The Nest

Tomorrow's the big day. We are FINALLY getting married. Everything's ready. The apartment is just the way I imagined it would be, maybe even better. 

I feel like a bird, who builds its nest in one continent, and then without even blinking an eye, flies away to another, once the time to go has come. As the seasons change, no matter how much they are settled in the nest, they just migrate, for the right conditions and a more convenient life. 

This reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons when I was a toddler. I have a vague recollection about it, and don't really remember the entire plot, but I loved "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils". The protagonist boy named Nils would ride on a flying magical goose and visit all these foreign lands. I have a very sweet memory of it. I wanted to be like Nils I guess. 

One of my favorite pastimes as a child was imagining flying. When I was in pre-school I actually even opened the windows to make the room windy, climbed on the highest couch, aimed for the carpet and flapped my arms, hoping that the winds would make me drift. To my surprise, I fell quite hard. Maybe it was because I watched Peter Pan too many times. Hah.

Last night, Doruk and I looked at our apartment. Finally done ! It was beautiful. Did we put too much effort? It seems way too pretty for a temporary place to live. I thought about it. No, not at all. Traditionally, nests are used as a metaphor for the newly weds' house. But tradition assumes you will stay in one place. What they've forgot about the nest metaphor is that the nest is a temporary dwelling for migratory birds. I'm happy to be one. And I'm more than happy to accept that metaphor, and build my life in a nest. It suits my situation perfectly.

Update : New Flat !

We finally found a new flat. It's exactly the way we wanted it to be. Small, efficient, cozy and comfortable. I'm over the moon.

Deciding to move to another country sometimes puts you into a very different mindset. You postpone so many things.

- Oh we'll get nice furniture when I move to Taiwan.

- Nice decorations? That's for when we move !

- A better mattress? Who needs a better mattress when we're only going to stay for a year?

- Oh we can eat out when we move to Taiwan since it's much cheaper there.

- Who needs new clothes ! I can totally go to Taiwan and buy that stuff for so much cheaper !

The list goes on, you get the point.

To some extent it's true. We have to save up and we really don't want to splurge on things we don't need. But I've decided not to guilt myself into every single purchase I make. Especially when it comes to the essentials.

We are going to move, and yes, we need to be careful about our expenses. But what's more important than anything is to enjoy the day, live in the present, and treat ourselves better.

Since our flat is small, we will save up a lot on rent, electricity and heating. We will need much less furniture and appliances, and I'm extremely excited about it. Luckily I took a summer job in my university which had a decent pay, so we're going to buy furniture with the bonus I earned :) It was definitely worth all the effort after all. Our parents are pooling in and helping us out too. They will buy the mattress and appliances for us, which actually costs so much less than an average wedding reception, or the wedding ring itself, or even a wedding gown (none of which we have purchased since we refuse to spend so much money on something which will be useful for only a day).

It's hard to live in such a corrupt, impolite and relatively dangerous place. But I think I need to relax, chill, enjoy the good life. We will be living right at the bay towards the north of the city, away from conflict. I guess although we will be staying here only for another year, we might as well spend some quality time and rethink our priorities. 

In my opinion both Doruk and I did a great job the past two years. We were super careful about our priorities, about our expenses. I'm 100% positive that this is going to continue, but I guess we deserve the life we earned the past two years. I'm ready to welcome my new life, and new apartment, new furniture, new flowerpots and all the objects that surround me even if the duration of them is only a year. I mean, when one thinks rationally, you don't have to live in a shack and stick with half broken appliances for an entire year just because you'll be leaving. I think we worked hard for a good life in Istanbul, and I'm ok with spending money for the year ahead, although it's only for a year. It's a short term investment worth every single penny. I'm so happy. So my mantra is this. ENJOY SPENDING YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY IN A SMART WAY. It's ok, it's ok to buy new stuff, since we deserve to live in decent conditions. Then we're going to reconstruct everything in Taiwan, all over again this time in a more permanent fashion. I'm so happy and excited ! Life's good.

Meet the bloggers : Irene

Hi everyone. Welcome to the blog. Now it's always a bit tough and awkward when you start a blog, it feels a bit intimidating, but as a warm up I'd like to present myself.

My name is Irene. I just turned 25. I live in Istanbul and am pursuing an MA degree. I love knitting, crochet, sewing and DIY. I'm a die hard crafter, but doing an MA actually has caused me to do much less this year (craft-wise). I'm hoping to pick up from where I left after this hiatus called the MA degree.

Moving to Taipei will be my dream come true. I have a lot of hopes of starting anew. The life standards in Istanbul are not stellar and since I'm originally from Taiwan via parents, I think it will be great to be back "home" which I only got to visit as a tourist in my late teens and early twenties. I also crave for adventure. Desperately and terribly. So starting a new life with a huge leap of faith is going to be extremely fun, not to mention that I can't wait to learn more about the culture and food. I can speak fluently but cannot read or write in Mandarin. So that's another thing I want to achieve when I go there.

There is a lot of corruption and political unrest here in Turkey. I am a polyglot and was unable to find a decent job in which I could maintain a middle-class lifestyle alone. So I chose another option. My university gives a reasonable stipend upon which the work-pay ratio is satisfying. Therefore I ended up going to graduate school.

I think you guys will get to know me better as I continue posting things. This blog will enable me to process how things are going, it will reflect and document my mood as well I guess. My boyfriend and I can't wait to leave this place and start a new life full of excitement and adventure as well as important things such as respect, justice, dignity and better life standards.

So that's pretty much it. Welcome to the blog !

-Irene