on this in 20 years and laugh. Who completely finds themselves? And what does that feel like anyway?