Conrad's Blog - An American Life in IstanbulConrad's Blog - An American Life in IstanbulI have picked up my roots and moved to Istanbul, Turkey. I started this blog as a way of keeping family informed, but it has become a window into Turkish culture with many unique insights. This blog is a record of my observations, learnings and way o Articles
Today?s Zaman Interview
2007-11-18 14:21:00 Two or three weeks ago, a French reporter working for a Turkish newspaper here contacted me. She said she was an occasional reader of my blog and that she was working on an article about what it’s like to be an American living in Istanbul. She asked if I would grant her an interview and ... More About: Interview , Today , Zaman
UK Trip 2: Part II: Mob Etiquette and Teamwork
2007-11-14 04:39:00 As I have already said, I had a short trip to the UK and to Spain last week. The trip was exhausting, but very successful and fulfilling. Except for missing a flight, everything went brilliantly well. In the madness of my travels, I picked up on a few things that stood out in sharp contrast ... More About: Culture , Etiquette , Teamwork , Trip , Part
UK Trip 2: Part I: Lions!
2007-11-12 21:25:00 I just returned from a five day trip that was quite a headache. I think that most of you will not go through a description of the week, so I will give you a bulleted list. I am sure you can still appreciate the madness: WEDNESDAY: 5:30am - got out of bed and headed to the ... More About: Pictures , Trip , Part , Lions
Lucky
2007-11-07 15:08:00 I hear it everyday; “Conrad, you are so lucky.” Friends, people I meet, coworkers; They all share this opinion. I have been called “[my company’s] spoiled child,” “the luckiest employee in Turkey,” and many other things. On more than just my life in Turkey, people say that I am so lucky, that they can’t believe ... More About: Lucky , Social Life
Home Sick
2007-11-06 09:18:00 Saturday morning I woke up on the extra mattress on the floor of Izzy’s room as I usually do. It was too hot in the room when I had been trying to go to sleep the night before so I had opened the door. As I was slowly waking up I felt a cold crisp ... More About: Home , Sick
Only in Turkey
2007-11-05 08:55:00 I went to a wine and cheese house party on Saturday night. It was composed almost entirely of female expatriate teachers in their 20s. So it was a pretty good party, and a nice change from hanging out with the guys all the time. But that is not the interesting thing I would like to share ... More About: Pictures , Turkey , Turk
Turks Save the Day
2007-11-04 06:36:00 A friend of mine contacted me a few weeks ago to ask for my help. Her mother, Kathie, is the assistant dean of Duke’s business school (I think that is her position), and she is interested expanding Duke’s executive MBA program to Istanbul. Kathie asked her daughter if she knew anyone in Turk ey and my ... More About: Culture , Save , Social Life , Turks
Turmoil in Turkey: Part II
2007-11-02 18:05:00 Current Mood: AlarmedUS Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is visiting Turk ey today. She will be attending a conference on Iraq between Iraq’s neighbors, to talk about security in Iraq and many other issues. Her appearance visit here is to hopefully keep Turkey from invading Northern Iraq, where a large Kurdish population is believed to be ... More About: Politics , Part
Turmoil in Turkey: Part II
2007-11-02 18:05:00 Current Mood: AlarmedUS Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is visiting Turk ey today. She will be attending a conference on Iraq between Iraq’s neighbors, to talk about security in Iraq and many other issues. Her appearance visit here is to hopefully keep Turkey from invading Northern Iraq, where a large Kurdish population is believed to be ... More About: Politics , Part
Halloween in Turkey
2007-11-02 09:10:00 On Wednesday night, Izzy and I went to a Halloween party in Bebek (I haven’t mentioned this before, but Bebek is the worst place in the world traffic wise. I hate Bebek and usually avoid it at all costs). Despite the party being in Bebek it was a lot of fun. Izzy and I arrived ... More About: Turkey , Social Life , Allo , Turk
Halloween in Turkey
2007-11-02 09:10:00 On Wednesday night, Izzy and I went to a Halloween party in Bebek (I haven’t mentioned this before, but Bebek is the worst place in the world traffic wise. I hate Bebek and usually avoid it at all costs). Despite the party being in Bebek it was a lot of fun. Izzy and I arrived ... More About: Turkey , Social Life , Allo , Turk
Best weekend ever!
2007-10-30 23:23:00 Current Mood: EsctaticSo yeah, I had the best weekend ever. Izzy and I went with a few exchange students from Koc University (where Izzy studies) to a rock climbing festival in Olympos outside of Antalya in the south of Turkey. If you want to skip right to the pictures here is the link: Olympos Climbing Festival For ... More About: Weekend , Social Life
Best weekend ever!
2007-10-30 23:23:00 Current Mood: EsctaticSo yeah, I had the best weekend ever. Izzy and I went with a few exchange students from Koc University (where Izzy studies) to a rock climbing festival in Olympos outside of Antalya in the south of Turkey. If you want to skip right to the pictures here is the link: Olympos Climbing Festival For ... More About: Weekend , Social Life
Language Troubles: Je parle Francais? de temps en temps
2007-10-24 16:06:00 This week we have a visitor from Tunis. Yes it is the same person I visited some months ago. If you like, and you speak French you can read about how my previous visit went (at the bare minimum you can look at the pictures): La Tunisie Now the Tunisien, Kamel, is here in Istanbul to meet ... More About: Francais , Language , Franc , Temp
Language Troubles: Je parle Francais? de temps en temps
2007-10-24 16:06:00 This week we have a visitor from Tunis. Yes it is the same person I visited some months ago. If you like, and you speak French you can read about how my previous visit went (at the bare minimum you can look at the pictures): La Tunisie Now the Tunisien, Kamel, is here in Istanbul to meet ... More About: Francais , Language , Franc , Temp
Turmoil in Turkey
2007-10-23 22:05:00 Current Mood: AlarmedFor those of you that have forgotten, I received a warning from the US State Department last week. You can reread the warning by clicking here. This week, the PKK in the east of Turk ey killed 17 Turkish soldiers in an attack. Since then the country has been on edge, and the belief is ...
