Tag: Turkey

Time Travelling Postcards: Anatolian Road Trip, 2003
March 12, 2015

Time Travelling Postcards: Anatolian Road Trip, 2003

I didn’t always live in Shanghai. Or Hanoi. Although this blog places my online identity firmly in heart of east Asia, I have actually spent more time living in Turkey, both in European Istanbul and Asian Anatolia- 6 years in total.  Sometimes even I forget …

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These Were The People In My Neighbourhood: Notes on Istanbul, Tear Gas, Riot Police, Memory, Identity and Stuff
June 5, 2013

These Were The People In My Neighbourhood: Notes on Istanbul, Tear Gas, Riot Police, Memory, Identity and Stuff

About four and a half years ago, I left Turkey. I had been living there for six years at that point, mostly in Istanbul. I was both very ready to leave and not at all ready. I spent the next several years feeling quietly sick …

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Shanghai is trying to kill me: The self-care edition
October 24, 2012

Shanghai is trying to kill me: The self-care edition

About 5 years ago, during my last year in Istanbul, I was living in a lovely old flat in Osmanbey, a neighbourhood at that time populated by old man bars, Armenians, artsy types who couldn’t afford to live in Beyoglu, and very small scale industry. …

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Who Needs A Comfort Zone Anyway? Building Character Abroad: The Employment Edition
October 12, 2012

Who Needs A Comfort Zone Anyway? Building Character Abroad: The Employment Edition

Back when I lived and worked in Canada, employers generally expected me to be qualified for my job. They wanted the certification from year-long+ accredited courses, plus, say five years of verifiable, solidly referenced on the job experience. This was difficult when I was 19, …

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I May Have Just A Wee Bit Too Much on My Plate
May 14, 2012

I May Have Just A Wee Bit Too Much on My Plate

It’s just after 7:30am on an inexplicably cool morning. Shanghai is invisible under the fog. It’s just as well as I’m still in bed, under several layers of duvet, strong, lightly milked coffee in hand. I may or may not be staring at the wall …

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Blue Skies, Fake Britain and Imaginary Friends: It Gets Better (For Now)
March 30, 2011

Blue Skies, Fake Britain and Imaginary Friends: It Gets Better (For Now)

Four days ago, I was quite dissatisfied with Shanghai and with living abroad in general. I wanted to go home to Canada, to go live in the forest and bake bread and raise goats and make really awesome goat cheese and to say, quite pleasantly, …

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A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #2: Connie Hum of Connvoyage
March 24, 2011

A Totally Impractical Expat Interview #2: Connie Hum of Connvoyage

Welcome to the second in my series of interviews with expats, re-pats, un-pats, quarter-pats and half-pats. For this one, I bring you Connie Hum of  Connvoyage. Once upon a time, not too long ago in a parallel universe, Connie had an awesome apartment in New …

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Death by Exposure: Expo 2010, Part 1
June 17, 2010

Death by Exposure: Expo 2010, Part 1

  Also in this series: Despot 2010: Axis of Awesome and Stan!   After we spent the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival being slothful, alternating dragging our bodies out for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner, and lying dugong-like on the sofa, reading and …

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