I think I’ve said before that I had been introduced the conception of a bonus day during the winters here, well today was certainly one of them.
About two years ago I started the process of applying for a Turkish driving licence.
Yes two years ago and I am ashamed to say that although things sometimes move slowly here this time it has been entirely my fault. Anyway three weeks ago I had my mind jogged about it, picked up where I left off and got the rest of the application necessities done in two days. Today I visited the traffic police department with Ayşe a Turkish friend and neighbour of mine in my village who is also a registered translator of English and French helped me through the process. We visited the Court offices to get a certificate that showed that I’m not a criminal, the population office for a certificate showing my address and the Notary’s office to get Passport translations notarised then we submitted the application, to find that it was accepted and the licence printed and issued to me in only a couple of hours!
I will not complain again. Actually while visiting these various offices it became apparent that the transition to computerisation is forging ahead and making a great difference to administrative processes here.
Another bonus to my day occurred later in the day. Aslan, the dog I have mentioned a few times in recent posts, had been conspicuous by his absence for the last week. Previously he had been staying at my place because I was feeding him and treating his Leishmaniasis, I put a folded up carpet on the floor of my woodshed and he slept there in relative comfort. Well I had started thinking that he had succumbed to the disease but this afternoon while outside I noticed a white tail wagging behind my car. Since Minnie’s tail is brown and Molly hasn’t got a tail I looked to see who it was and Aslan came out on three legs holding the fourth up because his paw hurts. Obviously he had found himself somewhere else warm and dry and stayed there during our recent cold wet weather. So I gave him a big bowl of food laced with medicine and a few kind words of encouragement. I’m glad he is (relatively) ok.
The third bonus today was the weather. During a break at lunchtime while we waited for the licence to be printed we had a coffee in the Noel Baba tea garden in the square. We sat at a table in the sun and the and the temperature on the large digital thermometer was reading 19C. It was warmer in the direct sun and it made even the most mundane administrative task a pure pleasure. There were a lot of people out to enjoy the beautiful day and seeing the smiles on peoples faces was a real treat.
Definitely a Bonus Day
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