Third Year in Heaven

Yesterday was the third anniversary of my moving to Paris. So, three long years have passed since the first day, but it seems like yesterday... Today, I would like to share with you what I have experienced, what I have felt, and what changes have occurred in my feelings and thoughts in the last year, both to evaluate the situation for myself and to give you an idea about life in Paris. . Today's article is for me as much as it is for you:

Before writing this article A Year in Heaven ve Second Year in Heaven I read my articles again, but in fact, nothing much has changed in my thoughts. Everything continues to look as beautiful as it did on the first day. I love the streets I visit, the streets I walk on, the people I see, the life I live here. Just as I reset my life three years ago, I still continue to live with zero problems. I have neither personal problems nor disagreements with life anymore; I live in harmony with myself, my existence, and the life I live.

My mouth tastes good, I enjoy what I eat and drink. Whatever taste it is, I can't stop myself. How beautiful is the taste of ordinary bread, how seductive is the smell of chocolate and the color of wine? How can life be this beautiful? and for three consecutive years. Yes, I am sure; I'm in heaven...

The things I call troubles are related to the world; Not the city I live in, that is. The injustice of the world, the poverty experienced by millions of people, wars, diseases; In other words, only events that occur outside of me can upset me; Other than that, I don't have the slightest complaint about myself and the life I live.

I'm still happy to be in this beautiful city. I still feel the excitement of that first day. When Opera Garnierin front of metro If I leave the station and see that building, I'm beside myself. I still admire its architecture and urbanism; It did not decrease at all, on the contrary, it increased even more. I discover a new place every day; Discover, discover, this city never ends; I don't want it to end.

Not once did I feel bored, not once did I wonder "what should I do today?" I didn't say that for three years. All this time, I lived beautifully in a beautiful city, with beautiful people around me. One of my greatest pleasures was sharing with you what I saw and discovered. As Pariste.Net, which I have been writing about since January 2014, became known to more people, I became happy because what I wrote was useful to someone; As I received positive comments, my happiness increased day by day. I continued writing with the strength of the supportive messages I received when I was about to give up due to exhaustion; I have written 260 articles so far; I will continue to write more.

I was more interested in how many people benefited from what I wrote than how many hits it got.; So much so that, the more people I wrote reached and made their lives easier, the more I considered myself successful. Over time, the blog became more and more popular, and it started to get the number of hits in a day that I had aimed to get in a month; I was surprised by these results too; I was as happy as I was surprised.

At first, my intention was to write an article every day and enrich the content as soon as possible. After the first months, I declared weekends off and reduced my writing to five times a week. Then, I started writing three articles a week in order to provide richer content, but I realized that I was writing the three articles a week in the same time that I devoted to the seven articles I wrote a week; As the number of articles decreases, the content becomes richer, and the deeper I dive into it. In order to put an end to this madness, I decided to limit my writings to twice a week starting from April. Maybe I can spare a little more time for myself this way. I know, though, I don't behave myself anymore, I go back and update old articles and pictures in my spare time :) Moreover, just the other day, I sat down and thought, "What else can I write?" I made a list about Paris, there are - for now - a hundred different topics waiting in the queue. I live in such a vast city...

The most enjoyable part of the job is taking the laptop and going to a cafe, sitting there watching the people passing by, that is, Paris life, and writing articles for the blog. One of my favorite places Rosa Happiness on the Seine… I enjoy this place as if I were on the Bosphorus shore. Pont Alexandre IIIWhen I sit in front of me and write, that aesthetic inevitably creeps into the lines...

As the blog started to gain success earlier than I expected, I quickly met my professional expectations, but this time I had to spend most of my time on the internet. While two years ago I was someone who said "I need to stay away from social media and spend more time for myself", today there are months when I am in danger of running out of the 10 GB monthly quota of my mobile phone :) Not only the blog, facebook, Twitter, instagram Responding to messages sent to my accounts, blog and inbox is also a separate problem. Thanks to the followers, they do not hold back with their questions :) What detailed answers they want to know require... And all this time, I have tried to answer all the questions as comprehensively as I could. I intend to continue in the same way from now on. Just like my days in my office life in Istanbul, the most unpleasant part of this "free" life in Paris is having to spend some days almost entirely in front of the computer. However, I want to look at life in Paris, not the screen. We will try to find a balance of this in the coming period; let's see…

Moreover, for the last year because of the blog Fransızca I also neglected working for a while. However, until last year, I was sitting and studying French regularly for 2-3 hours every day. This year, I can say that I have neglected the language a little in the sense of "sitting and studying", except for the speaking class I only went to on Mondays. When I started blogging and started thinking in Turkish again, my thinking in French decreased; That's why I aim to get myself in order again and improve my language even more in the coming period. Of course, I am now much more comfortable in terms of communication, I can easily establish dialogues and handle my work regardless of whether it is a hospital, a patisserie or a government office, but my goal is to master French enough to discuss philosophy as soon as possible.

