11.12.11

optimism


the 21st country i visited in 2011 was Turkey.
after all the other places the year has taken me, it stood out like an amazing blast of slightly smug sunlight.....it is actually on the way up! whilst much of this year has been spent going to places like Portugal, Greece, Spain, Italy, France and Ireland with their financial woes and endless apocalyptic predictions. Istanbul was a surprisingly pleasant change from all that. the turkish economy is seemingly booming. Istanbul is covered with construction cranes as new flats and shopping malls are being built across the city. even the people seem optimistic, and perhaps a bit smug- after all the fuss Western countries, and leaders like Sarkozy, made a few years ago about merely contemplating allowing Turkey to join the EU, it is now Turkey that might be having second thoughts. Some of my friends have started murmuring that they dont need the EU, nor do they need to be subsidising countries like.....Greece. i sat and smiled inwardly at some of these comments, but i cant help but be happy for my friends, all of whom seem to be doing well and succeeding. it is nice to know that some where people are seeing their living standards rising, removed from the chaos we seem to have here in Western Europe.

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