Oooch, Numnum, and Sknxxx - a Week in Istanbul

Just over a year ago, I made my first visit to Istanbul to visit a repair site that we were on-boarding.  The first 24 hours were rather overwhelming, mainly because going through passport control was incredibly chaotic, and no sooner had I collected my luggage and met up with a colleague, we jumped in a taxi and hurtled across the city to the Asian side.  The tax ride took about 2 and a half hours in heavy traffic; the driver (like everyone else, for that matter) tended to drive at full speed, then slam on their brakes right before plowing into the cars that had been jammed ahead of them.  This made for a rather nerve wracking experience, so when we finally arrived at the hotel, we were greatly relieved, and exhausted. 

However, the very next morning, after a brief chaotic taxi ride to the repair site, we paid our fare, then stood for a few minutes greeting our Turkish colleagues.  Suddenly, a cat chased a rat up the pants leg of my German colleague.  The whole experience was so surreal, and I remember thinking, "what the hell am I doing here?"

I remembered these incidents this past Monday as I headed to the airport to catch my flight to Istanbul; we had scheduled an audit of the very same repair facility.  Indeed, things started out much the way they did last year.  The flight was rather pleasant, but upon arrival in the airport, the passport control process was once again a rodeo.  But, I got through without too much hassle, and after collecting my bag, met up with my colleague out in the arrivals lounge, and we went outside to the taxi stand. 

This year, the 2 hour ride across the city in the taxi was not nearly as stressful as last year, although the traffic must have been just as busy.  I think the trick this time round was that I did not pay attention to where or how the driver was actually driving.  Thus, I was not so alarmed by the constant stop start tactics, and ultimately, I think that I simply knew what to expect.  Thus, I just chatted with my colleague from the UK about the latest work gossip.

After checking in to the hotel, we ventured out to look for a restaurant.  As the weather was quite pleasant, we decided to walk.  We were not really sure where we were going, and as there were no visible street signs, we were not completely clear on where exactly we were.  There is a particular street known for it's shops, cafes, and restaurants, and that became our intended destination, though we still were not sure how to get there.  The whole area was primarily residential, as the Asian side of Istanbul is not particularly touristy. 

Realizing we needed to ask for directions, I attempted to speak with a man at a little kiosk, and showed him the name of the shopping street that we wanted to go to.  Though he spoke no English, he not only enthusiastically explained which direction we needed to walk, he came out of the kiosk and sort of watched us cross the street and continue on our way, just so he could be sure we understood the correct direction to take.

We walked for another 15 minutes, which included one rather harried moment as a car drove up onto the sidewalk that we were on, narrowly avoiding some other pedestrians, who were none too pleased with the situation.   Indeed, one has to stay alert at all times, because cars come from all directions with very little compliance with the traffic laws (if there actually are any).

Finally, we found the street that we wanted to be on, and both of us elected to grab a beer and a burger at a pub.   The waiter was polite, but spoke no English.  Fortunately, we were able to order by pointing at the item on the menu, and everything worked out fine.  From there, we walked all the way back to our hotel, but as the weather was still nice, it was an enjoyable 45 minute stroll. 

During dinner, my colleague told me how his young son is absolutely fascinated by washing machines, and spends time watching washing machine commercials and reviews on television or streaming media.  Additionally, his most favorite activity right now seems to be visiting a laundromat or appliance store, where he can play with all of the machines there.  The story was very charming and sweet; I am forever touched by the imagination and innocence of little ones. 

The next morning, we took a taxi to the repair site, and greeted our Turkish hosts.  I had never met my counterpart at the repair facility before, so was very glad of the chance.  We had two main points on our agenda: an audit of the facility and a physical inventory.  Both of these were equally important, and both are typically very involved tasks.  The audit demonstrates the compliance of the facility to all processes, and is always pretty stressful for the site being audited.  That was the task of my colleague from Scotland.  The challenge, of course, is that very few employees at the facility understand English, and the Scottish accent can be particularly difficult for those who do not speak English as their mother tongue.  Truth be told, sometimes it is difficult to understand, even for me. 

However, I have been on multiple audits with my colleague in various facilities around Europe, and always like to be there  particularly to assist if there are any moments of confusion or misunderstanding.  My colleague knows his job very well, but ultimately, I am responsible for the site.  Thus, if they do not understand something, I need to make sure that we overcome any communication obstacles.  Fortunately, the guys in Istanbul were pretty well prepared, and the first day of the audit went remarkably well.  I sat in the background doing some other work, but keeping one ear open, to follow the course of the audit topics.

