My mini-vacation

Friends,
after this weekend there are a few people I want to thank for giving me such a great time during the last couple of days.

After coming to NYC so often I have never really discovered the beauty of Brooklyn. So, it wasn’t until last Saturday that I was given the opportunity to enjoy some calm out of the City. And who would have thought that I might end up at this awesome bar owned by a Swiss filmmaker and his charming wife. So, if you want to go for a drink close to Park Slope (or was it even in Park Slope? Sorry, can’t remember.), you better check out Sepia.

And what do you think makes me entirely happy? Good food!
My friend Brian, who I also feel like knowing from a past life I must have been given before this one, took me to this precious place called “Moustache”…Mmmhh…exquisite Syrian cuisine along with a bottle of German Riesling made my day. See, it doesn’t take much for me to be happy..lol!

But I’d be unfair if I didn’t mention the delicious sandwiches made by lpk and served in Prospect Park.

The cherry on the cake was last night’s concert in the Cathedral St. John Divine given by the highly praised New York Philharmonics. Again, I have to thank lpk for sharing Tchaikovsky’s 5th symphony with me.

May this be followed by more...

Oz

Now..after two weeks...

Hello everybody,

I haven't been posting for some time now. And I think I should let you know what I have been up to until now.

Well, the 5th session of the UNPFII will be closed by tomorrow, meaning that I most probably will be assigned to another project. As I have told you before, it was very interesting seeing how people from the smallest tribes or the tiniest islands of all over the world made their way to UN Headquarters in NYC for drawing attention on problems they and their community are faced with everyday. A lot of people made a statement and handed in recommendations on how to improve their situation, calling upon governments, institutions and the UN system to grant them i.a. a life in dignity.

The last two weeks have been very busy and at times even stressful. But I have to say that I love (!) what I am doing. It's great to be a part of all this!

And now...I am actually waiting for my dear friend Pavan to finish her report, so that we can leave and walk through Midtown.

Oh and at this point, I'd like to thank Michael for lending me his notebook. I make sure I'll break it before I leave :)) I am such a true friend, right Michael?!

Alright, there is still so much I could talk about, but I feel I should leave something for later. And beside that, I want to get out of the office…Pavan, would you please hurry up!! ;-)
Oh, Pavan is my dear friend and colleague, who I have met on my very first day at IOM. But I feel like I have been knowing her for ages…but don’t even get me started on this…so funny!!

Talk to you later…
Oz

Rigoberta Menchú in the UN

Yesterday all the members of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) -that's what I am currently working on - had the exceptional honour to meet Rigoberta Menchu. For those who should not know: Rigoberta Menchú has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work on the promotion on indigenous issues. She has drawn worldwide attention to the problem indigenous peoples in Latin America are facing today.
Since I have stayed in Guatemala for about 3 months working with street children, of whom many were indigenous, I feel to have a somewhat special relationship to that country.

Unfortunately, her speech was interrupted by a fire alarm. But still, it was the spirit she left in the room that got us all captivated.

Please check her foundation for more information: http://www.rigobertamenchu.org/

Oezlem

Das muss ich noch erzaehlen!

So kenne ich NYC und nicht anders:

Natuerlich erwartet man auf dem Heimweg nichts spektakulaeres. Ich komme gerade aus dem Supermarkt heraus und trete in eine Traube von Menschen, von denen jeder mit schwerem Equipment beladen ist. Dann drehe ich meinen Kopf zur Seite und wer steht da einen halben Schritt vor mir??? Maedels, ich weiss, Ihr wuerdet reihenweise umfallen fuer diesen Mann...Hugh Grant :)) Mal wieder rot angelaufen, weil er wohl wieder einer Frau hinterherlaufen musste (im Film, versteht sich;)

Gut also, dass ich nicht so sehr auf ihn stehe, denn sonst haette die Situation peinlich ausarten koennen. Obwohl schlecht sah er ja nicht aus in seinem halb aufgeknoepften Hemd....In diesem Sinne Euch allen (besonders den Frauen) eine gute Nacht,

Oezlem

The Upper West Side is mine again!

'Yeah right', you'd say. But somehow I feel like I have never been gone even though an entire year passed since my last stay here.

Apparently, I am all well and located in the beautiful UWS (Upper West Side) at my dear friend's house. CPW (Central Park West) is only a 5-minute walk away and it feels great to be back again.

My flight was OK. Instead of sleeping I watched Brokeback Mountain and got deeply depressed by it. It tells a very touching story and I shouldn't have watched it because I was down for quite a while afterwards.
So, I tried to catch up on my sleep by going to bed really early last night. Yes, I went to bed at about 8pm on a Saturday night (!) in Manhattan. Please do not laugh, you probably would have done the same :)

I'll make sure I'll make up for the lost night..haha

Anyhow, I send all my love to everybody from Manhattan's UWS and hope you are all doing well.

Always with you,
Oz (as they call me here)

und zum Schluss...das Wort zum Samstag

Ich hasse Abschiede. Aber da ich viele von Euch vor meiner Abreise am Samstag nicht mehr sehen konnte, muss ich mich wohl hierüber von Euch verabschieden. Seid mir nicht böse, dass ich nicht jeden Einzelnen anrufen oder eine Email senden konnte. So ist es doch etwas schneller und einfacher.

Also, meine Lieben (das sagt doch Domian immer :-), obwohl ich nun nach all den Auslandsaufenthalten ein alter Hase sein sollte, fällt es mir dieses Mal komischerweise besonders schwer. Ich freue mich wirklich sehr (!!) auf New York City, aber genauso gut hätte ich noch eine Weile hier in D-Land bleiben können. Wie auch immer, wie heisst es doch so schön: Man soll gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist. Das mache ich jetzt auch :-)
Deswegen lange Rede, kurzer Sinn: Macht es gut, bleibt gesund und habt viel Spaß!

Vielleicht lass' ich dem Einen oder Anderen eine UN-Postkarte ins Haus flattern, also watch out!!

Geniesst den noch hoffentlich langen Sommer!

Eure Özlem

Aktueller Artikel bei KFBIS/Latest article in KFIBS' current issue

Für die Interessierten unter Euch: Mein aktueller Artikel zur türkisch-amerikanischen Politik im Kaukasus ist jetzt bei KFIBS einsehbar. Unter

KFIBS

könnt Ihr ihn als PDF runterladen.

Der Beitrag basiert zu großen Teilen auf einem Kapitel aus meiner Magisterarbeit.

Höre gerne Feedback und Eure Meinung zum Thema.

Gruß,
Özlem

For those who are interested: Please see my latest article on the Turkish and U.S. policy in the Caucasus published in KFIBS' current issue 02/2006 under

KFIBS

I need to say that it is in German as I have mostly reverted to my German Master thesis! I will try to publish more in English in order to make my work accessible for everybody.

And please don't hesitate to give me your feedback.

Yours,
Özlem