I had lunch a few weeks ago in Istanbul in a little place off Taksim Square with an 82-year-old friend of mine, who’s American. She used to run a book exchange/ ‘salon’ near Galata Tower and has been living in Istanbul for decades.
In these times of whipped-up terror, she’s increasingly worried about whether her residency will be renewed or not. We were talking about work permits and being foreign and that kind of thing.
She told me with the gleeful pride of an errant teenager:
” I’m the only person I know who has been sacked from 5 different volunteer jobs at various times in my working life. “
How we laughed, as we finished off our köfte and rice !
Out There & In Here 