We sat in the conference room for most of the day, and periodically a woman would come in to take our drink orders.  I tend to drink a lot of coffee throughout the day, and was a bit uncomfortable with the fact that someone was waiting on me.  Normally, I am fine to simply arrange for my beverages on my own, but this is simply not how things work in this particular environment. That said, I was very humbled and embarrassed that I was not able to communicate in Turkish, initially, not even to express my thanks when the coffees arrived. 

Later on in the afternoon during a break, we asked for a few brief language lessons, to at least learn how to say "thank you."  One of the guys wrote the words on the white board, and from them on, I tried to say thanks at every opportunity:  when the girl brought our coffees, when the security lady scanned me through the turnstile (when I had to go outside for a ciggy), etc. 

That evening, the general manager of the facility, who happens to be Irish, took all of us out to dinner at a very nice restaurant that served various types of meats.  This style of restaurant is quite popular in Istanbul, and we enjoyed various cuts of meat a la tapas style;  the waiter would bring out a plate of steak, enough for the five of us to share, then bring out another meat after we had finished the first plate, and so on.  It was most enjoyable, and afterwards we headed to a pub to watch a little football and continue the conversations with a few more beers. 

I enjoy the post-work activities with partners and suppliers, as it gives everyone a chance to relax and develop the working relationship, but I never expect or demand it.  After all, everyone has personal lives outside of work, with families and spouses and other activities.  I never want to give someone the impression that they feel obligated to wine and dine me.  But, when it does happen, I tend to enjoy the experience greatly.  I have learned a lot about different cultures and people, and it makes this whole international business experience all the more rewarding. 

The next morning, we were back on-site to finish up the audit and also perform the inventory.  I was a little anxious about the inventory, because they usually are time consuming and tedious.  Throw in the distraction of a major audit and the language barrier, and things could be very challenging.  Once again, I was rather impressed with the preparations and controls that my supplier had in place.  We had several thousand devices that needed to be counted, and my primary counterpart at the site had to bring in another colleague to help facilitate the inventory. 

Leaving my colleague to continue with the audit, I went downstairs to the main warehouse to count the stock.  We actually made quick work of the task at hand, and I found myself amazed at how well things were going.  The stock room attendant was on the stick, but was unable to communicate in English. Thus, another guy was there to help translate.  The two of them chattered back and forth during the counts.  The previous evening, I had consulted my Turkish-German dictionary to get at least a feel for how one counts in Turkish.  As I listened to the two guys, I realized that I did not have the slightest clue, as my new found level of Turkish was still limited only to a couple of words. 

Once, as we were counting a particular part that had a very small quantity, I heard the stock room guy exclaim, "Oooch!" and then wrote the number 3 on the side of the box.  I continue to be fascinated by language, and usually find a few words in each language (that I have a bit of experience with) that become my favorites, mainly because I like the way that they sound.  Often, these words appeal to me for very childlike reasons.  For example, in German, the word for "boo-boo" (yet another favorite word of mine) is "Aua."  However, in English, we would say, "Ouch!" while Germans would say, "Aua!"  Germans use that word as an exclamation as well as a noun, while in English, we do not, though I think it would be great to hear people exclaim "boo-boo!" when they stub their toe or whatever. 

Tres, drei, three, and now üç (pronounced "ooch").  Pretty cool to be able to say the number three in four different languages. 

Well, the inventory counts were bang on as we finished up in the main warehouse.  I was extremely relieved, and figured that we could count the rest of the stock in the 2nd storage location after lunch.
That count also went very well, despite a few confusing moments when we discovered a storage bin that was mislabeled.  By mid-afternoon, my inventory was complete and reconciled, and I needed only to compile all the files and submit them to my supply chain team.

Meanwhile, my colleague continued his audit, and around 7pm we reached a stopping point.  As there are so many points to cover in the audit, the days tend to be quite long.  Still, by 7.30, we had wrapped things up, and a few of us went to a restaurant called Numnum.  Again, I kind of like the sound of the word, and after consulting an urban dictionary, I guess I should have realized earlier that the word basically means "snacks."  This restaurant is a chain in Istanbul, and serves a variety of bar food that most Americans would recognize in any Chili's, Snuffer's, or any other sports bar type establishment. 

Okay, I have spent a fair amount of my life frequenting places like this, and certainly in my hometown there are some places that are forever cherished, not only for the good times that I had there, but also for the tasty (albeit perhaps not so healthy) food.  For those reading this that are familiar to Greenville Avenue, Numnum is quite a bit like the San Francisco Rose, and that is not a bad thing.  Onion rings, chicken wings, good burgers and some impressive pizzas were on the menu, and as I sat on the patio with my colleagues, I felt a bit of nostalgia for some of those great times back when we were rarely concerned about healthy eating; I think once or twice Tim and I might have eaten at the Rose 7 nights on the trot. 

