Personal

2016: A dark year globally—wars, terror, disasters. But personally? Fantastic. We spend the summer in Tel Aviv and Berlin, then get married in sunny (!) Vancouver. The celebration at Bridges Restaurant on Granville Island is magical. Oh, and we move into a house on my all-time favourite street in Toronto.

2017: After joining Rachel in Ann Arbor for a semester and a short stay in Tel Aviv, we return to Toronto in June – just in time for the very early arrival of our son, Rafi. The house is still under renovation, but by late October, one year after getting the keys, we finally move in. Later that year, we introduce Rafi to his families in Germany and Israel.

2018: The year begins in NYC, where Rachel teaches at Columbia. In May: Tel Aviv. August: Berlin. Then Vermont, to celebrate Rachel’s dad’s 80th. We enjoy the rest of summer at home in Toronto. From October to December, Ruben joins us, giving the brothers some solid bonding time.

2019: In January, our little pack gains a new member: Chai, a golden doodle puppy. In May, we take a fantastic trip to Japan. I teach in Berlin over the summer, while Rachel starts commuting to Harvard once a week – never a dull moment. December brings reunions with old friends in San Francisco and family time in Vancouver.

2020: Just before the world shuts down, I manage a quick visit to Germany. Then: lockdown. Rachel’s parents “camp” with us for ten weeks – just in time to witness the birth of son number two, Leo. A home birth. I end up playing lead midwife, since the actual one got stuck in traffic and missed the big moment by 20 minutes. I take parental leave in the fall and, when time allows, return to my fantasy novel.

2021: I finish the manuscript in March, though it still needs work. A sabbatical semester helps. We stay grounded, hoping the vaccine rollout will save the summer – but plans fall through. Leo starts daycare, Rafi heads to kindergarten, I deal with health issues, and the pandemic just… lingers.

2022: After another long pandemic winter, we feel like survivors. We finally plan trips again: summer in Germany, December in Israel. Good to feel alive. I stage The Struwwel, my adaptation of Struwwelpeter, in what turns out to be my final student theatre production course. And to end the year on a high note: my academic book Die Geschichte des türkisch-deutschen Theaters und Kabaretts is published with transcript Verlag.

2023: After a pandemic-induced break, I teach my last UofT summer course in Berlin. Time to move on. And move we do: I travel to Turkey with my father, eldest son Ruben, and my brother Atilla. (His wife Belgin joins us for the Cappadocia leg.) As if that weren’t enough Turks for one year, we top it off with a family trip to Turks & Caicos in December.

2024: January is all about rehab – I finally deal with the rotator cuff I tore two winters ago, lifting weights in a sub-zero garage. Recovery includes a stint in Mexico. Summer takes us to Germany and, for the first time, to Ireland. In late August, we buy a cottage near Gravenhurst. A gamechanger: our own little escape hatch from the city.

2025: We spend my sabbatical semester in Freiburg – kids in school and kindergarten, me deep in revising my fantasy novel (now finally ready for publication, hopefully). We squeeze in a week of skiing. In July, we return to Canada, but not to Toronto just yet: this summer, it's Vancouver with Rachel’s parents, while the kids go to camp.