A Turkish hunt ....

Today was great. Exhausting, but great.

I woke at 5 a.m. to go hunting with one of the students from my school. I was excited about this for last few days, because it's been a long time since I killed anything.

Our prey was birds and that was a personal joy for me.

Emre, the student who invited me, picked me up and we went off to the woods looking for birds. There was one little problem I realized when I got out there.

I didn't know what particular type of bird we were hunting. Some of you may know I am familiar with hunting California Quail, a delicious bird that's also a pleasure to kill.

When we got to the woods, I asked Emre what kind of birds we were looking for, except he didn't know the bird names in English and I didn't know them in Turkish.

No problem, I adopted the shoot at any reasonable sized bird within range approach. I was determined to kill a bird today for two reasons: 1) I wanted to kill something. 2) I fucking hate birds.

They are a nuisance and parasite on the food chain. They are disease carrying rodents with wings that should all be killed. The only good bird is a dead one.

Unfortunately, my vengeance on birds would not be fulfilled. After trudging through the mud, up hills and across rivers for several hours, there were just no birds to have. Our party of five hunters managed one kill.

It was great holding a gun again and being outdoors though. It brought back memories from hunting with my father and grandfather as a child. For anyone who attempted such a feat, and all should because killing animals is almost better than eating them, there are some things that can only be experienced in the "cheap showiness of nature."

It had been so long since I was in the outdoors, that I forgot how quiet it is out there. You can hear anything between shotgun blasts. A bird's single chirp, a squirrel stepping on a tree branch (if I would have seen a squirrel I would have killed it.) It's quite an amazing experience.

Walking through the natural outdoors of Turkey I also fantasized.

I thought how great it would be to walk through Izmit, the town I live in, with the same shotgun and pocket full of shells.

I would walk to school like I do everyday, but I would make a special stop.

At the taxi stand.

There I would have an unending supply of pigeons to kill.
(You thought I was going to write something about killing people, didn't you.)

Birds are bad and pigeons are the lowest of the creatures. Every day, I walk to school and pass one of the biggest collections of pigeons I've ever seen gathering eating the bread crumbs some dumbass throws at them.

These pigeons congregate day and night at the taxi stand. It normally wouldn't bother me except I have to walk by there to get to school.

They fly around the buildings, shitting on anything below. They are a nuisance and a cancer on Izmit, but no one seems to have the gall to walk out there and kill them. Maybe I should. If its against the law, which I assume it is, I will just tell them, "I didn't know. We do this all the time in my country."

Forget it. That excuse only works in America.

Bootlegs - more than just a funny word ...

It's awards season in Los Angeles and though I used to live 60 miles north of it, I am proud to say that this year, I've seen more Golden Globe nominated films than I ever did when lived an hour away or for three years in Los Angeles.

How? Piracy.

Almost every DVD and pesky little creatures called VCD's in Turkey are copies.

The quality is good and the price is cheap (4 lira or $2.79 for a DVD.) What really amazed me when I moved here was the way its done. When you visit a "DVD" store, it's all copies of DVDs. Even on the streets, vendors sell copies of VCDs and DVDs all over.

VCDs are more popular and are movies burned onto a regular compact disc rather than a DVD. They are also cheaper (2 Lira or $1.39 for a VCD) but most of them are dubbed in Turkish so I just avoid asking for them and stick with DVDs.

I'm also amazed at the speed they are available. When films are still in the United States theatres they are available here on bootleg DVDs.

The more amazing part for me was that piracy is illegal here in Turkey. I have a three students who are lawyers and I've asked them all if it is illegal for people to sell DVDs on the street. All of them said "No" and some had entertaining answers.

One of them said the police, who routinely walk by the DVD vendors, don't care about this - they're worried about bigger crimes and problems.

Another one said no one in Turkey cares because "The United States is a rich country and the people here are poor."

Either way, I've seen four of the five films up for best drama in the Golden Globes and I've seen three of the comedies.

(My picks to win are Babel and Little Miss Sunshine, but if I could pick the winners they would be the Departed and Borat, although I loved Thank you for Smoking and Little Miss Sunshine also.)

When I purchased Babel, though, there was a downside. The film relies heavily on subtitles and I was downright lost in some of the scenes. Even without dialogue I still don't think it's that good and is over-hyped much like the Aviator was two years ago.

Watch, it may take plenty of Globes, but Oscar will straighten it out.

But back to the subject at hand. watching the DVDs directly at home is so much better than the theatre. Rather than going to the movies, where I would spend at least 7 lira for entrance and have to see or talk to other people - I can just spend 4 lira and tune out the world around me.

It's a beautiful thing.

What a way to ring in the new year ...

