Arrival in İstanbul

I arrived at Chicago O'Hare in high spirits. I checked my 24-hour analog watch and saw that I had 8 hours to get to my gate. With that kind of time, I was relaxed about finding my way to the ticket counter. In fact when I arrived I learned that it wouldn't open for another hour or so. Then I saw a gentleman who had been one of the most vocal the night before about his discontent with the flight situation. I struck up a conversation. We talked for a while about the events of the night before with missing the flight. I encouraged him to think of an appropriate response as being something that falls between the least the airline deserves and what his health and mentality could withstand. The conversation changed to one of the priorities of life and so forth. When the ticket counter opened, we got our tickets at the same time. The man, whose name I learned was Selahattin, then turned to the (very attractive) woman at the ticket counter and asked if it was alright if I joined him as his guest in the VIP lounge. She said "certainly". Dumbstruck, I turned and thanked my new friend.I killed the following six hours in two different VIP lounges. The first had a broken chair but was otherwise not bad. The free drinks, food, nice chairs, and quiet atmosphere made the wait much easier to bear. I slowly drank several beers and snacked on gourmet cheese and crackers while making use of the high speed internet. I also talked a while more with "Sel" about many things. Later on, I met a kind Turkish man in the lounge who after we talked a while said that he could likely set me up with a weekend job being a private English tutor to a couple kids he knows who live on Buyuk Ada (a paradisaical island near İstanbul). I took his card and wondered if my day could get any better. It did. Shortly before boarding I asked Sel what his seat number was, and it turned out to be right next to mine. He explained that he had requested at the ticket counter that we get our seats together and that they be near an emergency exit door so that we would have the most legroom. In fact slouching and stretching my legs all the way in front of me, my feet still didn't reach the wall in front of us. The plane took off with at least one passenger feeling like the universe was smiling upon him. The plane ride was unremarkable. Though I did switch my seat early into the flight with a woman who was having trouble sitting next to a woman and toddler next to her. I struck up a conversation with the woman with the child. She was Uzbek but ethnically Russian. Seeing as she had her hands full with her little boy, I assisted her whenever she needed. I think her kid is the cutest toddler I have ever seen. He liked to play a game where I would hold a magazine and he would randomly flip the pages and then freak out at whatever was on the page by letting out a brief cry of joy and slapping the page repeatedly. At one point, a flight attendant approached me and informed me that the seat 14G was available should I want to sit somewhere away from the children. Before I could respond the woman requested that I stay. I was surprised but she said she liked talking with me. I enjoyed it as well so I stayed. I met some other nice people on the plane, too. There was Maleki the Iranian and JC and Jordan the New Zealand couple. I loved their accents!

On the plane I watched a movie on my laptop. It was called "I Love You Man". I love this movie. Instantly it is in my top 5 of all time. Please try to watch it sometime and then let me know what you think.

As planned, I slept roughly 4.5 hours on the plane. When it landed, I went through passport control, retrieved my bags, and said goodbye to JC and Jordan after describing how to get to the taxis. Then I walked out to the arrival area with Selahattin and introduced him to my friends who were waiting for me. I thanked him again for making a bad day into a good one for me. He smiled, shook my hand, and departed.Kuthan, Hazal, and I rode through İstanbul during sunset in relatively heavy traffic to Ortaköy. The sights and sounds captured me and I couldn't stop thinking about how happy I was to have returned to this beautiful city. We stopped at one of Hazal's favorite hookah bars and each ordered some kumpir and drinks. On the slip of paper marking my choices for the kumpir, under the name I put 'Asım'. I don't feel like pushing a strange name like 'Jeremy' on the people here. A while later we were joined by another friend, ordered hookahs and tobacco (I didn't but I tried Kuthan's), and played a weird kind of 3D Monopoly game where the city was İstanbul.

As it started to get late, we decided to end the game which was awesome because I was losing! I went with Kuthan back to his parents' place where I will be staying for a while. They are both lovely and I was happy to meet them. We talked a while and then each retreated to our quarters.

Here it is already Saturday and I am very much looking forward to what this day will bring.

An account of what has happened with my travels

My experience at Logan Airport was good, although weather between Boston and Chicago was causing delays for earlier flights. I was worried, but it was out of my hands.

I find that my attitude when I travel is very positive. I know everyone is stressed out and so I try to be the one who isn't. When I was checking in, there wasn't any clear indication of where exactly one should (which booth etc) and also there was a self-check-in system that was confusing. However, I knew I had hours to figure it out so I took my time and asked for assistance when an assistant looked available. Standing near me was a guy who was loudly complaining about how the service was terrible and he had no idea where to go. He was talking to anyone who could hear him and he was turning his head as if to say, "Am I right, guys? Am I right? This is ridiculous." I turned to him and told him what I had learned about how to check in. He wasn't too pleased and his patience was waning. Then I asked him politely "Are you in a big hurry?" To which he calmly replied "No." Then what's the big f*cking deal? I thought as I smiled. I then saw that he was there with his wife and three kids. He was playing Mr. Responsible For Everything.

As I waited at the gate an announcement came that the gate had changed. I walked over slowly. Then I saw a woman and her son who looked lost. Our eyes made contact and I asked them which was their flight (I think I actually used "which" instead of "what"). Theirs was mine, and so I informed them of the announcement that had been made moments earlier. The woman was exceedingly thankful for my volunteered assistance. Her husband caught up with her and the kid and as they walked off, I heard the woman saying, "A very kind gentleman told us that the gate..." They walked quickly ahead and out of earshot. Simple, but gratifying. I smiled to myself.

