A Burners Journey to AfrikaBurn

A Burners Journey to AfrikaBurn

Photo by Steven Morrow 

Driving home from my first Burn in 2011, I knew I was hooked. I then immediately realized I was screwed. How was I going to make it to the Playa every August for the rest of my life? My first problem, being a teacher, is that the last week of August is possibly the hardest week of the year to request off. My next issue, the distance. Having spent half of my twenties abroad I knew making the long journey to Burning Man just wouldn’t be possible some years. I’ve been lucky enough to not miss one in the last four years, but having arrived at my new job in Istanbul two weeks late with just two days rest off the playa in 2014, I was fairly sure I wouldn’t be as lucky in 2015. So I was faced with the real possibility of missing a burn, but when you have a week long spring break that lines up perfectly with the second largest regional burn you take it as a sign and haul your dusty gear half way round the world to light some shit on fire!

If you are thinking of trading in the Playa for the Binnekring, Black Rock City for Tankwa Town and the Man for the Clan then come take a journey with me and decide for yourself ! Be warned this is just a slice of AfrikaBurn, as I can only share my perspective and my encounters. Take it as my decompression, my way of reflection and hopefully a way to offer a little insight to those who are considering something new.

The Binnekring vs. The Playa

• The Binnekring is smaller than the Playa and everything is pretty much walkable. You can get from one side to the other within 20 -30 minutes, although bikes are still a good idea because there is actually no trash fence so you can ride as far as you dare. About half of the people have wheels out there. On the brightside, this makes finding your bike in the masses a lot easier. On the downside, there is an increased chance someone will “borrow it.” Just like at BM it’s a good idea to lock your bike. Better safe than sorry. But do not make the mistake of buying a rusty old beach cruiser, the Binnekring is no Playa. It is covered in rocks, spiky bushes, dried up river beds and sneaky sand patches that will stop you dead in your tracks. In my opinion mountain bikes are much better suited for the environment. We purchased our bikes for a little more than a hundred bucks and were thrilled to donate them to our younger neighbors on departure. There is even a camp called Pedals for Peace that sells burners bikes before the Burn and will take unwanted bikes at the end of the week. They have partnerships with local schools and charities that they donate to after the Burn. So think of a bike purchase as an investment in transportation for the week and a donation, win-win ! One more important detail is that they drive on the left, which is good to keep in mind when cruising between theme camps.

Photo by Maddy Rolison

Photo by Simon Callaghan 

 

Burning

• The Burns were by far my favorite moments. They felt completely intimate and unifying. Afrikaburn is about one eighth the population of Burning Man therefore pretty much everything is one eighth the size. If you are looking to see structures like the BM temple of 2012 or the Man of 2014 you might be disappointed, however if you are not expecting grander and bigger there are benefits to a more intimate setting. I personally really enjoyed the upfront view of the Clan, Temple and Subterrafuge burns. At each burn I eagerly waited for the fire perimeter to break and everyone to move closer to the burn site. Those moments felt very primal and tribal as people danced around the flames and several drum circles sprang up. I especially enjoyed seeing the way each piece burned, how it started, how each pattern burned in the wind, and how it eventually fell to the earth. Not sure if that’s because I am a raging pyro or because of the mind altering substances,  but either way it blew my mind. The Subterrafuge (the five pillars) which was erected to protest fracking in the area, was by far my favorite burn, they were unable to burn it last year due to high winds making this years burn that much more meaningful. It was a beautiful burn, the colors were spectacular ranging from white hot to intense blues behind a backdrop of cascading stars. Fun fact: just outside Tankwa lies South Africa’s largest telescope, which due to it’s high location above sea level its one of the clearest, darkest, and best places for stargazing). The crowds cheered as every pillar crashed to the ground and relished in the burning embers for hours after the burn. This year the Clan burn was moved to Friday night along with Subterrafuge, and the Temple burned on Saturday. Organizers were a little concerned about getting people to observe silence  on a Saturday night but rangers politely walked around during the Temple burn asking people to observe silence, and in the end it was a silent crowd of 10,000 watching the flames and embracing one another. 

