Expat transition tips

Writer: Casey Marriott

Casey Marriott shares tips on making a swift transition to the city by doing like the locals do.


There are only so many times you can endure the haggling of the Grand Bazaar, gaze at the Blue Mosque’s tiles or take a cruise down the Bosphorus, as wonderful as they are. By the time you’ve played tour guide for your parents, siblings and friends, you’re almost on a first name basis with the entrance guards. Once you’ve crossed off all the ‘must see’ sites in Istanbul, how can you enhance your true Turkish cultural experience (besides eating copious amounts of kebabs)? After carefully studying the native habitants in their natural environment (crikey!), we present you with a list to help you cross over from tourist to ex-pat in just 10 easy steps.

Step 1. Befriend a local Manav, Tekel and Eczane.
After moving to a neighborhood, it is vital for survival to befriend the local shopkeepers (I’m talking pay when you like, front door delivery and discounts). Although they may charge a kuruş or two more then the franchise supermarkets, not only are you supporting the locals (which automatically puts you in their good books) but you also get greeted by a friendly face that genuinely cares about your well-being; also a great opportunity to practice your Turkish or at least brush up on your charade skills (particularly funny when attempting to explain embarrassing sicknesses at Eczanes).

Step 2. Jump off the fence and pick a team.
As far as passion goes, football is high on the list of beloved things in Turkey (followed closely by wives and children). Find which club colors suit you best and head to a game; better yet, hang around the football stadium before a match begins and watch the fans rally in their team colors chanting their slogans (the one time public swearing and slagging is tolerated). Beşiktaş, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, the 3 biggies in Istanbul, provide particularly entertaining street parties that stretch from the centre of the areas all the way to the stadiums. Fanatical football at its best.

Step 3. Learn Backgammon in a makeshift tea garden.
Look on any main street, back street, side street- any street really - and be sure to find a ‘çaycı’ serving tea to his posse on miniature stools and knee-high tables. Set yourself down, put your phone on the table (trust me, everyone’s doing it) and order a round of tea or ten. Grab a backgammon board (if they don’t have one you’ll probably see someone run off to grab one) and begin the war of the white and black checkers and luck of the dice; first to five wins. This is an ideal time to chain smoke.

Step 4. Leave food out for the street cats.
No street is short of the usual motley crew of stray cats, which are generally quite well looked after by the surrounding inhabitants of their chosen hangout. Now you know why there are piles of clumpy unidentified food sorts left on the streets. Adopt your own cat gang and find yourself some street loving. You don’t even need to bother with fancy pricey cat food (as if a cat can tell it’s eating seasoned wild salmon anyhow); these cats eat anything from pasta to bread to scraps.

Step 5. Slow it down to a snail’s pace.
You can spot a tourist in Istanbul by the fast speed at which they walk, coupled with gold medal-worthy twists, turns, and swerves as they streamline through the crowd. But when in Rome, as the saying goes, take the time to stroll down the large boulevards stopping whenever and wherever you please (smack bang in the middle of the pathway with three of your friends linking arms is fine) to gaze at a shop front or greet even more friends to link arms with. Take the time to smell the roses, or in this city, the delicious roasting chestnuts!

Step 6. Go public with a loud lovers tiff.
It’s not all that uncommon to see a couple having a massive row in a shop which usually results in ‘person A’ (let’s not be sexist now) storming off leaving ‘person B’ to chase pleading ‘aşkım aşkım’. By now, your resistance to the Turkish charm has probably crumbled and you’ve found yourself a lover (or possibly the reason you’re here in the first place). Take yourselves to a crowded area and create a scene worthy of an Oscar.

Step 7. Make out passionately in a cafe.
Either the air in Istanbul is charged with love or everybody has pent up passion from the restrictions of living with parents until a late age. Either way, PDA is certainly not an issue in this country, as you will discover at your local cafe ‘with a view’ of the couple in the corner practically sitting in each other’s laps, tongues down each other’s throats. Tie this in with Step 6 and you’ve killed two birds with one stone.

