Rain is scarce in Shiraz. And yet the oranges and tangerines were disappointing this year because of too much rain. Today, too, everything is wet. Thick drops of water roll off of the oranges and mandarines and fall into the wetness below. There is an incessant drumming sound on the flat roofs, and the gullys […]
The sun should have come up at 6:30, and it probably did. But – much to everyone’s regret – it had apparently chosen to remain hidden behind a layer of clouds. Maybe it wasn’t aware that it had an audience. It took until 8:28 for the sun to finally come out, and when it did, […]
Another little boy with poems. Only this time he’s not alone. Next to him there’s a man with a little blue bird, and he, too, is selling poems. So they are colleagues of sorts. The whole thing works like this: if you buy a poem from the little boy, he will randomly pick one for […]
The bus station is a busy place. But the bus is there, the VIP bus to Shiraz. There’s a sign that says SHIRAZ – ARGENTINIA in the front window. In English. Under the window it says GOD PLEASE HELP ME. Colorful lights are all around. On the inside of the bus there are two pennants, […]
The city is outside behind the walls. On this side of them, on the inside of the walls, there is the apartment and there is tea and talk of things. Mostly of problems. Someone got out of a relationship. Someone has administrative troubles. Someone wants to leave the country. Discussions go up and down in […]
The engines are humming, or not exactly humming. What’s another word for humming, but really really LOUD? I’m watching Disney’s Frozen on the screen in front of me. There’s a lot of uninspired singing, but the movie itself seems okay. Meanwhile my flight has reached Istanbul, has circled above it for a while, until it […]
One last bath: The candles had gotten shorter. I had gained some weight and taken care of some issues. I had taken a lot of baths. Was I ready? – No. I was never really ready. Was I happy, excited, nervous? – Nervous, yes. But I felt the need to move on. Can’t just sit […]
I had started piling up stuff a few days ago: I would come in sometimes and drop something somewhere. I would look at everything for a while and maybe move stuff around a bit. Or I would take something out of the room and put it somewhere else. All the while I would be scratching […]
There is a memorial project in Germany, which is called “Stolpersteine” (literally: stumbling stones). The artist Gunter Demnig and his team find out the last living address of a victim of the Holocaust before their deportation under the Nazi regime. They then replace a small part of the sidewalk at that address with a brass […]