Photo by Steven Morrow 

Photo by Steven Morrow

Photo by Kane Croudace

The Art

• The major scheduled burns were by no means the only things on fire. It seemed everywhere we looked on Saturday from sunset to midnight there was something burning. From artists burning small art pieces made of fabric and wood to the elaborate burn of 10 foot letters reading “Just Gonna Stand There And Watch Me Burn?” While I didn’t notice as many fire spinners and poi, I did witness one of the most beautiful performances by the New Moon Collective: a group of stilt walkers dressed and painted completely in white who attracted a large following as they danced across the Binnekring anchoring a huge long white balloon. The procession stopped inside of a ring of fire spinners before letting the balloon rise high in the air, leaving one woman to do an aerial performance symbolizing the birth of the new moon. I was left speechless by the elegance and beauty of the performers against the backdrop of a setting sun and a rising moon.  

Photo by New Moon Collective

The Sound

• SOOP ! as in Sound Out Of Place.  One of my favorite concepts I took away, and one I think BM should consider adopting. The organizer put the loud theme camps at either end of the cornucopia, allowing a buffer zone for loud camping and a quiet zone in the middle. We camped in the loud zone, but I was never once bothered by sound from other camps. The music and sound stages were fewer and farther between but still offered a wide variety. One of our favorites was the Temple of Rock, which had a rocking band cranking out the hits all day long. Bubbles and Bass was a little slice of home and held down a bumping early morning party every day at sunrise that lasted into the late afternoon while (of course) they kept the champagne flowing. As mentioned before the scale of AB is smaller than BM, so obviously there are less art cars and mutant vehicles but remember AB is only in its 9th year, so people have not had decades to invest and build vehicles. There was definitely potential for the creativity and scale of art cars to grow. My favorite art car was the Spirit Train, a steampunk inspired train that was always pulling a crowd with their deep beats and sexy vibes. I often found myself dancing the night away there and running into friends we had met along the way.

Photo by Maddy Roison

Photo by 

Self Expression

• One thing I was shocked by was the general lack of mass nudity. I didn't see a single shirt cocker! Depending on your feelings about shirt cocking that could be a good or bad thing. There was one camp that offered afternoon showers for 100% nude, and of course it was mostly old dudes. Towards the end of the week people started showing a bit more skin, but I am pretty sure I was the only one rocking the vag cleavage. I think this mostly has to do with SA being a bit more on the conservative side which is evidenced by  the absence of the orgy tents and large representation of different sexual orientations. But none of that stopped me from walking around in the buff! I think AB could use a critical tits and a few shirt cunters.

Photo by Michael Ross

The Loos 

• Speaking of holes, long drop toilets are awesome ! They don’t smell, they have a view, there was never a line and they were always clean. If you don’t mind a little less privacy and covering your poo in sawdust, it’s a great alternative to porta potties. One downside is it that they are located on the backside of the camping and there are only a few porta potties on the Binnkering, but the general consensus is if you pee on a bush it’s all good. I mean TIA (this is Africa) not Nevada! I honestly loved having nature pees all week and never once stepped in a porta potty. Side note: gray water is not as strictly observed as a BM, especially in the camp areas. And it seemed pretty much every camp had an outdoor shower, although I personally relish the fact that it becomes socially acceptable to not shower for a week.

Photo by Maddy Rolison

Culture

• Ethos, while AB upholds the ten principles of BM it also takes it one step further with an 11th principle that states ‘Each One Teach One.’ Meaning its the responsible of every member to take another under its wing and show them the way of the principles. This is a vital part of their community, as it is still growing with many virgins and those who have not had the opportunity to truly practice the guiding principles. Another phrase I walked away with was ‘One Burner One Shift’ which is really important in Tankwa, every person should take a volunteer shift, greeting, MOOPing, being a guardian of helping out at the DPW. With a smaller population it is even more important for everyone to participate and contribute. While this might take away from all the free shit you are used to getting at the Burn, it is an opportunity for you to provide it. This years theme was ‘the Gift’ and from the sounds of last year’s more sinister theme of Trickery, it set a good tone for the week and kept everyone is the mindset of generosity. There were only a few camps gifting hot meals like pancakes and grilled cheese, but we were offered ice cream and cold pops almost everyday. And we never‘ had to wander too far to find a hot cup of coffee or tea. Generally AB is much more accessible, especially if you have a last minute idea. It felt like there were less regulations and restrictions on theme camps and artists. The DMV and DPW both accept last minute applications for art cars and will go out of there way to help place an art project mid week and provide burn support. Artists have much more leeway to set up where they want and burn if and when they want.

