Being a Good Neighbor

The past two days we've been rehearsing with a hip hop band in a church in Kadiköy, İstanbul.  We started at 10 and went until 5ish each day.  To start the whole thing off there was some discussion of whether we could use the sanctuary or if we had to go down to the basement because they were getting a new air conditioner installed.  It was settled that we would set up in the half of the room that was away from where the A/C installers would be working.  We were all set and chugging happily along.  Beats were dropping and lyrics flying.  Then we got told to turn it down.  I was disappointed, especially since I hadn't hit the volume yet that we would be using for performances.  I had barely touched the subwoofers (the big speakers that thump).  Right then and there I turned the subs off.

For those techies out there who are interested, the offending system is 4 QSC K12 mains, a home grown pair of EAW FR250z knockoffs powered be a QSC  ex4000 at 720w per side, a Mackie SRM450 monitor.   All told what to do by a Yamaha 01v96 v2.  (I know, but it works)

After turning it down I had to find out why.  Turns out the neighbors were complaining, enthusiastically complaining.  My worldly gut reaction was, "Well forget that!  If they're going to be grumpy about it anyway, let's just crank it and give them something to be grumpy about."  That thought lasted long enough for me to smirk and imagine plaster falling off the walls as I let the subs get some exercise.  After a little chuckle my mind went back to wanting to be a good neighbor and an example of grace and mercy.  I would accommodate them as much as I could and just turn things up enough for the performers to be able to hear themselves, but not enough to get an idea of what a full concert would feel like.

Then I found out more.  This new air conditioner that was being installed as we practiced could only be run for 5 hours on Sunday for the same reason that we had to turn down.  The neighbors don't like the sound of the air conditioner outside their window.  Because of this every other meeting that happens in this church building will not have A/C.  It was 95 and humid yesterday.

This irked me and now I'm trying to figure out, in the cultural context of İstanbul Turkey, where do you draw the line?  Within the context of a biblical worldview is there even a line to be drawn?   I want to say that at some point the Christian needs to stand up and assert themselves to illustrate their own self worth.  However since that self worth is based on Christ, the assertion must involve service to Christ.  If this is the case we would have been justified in practicing at a proper volume.  This is something I'll be thinking about over a cup of tea.

A New Day Dawns, But Why Didn't I Sleep Last Night?

Robert and I left home at 7am on Saturday, and arrived safely in Istanbul around 10am on Sunday.  We crossed from the European side to the Asian side of Istanbul, and got to the apartment we are staying at by noon.  There is a 7 hour difference between here and home. So that means, all told, we were in transit for 22 hours.  Not bad for going what feels like half way around the world. 

I want to say that the sensory experience of being back in Istanbul overwhelmed me, but it didn't.  I enjoyed seeing familiar sights again.  Hearing Istanbul's unique traffic and road noises was a comfort to me, and the smell of cigarettes and diesel fumes was oddly reassuring that I was in the right place.  Of course there was the first taste of Tutku, one of my Turkish comfort foods, to welcome me back. All of this, though, wasn't as emotional as I figured it was going to be.  It just feels like, "Well, I'm back and I have a job to do so let's get to it."

The job I'm here to do is run sound for some hip hop artists on a two week tour of western Turkey.

Today there are a few possibilities of what may happen.  Either I get to drive back the European side where the airport is and pick up more of our team that's flying in today, or Robert and I will squeeze onto a Dolmuş and make our way out to where all our sound gear is kept to pack up the gear van for our tour.  There is always the third possibility, though, that something entirely different happens.

I'm excited to meet the people flying in today.  We may get some sightseeing in tomorrow and then buckle down for rehearsals on Wednesday and Thursday, but that's too far in the future to say for sure.  The key now is for Robert and me to stay flexible and serve the people here as best we can.

On the Road Again

This is just a short post to point out that I'm headed to Turkey again.  In fact I will be in my car in less than 1 hour starting the drive to Montreal.  From there I fly to Toronto, and then on to Istanbul where we meet more of the team.  After a day in Istanbul, we drive 18 hours across the country to Diyarbakir where we will meet the rest of the team and the Christian hip-hop group CTZN.  I will be the Sound Engineer for what will hopefully be two weeks of touring Turkey with this group and a couple musicians from Istanbul.

I'm not going alone, My friend Robert is coming with me to help with tech needs and driving.  I've tried to fill him in on what he's in for, but I know I've left something out.  Robert's always up for an adventure and any time I get to go overseas it's definitely and adventure.

Stay tuned, I'll keep you posted.

Here's a little bit of Blues Traveler to get your toe tapping.

The Quest For Nar

I've got a guest writer today.  Butterfly is going to write about a small part of our adventures today.

The Quest For Nar!!

This evening, towards the end of a nice dinner at Simit Sarayi, I decided I wanted some nar to have with my breakfast the next day. Nar is the Turkish word for Pomegranate. So I got Dad and Mike to join with me on the quest for nar! And we were off, in search of the perfect nar (or any nar, really). Just around the corner, I spotted some nice looking ones. But that place was only for making nar juice, so we continued on. We passed 5 or 6 places like this. Then finally, after an all around 30 min. walk we reached an outdoor market with veggies, fruit, and fish of all kinds. And then I saw it. The perfect nar!! The man gave me a large sample which I enjoyed, so we purchased a lovely yellowish nar. I walked back to the place we were staying very happy. I am now feasting upon the perfect nar, I couldn't wait until breakfast. But there is some left over for breakfast. 

