Today I had an interpreting assignment. It is one of the assignments my professors would have been proud of, having the opportunity to interpret in a business meeting that involved the World Bank. I prepared for the assignment beforehand, studying vocabulary, and historical facts. One more time, I felt I am in the right place, in the right time, and that good things might happen.

A rainy, misty day in Olde Towne, Alexandria. I am beginning to love this place, which is so old you can see Civil War-era colonial houses on your way to work. It is at the same time French and Italian, and Oriental. Amidst all the traffic, busy life of the greater city Old Town is part of, there is silence and peace of mind. More than ever, I am beginning to think of this city as one of the truly amazing place to be. I am drawn into a daily newspaper I once thought vain and couldn't bear to read: the Washington Post. Thanks to the personal history of its publisher and owner Kay Graham, thanks to a close follow up of the internal dynamics shaping the political landscape of this country, I am beginning to believe in the power of chaos and coincidence: decision-making is the result of a chaotic process, and the result is more than often unpredictable. This gives me the reason to be interested, once again, in the day-to-day gossip, scandals, drama of politics. I like reading editorials in the Post, I even find them witty and sharp, and independent (in a peculiar logical way that only makes sense if you take into consideration the unique place ideas were born in). One year after I came to DC, I am still not sure I reached its bottom - I am still learning and trying to make sense, yet I am hopeful and enthusiastic. If anything, mine is the transformation of an outsider who was inevitably drawn into the inner working of a place full of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

After an eternity, I am back on stage! I mean this quite literally. Today Milliyet published an article by Business Writer Serpil Yilmaz, and I am in it:

She actually joined us in one of our informal round tables in Washington a week ago, up-close and personal. We chatted about what not as she was taking notes and asking questions, both personal and professional: why Turkish businessmen are a rarity in the US, why there are a lot of small businessmen but not 'fabrikators' in the Washington area, our challenges as Turkish-American businesswomen and businessmen... We also did our share of gossip: where does Kemal Dervis hang out in lunch time (in that cozy Italian Restaurant in Bethesda), did anyone met Recep Erdogan at the IMF (he has other circles and plays Turkish football in the area but his circle apparently does not overlap with ours)....

Of course, this is business. As for entertainment, Levent and I attended the absolutely unbelievable piano concerto of Fazil Say, the Turkish pianist, with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Suffice it to say that he was elegantly casual, he enchanted everyone, and the audience called him back to stage 6 times. Here is a piece of publicity about the event: Pianist Fazil Say joined Yuri Temirkanov and the BSO to perform Gershwins Rhapsody in Blue to sold-out houses in Baltimore in 2002. The pianists interpretation of this Gershwin work is one of Maestro Temirkanovs favorites, and is beautifully paired on this program with Gershwins An American in Paris and Dvoraks brilliant, American-inspired New World Symphony.

We enjoyed the two elderly primadonnas seated right across us, they were equipped with binoculars. We also laughed at his name: Fazil Say is pronounced in english as FEYZIL SEY. And here goes the magic. :)