Step 8. Join a protest.
It doesn’t take long to realize there are countless things to protest about here (unlike our home countries where everything is already regularized and legalized to the teeth). Quite often you will see groups of people swarming up and down Istiklal chanting and waving banners (the place to ‘be seen’ for protesting). Tag along and support their causes; the presence of numerous police armed with guns, helmet and gas masks will surely give you a feeling of living on the edge.

9. Drink Efes
Need I say more? Besides, I’m on a word limit and hopefully will get free beer for such blatant advertising.

10. Get up close and personal.
Whilst we were raised to never ask ‘those questions’ about age, weight and wages, such boundaries are relatively non-existent in Turkey. Once you recover from the initial shock of having your belly rolls pinched, being drilled about your salary and asked your age (all within the first 5 minutes of meeting someone of course), you may even find the breakdown of such barriers refreshing and even appreciate the intimate environment it creates. When you finally find yourself becoming the drillmaster, you will truly know that the integration process is complete.

A comparative biography

Frogs vs Les Rosbifs


London



London



London



London


Bordeux


Lyon


St Etienne


Les Alps

Moving in together

me by Kaya

Egypt

We first intended on going to Morocco as three girls and decided recruit a big intimidating guy as a safety net. We needed the kind that would crumble the enemy with his gaze, deafen them with his voice and behead them with a single slap.

Many fearless man applied from all around the world. Some had lost an eye, some had survived Saddam Hussein's gas attacks but had mutated into the ugliest, scariest faces ever seen. They were the toughest warriors alive.

Finally, it boiled down to the two most intimidating candidates:




The Butcher aka Marcus
vs
Deniz aka Marco.



To determine who is a better fit for the job, we held a contest. Both man were put in the Sahara with no food nor water and they had to survive 10 days fighting against the 1000 terrorists we released which were commissioned to kill them.

Marcus never returned...

One of our travel buddies, Zeynep, decided a man such as Marco could not be trusted with three woman, and back out. Hearing of Marco's victorious but vicious survival in the Sahara, Morocco closed its doors on us.

Thank God Mossad is omnipresent. They knew about our ban out of Morocco and they proposed to dump us in Egypt for free, hoping we would cause some trouble there. We agreed, but all we had in mind was a calm vacation. ;)



Sharm El Sheikh



Sharm trascended our expectations.

Some people, who I suppose were inexperienced travelers, had warn us that Egypt was ugly, dirty and dangerous.

Sharm was quite the contrary.

Deniz (yes, there were two Denizes in the group) and I could have traveled to Sharm safely as two girls. Marco was just a bonus. I would even feel comfortable traveling alone. Marco didn't seem to agree. I tried really hard to steal a night alone but under Marco's jurisdiction, I didn't stand a chance. Afterall, he was commissioned to overwatch us. It of course did not help that I was dating one of this good friends.



The Red Sea was abundant with fish. Marco and I decided to to have a closer look.















Cairo

Cairo was all the things they warned us about. It is a pity such an important heritage is in the hands of the Egyptians. They do not seem to realize what they have is worth. The whole area around the pyramids were trashed. I don't mean a few plastic bottles here and there, I am talking of big city dumps.

There were no signs anywhere explaining the history of the monuments. Most of the time we tried to pretend we belonged with the American tourists who had hired an Egyptologist to show them around.

The museums and the monuments were badly attended. People could freely climb on the pyramids. No pictures were allowed inside, but no one was there to surveille.











From far Cairo may look like Manhattan, but this is what is it like when you are inside.

Thank you Matt!

My wonderful friend Matt, who lives in SFO, composed a list of stuff do while you are there. It was so long, he couldn't post it as a comment, so I am publishing it here on his behalf.

Matt (and all other friends in SFO), I am sorry I didn't call you guys up. My boyfriend informed me we were seeing friends the very last minute. I thought we were doing a "couple trip" until then. So, I ended up meeting his friend, instead of you guys. :( I missed you all, too!




