I Watch Too Much Music Television

Let me start this by saying that I am currently watching Arutz 24 as I write this. At the moment, being the hip hop editor (a position that definitely doesn't exist and doesn't need to exist) for this channel would be my dream job. Of course, I haven't even bothered to thank the director of the station for his help with my thesis, let alone send him a resume (ie my thesis). That said, I pretty much watch this channel every moment that I am in my apartment that isn't Shabbas, yom tov, or an Eagles game.
So why is this news now? I just got back from Istanbul on Sunday, and I think in some ways the highlight of my trip was watching Turkish and French hip hop music videos. And no, the videos were not that good. Zot omeret, neither was my trip to Istanbul.
Here are a few things I learned about myself on this trip:
1) I don't think it's fair to expect people in foreign countries to speak English.
2) I think it's necessary to at least make an effort to learn the names of major tourist attractions in their native language.
3) I don't think it's cute to think of every piece of traditional garb of a foreign country as a prospective Purim costume.
4) I have too much ADD to stop and take a picture of every random English misspelling or wait for my friends while they do the same.
5) I prefer not to walk around wearing a big sign that says, "Rip me off, I'm a tourist."
6) I don't feel the need to advertise my Judaism every waking moment of my life, especially in cities not used to seeing such outward expressions of Judaism.
7) I can't bring myself to break Shabbat or kashrut, no matter how frustrated I get with observance.
But don't let me imply that the trip was a total bust. It was still Istanbul after all. I can understand why my entire family left, but I can also understand why they all still go back to visit every now and then. I would definitely recommend it, even for clueless vuzvuzim.
Shannah tovah!