Photo by Johan M Van Zyl

Afrikaburners

• I didn't have many expectation but the crowd felt awfully familiar. There were lots of old burner types, moms, dads, college kids, and little ones of all ages and even teenagers, which are usually absent at BM. We seemed to run into virgins of all ages at every turn, but then again I guess we were virgins ourselves. I felt the crowd was more diverse, we met people from Namibia, Zimbabwe, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Israel, England, New York, and California but the majority were definitely South African. Either way, I am comforted by the fact that I could attend a regional burn anywhere in the world and meet like-minded, open and conscious people who uphold the same principles. It has undoubtedly sparked our interest in getting out there and meeting our burner community all over the world. After hearing great tales about MidBurn in Israel we are putting that one on our calendar for next year.

Waether 

• From the reports we heard it was a good weather year. I probably would have agreed with this if it weren't for the fact our camp was completely destroyed on the first night. The high winds ripped our shade structure out of the ground, despite having half a dozen heavy duty rebars and we nearly even lost our chairs. Understandable why it had prevented burns in the past and even caused entire camps to be up heaved and sent tents soaring in the air. But after the first night the wind was hardly noticeable, the heat in the day was never unbearable but still enough to be comfortable in little clothing. Once the sun went down the temperatures dropped quite significantly but not as bad as being deep Playa before dawn.

Photo by Jonx Pillemer.

The Road

• Po-pos! This had to be the best part of AB: No motherfucking cops!  Yes there were friendly rangers and earth guardians but no undercovers, no federal agents, no one trying to bust you and basically no fucks given about smoking a joint whenever you like. Even the drive up was cop free, apparently there have been roadblocks in the past with the police checking vehicles but we never saw any. While we are on the topic of Entry and Exodus, there was no pulsing, no hours of waiting at the gates or staring at someone’s bumper for half a day. We traded that in for over 100km of bumpy and rocky dirt road. This gnarly road is know for eating tires, so it’s a good idea to bring a spare, but if you forget there are a few tire shops along the way. The route from Cape Town was pretty straight forward, there is even a beautiful wild game reserve on the way that's definitely worth stopping at, especially since they have large all you can eat meals. The best part of the drive was seeing the gangs of wild baboons scurry across the freeway, but make sure that your windows are up, or else they might try and jump in your car!

Photo by Maddy Rolison

Photo by ?

Cape Town

• What really made the trip worthwhile was the few days in Cape Town beforehand. Breathtaking coastline with lots of little beach towns, friendly and energetic people, Plus tasty craft beers and ciders, and not to mention delicious and cheap wine. We found Cape Town super easy to navigate and were able to buy everything we needed for the desert (minus EL wire). Camping and wilderness adventures are big activities in South Africa, so you will have no trouble finding the supplies you need to survive for a week. If you are trying to rent an RV for the week, you might not be able to find a company that is willing to hire out an RV for AfrikaBurn, however if you don't mind tell a little lie you could have better luck. We had no hassles with the truck we rented and the company didn't seem to bat an eye when we returned it covered in dust.

I image the only things keeping most people from exploring more international burns are the cost and distance. In total we spent about $1500, that includes the rental car, gas, food, booze, party favors and camping gear ranging from a full length mirror to a tent, chairs, and shade.  Although our flight from Europe was about $800 each, we felt the time we spent in Cape Town was well worth the flight cost. Generally I spent pretty much the same amount of money going to AB as I do going to BM. We were also extremely pleased that we didn't have to throw away any of our new purchases. We were able to find a home for everything we couldn’t take back with us on the plane.

In conclusion this is my advice: If you happen to be one of those unfortunate workers who only gets two weeks holiday a year and you are trying to decide between spending your vacation on the Playa or travelling or you just can’t get away for the last week of August, I would say come to Afrikaburn! You can spend a few days before and after the Burn in Cape Town but still get your week of indulgence in the desert getting weird with a bunch of open minded freaks. Your clothes and nose will still be filled with dirt and dust, you still get to dress up to your fullest self expression and you will probably have the best weeks of your year out there and get to ring the bells like you’re a virgin all over again.  

