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Time to once again open my life up a little in order to share the plethora of wealth I'm about to absorb. I'm going to be back in Iraq through September, so hop on board and check back every couple of days, I'll do my best to update as much as possible. Questions? dtate38@cox.net And check out the site I'm working with: http://www.billroggio.com Support independent journalism!
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Hot dog!! Im here!! First though, a disclaimer: In Turkey they have turkish keyboards. That means there may be some seriouss spelling problems as I work through thıs. For example: ş ç ö ğ ü annd so on. I apologıze now for any problems in the future.
So the trip over wasn`t all that exciting. It felt better than the last time. I`m sure that won`t be the case coming home. Never is really. Think about being on vacation for a week and as you start gettinng closer to home, you realıze that not only are you running out of gas, but you`re also startıng to speed as you get more and more anxious. Now, imagine being on a plane flight that runs nearly 20 hours. Not only that, but you`re stuck sitting next to people you don`t know AND you have just spent 3 months in Afghanistan. That plane trip is gonnna suck. Enough about planes.
So I got to Istanbul around 4pm whıch was an hour and a half late. I have to say, from the air, Istanbul is HUGE. In fact, the 13 or so million that live here makes it that much bigger when on the ground.
IHA sent a driver for me who picked me up at the airport. He took me straight to the hotel (Green Park Hotel), which is very nice. I did alll the normal stuff lıke unpack, and soon realized that I had forgot three things: My two ``How to speak Turkish``books and my power converter. Not sure how that happened because I recall packing them. Wierd thing is, I forgot my Turkish books last time too. Hmmm... At least I have my Farsi tapes (primary Afghan language).
So once at the hotel, I left for my typical ``local exploratıon``. I found a pizza joint that serves Turkish pizza. Good stuff. Different, but good. Next door, an internet cafe - always an important locale. The neighborhood itself looks european as expected: Cobblestone streets, markets, lots of traffic with miniature cars, etc... The country is also preparing for local elections so everywhere you look, there`s colorful banners, posters, etc... I mean EVERYWHERE. I cannot imagine who put them up and how long it must`ve taken. Gonna be a fulltime job takking it all down, that`s for sure.
Now, after a long flight, one must assume you`ll get jet lag. I planned accordingly (at thıs very moment, I`m about to kill. This keyboard is so sensitive, I keep double typing letters and I`m getting pissed). Once back to my hotel, I drank an Efies (Turk beer) and took 10 mg of Valium. I was out by 8:00.
I woke around 5:00 to the wailing prayers coming from a nearby Mosque and was unable to get back to sleep. No problem. I had 9 hours of sleep and was ready to go: Jet lag defeated.
So a driver picked me up at the hotel around 10 and took me to IHA HQ. Decent sized building, maybe 10 stories. IHA itself is a hugge companny. Just in this building are a number of the company`s holdings. The entire fourth floor is for news.
Here I finally meet Ismail. He`s one of the men I`ve been talking to via email. Turns out, he`s the equivelant of a news dırector. Very nice man. We met with the GM, Omer, who is also one of the guys I`ve been talking to. We have yet to hammer out the details of what I`ll be doing, but we were able to make some decisions that helps me understandd a little better what I`ll be doing here.
First off, I am definately going to Afghanistan. They`ll be sending me off as soon as we get the paperwork done. Flıghts leave out of Istanbul for Kabul just twıce a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Rıght now ıt`s unclear when I`ll be on my way, but ıt should be no more than 10 days. If you ask me, it`s too long. After that, they will send me either to Iraq or Israel. They seem to be hıgh on me here. If I understand right, they`re interested in making me a type of ``go to `` guy for international spot news. I have to say... this is geetting excitıng.
So as I type this entry, a Turk woman here asked for my transslatıon help on some video and script for a story about Swedes being killed in Iraq. Her name is Gülner. Nıce lady. She says that in the six months she`s been here, today has been the most difficult. To be honest, her assignment would`ve taken me just minutes. For her, an all day and frustrating affair. Soon after her request, another young lady was askıng for english advice. Beıng the only natıve-Englısh speaker in the newsroom seems to make me a bit valuable... either that, or they just like me. I have to say, the ladies here, all wearing head scarves, look at me sheepishly; the kind of look you used to get in middle school when you could tell someone liked you. As for the guys: All nıce too, just no ``I want you`` looks! At least not yet!!
