After having a rant about an aspect of life here I find difficult I am feeling full of guilt. I know that this is more to do with growing up in a family that places kindness well before assertiveness rather than there being anything wrong with expressing personal dislikes, but the feeling remains all the same. So I am assuaging my guilt a little by posting about some of the small gifts that have touched me most (and one that didn't!). Below are flowers and fruits from the forest here, given to me by a neighbour. The slippers were given to me by the family of a friend of Ruskin's (hand-made by the grandmother) and worn nearly every day since. Definitely my favourite and most useful small treasure. The single flower in the final picture was a gift from Beşiktaş municipality for Women's Day. The council spared no expense in delivering these to all women registered in the district to celebrate women: 'the crown on our heads' (pass the sick bucket). This seemed slightly less generous when Ville told me how hard Amnesty International had lobbied for a women's shelter in Beşiktaş, to no avail (hopefully this has since been rectified). Oh whoops, ranting again.