Uncivilized

I wasn’t sure how my body was going to handle this trip.  Bouncing from one time zone to the next can take its toll.  So far though, with the help of a few strategic naps I’ve been ok.  Mike seems to be doing pretty well too.  We were talking a bit today (a day that started in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and ended in Istanbul, Turkey) about the term “civilized;” mostly about how it is a relative term.  In going from Dushanbe to Istanbul have we moved to a more civilized city, or is it simply more developed?

Forgive me for a bit, but I’m going to talk about toilets.  Many people in central Asia use what can be called a “squatty potty.”  It is basically a hole in the floor.  Whether a cement hole into a pit, or a porcelain hole that flushes, to my westernized mind this is uncivilized.  Take a minute though and think of it this way, to use a western style toilet you have to sit where other people have sat.  Now who’s the uncivilized one?

                                               What did you expect, a picture of a toilet?

Issues of clothing come to mind as well, specifically women’s head coverings.  Some western women view head coverings as a sign of gender oppression, an indicator of an uncivilized culture or regime.  At the same time some eastern women view the west’s lack of head coverings as a sign of impropriety and immorality.  Again who is uncivilized?

People can and will vehemently argue either side of these topics, which proves the point that on many issues that we think of as major points “civilized” is a relative term.  To gain some perspective though how can we use the absolute truth of the Gospel to define “civilized?”  I love having conversations with Mike because he’s good at focusing on Biblical truth for answers to most any question. 

Civilization reaches its high point when it is focused on love.  When a society can live in a loving way with a simple framework of rules it has progressed beyond what most of us have referred to as civilization all our lives.  

What can you do to make your civilization more civilized?

“Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or  rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do.  Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.  Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting.  Love never fails!” – ICor13:4-8a

A Framework of Understanding

The easiest way for me to learn new things is to relate it to what I already know.  Discovering the culture here in Tajikistan is no exception.  There are many cultural similarities to Kazakhstan, A larger country to the North that I visited about 8 years ago.  There are also some similarities to Turkey, but, not surprisingly, very few similarities to the US.

My first reminder that we were in a former Russian country like Kazakhstan was the large hats that the police wear.  To me they look a bit goofy, but to the Tajiks they are to be respected.  The second reminder was the visa process.  We had instructions to look for a small room to get them and it’s a good thing we did.  The door looked like it belonged on a broom closet.  We went in and found a long skinny room crammed full of people who could only use half the chairs in the room because of the large marble tables in the middle.  Down at the far end of this room were two men at desks with computers with the occasional sound of a dot matrix printer breaking the silence.  If it weren’t for someone from our flight telling us what to do we’d likely still be sitting there.  As it was we spent over an hour there waiting for a sticker to add to our passports.

Luckily it’s not all funny hats and long lines.  We met our host and he drove us to his house.  The house is also very similar to those of Kazakhstan.  The street he lives on looks like that of a village more than the center of a city of over one million people.  The pavement is rough, sewer pipes protrude like speed bumps in front of every house with that and the gate being the only way you can tell there’s a house there.  Either side of the road is a ten foot wall with gates large enough to drive a car into every 50 feet or so.  We got to one of these gates and our host got out of the car and opened it.  Inside there was a courtyard surrounded by rooms on three sides. The lavatory, wash room, kitchen, living room and our guest room are all accessed by doors to the outside in this courtyard.  While this gives a great feeling of sanctuary in the middle of the city, it also means a trip to the loo in the middle of the night requires a walk outside in any weather.  I enjoy this layout of a house, as do our hosts, but I could see why others wouldn’t.

There is a treat we’ve gotten here that I have a hard time hanging on my framework.  In the middle of the courtyard there are two persimmon trees.  From a distance they look like oranges, upon closer inspection they aren’t.  The texture is kind of like an apple, but mostly not.  I tried coming up with flavors I could compare them to, but couldn’t.  I do know that I enjoy them and so do the children of our hosts.

But What Have You Been Doing?

Our adventure started 14 hours before our scheduled flight time.  We left so early because we didn’t know what to expect on long island considering the damage from the hurricane the week before.  Our trip down I-87 was blissfully uneventful and our drivers got out of NYC on the leading edge of a snowstorm.  After a 4 hour delay because of the snow storm I had already watched an “in-flight” movie, got to see firsthand what it looks like to de-ice a plane and gotten very excited because we were finally on our way!

This is the ground crew spraying what looks like Rain-X on the wing

We arrived in Istanbul on Thursday night.  By the time we got here the people waiting at the airport to meet us had left because Turkish airlines never posted that the flight was late.  I was excited by the challenge though of getting all 3 of us from Europe to Asia.  In case you didn’t know Istanbul is the only major city in the world on two different continents.  The airport is on the European side and our apartment and most of my friends are on the Asian side.  I got the privilege of getting a cab at the airport at which point my Butterfly thought I was impressive for telling the cabbie where we were going and figuring out the cost in Turkish.  So we went from the plane to the cab and from the cab to the “Deniz Otobusu.”  This is Turkish for “Sea Bus.”  The Sea Bus is a double hull, high speed, ferry boat that took us from the shores of Europe to Asia where some friends were waiting for the approximately 10 block walk to our apartment for the next few days.  These 3 friends are artists and musicians that we’ll get to know better later in our stay.

A street of beautiful restaurants that we found just after we ate at a diner.

It’s now Saturday night and we’ve spent two days in meetings that I won’t go into the details of here and doing a bit of sightseeing.  I think for the most part the sightseeing is an excuse to get some exercise and fresh air.  We’ve so far been to the Blue Mosque and the Grand Bazaar and only gotten lost a little bit in the streets surrounding the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul.  It has been a great few days with some profitable conversations and perhaps a little Cokokrem.

Breakfast of champions!