By the way, when the blog bore fruit and made profits earlier than I expected, I had to struggle with the French bureaucracy :) In order to establish my own company, I read countless websites and the book you see below, and after a lot of effort, I finally decided to establish my own company. The thing that would make me most unhappy when I came to Paris would be having to start working in a company just like my life in Istanbul. I never wanted to have to prepare a CV and go through countless job interviews; Therefore, it was inevitable for me to find another solution and I am extremely happy with the solution I found.

Although I prepared Pariste.Net, this blog for people to visit Paris on their own without needing anyone else, I could not resist the demands any longer and tried to provide tour guide service for a short time in the past year. Although I never thought of being a guide as we know it, it was never such a priority. My favorite thing was to show you the most beautiful places of Paris, places that would not be easy to find on your own or would be very difficult to see all at once, as if I were showing my friends. That's why I wanted the guests I showed around to be like my spouse, friend or acquaintance; In this sense my chance to choose It's always been the case.

I think, at the end of the second year, all these topics I talked about were up in the air; In the face of all this effort, everything has now fallen into place. Now is the time to improve things and make life a little easier. My dream is neither a bigger house nor a flashier car; I always loved what I had. Let's continue this life with pleasure, let's continue like this, let's see more places, cheer up our hearts, and help our environment a little bit; What more could one want? Of course, it flatters my soul that everyone who comes to Paris and does research on the internet knows Pariste.Net and therefore me; otherwise I already have everything I need; That's why I'm so rich...

Of course, health is just as important. I had a serious health problem at the beginning of last summer and then had to get to know the French healthcare system. articles After writing, I tried to pay more attention to myself. After a short while, everything went well again, and I learned the value of the day I lived and the breath I took, which I already knew.

One of the most beautiful events I experienced in the past year was the poet-writer living in Paris. Cüneyt Ayral and meeting his beloved wife Iklil. Normally, I was trying to stay away from Turkish-speaking environments in order to improve my French, but I soon realized how lucky I was to accept the meeting invitation of Cüneyt Ayral, who reached me through this blog: I met two wonderful people in Paris, and thanks to him, I was introduced to the art world. I had the opportunity to look from a different window.

Cüneyt Ayral's book, which will be published soon by Oğlak Publications in Turkey, "my paris"The fact that he talks about me, even talks about me like that He wanted me to tell about my own Paris for publication in a book. It was one of the best events of the year. This book will be published very soon and there will be a Paris that I will describe in a few pages in that book. This is really important to me. Maybe the rest will come and I too, one day book projects in my mind I can create the necessary conditions to bring it to life.

Cüneyt Ayral Another beauty I experienced thanks to you was on February 26, 2015. Bedri Baykam's art gallery in Taksim Pyramid ArtThe international photography exhibition opened in “Totally Naked” was when he asked me to take the catalog cover photo for. What you see above Louvre MuseumThe photo I took in , and was used as the cover photo of an exhibition where international photographers took part, I won't worry even if I die...

Similarly, thanks to Pariste.Net, I had the chance to meet many special people living in Paris. I went to vote in the presidential elections. Parc des Exposition – VillepinteUnlike the sleazy crowd I came across in Paris, there are also extremely decent people in Paris; I enjoy getting together with them from time to time and sharing good things.

Also here most expat I started to establish close relations with many Turks in Paris. Creating the opportunity to meet once a month, hosting each other, organizing delicious dinner events and engaging in delicious conversation environments add to the beauty of life in Paris.

So many of my friends from the course and french exchange The good days I spent with my friends, the fact that each person is a different microcosm, watching the world from different windows from which each person can look at life, are very important and valuable for the enrichment of a person.

Learning that my 80-year-old friend Maurice, whom I last met and who is currently learning Italian and Turkish, plays trumpet in jazz clubs, girlfriend Witnessing him wanting to improve his Turkish because he is going to go on holiday to Turkey reminds people how much he still has to do to hold on to life, and witnessing such lives and being able to be involved, even just a little bit, is truly an indescribable feeling. There is so much more to do...

When I first came to Paris, in a sense parisian I had a problem with being. I had to adapt to French culture as much as possible. After a while, I realized that I didn't need to get into the system very much - provided that the issue of adaptation remained. Just like coming to Istanbul expatIf 's find a way to enjoy Istanbul and live the beautiful parts of life, so do I. expat Like, I could live here and get by in harmony with the system, without causing problems or struggling with problems. Moreover, with my own savings, I could be someone who would add value to Parisian life. During this time, I have seen that we were educated like a Frenchman in Istanbul, or more accurately, like a European in general; Therefore, I do not need to make any extra effort; I was already from here.