So my roommate Maweja and I went to the wine bar we frequent here in town.

It was New Years Eve and the place was great. Packed with really cool people and it was a festive atmosphere. Plus, there were cheesy party hats that I cannot resist.

That night was something special, because they had live music. But the accordion player, guitarist and drummer weren't so special. What made the live music better was that Usuf, the bar owner, asked me to get up and sing some Frank Sinatra.

I've done much karaoke in my lifetime, but this was so superior. With live music behind me I belted out "My Way" and "Strangers in the Night." The crowd was great too. They cheered me on as I got up there and when I said, "Multu Yillar" which means Happy New Year in Turkish, they cheered even louder.

I haven't done karaoke since I've been to Turkey but I don't know if I ever will be able to do it again. Live music is the only way to go.

uch, iki, bir, multu yillar

And so the count down went and it was a happy new year in Turkey. (I'll post more on my New Years Night at the wine bar later this week.)

As you could tell I took a week off from writing for several reasons. One of them is I am working on adding a new feature to Loughriedoesturkey that I hope to unveil this month.

But I did want to use the changing of the calendar to reflect on my experience here in Turkey, what I've learned and how wrong so many people in America are about this country and the world for that matter.

Sorry to get Amicoesque, but this is going to be a long blog entry.

When I told people I was moving to Turkey, I got a lot of mixed reactions. Many people were excited for me taking on this opportunity. I noticed that almost everyone who had been to Turkey in the past told me what a great country it was and how jealous they were that I was moving here.

But there were a few, whose names I will not mention, who tried to "warn" me. Those people, I can now confirm, are totally ignorant of the world.

I had one person ask me if I had ever been to the Middle East before and in a long-winded sit down talk, this person tried to relay their own "expertise" in the region.

I even had another person who is a self-described traveller tell me about how dangerous Turkey is, especially outside of Istanbul. I did not then, nor do I now, respect this woman, but since being here I wondered how one could make such a statement that was and is wrong on all levels.

The condescending one-sided talk concluded with me realizing how little people know about Turkey.

Here's what I've learned and what I can share with you since I have been in Turkey.

-Turkey is not the Middle East. Nor is it European. Nor is it Mediterranean. It's Turkey. It really has its own identity and culture. Their religion comes from the Middle East, their cuisine is heavily Mediterranean and their beliefs are a mixture of the three regions. It is its own culture that should not be labelled, especially by people who have not been here or read about the country in any detail.

-Turkish people are extremely kind. They have a Mediterranean sense of hospitality. When you are a guest in their country they are especially nice to you. One of my students explained it was a term "Mese Perve" which means on behalf of the state and people.

-Turkey is safer than America. I feel safe walking down the street at any time of the night. I have never encountered anything close to a situation which would compromise my safety. Turkey, and especially Izmit where I live, is safer than any American city I've lived in.

- Almost everyone here is Muslim, but they are far more tolerant of individual religious practices than many Christians I've met. I think this is a uniquely Turkish aspect, because there is a strong demand for the country to remain a secular one. Church and state are better separated here than in America. I've met a lot of people who are religious but never talk about their religion unless asked. I've met more people who are not religious, do not practise Islam everyday but carry the beliefs with them as part of their life. Religion here is a part of life but not necessarily a way of life.

-"You people" is not an insult. Americans have become so sensitive and politically correct that they think everyone else in the world drank that awful bland kool aid. So many people made jokes about how I would offend Turkish people and it hasn't happened yet. (Well except for a cab driver I told to fuck off in Turkish, but that would happen in America too.) The Turks view the world with a refreshing honesty and do not constantly second guess themselves like Americans who have come under control of politically correct Nazis.

-Women have as many freedoms here as a woman in the United States. I know that might shock some of you, but its true. Women own businesses, are politicians and one has even been Prime Minister (even though she was a disaster, according to my Turkish friends and students.) Some women from back home were upset to hear about the men only Tea Houses they have here - but I'll counter the Turkish men only Tea Houses with women's fitness centers in America that a man cannot go into. Or Ladies night at a bar when women get in free and men have to pay a cover charge.

-Turkey is not a third world country. I've heard this a lot from Americans, but look. We have DSL Internet, satellite television and cell phones everywhere. Technology that's not available in most third world countries.

-Turks do not hate America or Americans. Many of them want to live there. They love Americans, they just hate the American Government, to which I tell them, "so do many Americans."

Looking back on this I am so glad I came here. Getting on that plane was one of the best things I have ever done, because it gave me the opportunity to experience an entirely new culture and meet some great people. Plus there are the wacky adventures, which I hope to have a lot more of in 2007.

Happy New Year to you all with best wishes for 2007.

James