Dear Prague: I am so madly in love with you I cannot contain myself. Please, don’t tell my husband. Love love love, Sezin
Category Archives: Prague
Why I Don’t Celebrate Halloween Like I Used To
When I first moved to Europe going on seven years ago I was bummed that I felt they didn’t really celebrate Halloween, American style. Dressing up, spider webs, pumpkin carving, creepy music, Trick-or-Treating…Halloween was always my most favourite holiday. I love costumes and basically will use any excuse whatsoever to dress up. Movie premieres, themed…
Ethiopian Food Sham
As an absolute and utter aficionado of Ethiopian cuisine, I of course hurried out to Kavarna Ethiopia after reading this glowing review Prague’s first and only Ethiopian restaurant. What I found was not only one of the worst meals I have ever had in my life, but also that the food was only Ethiopian in…
‘Til Kingdom Come
I read my first Stephen King novel when I was 12 years old. The book was Carrie and the year was that of the Gulf War I, 1992. Thus began a love affair with King’s books that has continued to shape my life until today. This year I turned 30 and I’m even more in…
The Local Expat
When I was a single twenty-something living in Spain it upset me to no end how difficult it was to make and integrate with a group of Spanish locals. I couldn’t understand why locals wouldn’t want to make a foreign friend and learn about someone’s life outside of Spain, in the same way that I…
The Mother Claws
Unlike most places in the world that can seem alien at first glance, Prague hides her true nature until she trusts you enough to share of herself. The longer you are here the more she undresses her darkest secrets and shows you her violent scars. Kafka called her a number of variations on “the little…
Rachel Tension
Regardless of whether or not a nation or people think they have racial tension within their borders or society, they do. Many nations (and people) will say that they don’t have problems of race, but rather problems of culture, or foreigners or socio-economic status. However this is far from true and racism exists on so…
Food of The Gods: The Ethiopan Experience
My introduction to Ethiopia and its cuisine was in a Rastafarianism, Reggae, and the African Diaspora course I took in university. What struck me the most was learning that Ethiopia had never been colonized, and is one of the few African nations never to have been. Not for lack of trying, mind you. The Italians…
Inside the Box
You know how in movie theatres they’ll assign you seats as a default on your ticket, and in most places in the world it means nothing? Well, not in Prague. Here, they assign you seats and you are expected to stick by them. Even if the theatre is totally empty. True story: if you happen…
Coupling
Life as an expat can be trying, in spite of its seeming glamourousness. One of the most difficult things I’ve noticed across the board is how hard it is to integrate with the locals of pretty much anywhere. What you find out is that especially in a place like Prague, with a great deal of…
Reality, Prague Style
Reality for sale! Come get your reality! 2 bedrooms, one kitchen! Reality for sale or rent! No joke: The biggest grammar error I’ve ever seen in my life is the fact that in Prague, all of the realty offices actually say “reality” instead. Maxima Reality, Prague Reality, European Reality Services, Atrium Reality, Albion Reality, and…
How To Alienate Good People
A surefire way to alienate good folks and lose friends is by being fake. Fake people are the worst. To clarify, being fake is very different from being polite or professional. Being fake is pretending to be friends with people you can’t stand and not giving them even the slightest moment of pause to think…
Nibble Nibble Here, Nibble Nibble There
A strange local phenomenon: Czech people eat in public all the time. Not just normal eat-on-the-go types of foods like gyros, ice cream or pizza. You see them at tram and metro stops nibbling on peices of bread. Not French bread, or croissants, or even decent healthy-looking bread. It’s always the cheap, nasty Czech bread…
Preparation
Everything we do in life requires some level of preparation. Our jobs, our hobbies, our dinners. It gives us a chance to get all our ducks in a row before moving on with a project, and even the smallest amount of preparation tends to make the end result better. What’s strange is that I’ve been…
Salvaging
The awkward transitional periods between one phase of life and the next can give us pause to review our history and see what we’ll salvage and take with us forward. At the moment, I’m saying goodbye to the last year of my life as a relocation coordinator and moving onto a number of new possibilities…
