New phases

Transitions are always both exciting and daunting. For instance, my transition from semi-comfortable Greek skills to pseudo-babbling Turkish is a chance to both expand my field of communication and to discover new ways to feel incompetent and useless.

Changing environments has been another double edged sword. Ankara has functional sidewalks, snow, and everything is so much cheaper than Europe.

View from my room during a snowstorm

On the other hand, I shipped all my winter clothes home, the buses don't tell you where they're going, and did I mention I don't speak Turkish? (Actually, this last thing is good for you, since it will be a while before I start peppering my entries with pretentious, italicized Turkish terms that "simply can't be translated or explained" because "you really have to be here to understand")

But I'm not the only one transitioning these days. Inspired by my tattoo, Tracey got a snazzy new haircut and learned how to tame it. Toby...ok Toby never changes, she's boring, what can I say? We still love her though.



But we did discover the greatest band in Greece, possibly the world (and I'm actually not being sarcastic). Seriously, you can't even comprehend what a great idea Balkan Post-Gypsy Punk is:


If you check them (Darnakes) out on Myspace, note that their live sound is 100 times better. So come to Thessaloniki this summer!