My positive attitude continued even after I learned that my plane would arrive in Chicago just 10 minutes before my connection. I wrote a note and handed it to a flight attendant. She disappeared and returned informing me that they could not determine the schedule of my flight to Turkey, but she did move up to the front, just behind first class. I studied the map of O'Hare from a magazine and then asked the same flight attendant to describe to me the quickest way to my terminal (which unfortunately but unsurprisingly was located on the opposite side of the airport). She gave me detailed instructions.

I was the first person off the plane and I ran like hell. Sprinting for minutes and minutes I rounded corners, skipped stairs on escalators, and hurriedly asked security guards for updated directions along the way. As I ran, I thought about how thankful I was for the 2 or 3 soccer games per week I had been playing. However after 5-10 minutes of running flat out, my chest felt like it was going to explode. I finally reached found tram and took it the rest of the way. I was so close to the terminal. I glanced quickly at a computer. The plane was delayed 20 minutes! I glanced at my watch, the 20 minutes was up. I had to go through security again. My shoes and watch flung off, all my things speedily shoved through the x-ray machine. I had never been through security so quickly. I slipped my shoes back on, stepping on the heel. I shoved my loose items into my pockets and began to run again. When I rounded the corner to the gate, every part of me sore. I asked if I was too late, the reply was "yes."

I collapsed on the nearest chair and sunk my head into my hands. Sweat was pouring from my whole body and my shoulders ached. Completely winded, I was still gasping for air after resting for a couple minutes. I was disappointed, upset, but not broken. I gathered up my things and packed them into my backpack. I walked slowly away. An assistant caught up to me and offered to help me. I followed her to where a small crowd of others who had missed the plane were waiting. Had they come on a different plane? Had they found the tram before me? It didn't matter, their presence confirmed that there was probably nothing more I could have done.

My flight got rebooked and I hopped on a hotel shuttle. Once at the hotel, I relaxed in the lobby and then ordered a medium pizza. While in the lobby, I saw a man approach the desk and proceed to be a complete dick. He had had a bad experience trying to find his way to a nearby restaurant despite the receptionist's detailed directions and thought it necessary to take it out on the receptionist in the form of shouting and harsh words. As I listened, I just wondered what the world would be like if the dicks were quiet and the nice people were really loud.

The pizza arrived and I went to my room and collapsed on the bed. I fell into a deep sleep. I woke up after just six hours feeling like I had slept two nights. I climbed out of bed and embarked a very long morning preparation that included a long shower, shave, and ironing all my clothes. Well, all the clothes that I happened to have packed into my backpack. My checked bag is still at the airport and I'm told it will be loaded onto my flight today. I charged all my electronics and repacked my backpack even more efficiently than before, with the most frequently accessed items near the opening of each pocket. I had my leftover pizza from the night before for breakfast. Ingeniously, for lack of a refrigerator, I had insulated the box in between the heavy curtains and the very cold window to the outside. However, I did not attempt to reheat the pizza using the iron! I like cold pizza well enough.

I feel completely refreshed. I took a picture of me with my webcam while having a chat with a nice Iranian fellow who had missed the same flight. A little while later, he took the 1:30 shuttle. I told him I'd see him at the gate.
In 15 minutes, I'm going to take the 2:00 shuttle to the airport from the hotel. The arrangements in Turkey have been made, and so I am really back to where I started only this time I'll get to the gate well in advance. The plane doesn't leave for 8.5 hours.

If you just read all of that, congratulations! Anyway, that's what happened. And now the shuttle is here, so I must go. Take care everyone! Thanks for good travel wishes. I think it will be from here on out. :)

Waiting in Logan Airport

*Note: Links to flight tracking information below.

So I really did stay up ALL night last night, packing and preparing for the trip to İstanbul. I rode into WPI this morning as a passenger and actually fell asleep at one point mid-sentence. At which point I kept talking only about something completely different, and then woke up forgetting what the original subject was. Throughout the morning I fought off the exhaustion in order to visit more people to whom I wanted to say goodbye. In between I napped about 2 hours total in 30 minute spurts.
Right now I'm at the airport in Boston and I couldn't feel better. In fact I have not eaten more than a bagel today and yet it hardly fazes me at this point. Probably I just jinxed myself and will start feeling super hungry soon.

My flight plan is as follows:

Leg 1: Boston to Chicago O'Hare nominally, depart at 19:15 arrive 20:55 (local times)

Leg 2: Chicago to İstanbul nominally, depart at 22:20, arrive at 17:05 (local time, following day)

The links lead to respective flight tracking information. In case I can't get online again, I'll say that I'll be in İstanbul tomorrow in the late morning (for those of you on the east coast). I'll try to send immediate word of my successful arrival.

I like having a laptop and I like free WiFi. The time is passing nicely. Though I am starting to get hungry. Might go do something about that soon. Really I can't wait to be eating the food on my Tukish Airlines flight. Oh god, someone with really strong smelling old-person perfume just walked by and I'm gagging.

Family Visit + Road Trip

On the drive back from the DC area to Boston, I made a couple stops along the way to see family.
Captured at exactly the right moment, the dog looks like she is wildly excited about being in the photo. :)
Ultimately I made it to Boston in time to see my friend Dorothy's viola recital. Simply put, she was phenomenal. The music was really intense at times and really peaceful at others. After the performance, we all went out for drinks and snacks. It was a nice finish to yet another long and awesome day.