a story from turkey

so i had an interesting (to say the least) experience today. i live in an apartment building that is surrounded by other apartment buildings. right down the street, however, there is still a plot of land that has not been developed yet. its about the size of 2 football fields and there are maybe 5 houses left. there is also a huge amount of trash there. the land is in somewhat of a valley, and a major street is above it. theres a flight of stairs leading up to that street. anyways. i went running today and decided to run to the stairs. i turned onto the dirt road that goes through the middle of that area. halfway to the stairs, ten wild dogs coming running towards me, barking and showing their teeth. i stopped running because i had no desire for them to start a game of chase and attack (at least no more than they already had). so i walked the rest of the way to the stairs while the dogs continually ran after me, all the time barking. as this was happening, a big crowd gathered on the street above to watch the spectacle. it was like i was in the ancient roman coloseum fighting the wild animals to my death and they were the toga clad citizens waiting for the kill. i got halfway up the stairs and one of the spectators shouted down "yeh natasha!" as some of you may already know, natasha is not the most lovely of terms here in turkey. it is used as a reference to russian prostitutes. and who is associated most with russian prostitutes? pretty blonde foreign women. i finally got to the top of the stairs and another passerby said something to me, but i did not catch it. i turned down a street and passed another group of people. one said "ooo yabanci!" yabanci means foreigner. more was said but i didnt listen. i just went straight home after that. the worst part of it all is that the majority of the people watching me get chased by dogs were middle and highschool aged kids. school had just finished for the day. sometimes it really sucks to be a blonde girl here. i am pretty used to it nowadays. i can usually ignore it, but not when also being chased by wild dogs... i dont know if i will ever understand the turkish fascination with foreigners. i mean we have all looked in wonder at something that is new, different, foreign, etc... but i have seriously almost been the reason for car accidents. girls and guys stare at me. i have come to realize that it is generally just out of wonder, and there is no malicious intent behind it, but there are also times when the stare obviously is not purely out of wonder. i dont mean to tell you all this story to make you worry about me. i have learned my lesson about running through the old neighborhood. and the other stuff, well like i said, i am used to it. its a daily occurance and i cannot change it. just think, in three months ill be home again.