Follow Me As I Discover Land, Language and Self...
The ferry made its way across a calm, pale blue sea. Container ships sitting nearby seemed to hang, suspended, as they waited to enter the Bosphorus. It was my 55th birthday and I was sitting on a white, double-decker transport boat with my husband, Sankar, whose employer had recently transferred us to Istanbul, Turkey. We were heading to the Princes’ Islands, a small archipelago in the Sea of Marmara where…
TESTING TRAVAILS We’d been in Europe for three days, and we’d tried to do everything right, but now it looked like we could face a 250€ fine from the Belgian government. We had spent the day with 3M friends in the scenic town of Knokke-Heist, enjoying delicious meals and bicycling along the North Sea coast. On beautiful, paved paths, we’d biked through nature reserves and sheep-covered farmland, and even across…
My sister-in-law, Nimmou Nilakantan, is a poet who lives in Bangalore, India. In her latest poem below, she captures the yearlong Covid 19 pandemic and gives it an apt name. This past weekend, she wrote to me of her country’s worsening crisis: “India is literally burning and Bangalore is in shambles. The whole day we hear the sirens of ambulances and see horrific images on T.V and the newspapers. It…
The month of February normally finds me sitting in Twin Cities movie theaters. Landmark. AMC Roseville 14. ShowPlace ICON Theatres at the West End. After checking show times, parking in icy lots, and standing in lines to buy tickets, I settle into comfy, cup-holdered seats, some that even recline. All this is the result of careful selection. I skim movie reviews, search Rotten Tomatoes, listen to celebrity interviews, and read…
The Decision You know you’re planning something illicit when you hesitate to tell people about it. I mentioned our trip to only a few friends, and said nothing to others, even when they asked. We had cancelled it twice. First in March, when our daughter, Angela, asked us to babysit our toddler grandson, Mattias, during his day care’s spring break. And again, in early May. Finally, as Minnesota announced store…
At the edge of a yard in my South Minneapolis neighborhood sits a pair of cast iron mallard ducks. To the delight of passersby, their owner dresses them in seasonally appropriate attire. During football opener, the ducks sport Viking purple. In February, heart sweatshirts. I’ve seen them wearing straw hats and Hawaiian leis in midwinter and carrying American flags on July 4. A few weeks ago, the ducks were dressed…
Berlin was at a disadvantage. That’s where we were heading after four surprisingly sunny, whirlwind days in London. I feared that the Germany half of our December trip, organized to use soon-to-expire hotel points, would be a disappointment. And I knew that part of the problem was my stereotype of Germans. In London we ate pappadums and paisam with Sankar’s cousin and family. We strolled along the Thames with old…
I am planning to visit Turkey next June, so I’m brushing up on my Turkish. It’s been more than five years since I lived there and, although I pick up a textbook or stack of flashcards now and then, I soon get busy with other things. Clearly, I need help. In September I posted a message on the TAAM (Turkish American Association of Minnesota) Facebook page seeking a Turkish speaker…
In this post I’ll take you to a land where malls are still magical. Not only in appearance, but in their ability to soothe two homesick Americans. When my husband, Sankar, and I moved to Istanbul in 2010, we anticipated a lot of challenges. Communicating in a strange new language. Navigating a city of 16 million. Experiencing culture shock. But we didn’t quite anticipate the number of hours each weekend…
Mylar garlands. Muzak Jingle Bells. Santa hats. The normal gaudy props of American Christmas. I was surprised to encounter similar items when I spent time in non-Christian countries. In Singapore, a hotel lobby nearly the size of a football field greeted us with a half dozen flocked trees. In Delhi last year, a group of child carolers, who surely didn’t know the meaning of the words, warbled “Silver Bells” and…
