I’m proud to be a visitor in a strange land during this pandemic.

It’s frightening to find yourself in a foreign country with airports locked down and the horrifying possibility of contracting this deadly disease. And yet, in the midst of all this, I feel calm.

In the past year, I traveled to many countries around the world. I’m a Canadian woman who lived in Mexico for the last eighteen years. I sold everything I owned with the idea that I would find a place somewhere in the world that appealed to me and live and write there for a while. I had a vague intention of settling in Bali. But that was not meant to be. A year ago yesterday, I celebrated my 72nd birthday in Tel Aviv, Israel. And yesterday I celebrated by myself in isolation in Turkey.

You see, fate intervened like it so often does in life. A 2-day layover in Istanbul, and a persistent young Turk, inspired me to return to Istanbul in April of 2019 and I’ve been here ever since!

I love this country — I know it’s not perfect. I’m a writer and a reader and know how the rest of the world perceives many aspects of Turkey. But, I feel safe here. I feel that anyone would help me if I got sick. My neighbors, the shopkeepers, the baristas at Starbucks, the hairdresser, the barber, the staff at the corner grocery store — they all nod and accept me as part of their community. Although at Starbucks I…