iskender'in arkadaslari

iskender gibi bir kaplumbaga tanimiyorum. baska kaplumbagam olmadi zaten, ondan ismini iskender koymustum, tek ve guclu bir karaktere sahip olsun dedim. kaplumbagalarla olan bagimi anlatmam zor. 4 yasimda ilk bebe kaplumbagami denize biraktim, Karaci sahillerinde. o zamandan beri bu tatli yaratiklari ayri severim. Darwin'de flatback turtle dedikleri kaplumbagalar doguduklari yere gelip (bazen 30 sene sonra) ayni yerde yumurtalarini birakip gidiyorlarmis. her seferinde 70 tane yumurta, 70 tane bebe denize pitipiti kosuyorlar. bir sezonda her 2 haftada bir olan bir olay. bir tanesine sahit olmak mucizevi bir goruntuydu. yuzlerce insan, her yerde cocuk kayniyor ama herkes heyecanli ve nefesini tutuyor. her gruba bir minik verildi, yapmamiz gereken dogru yone yonlendirmek ve kus filan onu alip goturmemesi. izlerken ben agladim.

shaye

shaye has made my life in Darwin special. friends are not easy to make after your 30s... it's true! when you get going in your 30s you find yourself calling friends you have had for a while, potentially new ones come along and it takes work to build those friendships. that too if you have the time and motivation to put work into it. with shaye it was smooth and steady. she is stu's buddy and she was the first friend he had me meet when i came to Darwin last year. a year later here i was jumping into aussie footy, speedwalking along the coast, and watching us pump each other to stay motivated and to stay in the moment. she even tried to have me do community work but her work said no because of insurance issues. she is giving, thoughtful and puts others first which is a level of awareness that is hard to see in this day and age. we went to a psychic expo this past weekend. where else would a psychic expo be but in a travelodge in Darwin... we watched the solar eclipse, granted behind trees, through our phones while others had brought their welding helmets (!) and we have waded in secure lukewarm sea water with loud German teen boys. she also understands that me communicating with the fruit bats near her apartment is a lovely quality to have :P a friend who does not judge is a friend indeed.

she took a leap of faith and went to burning man this year, all in the name of change. i cannot stop but admire friends of mine who make a decision to change their lives and go ahead and do it. she is off to Melbourne next year and i am going to miss her dearly.

other inhabitants in Darwin

after Thailand i decided that if i was not working and still actively seeking i will exercise my brain cells by going to a class in the evenings. i found a course called 'wildlife in the Top End' and i signed up. i have been loving it simply because the people who have choosen to come are diverse and sweet; and the rannger brings in a surprise every week depending on the category we are focusing on. last week was a frilled neck lizard who was healing from a broken leg. her cast was orange and it matched the orange spots on her neck. yesterday it was a baby possum healing from stitches and she was gorgeous. we held her to our chest to keep her warm in a very cool classroom, i could feel her breathing. another 3 weeks and more animals to come. i always feel energized after this class, living here has been eye-opening to the wonders of this planet. the more i learn, the more there is to learn.

the new honeymoon concept

we just spent our honeymoon in West Raileh Beach, southern tip of Thailand, near Krabi, with close friends. the best idea we have come up with since our idea to get married and move to Australia! our friends came from istanbul and sydney, five different nationalities, under one roof. sea kayaking, rock climbing, up 1237 steps to see a massive Buddha in Tiger Temple, watching sunsets everyday from our porch were just some of the highlights. smiling Thai, powerful food, cozy company, bats and squirrels just brought everything into alignment.