top end birds and reptiles

a cockatoo called Wrak came to visit us in class. she was gorgeous. curious too! it would waddle around the desks looking at everyone sideways, grab onto the side of the table, twist its head around and around, have a moment to preen a wing now and then, jump on the floor and nibble some feet...she was a cutie. i did not know they had air sacs under their skin and if ruptured they would heal themselves. they also have gaps in their skeleton to aid them in flight. i spoke to wrak in their language and it responded. i missed my cockateil, she was with us in Pakistan when i was growing up and lived a good 15 years before she passed.

yesterday it was reptile day. i adore turtles in the reptile familia. skinks too. large lizards i find fascinating. i have always been fearful of snakes but never disgusted or anything like that. i would just stay away if i saw one. they like basking in the sun and once when my group and i saw a black snake on our trail we changed our route and left it alone. touching one is a whole different ballgame though. something has definitely changed in me since i have been living in the Territory. first it made me sad that many people think a snake is best a dead snake, an attitude that needs to change. the reptile handler/ snake catcher had a few bags on the table that would move ominously when someone spoke in class. when brendan the snake catcher took the snakes out and asked us to handle them i could not stop myself. both were pythons, massive creatures. i touched the olive python and shivered. it was soft and smooth. when i held him under his neck and halfway down his length he was soft smooth and strong. unbelievable strength.

once i let the olive python go there was carpet python hanging out on my table checking everything out. he and i looked at each other for a long while. he sniffed me for around 20 minutes with his split tongue, it tickled. he went all over my bag, sniffed my legs, arms, hands, neck, he was one curious fella and did not leave my side until it was time to get bagged. he did not want to go in the bag at all.

i have to say i liked them. they were not venomous, one of them had been rehabilitated from an accident and the other was abandoned by their owner (patterns were not native to the Territory). these guys have a history just like us, they are trying to survive and live with us, and as long as we are respectful of their space we can continue to live in ours. i was hypnotized.

25% of snakes are venomous. okay the top ten posionous snakes are at the top end. yes yes. only 3% of them are truly fatal which comes down to 1.3 deaths per year in the top end. more deaths from smoking, more from shark attacks, more drunk driving deaths. snakes are getting bad rep is what i think!

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.

hayat arkadasligi

hayatimizda bir cok hikayelerimize sahit olan ve bizimle birlikte bu yolculugu yapan arkadaslarimiz olmustur. benim oldu. bu hikayelerin yaratilisinda kucukken programlanmis kaliplarin icinde buyudugumuz icin bir cok hikayemiz tum potansiyelimizi yansitmamis olabilir. 4 yasimdayken ve bunu cok iyi hatirliyorum, babamin arkadasi bana buyuyunce ne olacaksin bakayim sormustu, ve ben evlenecegim demistim. bu soyledigim cok naif ve komik bir cevap olabilir ama bu programlanma o minik yasimda da beynimde gezinen bir dusunceymis. 30 yaslari guzel bir donem cunku dunyanin cok yalin bir yer olmadigini artik anladim, kendimi iyicene tanimis oldum, ve oldugum gibi olmaya sectigimde bunun bir mucadele olacagini biliyordum. ama bu mucadele icsel bir mucadele ve bunun icin inanc ve azim gerektiriyor. istedigimiz gibi yasamaya sectigimizde buna kolay kolay izin verilmeyecek, yargiyla karsi karsiya olacagiz ve boyle bir ortamda secimler zorlasacak. programdan degil yuregimizin dogru hislerine dogru adimlar atilacak. demek istedigim 30 yaslarimda evlilik bana gore olmadigina karar vermistim. arkadaslarim hayatim boyunca yanimdalardi, isimi seviyordum, annemle olan iliskim harikaydi, baska neye ihtiyacim vardi ki? iliski her kadin ve erkek ister ama etrafimizda super ornekler yoktu. surekli bir drama, bir kalp kirilmalar, bunu yapti onu dedi, centilmen olan adam yok gibiydi. bir kac sene once amerikali arkadasim kocasiyla istanbul'a tasindiginda bir iliski ve bir hayat arkadasi nasil olur onu 3 sene izleme firsati olunca o zaman bende derinden aynisindan istedim. ama bunu bile istemek bir mucadeleydi ve bir karar. karar su ki istedigim hayat arkadasi benim en iyi dostum ve laklak yapmaktan cekinmeyecegim, korku programlarim tetiklendiginde de paylasabilecegim bir insan olacakti. ve eger olmazsa kendi yolumda mutlu olmaya secmeye devam edecektim yalniz olsamda. evlilik bir sosyal etiket ve etiketlerden hoslanmam. ama bir iliskiye bir takim arkadasligi ve hayatimiz boyunca yolculugumuzu birlikte yapacak kalitede bir insan ariyorsak o zaman zaten kendi potansiyelinize gore yasiyorsaniz o kisi yolculugunuza katilir. asil test katilmak istedigi zaman siz izin verecekmisiniz.

yoga on skype

skype yoga for the first time last night with my awesome group in istanbul was a great experience. after a teen helped us all get connected and that too we had to do without video we did a good ole session as though we were together in one room. i miss my yogini partners and i am grateful to them and technology for bringing us together. may the skype-ing continue!