Turmoil in Turkey
2007-10-23 22:05:00 Current Mood: AlarmedFor those of you that have forgotten, I received a warning from the US State Department last week. You can reread the warning by clicking here. This week, the PKK in the east of Turk ey killed 17 Turkish soldiers in an attack. Since then the country has been on edge, and the belief is ...
Traffic: Part III: A New Record and a New Innovation
2007-10-22 22:30:00 Current Mood: AngryYou can read the other traffic entries by following each of these links: Traffic Traffic part II Every Thursday I drive into the city to have dinner and play games with my friends. I typically try to leave at 6pm sharp. That way if traffic is bad, I can still be there before our scheduled meeting ... More About: New Record , Innovation , Part , Record
Traffic: Part III: A New Record and a New Innovation
2007-10-22 22:30:00 Current Mood: AngryYou can read the other traffic entries by following each of these links: Traffic Traffic part II Every Thursday I drive into the city to have dinner and play games with my friends. I typically try to leave at 6pm sharp. That way if traffic is bad, I can still be there before our scheduled meeting ... More About: New Record , Innovation , Part , Record
Moratorium on Pictures
2007-10-22 22:05:00 I lost the cable to plug my camera into my computer a week or so ago. So I won’t be able to add any pictures to my website until I find it or buy a new one. Sorry to all my loyal readers. More About: Pictures , Mora , Moratorium
Our New Employee
2007-10-22 22:02:00 The newest addition to my company has got to be the cutest pair of legs to walk through our doors since I have been here, and I think everyone would agree. Pasha is a huge hit with everyone. Many of the company?s employees ? male and female alike ? spend their breaks playing stupid little ... More About: Employee
Our New Employee
2007-10-22 22:02:00 The newest addition to my company has got to be the cutest pair of legs to walk through our doors since I have been here, and I think everyone would agree. Pasha is a huge hit with everyone. Many of the company?s employees ? male and female alike ? spend their breaks playing stupid little ... More About: Employee
Girls, girls, girls?
2007-10-15 23:34:00 I meet a lot of people. For work, when I am out, through other friends, I am meeting people all the time. Regardless of who they are or where they are from, they start with more or less the same question: What are you doing in Turkey? There is always a hint of surprise, or disbelief ... More About: Culture , Girls
Girls, girls, girls?
2007-10-15 23:34:00 I meet a lot of people. For work, when I am out, through other friends, I am meeting people all the time. Regardless of who they are or where they are from, they start with more or less the same question: What are you doing in Turkey? There is always a hint of surprise, or disbelief ... More About: Culture , Girls
Two weekends: Diving, climbing and hiking
2007-10-15 21:42:00 I had one heck of a weekend. Since Ramadan ended, I had a four day weekend. Thursday Izzy and I went rock climbing; we were the only ones there. Then Thursday night we took a 14 hour bus ride to the south of Turkey to a charming little diving town called Kas. The three days ... More About: Pictures , Hiking , Diving , Climbing , Social Life
Two weekends: Diving, climbing and hiking
2007-10-15 21:42:00 I had one heck of a weekend. Since Ramadan ended, I had a four day weekend. Thursday Izzy and I went rock climbing; we were the only ones there. Then Thursday night we took a 14 hour bus ride to the south of Turkey to a charming little diving town called Kas. The three days ... More About: Pictures , Hiking , Diving , Climbing , Social Life
More Plant Stuff
2007-10-12 08:21:00 In an effort to make my apartment less bleak, I bought a bunch of new plant stuff! Yeah! I bought some new vine plants that I am going to cut and try and make into several vine plants and scatter them around my flat. They grow pretty easily indoors and will hopefully add some ... More About: Stuff , Plant
More Plant Stuff
2007-10-12 08:21:00 In an effort to make my apartment less bleak, I bought a bunch of new plant stuff! Yeah! I bought some new vine plants that I am going to cut and try and make into several vine plants and scatter them around my flat. They grow pretty easily indoors and will hopefully add some ... More About: Stuff , Plant
A warning from the US State Department
2007-10-10 08:21:00 Last night I recieved the following email: <<<<<<<<& #60;<<<<<<<&# 60;<<< CONSULATE GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES Istanbul, Turkey WARDEN MESSAGE 2007, Number 9 October 9, 2007 This important message was sent out a few minutes ago to all of the volunteer wardens who assist the Consulate in passing important messages to American citizens in the Istanbul region. To help speed up the process we are also sending ... More About: Department , State Department , Warning , State
Weekend Report: Ankara, hiking and Diplomacy
More articles from this author:2007-10-08 14:50:00 This entry will be mostly pictures.Well I had a busy weekend. On Friday, I got up at 6am to take a bus to Ankara where I had a meeting with one of our suppliers. After my meeting, I met with a friend of Parisa’s (one of my friends), whom lives there. I spent Friday night ... More About: Pictures , Report , Weekend , Hiking 1, 2, 3, 4 |
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