I said I would tell you more about my trip to Germany, as well as how I know Harika, the friend whom I visited in my brief time there. So here I am to do just that.
The first week after I arrived to İzmir in August of 2018, I spent a lot of time walking the streets around my apartment and in my neighborhood to begin to get a feel for this new country and culture. On one such afternoon a woman approached me and asked a question.
“I’m sorry, but I only speak English,” I said.
“Oh, well I can speak English too!” she said, “Can you tell me what this building is? Is it a hotel?”
Luckily she was curious about one of only about four buildings that I did know–this one was located just across the street from my apartment building and was adjacent to the high school campus where I would be working. I told her it was our elementary school building, and that I was a librarian at the American Collegiate Institute.
And so I met Sema, a Turkish woman who lived in my neighborhood for some summer months, and in America the rest of the time. In fact, she lived just 20 miles down the road from where my mother lives in Williamsburg, VA. We went seaside for a drink and to get better acquainted. We exchanged information and since that serendipitous first meeting, we now meet up every time she comes to Turkey.
Flash forward a few months and I had a Facebook request from another Turkish woman. I had not met this woman named Harika, but I could see she was a friend of Sema’s. I messaged Sema and learned that Harika was a friend from her area in Virginia, that she wanted to know more about what life was like in Izmir, and so Sema connected her dot to my dot.
I suppose the rest is history–I accepted the friend request and we proceeded to chat and communicate via Facebook messenger until September of 2020 when Harika visited Izmir and we met up in person for the first time. We scheduled just an hour to share a beer. But we hit it off swimmingly, and I stayed on through dinner, meeting her sister, Leyla, and some other friends.
We’ve stayed in touch, sharing our respective countries’ “COVID-state-of-affairs,” and this past summer we met up in İzmir again to enjoy drinks and dinner together. We missed crossing paths in Dalyan–her going with family just days after I left. But I was able to offer advice on where to go and what to do, and connected her with my many friends in the village.
Best time together yet was my quick trip to Germany, previously mentioned here on my blog. I went for just a weekend, arriving to Düren in the wee hours of the morning on a Saturday. Harika picked me up at the train station and took me home to her adorable little apartment. We enjoyed some wine and conversation, going to sleep close to 6 am.
Saturday we slept in and then she walked me around her little town. We had Turkish kahvaltı for brunch before she took me to meet the rest of her family (all within walking distance of one another)–her mother and two more sisters (different than the one I met in 2020), and the extended family of one sister. Yes, I have now met the entire family!!
We stayed in Düren on Saturday, visiting with family, and enjoying Kölsch brews, a Mexican meal, and after dinner cocktails–all of it enjoyed with SO much conversation. We learned about one another’s familial histories, our relationships over the years, where we’ve worked, and what we like and dislike. We find ourselves in similar stages of life–single, working, and at our leisure to spend our time with whom and where we want.
On Sunday, we ventured into Cologne to see “the Dome” (the most visited site in all of Germany with over 20K visitors each day) and to walk along the Rhine. We visited a cafe where a friend of her’s was working, and enjoyed another beer and some traditional German food in the evening.
Then it was time to take the train back to Düren so that I could collect my luggage and begin my journey home to Turkey. We said goodbye at the train station with promises of taking turns visiting one another–me to Germany to explore more of Cologne and other German cities; her to Izmir to enjoy all that we love about Turkey.
I thank Harika for her hospitality and kindness–taking me into her home on short notice, hosting me in her hometown, and introducing me to her family. I had a lovely time and enjoyed again, for the first time in two years–exploring a new place with a good friend.
Many thanks and looking forward to having fun together in 2022 and beyond!
