And then there was one...

Well, let me tell you....many things have happened since my last blog entry - I caught a cold, I've explored the city a great deal, my dad has gone back to Canada, and my cousin from Holland came for a visit, just to name a few! And now I am on my own, feeling awesomely inspired and geared up for the next half of my stay here in Turkey!

So yeah, I caught a cold. CRAPPIEST TIMING OF LIFE. My dad and I had plans to ferry over to the Princes' Islands with Raquy to see one of her friends (a clarinet player) play a gig, but alas, my throat got scratchy and I began running a temperature, so my dad and I had to pass on our island excursion. :(

I was supposed to have a lesson the next day but I just wasn't feeling close enough to 100% to do that, so I took another day off and my dad and I crossed the Galata Bridge and ventured into the Old City to do some hardcore tourism! We checked out the Basilica Cistern, Aya Sofya, and also got to eat our fresh mackerel sandwiches (wayyy at the top of our "to-do" list for this trip haha).

Happy Sultanahmet face!

Standing outside Aya Sofya.

Happy Aya Sofya faces?

Overjoyed mackerel sandwich face!

I was able to get back to my regular practice/lesson schedule the following day, which was awesome. I find it hard to take even one day off here. I'm in GO mode and want to be as productive as possible. Clearly though, I was pushing myself a lot and the cold was my body's way of telling me to cool it a bit! But now I am fine and my body needs to just suck it up and deal with whatever I feel like putting it through the next three weeks! Hahaha yeah, I don't learn...

A couple of weeks ago my dad and I found a much nicer route to get to Raquy's ofis. The fear of getting squashed by a vehicle was getting to be a bit of a burden to me, so we checked our map and set out on a route that looked about right to us. Turns out, it's soooo much nicer than our previous route! There aren't nearly as many cars going up and down and exploding out of sidestreets AND bonus- it meets up with Istiklal at a much earlier point so that I spend more time on Istiklal and less time on a sidestreet. Fantastic! The name of that street is Kumbaraci and there are so many nice things to look at when I walk it.

Another highlight of the last while is that I got to experience a hamam (Turkish bath)! What a very interesting experience! I went with Raquy and her friend and an American saxophone player. We went to a "tourist-free" hamam in a cute little neighbourhood behind Tarlabasi and afterwards we went to Raquy's former neighbour's place for a DELICIOUS supper. It was so nice to be welcomed like that into the home of someone I don't know and on top of that, fed until I could barely move!

A few days after that my cousin arrived in Istanbul for a weekend of fun times and catching up! We went out for dinner under the Galata Bridge before seeing my dad off (he decided to taxi to the airport the night before because he had such an early flight to catch the next day). 

Dad and I enjoying a two hour Bosphorus cruise on one of his last days in Istanbul.

Then the next two days after that, my cousin and I partook in some touristy things and a LOT of good food and coffee! Twas a good time. He left in the early evening on the Sunday and voila - I am now on my own!

My cousin Terry and I!

My schedule is about the same as when my dad was here, only I probably stay up later and sleep in longer haha. I wasn't overly concerned about being on my own, but at the same time I didn't really know exactly how well I would handle it. Turns out, things are JUST FINE. I'm really buckling down this week...practicing like a crazy person and trying to apply myself ten times more in my lessons, when I had already been applying myself 100% haha. So that's what this week is all about, as well as preparing for my trip next week! That's right! I am going to Fethiye, Turkey for a week-long darbuka retreat, led by Raquy with guest teacher, Ali Kil from Ankara. It's going to be amazing! We're staying in bamboo huts, and because it's right on the coast there's a beach across from where we're staying and there are hiking trails and stuff. Very much looking forward to that.

I'm already halfway done this trip! Hard to believe! One thing I know for sure - even after finishing this trip and learning soooooo much, I will have BARELY scratched the surface in terms of where this project can go and just how far my skills can progress within this new, exciting art form. The future's looking pretty bright to say the least...

My incredible teacher Raquy and I, playing some rhythms in 12!

"The barriers are not erected which can say to aspiring talents and industry, 'Thus far and no farther!'  - Ludwig van Beethoven