Of course, I am also an Istanbulite living in Paris. If you pay attention, that's exactly why the seagulls in Pariste.Net's logo are bigger than the Eiffel Tower; However, they should have been two little seagulls floating above the Eiffel, but they are not. Because even though I think it's become unlivable now Istanbul is the city that made me who I am, my old love.. And for me, Istanbul means seagulls above all else. That's why the seagulls in Pariste.Net's logo are more prominent than the Eiffel Tower. I live this city on the gull wing that I hold on to while flying over the Eiffel; I live my past, all my knowledge that makes me who I am, in this beautiful city. When the time came and I received citizenship; Then, don't touch my joy... No one can hold me back anymore... One wing will be in Paris and the other wing will be in Istanbul. Of course, time will tell whether I will settle in a lake house in Sweden, a small fishing town in Corsica, or travel across European cities. .

It's been three years I have never felt alone in this city. My loved ones, those I love very much, may be in Turkey, but they still exist and are there; It's important to know this. This is where the power of social media comes into play; There is no such thing as a communication problem. In this sense, I really use Facebook for communication with my loved ones, Twitter -unfortunately- it is a political tracking platform. InstagramThat's the most enjoyable part of the job. 

I had the chance to go to Istanbul 3-4 times during the past year. That's why I often say "I don't miss Istanbul", but now there is no trip to Istanbul in sight until the end of September; Let's see if it's easy for him to rant like that, or will clouds of longing hang over me until then?

When I look back at the past year, it makes me happy to see that I have traveled a lot again. Traveling is no longer an escape, but an effort to see more of the beauties of the world. I believe that as I travel, blood flows to the capillaries of my brain that I do not use in daily life, my horizons seem to open in a different way... In the last year, I have traveled to France in Lille, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Lyon, Amboise, Tours, BloisI have visited cities such as Orléans, Reims, Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse, Dijon and Besançon. Of course, the most unforgettable of my trips to Turkey was the blue cruise I took with ten of my dear friends. I see that in the last year, the only trips abroad were to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Amsterdam and I went to Athens; We need to increase these trips next year :)

I mean, I had very happy periods in my life, but even in my happiest periods, there was always another problem lurking in the corner. Since I came to Paris on March 26, 2012, there has been no trouble or trouble; I have spent the happiest three years of my life. Life passed by like butter. Other than the endless winter and the residence permit bureaucracy, I cannot say that I have encountered any significant problems. I live here among decent people, on clean streets, in fresh air, with great pleasure. I don't know how long this will last; I'm grateful to my soul for as long as it lasts, but if something goes wrong by accident, wouldn't all the beauty I've experienced help me anyway? Let's think well, let it always be good...

My relationships with people have a very special consistency of being able to be sincere without being flirtatious and staying distant without being alienating. I love both my solitude and being with people; Most importantly, I can live what I want, whenever I want. I have never been this much myself in my life. I am always in a good mood and I wake up with joy every morning. Every time I go out, I say hello to the sky that I can see through the trees and thank whatever power allowed me to be here.

Of course, reaching this point was never that easy. “You live in Paris, life is good for youI often hear it said. Yes, life is good for me, but I have reached this point as a result of a long effort, no one is interested in that part of the job. I could even write the night I left Istanbul just to settle in Paris as a novel; moving to another country How I ended up in Paris as a result of the stages I went through in my adventure is the subject of several books…

Everyone looks at the results and evaluates you as you are now. But "nothing happens without doing something“. When you sit and pose on the Paris sign in the photo above, no one wonders how you got there; He may think that he is showing off to established Paris; That's why I love the photo of me climbing this PARIS sign; It tells so many things at once.

In short, I managed to get away from the increasingly tense life of Istanbul, where I was born and raised, and whose love I once loved. I'm about to spend part of my life I am as happy as the first day to settle in Paris. My mind is at ease, my soul is at peace, my heart is at peace for three years. So I'm fine here.

Come on, now let the world begin its fourth tour; Let's see what will happen next year. One year later "Fourth Year in HeavenHoping to be able to write “.

It's not where you are, it's who you are with that matters.

Stay well…

Related Articles:

• A Year in Heaven
• Second Year in Heaven
• Fourth Year in Heaven
• Fifth Year in Heaven
• Sixth Year in Heaven
• Seventh Year in Heaven
• Eighth Year in Paris
• Ninth Year in Paris