Exactly six months have passed since my plane from Hamburg touched the ground and I was breathing Turkish air. I collected a ton of Izmir experiences. Got to know a bunch of wonderful people and made good friends with some of them. I am also starting to speak the language. Together with the other volunteers, I get private Turkish courses. I got a routine for the workshops I am doing. I know what and how to prepare them. I also gained confidence, so I am not dying of a heart attack before every workshop anymore.
But instead of listing all the things that changed I want to take you once again on a typical day in my life. My first blog was also about a typical day in my life. So, see what changed, for yourself.
My day begins when the alarm of my phone wakes me up. I get myself to jump into the cold shower. I read, that it will have a positive influence on my whole day. Then I must be quick to turn on a guided mediation on YouTube. After about ten minutes I pour cereal into a bowl. Well yeah, my diet in the morning is still cornflakes and cereal. But anyway. I don’t have time to enjoy my cereal with all the zen I got from the meditation because I must get my stuff ready and hurry to the ferry station to catch it. I check the money on my Izmir transportation card. I have this weird thing where I don’t feel save travelling without at least 50 liras on my card. The ferry rides remain one of the most peaceful times of the day.
After six months it feels like I look at my city when I look at Izmir. Like I am at home. On the way to the office, I pass by the bakery to get myself a chocolate pastry because I am still a bit hungry. The guy serving me got used to me not wanting a plastic bag a long time ago. Having arrived at the office I have to tell my Turkish teacher Canberk, that I didn’t do my homework. Again. I don’t know, it’s probably a habit from school. After the Turkish course I prepare my Chess Club. Lucky for me, nobody is resentful about me not knowing so much about chess. Everyone is okay with me just teaching them a few lines I copied from the internet and then playing against each other. But I mean it is true what they say: Mastery through practice. I go for a late lunch with Gautier, the French volunteer who is in the Association for three months. He inspires me with the story that he tells me. That he didn’t like what he was doing and decided to pack his things and travel around Europe. When we come back, someone from the office team brought Baklava. I announce very proud to everyone that I cannot eat Baklava because I am fasting on sweets until Easter. A Christian tradition. Well, the next moment Gautier, who stands next to me, reminds me how I ate the Chocolate thing this morning. I am telling you, fasting on sweets in Izmir is only for the strong and brave. I have time left until the office closes. I could prepare another workshop. Or write the e-mail that was long overdue. But nahhh. Sometimes watching stupid YouTube videos is just unbeatable. The five of us return to Karşıyaka. Since Arne arrived, are we four German volunteers living in the same apartment. Which of course can get a bit crowded. But we solved that problem with big headphones. So, you can see us sitting in the living room with each one of us going after their business with headphones on. One will read a few pages in a book with headphones, one will type something on their laptop with headphones and another will read the latest news on their phone. Arne spends a lot of time in the kitchen with his headphones. He became our private cook. Since he arrived two months ago, my diet includes a lot more variety. Because he is, other than me, capable of preparing dishes that are not pasta or pasta. When I am in a phase of motivation, I will jump into my jogging shoes and run to Bostanlı. We eat when I return. Out of some reason we never eat earlier than 23:00. I guess it’s not the healthiest way. But nevertheless, do I feel happy and satisfied when I finally go to sleep. Rewinding the day in my head.
While I was writing this text, I closed my eyes and imagined how a normal day of mine could look like. I tried to be open and sincere about it. I hope you had fun reading Chapter II of ‘A typical day in my life’!