Photo by Maddy Rolison

Photo by Maddy Rolison

Snow, Birthdays and Trains

I am sure there is any good excuse for taking four months off from my extra-curricular blogging activities but perhaps the fact that the Turkish government closed all access to blogspot.com sites would be a valid one.According to the news the shut down was due to a violation of copyright of one blog showing football matches but it felt more like the hand of censorship.Anyways there are ways round such restrictions but I guess I couldn’t be bothered, now its up and running so no more excuses for not updating. I believe I left off somewhere in January but I can’t really remember February besides the fact it was cold we even got some snow. In March my friend Byron, who I met in Thailand on myeacher’s training course and also taught in Seoul with me, came for a visit. Unlike me Byron committed to two years in South Korea and his first stop when his contract ended was Istanbul. Iwas excited to show him how different these two cultures are and help cure him of the reflexive bowing and the bad after taste of Korean food. He had a great time visiting all the usual tourist cities, meeting my friends and I think most of all, enjoying all the yummy desserts.It was great to really be able to compare the difference from my

life Seoul was wonderful but I truly believe Turkey is way more my style.

April was of course my birthday and in true Maddy style I had not one but two killer parties. On Thursday April 7th, I arranged to have a work/student party at my friend Kemal’s new bar.

My students were really awesome they got me some of the sweetest presents. I got a purse, two scarves, a dress, a blouse, jewelry, a starbucks mug (they know how addicted I am to soy lattes) and even a glass that has mine and Michael’s picture engraved on it. Sooo sweeet !! The party was pretty awesome all the teachers came and my students, we all got pretty lose. The party didn’t stop till nearly 4 am and I was defiantly paying for the next day.On my actual birthday I was pretty much bed ridden till 5pm, classic! I managed to pull it together and put my party dress back on for party #2. That night we threw a little shindig at my pad, luckily the rain stopped just in time so we could enjoy my spacious terrace. It was a good turn out of my Turkish friends about 20 or so but the party didn’t last too long. My grumpy neighbor called the cops around 9:30 when there were about 5 people here. When the cops came they agreed there so no problem and just gave us a little warning about the music. Unfortunately they should up a second time just before 12 and pretty much kicked everyone out. So we had to move the party to bar a little earlier then expected but it all was good. We danced the night away and it was another birthday to remember!!

Two weeks later it was visa-run time again. Due to a little procrastination and lack of funds Michael and I decided to take a train adventure through Bulgaria and Romania. We departed Friday night form Istanbul and arrived in Bucharest, Romania 20 hours later. The ride there was actually pretty enjoyable we had our own private sleeper carriage and pretty much spent the whole time chillin’ out watching movies and reading, while watching the countryside pass by.

When we arrived in Bucharest we easily found a cozy hostel not too far from all the main attractions. We ate a huge Bavarian style restaurant that had a dozen beers on tap at a reasonable price. Which was a nice change from the over priced single choice beer of Effes in Turkey. We did a little exploring that night and surprisingly Bucharest was a pretty hopin’ city. Lots of bars and clubs with tons of young people, and even girls! (In Istanbul you’re lucky to find 10 girls in bar full of 60 men).

The next day we set out to find Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania. Instead of going with a private tour guide, I entrusted Michael to “Jason Bourne” our way there. There isn’t so much a bombing tourist industry in Romania and therefore a lack of English. We took another 3-hour train ride to a smaller city in the north expecting to easily catch a bus to the famous Dracula Castle but after a few wrong buses and some unhelpful bus station workers, we found ourselves stranded and running out of daylight. In the end we decided to make the best of it (aka continue drinking beers) and grab some food. We finally aborted our mission and decided to get the next train home, we discovered we had missed the train back to Bucharest and the next one wasn’t for another 7 hours at 2:30 in the morning.

Trying again to make the most of it we grabbed another couple of bottles and started loitering in the station. In the ended we caught a small mini-van back to the city even though we were unable to get a refund for the train tickets, but the van ride was quite enjoyable. There was a very talkative and touchy feely drunk guy next to Michael, who had the same ideas as us for road trip drinking. The whole time the guy was spouting off in Romanian, cheersing us and making the driver pretty angry every time he dropped his liter of beer on the floor. We eventually got back to our hostel after being dropped off in the middle of Bucharest and disoriented.

much broke the whole trip. We were counting that on

The next day and our last day was a mad rush. We had been unable to exchange any Turkish lira all weekend; leaving us pretty

Monday morning we could find a bank that would exchange our money, but no such luck. I spent an hour doing a crash course in all the tourist sights, snapping as many pictures as possible while Michael sorted out our train tickets home. Before we knew it we were running through the train station trying to catch the only train to Istanbul.

The journey home was anything but enjoyable we had skipped breakfast and spent our last dollars buying some snacks for the ride home. So for 12 hour journey through Romania we had a bag of chips, some juice and a chocolate bar. Still not sure why on an international train ride they wouldn’t have a proper food cart but when we finally got to Bulgaria around midnight we found a western restaurant that we were able to gorge out at for less then $8 each. The next 11 hours were even less enjoyable, our train was 2 hours late arriving and there was no sleeper carriage or heating. We were miserable trying to get comfortable in our single seats and use our extra clothes as blankets.