Though I don't often crave bar food, I do enjoy the indulgence from time to time.  Everything was tasty, and we all chatted away about Turkish history, the upcoming elections, and various other topics.  It was a very nice evening, and as my colleague and I got back to the hotel, we both agreed that our hosts were really nice, genuine people.  I think most people from Turkey are quite friendly and nice, but these guys gave me a really good impression. 

Thursday morning came, and we checked out of the hotel and took a taxi back to the repair center for our wrap-up meetings.  Our flights home were scheduled for later that afternoon, which meant we would need to leave by mid-day in order to allow for the 2 and half hour taxi ride to the airport.
My colleague had already done his on-line check in, so I decided to do the same thing, but soon found that my flight had already been cancelled. 

After checking around on-line for a few minutes without finding any helpful information, I decided to go to the Frankfurt airport website, where the home page had a message stating that many workers, including the security and baggage people, were all on a one day strike, which was causing major disruptions.  This strike had been announced on Tuesday, the day after I arrived in Istanbul, so I knew nothing about it.  I contacted my travel agency in hopes of getting on a later flight, one that had not been cancelled, but alas, I was informed that it was fully booked.  I would need to remain in Istanbul another night.

Initially, I was a bit irritated, because I was looking forward to returning home, despite the good week I had had so far.  However, I accepted the facts, and my travel agent contacted me via telephone with some options for flights to Frankfurt on Friday.  Our Turkish hosts had already told us about the second airport in Istanbul, which was on the Asian side, is more convenient to get to from their facility.  I had never seen this option before in my previous trip, but the more I heard about the airport, it sounded like a really good idea.  The airport was only 30 minutes away from the facility, smaller, and not nearly as congested as the main airport.  So, I got myself booked on a noon flight for Friday, which would get me home by 3pm in the afternoon.

My UK colleague left to catch his flight on Thursday, and I remained at the facility to get some additional topics covered with the repair partner.  I was actually glad for the extra time and it was quite productive.

Since our hosts had spent the past two evenings with us, they begged off on Thursday evening, as they needed to spend time with their families and wives.  I was totally fine with this, and returned to the same hotel that I had checked out of earlier that morning.  I was a bit surprised at the lack of recognition when I checked back in at the reception desk.  The same person had checked me in on Monday evening, and the same bell-boy had taken my luggage up to my room.  I was booked back into the exact same room as I had stayed in the past  three nights, and I had the feeling that neither of the two employees recognized me whatsoever.  It was if I had never been in the hotel.  There were very few guests staying at the hotel, so I was a bit curious.

I contemplated a return to Numnum for more snacks, but in the end decided to eat in the hotel restaurant.  I was the only patron, and was able to read quietly and enjoy a few beers.  We had asked our hosts for another brief language lesson earlier that day, so I now was able to add a few more Turkish words to my vocabulary, which I tried out on the restaurant staff, with mixed results.

Business travel is pretty tiring, and it has been awhile since I have had to be on the road for a complete week.  Thus, I was pretty exhausted when I went to bed, and glad to be heading home the next morning.

The next morning, I checked out of the hotel a second time.  This time, the guy at reception did recognize me, and was a bit surprised to see me, and I explained what had happened.  He got me a taxi, and I enjoyed a nice, traffic free ride along the coast to the airport, just enjoying the scenery.  At the airport, you have to put all your bags through the x-ray machine before you actually get inside to the check-in area.  Still, this process went much more smoothly than at the big airport.  Once through the first security check, I got my boarding card and checked my luggage through, then went and stood in line at the passport control.  This, too, was a bit hectic, but still manageable.  Right after that, I went through security, and then headed straight for the duty-free shop. 

I found time for a coffee, and waited for my flight, which turned out to be full.  I was stuck between two rather large passengers, one very tall, and one rather overweight.  Thus, it was a wee bit cramped, but tolerable. 

We departed about 20 minutes late, but soon almost everyone was dozing, including myself.   Once, I woke with a start, and realized that I had heard someone snoring.  At first, I thought it was me, but as I sat there, I continued to hear the "Sknxxx," and it was coming from someone across the aisle.  By this time, the cabin crew had started serving the meals, and they, too, were startled by the man's snoring; about every 30 seconds or so came another "Sknxxx!"

No one was too bothered by it, and I was particularly glad that it was not me. 

