thanks, E. now I'm sure to have nightmares of the nude German grannies again.

Yeah, you say that as if it's nothing to worry about.

Maybe you should make a quick stop in Cyprus so you can tour the UN buffer zone. She'll have a great time.

Dear e,

Thanks for bringing back the memory of assorted topless Euro-Grannies in Bodrum a few years ago ... No wonder the araq in my kitchen seems to be quickly vanishing.

Let me know when you're in Istanbul - I might be able to swing by.

--MSK*

August 8. I have a full free day in Istanbul.

By the way, I hate you. Nothing personal, of course.

Sigh...who will go traveling with me after Nov. 1?

Oh, lots of people.

I may even go to Morocco in the fall, but have to watch my schedule because the family is planning a trip in Dec/Jan.

Diman, diman klam.

Eva: you can tag along with me to El Salvador in December but I somehow doubt that you want to help me build concrete water tanks near the Guatemala border on top of a mountain.

Well, I've been known to do offbeat things on vacation (like get tear-gassed), but my gimpy ankle is just about up to extended hiking, let alone hard physical labor. Plus if I go to El Salvador without my Salvadoran college roomie, she will throttle me.

Nah, with stupid American 2 weeks a year off, they are going to be spent relaxing, dammit. Volunteering can be squeezed in during the other 50 weeks.

Eva: volunteering is one thing. volunteering with the aim to build ones resume is entirely different.

volunteering with the aim to build ones resume is entirely different

I believe our resumes are quite different anyway, but I can (and do) volunteer to build mine in the privacy of my own home, thank goodness.

yes, Eva, I believe so. I only have a couple of business and contract law classes under my belt. my knowledge of immigration laws stops at what I have to do to become a citizen of Belgium or Germany.

Well, the volunteering is usually on the linguistic side of things. How's your Spanish?

Eva: much worse than my Arabic or German. some of the other members of the construction crew are fluent. I'm not going for the five weeks of Spanish I took in the 2nd grade.

Y'all might actually want to conservative up on the clothing for cappadocia; the rest (cept maybe parts of Istanbul) should be fine. For that mattter my experience there is a decade and a half out of date; went to cap the summer after the Bush I Gulf War.

Also: UN buffer zone in Cyprus: boring. It isn't even a closed border any more; where's the fun in that?

Also: Morocco: teh awsum. Fez is sort of like the Al Hambra, if the Al Hambra was a hundred times as big and people actually lived in it. But the idjits have apparently blocked livejournal (at least in cyber cafes).

Cyprus Zone boring. Rubbish. You need only go to the Turkish side, get drunk and start shouting obscenities about sleeping with their women at the Greek Cypriots, who remarkably lack any sense of humour at all about such things.

(As I recall my colleague had a particularly amusing phrase in Greek that went something like - "I am wearing nothing and am ready to use your women like you use your men...." - )

Half the population of Germany will be in Antalya in August, I saw far too many 8-day, 300 Euro vacation packages for it not to be so(and Germany has travel agencies like America has Starbuckses).

And the amusingly aggressive street venders alone make Morocco a blast. Yelling out random English or Italian words is truly the best way to get the attention of white tourists("fish and chips!" exclaims the trinket seller), though calling an African-American tourist "Mama Africa!" is my favorite.

L: (As I recall my colleague had a particularly amusing phrase in Greek that went something like - "I am wearing nothing and am ready to use your women like you use your men...." - )

Is this the same person you said I should meet if I go to Cyprus...and then retracted the offer because he was "a bit twisted"?

Djuha: "fish and chips!" exclaims the trinket seller), though calling an African-American tourist "Mama Africa!" is my favorite.

Haha, Egyptians are like that too. At one point I was walking around with a big American guy and people kept yelling "Rambo! Rambo!"

As for Antalya being crammed with lobster-colored Germans, well, what exotic beach isn't? They are usually fine company, even the grannies in thongs. Besides, Kitten will need a party break after all that architecture.

They are usually fine company, even the grannies in thongs. Besides, Kitten will need a party break after all that architecture.

Party break? With lobster-coloured, thong-wearing grannies? Your social life is both more -- and less -- interesting than I'd imagined.

As she's afraid of those scary Muslim Turks, be sure and take little Kitten to 360 while you're in Istanbul. It should be fun to watch her being dragged outside of her comfort zone, albeit in the opposite direction.

i once had someone shout at me "COLUMBIA!" when i walked by. it must have been the microfleece jacket i was wearing.

Anon: Actually, I've been finding the usual Sex and the City crowd a bit grating lately. Even dating doesn't interest me anymore. Perhaps I'm becoming a crotchety old woman in my late 20s.

Even dating doesn't interest me anymore.

Ah, good. I was beginning to worry about you, dear.

Is this the same person you said I should meet if I go to Cyprus...and then retracted the offer because he was "a bit twisted"?

Ah yes.

It is indeed.