An Update

Wow, I have some catching up to do. Well, I now have 2 days of leading theater and dance workshops to European college students and young professionals under my belt. As well as 2 days on the western seaside coast of Turkey. I swam and played volleyball at a beach that offered a view of the Greek Island, Lesbos. I saw the Roman ruins of the Temple of Zeus. I watched an amazing sunset from a hilltop overlooking the Aegean Sea. I wandered through my second Turkish Bazaar...which of course was laden with spices, olives, nuts and vegetables, as well as mounds of strawberries!

Here are my "Glimpses of Turkey" update: A potbelly is commonly called a "Turkish Muscle". The Turkish cuisine is all about the soup. Tonight, in a 3-course meal, I was served a soup after eating a different soup. My first word in Turkish was "Thank you" and my second word was "butter"...but I have no idea how to spell them. The buses here operate entirely on the "honor system". You pay your fare to the driver via the hands of the passengers in front of you and there is no tally machine or ticket involved. The level of hospitality continues to amaze me. There is a guy here at the University Hotel, who deserves an honorable mention. His name is Hayri and he has to be one of the most kind-hearted individuals I have ever met. Just today, for example...he took my laundry (along with about 5 other participant's) to his home and washed my clothes in his machine, brought it back and hung it out to dry. He brought the whole group an unbelievable supply of baklava as a treat, he gave me a beer at the end of the evening, and just generally spends the entirety of every day running around doing whatever is humanly in his power to make all of us comfortable and at home, no matter what the demand. I have never seen him cross and in addition to all of this, he manages to tell us jokes and make us all laugh throughout the day. Good guy.

Tonight, I had a conversation with some of the youth project participants and learned that:

1. Starbucks went out of business in Italy, because no one liked their coffee (hooray!)

2. In Berlin, all the McDonald's were protested against with violent crime and defecation on the building, so they had to build them with bullet-proof walls! Interesting stuff!!

Oh, yeah, I also learned a great story from one of the Italians the other night...he confessed to me that he was in Rome a few years ago and developed a bad impression of Americans after meeting a young American woman who asked him (in all seriousness): "So, here in Italy do you have reservation parks for the Ancient Romans, like we have for Native Americans in the U.S.?" He was dumbfounded. He said his jaw hung open for awhile.

Today was a great rehearsal day. We are finally beginning to give form to this performance. Oh, and I was in a Turkish newspaper the other day! Photo, name and everything! It was a group photo of all the people in our project. In a few days, i will be on Turkish television...I think I will be interviewed about the project. This is an interesting experience, to be director and choreographer for an original performance with an International cast of mixed theater experience (from professional to none at all). There have been some challenges the last few days, but now I am really beginning to feel excited and I think we will have a solid performance (I pray)!

Good night and salam alaikum.