By 3pm, we were touching down in Frankfurt, and I got through passport control and baggage pick up with no problems.  25 minutes later, I arrived back to my flat, and I immediately decided that I would simply begin the weekend.  The weather was brilliant (and has remained so), and after a busy week, I was ready to unwind.

So, I have taken advantage of the nice weather and the time change (spring forward) and will get out and enjoy the rest of my Sunday in the sun.

see you out there.

Sights and Sounds of the Start of Spring

The cold that I suffered from a few weeks ago took it's time in fading completely away.  One of the main elements that lingered was my stopped up ear, which made for a kind of a strange sensation, as I clearly was not able to hear as well as normal on my left side.  I found myself positioning myself differently to converse with people, just so I could better understand what they were saying.

My patience grew thin as I waited for that "pop" that would finally restore the normal hearing.  Like with other ailments I have had from time to time, I briefly wondered, "what happens if this turns out to be permanent?"  For example, a hangover might last about a day for me, and I normally have needed about a week to recover when I throw my back out, though the first two days are so excruciatingly painful that it seems more like a month.  With a cold, I tend to need almost two weeks to fully recover.

Thus, for every day that my ear stayed a bit clogged, I reminded myself that the end of the second week was near, and soon this would be another thing of the past.  Physically, I was feeling more than well enough to continue my regular, frequent gym visits.  This year I have made more of an effort to improve my routine so that I visit the gym 3 or 4 times a week, rather than recent years where I seemed always to have to cram everything into Saturday and Sunday.  Not surprisingly, the efforts have been paying off, and my fitness level is running reasonably high.

I confirmed this about a week ago, immediately after a workout. It was a rather busy afternoon, and the escalator going down to the U-Bahn platform was pretty full. Looking back, I am glad that I gave myself an extra step of space behind the woman directly in front of me.  She seemed to be on the stick as well, because suddenly the older woman directly in front of her reached the bottom of the escalator and promptly fell down, blocking all of us that were still descending.  Both the woman ahead of me and I immediately started doing "the stairmaster"  in reverse, as we rapidly struggled to keep backing up the steps so as not to plow right over the unfortunate woman lying on the ground with her shopping bags strewn everywhere.

As bystanders rushed to aid the fallen woman, my little workout partner and I continued to back pedal for the next 15 seconds or so, which turned out to be a bit problematic, as the folks behind us could not immediately see what was suddenly creating a log jam on the escalator.  We quickly found ourselves being pressured by the masses behind us, and somehow the woman kind of slid through a small space, and I sort of hopped over the railing and out of the way, which worked out well:  the woman on the ground was helped quickly to safer place on the platform, which ultimately allowed the escalator riders to unclog without any further pile ups.

The incident was not all that serious, but likely could have been had we not reacted so quickly.  The poor woman who fell merely stumbled, and as there were so many helpful people trying to assist her, I moved on down the platform and continued home on the next U-Bahn.  I thought back to one of the times when I went snow skiing as a teenager;  I was still learning to "stop" as I finished a run and approached the group of people all waiting for the ski-lift to take us back up the mountain.  I was going at a pretty good clip and was fortunate that the man who I first plowed into had the good sense and strength to grab hold of me and prevent me from wiping out 15 more people.  In both cases, no one was really injured, and we were all able to quickly find the humor in the experience.

An additional positive is that during the frantic moments on the escalator, my ear popped, finally restoring my hearing.

As the days start to get longer and spring approaches, I find that I am not sleeping all that restfully.  True, I am dreaming about some pretty interesting stuff, like riding escalators and ski lifts, and the other night I actually woke up with a start after having dreamed that the streets and sidewalks in my neighborhood had all been replaced with mounds of sand, which made it a bit burdensome to walk around.

However, despite the vivid dreams, recent mornings I find myself lying in bed with no desire to immediately get up.  Instead, I lie quietly listening to the sounds of early morning.  The birds in particular are nice to listen to; they sing happily as they go about the start of their day.  I allow myself a few minutes just enjoying the quiet, before rousting myself from under the covers to get started with my own day. 

Yesterday was the first day that one could actually stand outside in shirt sleeves (at least in the sun), and truly spring is almost here.  Everyone has to go through their little adjustments as the temperatures change, so in the next few days I am sure I will see some people wearing t-shirts walking down the street next to someone wearing a coat and scarf.  But as far as I am concerned, I  think that is perfectly ok.

Whether they enjoy their early mornings with a bit of singing and hold on to the railings while riding the escalator is a decision I will leave to them, but that certainly is my plan, and I am sticking to it.

see you out there.