After the crossing the border into Turkey at 5 am, going through customs and sorting out our visa’s we were allowed back on the train which finally arrive in Istanbul at 11am! So all and all it was quite an adventure. From the little time I spent in Bucharest it was an interesting place with a lot of history. The trip was filled with a few almost missed or wrong trains, some money issues, another two stamps in my passport and getting another opportunity explore an unknown culture.

Back to life in Istanbul, I think my honeymoon phase might be over. It’s been six months of experiencing a rich culture and making lots of new friends but I am feeling like the time has come. I missed my sister’s 30th and my nieces 4th birthday this month and any day now I will be missing the birth of my 3rd niece. It’s these moments when you wish you could be in two places at once. Class loads are fading out as summer slowly approaches. I have had most my students for over 5 month, although it has been extremely rewarding watching their English skills exponentially improve, there is something stronger calling me home. I am not sure what the future holds for me at home, I am sure it will be a dose of reality and without a doubt some good times with old friends. So for now I am counting the days till summer!

Going Dutch

Since I am technically an illegal alien in Turkey I am forced to leave the country every 90 days, but I like to think of it as free holiday. I looked up flights to Berlin, Spain and London but the cheapest ones were to Amsterdam, so why not.
This was my second trip to Amsterdam, but the first was somewhat of a blur. It was 2006 and I went to Amsterdam with my study abroad program after spending a few nights in Paris. So the whole idea of international travel was well beyond my head, plus I wasn’t even the legal drinking age in America so I had yet to develop the matured taste for beer.
I had originally planned to take the trip alone but at the last moment Michael worked some magic and arranged to escort me all the way to Amsterdam. We arrived in Holland late on Saturday evening; we had a small layover in Munich, just enough time for a proper German beer, pretzel and my favorite Ritter Sport chocolate. On Sunday the weather was surprising crisp and not too cold. I was fearing the worst, I thought I might be trekking through a foot of snow and trying to keep myself from hyperventilating but the weather was only slightly colder then Istanbul. We spent the day wondering the streets, taking pictures and just enjoying the peace and quiet. Amsterdam was a nice getaway from the chaos and noise of Istanbul. You don’t realize how much noise 18 million people make, especially when they all seem to be taxi drivers who love blaring their horns.

Amsterdam is so cute, all the precious Dutch people strolling around on their bikes; you can just feel how they are living the privileged life in the top percentile of the world. The streets are spotless, there are barely any cars and the people are extremely friendly. The food was not to bad either, of course we had plenty of French fries with mayo and ketchup, I had some delicious crepes and no trip to Holland in complete without a few Heinekens. I even had a chance to meet up with one of Sophie’s friends that lives in Berlin. It continues to amaze me as I travel to all the corners of the world that I am never far from friends. It truly is a small world and I am fortune to experience just some of its many wonders


The next few days where pretty mellow, the weather was grey and Amsterdam is not as crazy as most people like to assume. Dutch people are pretty reserved; the only rowdy people are the handful of drunk English blokes wondering the streets. Even the red light district is clean and safe; I mean for heaven sakes there are swans swimming in the canal just outside the windows with half naked prostitutes dancing in them. This imagine kind of sums up Amsterdam.
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The Holidays

A second year away from home during the holidays and sad to say but its gets a little easier each time. The holiday season really was a blur, I guess especially in a Muslim country. We had a cheesy Christmas party at work, in which I received my awesome Tarkin binder. Christmas was pretty unusual this year but nonetheless a great day spent with close friends. I made a special Turkish breakfast and we spent the day singing bad Christmas songs and drinking Baileys. That night we had a nice Raki dinner with friends. Besides the missing visit from Santa or a stocking full of goodies, Christmas was still a holiday.

Zane arrived in Turkey last Thursday and as always it so great to have a friend from home visit. You can relax a little bit more and reminisce about the good old days. Hard to believe we have been friends for almost 10 years and had the opportunity to visit each other around the world. It has also been very interesting listening to Zane talk about his experience in Kabul, Afghanistan and even a little eye opening for a bleeding liberal such as myself. We spent the majority of his visit hopping from bar to tourist attraction, foreign food restaurants and then back to cocktails. I finally had a chance to eat some Mexican food and some yummy sushi.

