With a Little Help from My Friends (Part 1)

Any sort of reflection on my time in Istanbul would be unforgivably incomplete without mentioning a little about the incredible people I met. Friendships are built quickly abroad. All the sizing each other up and mutual standoffishness that can attend the meeting of new people back home is forgone. Instead you hold tight to those who share your language and context as if they’re a life vest. Friendships form quickly and they form strong. Commiseration, nostalgia and a sense of shared discovery cement the bond. Better than friends, you become family.

You moved abroad for the growth that discomfort and disorientation is so conducive to, and you value and adore this place for all it teaches you. But those relationships formed with other foreigners are a shelter, a warm place where you huddle together, laugh, and regather your strength before you brave the outside. They are unforgettable.

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
That we could sit simply in that room again
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat
I’d give it all gladly if our lives could be like that.

- Bob Dylan, “Bob Dylan’s Dream”