All posts filed under: interact

Love as Understood through Mexican Telenovelas, Turkish Movies, and Colombian Chickenshit

Published by nathalie alyon

Sometime in the last decade Turkey became the world’s second largest exporter of television shows, particularly soap operas. According to a report Turkish soap opera exports went up from only $10,000 in 2004 to $200 million in 2012. Many people I meet around the world ask if I know this or that character from a Turkish soap that I’ve never heard of. I once tried to watch the Muhteşem Yüzyıl, (The Magnificent Century) about the life of Sultan Süleyman, the greatest ruler of the Ottoman Empire. Its episodes, which often last over two hours, feature many scenes where two lovers stare at each other for minutes on end to melancholic music as palace rules prevent them from expressing their love through touching. As Turkish soaps become the talk of the world, academics argue the extent to which they increase Turkey’s soft power in the Middle East and the Balkans, where the shows have been particularly popular, though I wonder how much influence can bad actors staring at one another have even if they are popular. …

The ABCs of Hostel Talk

Published by nathalie alyon

It’s been almost one month since my quasi-backpacking trip has begun and inevitably, I have observed some patterns. First and foremost, one must make a concerted effort to be alone. Since I left my hosts’ home in Bogota, I have yet to have a meal by myself. True story. Leaving Bogotá with a smile, I arrived at Renacer Hostel in Villa de Leyva following a long journey from Bogota with stops in Zipaquirá for a tour of Catedral de Sal and Ráquira, a small village famous for its pottery-making inhabitants. The hostel, which is a good 20 minutes walk from the town center, was quiet. Considering it was Monday after Semana Santa, it was not surprising to find Villa de Leyva, described in general as a sleepy town to be in total hibernation. Perhaps solitude would find me here, I was thinking as I put my bag in the dormitory and sat at the patio to rest. Three minutes barely past before somebody invited me to dinner. My first dinner overlooking the beautiful Plaza Major …

Bogotá Part II: Making Friends while Traveling

Published by nathalie alyon

I arrived in the Anandamayi Hostel in La Candelaria, the historical district of Bogotá and where most of the main sites are located, dragging my suitcase and neurotic self. And yes, I am travelling with a bag with wheels as I have intention of permanently bending my spine. It does go on one’s back if one choses to put it on one’s back but I haven’t had any reason to do so as it rolls on practically every surface just fine. The hostel is like an ashram in the middle of the city with its garden courtyard adorned with hammocks and blue-green painted décor. They even play the kind of music you’d hear at a spa in Thailand. Yet considering the internal frenzy I was in having finally stepped out into the solo travel episode of my journey, no amount of Zen was going to calm me down. I left the hostel and ventured into the Botero museum. After about 15 minutes of walking around trying to figure out where to purchase an audio guide, …

Bogotá Part I: Passover, Semana Santa, and Celebrating My Arrival in Colombia

Published by nathalie alyon

Having lived away from my “home” country and family for most of my life, I never developed a soft spot for holidays. We don’t have family traditions cultivated over years and years of celebrating Passover or Rosh HaShana. I remember celebrating one Passover in San Diego with our Muslim neighborhood tailor and Christian friend. Another I celebrated in Boston with a childhood friend of my father, who had become religious since my dad last saw him over 20 years ago. That was my longest Seder, as the Hagadah was read in Turkish, English, and Ladino! In Israel, my sister and I always receive multiple invitations from distant relatives and friends. Last Rosh Hashana, I was in Ko Lanta, Thailand and celebrated entering the Jewish New Year splurging at the Pimalai Restaurant with an Israeli-Dutch couple we had met that day. No matter where I am on holidays, alone I am not but most likely not with my family either. Even with my missed-flight episode, I was to do the Passover Seder with a Bogotan Jewish …

Tongue-tied: On Native Lands and Foreign Tongues

Published by nathalie alyon

I don’t have a native language. My mother tells me that as a two year-old, when my parents moved back to Istanbul from Tel Aviv where I was born, I spoke Turkish and sang in Hebrew. Soon after our return to Istanbul, the singing stopped and I spent a good 11 years as a monolingual child who only spoke Turkish. The second big migration of my life, one I actually do remember was to San Diego, CA as an 8th grader. Despite a couple of years of English classes under my belt–which put me at a far better position than my little sister who was thrown in elementary school without knowing a word of English–I was far from being bilingual. I spent the first few months of school saying “what?” after anyone said anything to me. I am sure many people I encountered back then thought I had a hearing problem considering the amount of times I had people repeat themselves. Eventually my favorite word fell out of use and I even began speaking to my …