The other great thing about having a visitor is having an excuse to do all the tourist things you should done already. We went inside the Sophie Mosque, which is being renovated to reveal all the Catholic paintings that were covered up. We also went to the Grand Bazaar, which was truly grand, over 4, 000 shops!

New years were pretty awesome this year. Erhan and his friends decided to avoid the whole club scene by throwing their own party. We rang the New Year in style and I even had a special kiss this year ☺





No better time then the first of the year to reflect on the last 12 months, and oh what a journey it has been! 2010 started off right, on the island of Boracay in the Philippines on one of the best vacations of my life. I truly feel in love with the country and I am already making plans to return for NYE 2012. I ended my year abroad in Seoul, saying goodbye to some great friends and an overall life changing experience. Next up was a 4 weeks tour of Thailand and Cambodia with the two greatest friends a girl could ask for. Once again Thailand didn’t disappoint and it was nice to return to my home on Ko Chang! After that I got a chance to visit Sydney, Australia a dream come true and a wonderful transition back into Western culture.
My return to America in April was just in time for my birthday and Coachella. My summer in Cali was unreal and better than I could ever had imagined. It was an honor to be there to walk down the aisle and share with Sarah her magical wedding. Meeting my raver family, starting weekly family dinners and Sunday fundays in San Diego are defiantly the highlights of the year.
Sharing a bed, a house and new experiences with Brittany really showed me what the word friendship means. She was my rock, my energy, my inspiration and my best partner in crime. The end of the summer brought some tough times and a growing phase that sparked my need for adventure and lead me to Turkey. Since the moment I landed at the Istanbul airport I have been overwhelmed by the hospitality and the quality of friends I have met here. I am excited to start the New Year in Turkey and to continue building and enjoying my life in middle earth.

Tarkan

You know I've been dying to share some Turkish pop without, so here it is Tarkan (the Justin Timberlake of Turkey)

Raki .. yes please !

Life in Turkey is finally settling down. I moved into my new flat last week, we have had no hot water, no heat, no stove, no refrigerator or any furniture for the first week, but we did manage to have a little house warming party!! The party was not up to my usual standards, but of course a goodtime. It was great to see my new house filled with all the new friends I have made in the last 6 weeks.

My besties !!

The flat is super cute, like a dollhouse or a house for midgets. The place is unfurnished, which is why it’s so cheap but also why we are living with the bare essential. I did get over to Ikea this week and purchased myself a big girl bed. Sad to say, but this is the first time I have had my own bed and own room in almost a year. I think that means I am a grown up.

The flat is defiantly still a work in progress. No kitchen really or tables or any sofas but the location is perfect. A great neighborhood close to all our friends and just a 15-minute walk to my work (uphill). Work is at full speed. I am up to almost 40 hours of teaching, which means a lot more time lesson planning and way less time sleeping. But I an actually still enjoy going to work 6 days a week and my students are really cool.

I wish I had more to report about Istanbul besides the fact that winter has finally arrived. We had a little snowstorm last weekend and the temperature most days has been around 10 degrees Celsius and I have no winter coat!

Last week, I did get to experience a traditional Turkish “Raki” night. Raki is the liquor of Turkey; it is really indescribable but similar to the Greek liquor Orzo or Sambuca. There is only one proper way to drink Raki, and that is over a long period of time in a big group and served with many different kinds of Meza or fish. Meza’s are the small dishes of cold appetizers such as cheese, potatoes, salad and a bunch of other things I don’t know the names of you eat before your meal. You mix the Raki with a small amount of water that turns the liquor a milky color. The affects of Raki are a little different then your typical alcohol. It’s not so much of a drunk feeling but I mellow, funny and chatty induced behavior. Overall an enjoyable night and another chance to add to my list of local drinks.

• I have had a fresh Guinness in Ireland (with some Jameson).
• I have drank Sake in Japan.
• Way too much Soju in Korea.
• Buckets of SangSom in Thailand.
• A schooner in Australia.
• Wine in Italy and France.
• A proper Cider in a London pub
• Tequila in Mexico, I just don’t remember it
• A beer with Germans at Oktoberfest and some Jagermiester too!
• And now Raki in Turkey

My new flat

Here is a little preview of my new flat and my new bestie Sophie ! You cant really tell but we have a great balcony with a pretty sweet view of the sea. We are planning to decorate our little dollhouse in boheiman chic/ happy hippy hut.