Türkiye

It's the middle of August and I'm freezing my ass off. Yes, I know I posted earlier about a heat wave, but that is long gone. And I miss it. Because now? Cold, gray, rainy. Yes, cold. I've gotten back out the blankets and coats, and haven't ordered a pastis in weeks. It's really odd. And depressing.

But cold or not, it remains August in Paris. Which means there is hardly anyone around. My entire snooty neighborhood is shuttered, closed for 'annual vacation'. Want a cashmere designer sweater? Come back after August 28th. Want to resell your Chanel ensemble? As of September 1st, please. Need a bikini wax? Any sort of medication or prescription? How about a damn baguette? Please go to another neighborhood, where they have not all left for a villa in Mauritius.

And at work? There are three of us on my floor and I'm covering for five other assistants. It didn't bother me before, and it doesn't really now, but I'm beginning to feel the pangs of needing a vacation. Last year I mostly laughed at how horrified people were that I wasn't going anywhere. I brought out the old 'we only have two weeks per year in the US' line, just to get the point across. How puritan my work ethic, how strong, how hard-working, how dedicated I must be! Ahem.

But this year, I'm getting into the local spirit. This year, I want my damn two weeks in the sun. Only I'm taking them right when everyone else comes back. Ooo, look at me rebel!

Handsome and I are going to Turkey, dammit, and I'm going to have a blast. While everyone else in Paris is working. So there.

Now we just have to learn a little Turkish. Cause I have to know how to say the basics. Of course I bought not one, but two Turkish phrasebooks. One cold and rainy night, we sat on the sofa under a blanket studying the first chapters. Handsome picked up the concept of the verb 'to be' pretty fucking quickly. And the vowel sounds are pretty much like in French. So after about five minutes, he understands how to say, 'I am tired.' ('Yorgunum') It comes out of his mouth, and it sounds so damn Turkish - and so sexy - that like Jamie Curtis' character in "A Fish Called Wanda", I got all tingly and asked him to say it again. And again. Ooooo kuzu kuzu*! Say it again!

My project for the week : learn how to say, "One more raki, please, and turn up the Tarkan!"

*little lamb, in Turkish, from a Tarkan song