"Hi Duygu, I'm glad to hear you're well on your way to falling in love with CA :) I have a ton of more suggestions to add, but I'll just add a few for now:

+3 for Big Sur: (1) For those interested in a magical beach view, check out "Point Lobos" especially in the winter when the crashing waves spray 50-75 feet in the air and one can watch seals sunbathe and dive for meals. (2) My favorite beach there is "Julia Pfeiffer" where one can watch the sunset through tunnels bored in the cliffs by waves: beachPhhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmeyers/3045691058/ (3) For those in the mood for a more committed adventure, pack your sleeping bag, tent, backpacking stove and hit the trail our of Big Sur state campground up to "Sykes Hotsprings" -- a 10 mile, beautiful hike through redwoods, bay trees, madrone and CA oak to a natural hot spring hidden deep up the valley. Soak your soar body and jump in the invigorating cold stream!

Further North on Highway 1: you come to "Half Moon Bay" area, which is a rather cute and fun town. I also enjoy another town called "Princeton by the sea" ~15 mi further north. "Ketch Joanne" is a great greasy spoon and has delicious fish and ships. If you're in the mood for something a little classier there's "Sam's Chowder House" a 1/4 mile south of town -- yummy local seafood! The world-famous "Maverick's Beach" -- home to some of the world's biggest surfing waves (only a few times a year) is just a short hike over the ridge from town -- this is one of my favorite beaches in CA.

In SF proper: Soo much good stuff in this city. Here are a few highlights:

Eats: (1) "Cha-Cha-Cha" in the Mission (a historically Latino neighborhood) is a lively old-time SF restaurant with strong Cuban influences. (2) down the street is "Weird Fish" -- a fun spot to get great little plates. (3) those willing to pay more can have a classy Another cool stop is "Tataki Sushi" http://www.tatakisushibar.com/ which is (as far as I know) the first (and only?) 100% sustainably fished sushi restaurant! (5) "San Tung" in the Inner Sunset has the best Chinese-style chicken wings you will ever have. (6)"Brother's Korean BBQ" on Geary street is fantastic -- you cook yourself over mesquite wood coals -- delish!

Drinks: (1) "Bruno's" and (2) "Medjool" are great, big clubs in the Mission. Check out the (3) “Elbo Room” for a more relaxed space, or really any other bar in the popular 16th street and Valencia Street area. The Marina district is also known for its nightlife – more the preppy type in general. I like (4) “MatrixFilmore” and (5) “City Tavern” just 1 block down Filmore Street.

Fun: (1) "Planet Granite" rock climbing gym in the Presidio looks onto the Golden Gate bridge and has great facilities. (2) "SFMOMA" is a wonderful museum and always worth a stop. (3) "alemany farmers market" is super colorful and has amazing local food -- one really gets a feel of south-american and south-east-asian and californian growers all rolled into one place. (4) "Dolores Park" is a great place to hang when the weather is nice -- enjoy the hippies, random jam groups, and the guy who sells gourmet mushroom truffles: http://www.yelp.com/biz/truffle-guy-san-francisco.

North still of SF: The "Marin Headlands" is an incredibly beautiful area, and soooo close to one of the major metropolitan centers of the US. It was all military land housing secret bases through the cold-war era (many of which you can visit in their decomposing states), but now it's national park land. I recommend visiting the "Point Bonita Lighthouse" http://www.nps.gov/goga/pobo.htm which is only open like 12:30-3:30 Sat-Mon. Teetering on the edge of its own personal island cliff, it has ridiculous views of the ocean and SF bay and harkens back to an older age. If you want to stay in the area for cheap, check out the "Marin Headlands Hostel" http://www.norcalhostels.org/marin/which is very simple, but good.

A little further north and you'll come to the world-famous "Muir Woods" which is one of the closest places to SF to walk among what's left of the ancient redwoods. Some of these trees are 3000 years old. This area is very accessible, with almost disney-land-like paved pathways. For those more adventuresome, hike the "Dipsea Trail" all the way to "Stinson Beach" -- about 10 miles round trip but an absolutely beautiful hike through open hills covered with golden grass and oak trees, to cool valleys filled with ferns and moss-covered bay trees. Once at Stinson you can eat at the "Parkside Cafe" for a tasty stop. The beach is just a walk through the park from there."