Bus Ride

Yesterday, I was riding the bus to my language helper’s home for my lesson. I was blaring Christmas music through my headphones and tapping my foot to the music. I was really oblivious to anything else, until I realized that I was oblivious to everything else. I looked around and realized that there were several people staring at me. Was I singing out loud? I thought to myself. No, I wasn’t. I’m just different. For one thing, my head isn’t covered with a headscarf, so my blonde hair screams “Foreigner”.

I also wasn’t bundled up for a Minnesota winter day, because...well, it wasn’t a Minnesota winter day. I have been hearing that parts of Minnesota have been having record lows this week. We just had our first frost last week. Yesterday, the low was 50 F.

I’m a Minnesota / Iowa girl. I’m not a Turk. They start bundling up when it hits 50 degrees. But, on the flip side, on the heated bus, they stay all bundled up, warm and cozy in their winter coats, while I am sweating, untying my scarf, unzipping my “fall” jacket, drinking a cold bottle of water, and trying not to faint in the sweltering heat. Okay, it’s not sweltering, but it feels like it after I've run to catch the bus.

I arrived at my language helper’s house laughing. She asked me why I was laughing, and maybe 10 minutes later, I had recounted the above story for her. (It takes a long time for me develop the story in Turkish.) She thinks the people were staring at me because I’m pretty. Some of you might think I’m paying her to say that. In a way, you’d be right!