Death Of A Young Man
I always felt a strange and strong connection with Heath Ledger. It became even stranger and stronger when I found out that he has almost exactly the same birthday as me. Same day, month, year and almost the same time even. I felt it was some sort of sign. When I found out about five…
To Be Or Not To Be A Vampire
Prague is a demanding city. It gives so much, but it also takes a lot. Energy, life, money. These things exist in abundance here, but they also flow away so quickly. Prague is a vampire’s city. Shrouded in gray for more than three-quarters of the year, it is the perfect place for those who really…
Gulegule "TripWire," Ahoj "Signs Of Life"
As the various incarnations of my blog emerge, this one went stagnant long ago, hence my not writing for such a long time. There are three months between my final entry here at The TripWire and my first Signs Of Life essay. I suppose it’s because The TripWire started in Turkey and I am no…
Signs And Wondering
Since Wendy passed away, I have lived my life following signs from the Spirits. Especially during my time at the UN and in Spain it seemed as if every decision I made, the course of each of my days was defined by signs. Signs were everywhere. It got to the point that even people who…
Over Here Somewhere
In the Acoma Pueblo language the phrase hauchaw tyah haati is a response to a query about where someone might be. It means they are out there somewhere, in the world, in life. Out there somewhere. Out There Somewhere is also the title of a wonderful poetry collection by the famous indigenous poet Simon J….
Good Omens, Bad Omens
The year 2008, and so far six months living in Prague. Today is the first day the Sun has broken through the cloud cover and pierced the shield of this vampire city. I haven’t written for ages, and I think it was because my last blog incarnation of The TripWire went stale and my ideas…
The Stranger In Me
Although it’s been weeks since I’ve seen it, I’m still thinking about the movie The Brave One. Jodie Foster repeats throughout the film that after the horrific trauma she went through, it was like a new person emerged in her. Someone who was capable of doing things that she never would have dreamed of doing…
That Time Of The Year
Seven years ago on October 28 in Hollywood my dear friend Wendy was murdered and died in my arms. She was killed by a 19-year-old gang member who, after my testimony, is serving a life sentence in prison. I can feel it in my spirit and my bones that The Day is approaching, albeit seven…
Satanic Inspiration: The Devil's Bible
Here’s the link to my first ever published article: http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2007/09/12/satanic-inspiration.php
The Art Of Letting Go
In high school my dream was to be a movie star. I was in every play I could possibly be in, performed on stage every chance I got and even went so far as to pick a university in Los Angeles because I wanted to be an actress. Once I got to L.A., I realised…
Lost and Found
As always, somewhat obsessed, I have a new fascination with the TV series Lost. I know, I know. It’s sorta cliche by now, having a thing for Lost. But my thing is this: I read an article about how Lost is really some version of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. You know, the Gunslinger chasing…
“Clang Clang Clang” Went The Trolley
Ah Prague, sweet Prague. It seems I will never get tired of the magical view from our living room window. The sound of the trolley bells makes me smile each and every time. A few days ago, I went exploring to find the fantastically gothic church that perches on a hill very near our house….
A New Woman
Most people after they move into a new flat and area will explore and wander around to get their bearings. What did I do? I went and got tattooed. Twice. It was a bit nervewracking, going to get inked on a public transportation system I have but a fragile grasp of. But I did it…
Rocking In The Free World
The whirlwind that is Prague has engulfed me with a vengeance. The move from Istanbul was sad in its strange way, and mainly I will miss my cats (some of whom I didn’t even get to say goodbye to) and my seascape artwork on the apartment walls. Little things here and there, like cheap figs…
Mermaid Island: A Fairy Tale
Once, long ago, there were fierce Amazon women warriors who lived deep in the jungle until one day they came under attack by Spanish conquistadores. The Amazons were a chosen people, The Great Goddess bade it so, and thus to prevent their extinction she transformed the Amazons into mermaids and sent them to live in…
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