The advice of strangers

In Romania, I met a couple Euro men who warned me about how the Turkish men would react to me. "You are their dream" said one, though I attribute some of that sentiment to shameless flattery. "They will love you there" said another, who I tend to trust a bit more than the first guy. The second guy also gave me advice on how to get Turkish men to leave me alone. "If you say you are married, they won't care. If you say you have a boyfriend, they won't care. However, if you say you have a *Turkish* boyfriend, they will leave you alone because they respect only other Turkish men."

It worked.

In a bout of trying to see just how much I can fit in to my already super-packed backpack, I decided to go out and buy a couple cushion covers. After a little bargaining in the third shop (I walked out of the other shops because they wouldn't bargain...and this *is* a bargaining town), I agreed to buy a couple. I was told how beautiful my [bright blue] eyes are and how beautiful I am. It goes without saying the conversation followed like this:

Shop Owner: Are you married?
Me: No.
SO: Ah, he [shop clerk] is looking for someone to be his wife.
Me: I have a boyfriend/
SO: Ah, but that is not permanent. Surely you could go out with SC.
Me: He is Turkish.
SO: Really? [said with a slight look of awe and admiration]
Me: Yes, he is very lucky.
SO: Yes, he is. Bad luck for SC, though.

It went on with more of the bad luck/good luck theme for a couple minutes. Especially as he tried to sell me a necklace with the pattern of the Turkish good luck symbol (I already have one of the charms). I then pointed out that I only wear one necklace, and that it is also a good luck charm. This is mostly true. I do have a New Zealand greenstone necklace that I really never take off anymore, though I do occasionally wear other necklaces. For those of you unfamiliar with NZ greenstone, it is good luck if it is presented to you as a gift, though it is not bad luck if you buy it for yourself. Mine was a gift from one of my best friends, after he went to NZ.

In any case, that is a bit tangential, but there you go. I'm in a country of tangential and subterfuge-filled conversation and it's obviously gotten under my skin.

Now, time to see if I can find any ice for my ankle, as I've walked quite a bit today (the Bosphorous was resplendently gorgeous and startingly blue), and it's a bit sore.

I'm putting off seeing just what kind of tricks I need to use to find space for what I bought...

Perhaps I just need to pull out my little Turkish good luck charm and see how much luck I can have today...