Istanbul ♡

As I’m writing my first article for this blog, I’m sitting in the cutest little café called Küff Café, located in Kadiköy, Istanbul. People from all over the city (yes, some even cross the damn river!) come to have breakfast in our street, known for its many amazing coffee places. As I take a sip from some fresh Turkish tea, I look out on the street. Young people pass by, dressed in laid back summer outfits, their hair dyed in crazy colors and their arms covered in tattoos. The bohemian vibe of this place is showing in all kinds of ways.

Arriving in Turkey in September, when summer isn’t quite over yet but fall is only a distant memory, gives me a sense of anemoia. Nostalgia to things I never actually lived through. Like family dinners with traditional music playing in the background. To warm evenings at the local bar with hometown friends. To long conversations on the beach, wrapped in blankets while smoking cigarettes.

Crying on the plane is the new crying on the dancefloor

I’ll miss Brussels, there I said it. For someone who doesn’t get attached to places easily, this city might just be my soft spot. Home has always been a strange concept to me. I can find it in people, in music, in art, even in myself, but rarely in a city or a house. Yet the feeling of home can be comforting. Maybe I finally started feeling like that again, now that it is slipping away.

I’ll miss the people, the dancing and the feeling of belonging there.

So yes, I cried on the plane. And yes, the old man next to me along with the flight attendants were judging me. But it felt good as hell! Maybe it was my sentimental side taking over. If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be hopping on a plane to go live in a different country, all by myself, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. Here I am, in a different continent doing exactly that. I felt excited, proud and scared at the same time.

But seeing how the most amazing people support me in this adventure, makes me extremely happy and grateful! Tears of joy is what they call it, right? Or maybe I was just being overly dramatic because of the two hours of sleep and the still very high percentage of alcohol in my blood, you decide.

“Don’t forget your passport this time!”

“And be on time for once in your goddamn life!”. I know I’m not the most organised person so my friends were absolutely right to tell me this. Suprisingly a 26 kilo suitcase and a slight hangover couldn’t even stop me from missing my flight. Unlike that time I tried going to Poland, only to realise I forgot my passport in the scanner. But let’s talk about that another time!

For those of you who are wondering what the hell I'm doing in Turkey. I’ll be studying at Yeditepe University for one semester as part of an Erasmus. When people ask me why Istanbul, I have a hard time explaining. No, I’ve never been here before, no I don’t know anyone here or even knew that much about the country to begin with. Maybe that’s exactly why I was immediately interested to spend some time here.

A city where I know absolutely nothing or no one? Count me in!

First impressions

With 15 million (!!) people living here, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The constant flow of people, cars, even dogs and cats, is something to get used to. For some strange reason I tend to be drawn to chaotic places or even people. It makes a good contrast with the calmness that I radiate, or so I’ve been told.

My first days here have been nothing but paradise. Exploring Turkish cuisine, which I’ll happily eloborate on soon! Catching the sunset at Moda beach. Having beers at a local underground bar. Even just reading my book in one of the many coffee places puts a smile on my face.

It’s been only a few days of living here, yet Istanbul is winning my heart already!