Collect memories not things

Written on the wall at a bar in Beirut, and also a bathroom stall in Greece. Kind of a theme for me lately — while hardly a primary source of funding, countless pairs of shoes were sold in the making of this trip. One obsession relinquished to feed another.

Beirut is fascinating. It’s dirty, loud, half falling apart but with construction everywhere. People are warm and friendly, until they get behind the wheel of a car. They pretty much drive with their hand on the horn, and from what I can tell red lights are more suggestions than hard rules- just crossing the street (in the crosswalk, with the light) was frequently a terrifying experience. It’s a heady and confusing mix of cultures, and languages, and currency- a sharp contrast to Greece, where the culture and language are very distinctly Greek. It was fun debating with people whose country’s politics are more screwed up. Beirut is experiencing an ongoing crisis in trash service leading to trash in the streets everywhere, a cause of great embarrassment to everyone I talked to. But then, America has Donald Trump so I’m pretty sure we win that argument.

I just arrived in Istanbul and can’t wait to explore- the city is breathtakingly beautiful and so much bigger than I realized. And so many stray cats, with little bowls of food for them all over the place. I was at a coffee shop and a particularly fluffy and cuddlesome fellow curled up in my lap while I read- I feel at home already.