Turkey and arresting stares

At 5’11” with long dark hair, Teresa gets a lot of attention as she walks purposefully on her way to the ferry terminal at Kadakoy on the Asian side of Istanbul .  A lot of it is unwanted attention.

She takes it in her stride. While a relatively young 28 years old, she has a life well lived already under her belt and is onto her second career.  This maturity and ability to adapt show through as she negotiates in Turkish with a local shopkeeper. He makes the (potentially fatal) mistake of initially taking her as a fresh tourist then wisely backs down and sells her the item for the local price – about ½ what he was trying to charge.

I have adopted Teresa (or is it the other way around)?  She is a bit of a secret weapon for me - someone who knows the Turkish culture and can speak the language – and has an interesting story to tell.  It’s a symbiotic relationship.  She has recently had a bad injury (a fall down 7 flights of stairs) and welcomes the company as she looks at new apartments.  The hospital physicians marvel at how she didn’t break her back in the fall.  Three days later, we are plying the streets and I’m walking quickly to keep up with her.

While tall with a striking figure, she has an unassuming manner and a ready smile.  She is modest and it takes a few days to get a picture of the iceberg under the surface of an unflappable personality.  One of 5 siblings raised by their Mother (having lost her Father at 13), Teresa joined the Police force in the UK when she was 17.  Her talents were recognised and through hard work, study and recognition she rose fairly rapidly through the ranks and specialist areas of responsibility.  For someone young she has seen more than her share of society’s underbelly – especially as one of the senior officers and investigators into Child sex offending. 

Eleven years into her police career and having seen enough pain and suffering, she needed a refresh and has taken up the role of an English language teacher.  Not one to pass up on a challenge, she elected Turkey for this chapter in her life and has learnt the lot of being a single female in this country.

“It’s a stop gap measure really.  I just need to clear my head and do something different to work out what I should go back to.”  Yep, that sounds very familiar. 

 

At under 30 she has been a senior member of the UK Police and a qualified social worker. She may return to the UK and work for an NGO or, her passion, integrated social services for at-risk youth “…but not directly for the Police again.”

 A young head on wise shoulders. 

We sit down to catch our collective breath at the water front near the Maiden’s Tower (on the Asian side of Istanbul).  While it is a relatively calm (it’s a word used advisedly in Istanbul) place, there are a travelling side show of street vendors who are kind enough to walk around and come to you to ply their wares.  There’s coffee (which I partake of – it’s great), food and red roses.  We get singled out by a few of the rose sellers. My shaking of the head is trumped by Teresa’s one word answer to all of the women trying to sell us flowers.  A useful word, I must learn it – if it works so well.  She utters “Baba” they look at her then me, nod then walk off.   

In the end after the 3^rd such intervention, I ask her what it means as I might apply it to the next coffee trader who passes across my bow. 

“I wouldn’t” Teresa laughs. “I’m telling them you are my Dad!” 

Thanks! 

I reconcile it to myself by figuring that with her background and training she has a skill in applying the quickest and easiest way to diffuse a situation. Either that or I have to get this bloody haircut sorted out.

Teresa has just taken up a new teaching post – she has a contract offered to her for a year though will re-evaluate in 4 months to see.

She is of an age and stage where she’s ready to settle down and think about a life partner and children.  While not on the horizon yet, both will, I venture to say, be pretty special.