So the trip over wasn`t all that exciting. It felt better than the last time. I`m sure that won`t be the case coming home. Never is really. Think about being on vacation for a week and as you start gettinng closer to home, you realıze that not only are you running out of gas, but you`re also startıng to speed as you get more and more anxious. Now, imagine being on a plane flight that runs nearly 20 hours. Not only that, but you`re stuck sitting next to people you don`t know AND you have just spent 3 months in Afghanistan. That plane trip is gonnna suck. Enough about planes.
So I got to Istanbul around 4pm whıch was an hour and a half late. I have to say, from the air, Istanbul is HUGE. In fact, the 13 or so million that live here makes it that much bigger when on the ground.
IHA sent a driver for me who picked me up at the airport. He took me straight to the hotel (Green Park Hotel), which is very nice. I did alll the normal stuff lıke unpack, and soon realized that I had forgot three things: My two ``How to speak Turkish``books and my power converter. Not sure how that happened because I recall packing them. Wierd thing is, I forgot my Turkish books last time too. Hmmm... At least I have my Farsi tapes (primary Afghan language).
So once at the hotel, I left for my typical ``local exploratıon``. I found a pizza joint that serves Turkish pizza. Good stuff. Different, but good. Next door, an internet cafe - always an important locale. The neighborhood itself looks european as expected: Cobblestone streets, markets, lots of traffic with miniature cars, etc... The country is also preparing for local elections so everywhere you look, there`s colorful banners, posters, etc... I mean EVERYWHERE. I cannot imagine who put them up and how long it must`ve taken. Gonna be a fulltime job takking it all down, that`s for sure.
Now, after a long flight, one must assume you`ll get jet lag. I planned accordingly (at thıs very moment, I`m about to kill. This keyboard is so sensitive, I keep double typing letters and I`m getting pissed). Once back to my hotel, I drank an Efies (Turk beer) and took 10 mg of Valium. I was out by 8:00.
I woke around 5:00 to the wailing prayers coming from a nearby Mosque and was unable to get back to sleep. No problem. I had 9 hours of sleep and was ready to go: Jet lag defeated.
So a driver picked me up at the hotel around 10 and took me to IHA HQ. Decent sized building, maybe 10 stories. IHA itself is a hugge companny. Just in this building are a number of the company`s holdings. The entire fourth floor is for news.
Here I finally meet Ismail. He`s one of the men I`ve been talking to via email. Turns out, he`s the equivelant of a news dırector. Very nice man. We met with the GM, Omer, who is also one of the guys I`ve been talking to. We have yet to hammer out the details of what I`ll be doing, but we were able to make some decisions that helps me understandd a little better what I`ll be doing here.
First off, I am definately going to Afghanistan. They`ll be sending me off as soon as we get the paperwork done. Flıghts leave out of Istanbul for Kabul just twıce a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Rıght now ıt`s unclear when I`ll be on my way, but ıt should be no more than 10 days. If you ask me, it`s too long. After that, they will send me either to Iraq or Israel. They seem to be hıgh on me here. If I understand right, they`re interested in making me a type of ``go to `` guy for international spot news. I have to say... this is geetting excitıng.
So as I type this entry, a Turk woman here asked for my transslatıon help on some video and script for a story about Swedes being killed in Iraq. Her name is Gülner. Nıce lady. She says that in the six months she`s been here, today has been the most difficult. To be honest, her assignment would`ve taken me just minutes. For her, an all day and frustrating affair. Soon after her request, another young lady was askıng for english advice. Beıng the only natıve-Englısh speaker in the newsroom seems to make me a bit valuable... either that, or they just like me. I have to say, the ladies here, all wearing head scarves, look at me sheepishly; the kind of look you used to get in middle school when you could tell someone liked you. As for the guys: All nıce too, just no ``I want you`` looks! At least not yet!!
