lesvos

Lesbos in Lesvos, that should have been the story we went with. Would have been able to avoid all the awkward conversations if we thought of that line earlier. Right mu? Too bad we didn't, but this way we've got heaps of memories to laugh about. I've got a question that i'm dying to ask mukfa, do you wanna go back to that island??

7:00 am, finally arriving in ayvalik. The night bus from istanbul was long, loooooong. You know the feeling when you've been sitting for a while, and you get up, and you realize you forgot how to walk. That feeling + just waking up + in a new town = our morning in ayvalik. All we knew was that we wanted some ayvalik tost. And so we got us some.

After breakfast we took a dolmus to cunda island, cause we heard that the church there is a must see. Upon arrival we asked around, 'where's the church?' and we were told to walk up the hill. So we walked up the hill. And kept walking up the hill. Till we saw the church, completely covered in scaffolding! Aha! Saw some top notch scaffolding, well done.

And then we went to midili, mytilene, there's bout a billion ways to spell the name of that island.

There's a giant castle on top of the town. The walk up the hill was a bit of a drag, you know, especially in 35 degree weather, but the breeze in the castle ruins.. it was gooooooood.  

As yas and mu would know, I've recently become obsessed, OBSESSED I TELL YOU, with Adini Feriha Koydum (a turkish drama). Finished the first season in three days, that's 24 episodes and each of them are about 1:45 min = about 42 hours! Oh gawd. 

Iyi Bayramlar + Eid Mubarak to everyone x

edit: in the last two days that it took me to write up this post, i've powered through another 15 episodes, CRAY.

marmara island

YES! Went to Marmara Island again. It ain't summer till you go to the island. At least that's what we say in our familia, the turkish side that is. Seem familiar? Posted photos from Marmara island last year (here, here, and here) and the small place doesn't really change. But I guess that's what makes it so great. Knowing there's a place waiting for you to return each year. 



Corals, greens, blues, a whole lot of pastels! Best colored houses I've seen since portobello.

Being the first to open the doors to the island house this summer, spider webs, dusty door frames, and covered furniture awaited us. Oh and the shower! Turned the tap on and orange water ran for two minutes. Eh maybe two seconds, but felt a lot longer. 

Tea: tea with breakfast, tea with lunch, tea after dinner, and tea at night. 

note: Gonna go back to watching masterchef australia now. LOVE EET. and olympic diving, gotta watch the diving!

TOODLES xx

hoarder art

Song Dong, Waste Not at the Barbican Center

Originally heading over to the barbican center to visit the conservatory, I was distracted, like always, by neon signs with chinese characters. Imagine this: a large room filled with the entire content of a family's home, the contents of a hoarder family's home.

the past few weeks

On the walk to the port. Or was it back to the car after the class? Keep scrolling. 

Other than the internship, i've been taking sailing classes on the weekend with the fam. By fam, I mean father + semi-crippled asian mama. Well, she complains of muscle and shoulder pains, making me the designated rope pulling + macho person. Hey, I'm cool with it as long as they trust me. If we lose a sail, or even worse, sink, it ain't on me.

Tasty burgers. Is it true that food tastes better when you're hungry, or have worked a full day? Well these mini burgers were mind blowing. Omnomnom in my belly.

Visited a glass studio two weeks ago, thought I would take a short course there. Then I saw the dorm rooms and ehrm, let's just say it wasn't worth the $60 per night price they set. 

internship

Finally! My internship is over. Six weeks of excel, news reading and office gossip. Not so much the gossip, which would have made everything more interesting. And so I ask myself, what has this internship taught me? SIMPLE: office jobs are tiring, office jobs are quite uneventful, office jobs are far, way far, from inspiring, office jobs are not for me. It's made me appreciate art & design a lot more, which means this has not been a waste of six weeks. 

Maybe I exaggerated a little bit, the skyscraper views were pretty sick.

Taaa, lot's of blog posts coming soon. T.R.U.S.T.

Childhood Nostalgia

I'd like to think that my parents constant questioning of whether the foundation year was a waste or not is just motivational banter. And these photos is somewhat proof that I, being semi-asian, was paying attention + did work relatively hard **wink wink**. Fulfilling stereotypes is my fave pass-time. Quite easy for me, I eat a kebab, I eat fried rice, I drink bubble tea, I squint hard, I have a hairy back, and I'm set for the day. Kidding about the last one, no fret, I be waxin' it daily! 

What you're looking at is the photo set taken at the Department of Coffee and Social Affairs to show my Unit 7 products in sitchu. The people at the coffee shop were incredibly friendly and helpful; walked up to them and said 'hiiii, i'm a student and can you make coffee for me' and handed them dino handle cups. nicely done selin, nicely done. As if I wasn't a student for the past 12 years (K-IB2), why do I suddenly find the need to introduce myself as 'student'. Maybe cause I get discounts like this! Please add 'I am frugal' to the list of stereotypes.

The accompanying explanation read:
'An espresso set that coalesces the playfulness of childhood toys and the typically adult ritual of coffee drinking. The miniature lion and dinosaur toys, casted in ceramics, placed as handles on the cups bring a whimsy feel to an otherwise ordinary object. Designed to evoke carefree childhood recollections, each piece, being handmade, has it's own quirks in the same way that those memories would.'

conservatory

barbican conservatory

yas: omg look
me: what is it?
- a man sitting behind a giant pot reading a book -

That convo pretty much epitomizes that visit to the conservatory. L.A.M.E. not really. I was amazed by the garden; never been to one before, ofc, Istanbul ain't so plant friendly. The closest thing we have to a conservatory..? Probably that tiny little glass encased terrace you see on the top of Dolmabahce Palace when you pass it by bus heading towards Taksim. I might be exaggerating, Istanbul is modern! aha. Going back to the conservatory, the plant's were enormous and made me feel like I walked into a Miyazaki film. The place was divded into sections; birds, trees, bench areas + more trees, and CACTI! Dumm dumm dummmm (queue dramatic sounds). I love cacti. If they weren't so prickly, I'd scatter them around my room. But due to my unpleasant tendency to roll around in sleep, mr.cactus and I would not make such a happy couple in the bed room **tears**. If any of my friends are reading this (doubtful!), cacti make wonderful house warming gifts.

expressed my fondness for cacti.. CHECK. I am out.
Night xx