I entered Istanbul, Turkey in the night. It was dark and impossibly humid. To be honest, the first thing I noticed was the intense back sweat action I had going on. Canada had not prepared me for weather such as this. I took the Havatas shuttle from Ataturk airport to Taksim Square, the busy heart of Istanbul’s modern district. The shuttle ride was quite cheap, at 10 Lira (5 USD).

Taksim by night

Getting off the shuttle is when the trouble started. I had written down my hostel’s address and looked on Google maps, but neither of those had prepared me for the disorientation I would feel standing in Taksim Square, echoes of this vast city reverberating all around me. So, I walked down the wrong street, my million pounds of luggage in tow, sweating like a madman. Eventually, I realized I had no idea where I was. I panicked a little and then hailed a taxi. I then panicked some more when I realized none of the taxi drivers swarming around me spoke English. I pointed at the address in my purple notebook, praying one of them would nod affirmatively or something. This didn’t happen. Instead, a woman walked up to me and asked if I needed help. Of course I did. She then proceeded to talk to the taxi drivers in Turkish about where I needed to go and arranged for me to pay an acceptable fare. In short, this woman, Cigdem, was amazing.

Rolling up to the hostel 10 minutes later, I felt comforted by the kindness shown to me by a stranger. Perhaps I am not so alone here, in this moment, in this foreign city.