christmas eve party, part deux

ben & i had a great first christmas together. on christmas eve we through a party for close friends, and on christmas day we were hosted by serhat & beril for a gourmet christmas dinner (leg of lamb cooked in a delicious blend of herbs with wild rice, fresh olive oil from their own crop with his homemade sun-dried tomatoes, a bean salad, home-dried apricots, cheese, pears... you get the idea). it's so nice to have good friends here to share the holidays with-- i get a little homesick at times, but they make it fun to be here.

below are some more pics from christmas eve (see post below for the first set). we had a great time with about 14 friends-- did a gift exchange & played some taboo which got a little heated...

serhat, ben & can, getting into the game

bige having fun
the guys, getting concerned because the girl's team was winning
ben & can, sharing a moment as the other can heckles the girl's team

this picture clearly illustrates how difficult the guys made it for us to win. poor burcu!

christmas eve party, part one

here's the first round of photos from our xmas eve party, i'm putting them in 2 posts to fit more in.

everyone came dressed up & with a gift to swap

i made some appetizers & mulled wine
ben & i in front of our first tree ; )

taboo started around 11:30pm and went well into the morning, it was a heated game. below you can see our girl's team did our best to heckle the guys during their turn- but the guys were much worse (here's bige, serhat, asli and burcu)
...more in the next post.

white christmas

here are some pictures i took after the first snow-- we got even more last night, winter is officially here!

view from the office

our building
looking down our road
in front of our apartment waiting for the taxi

the view looking down from our apartment

let it snow!

as anyone would know who has spoken with me in the past month or two, i have been dying to see some snow. ankara has provided nothing but grey, foggy, dismal, boring weather. the temperature hasn't even been of interest, sticking right in that area where it's cold enough to require a coat but warm enough to rain. and rain it has, all week. while family and friends have been sending reports of snow and ice storms up and down the greater tri-state area, i have been wishing, hoping, and praying for some snow.

this morning, my luck changed. ben was up early to go to the dentist, and came into the bedroom to wake me up. 'it's going to be a good day. remember what you've been wishing for?' he asked. 'more sleep.' i responded. oh... and snow! i jumped out of bed & ran to the window to find a few inches covering the ground. he left & took the car, so i had to get a cab to work. no problem. i spent the next hour getting ready and singing various renditions of 'snow' from my favorite movie, white christmas (see below). i put on my fancy new boots that i've been wanting to break in, bundled up with a scarf & gloves, and trudged out into the snow. the 30 minute wait for a cab to show up at the taxi stand didn't even phase me. i used the extra time to take pictures, which i will post later. you'd think i'd never seen snow before... every single year of my life! the cab driver almost went off the road & drove like a maniac down the highway, but i just laughed, thinking 'we might go off the road, and i don't care because it's snowing, and this is not my car.' luckily we stayed on the road and i made it to work just fine- and in record time.

snow has finally made it feel like christmas, and just in time. it's still snowing even now!

snow
it won't be long before we'll all be there with snow
snow! i want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow
snow! i long to clear a path and lift a spade of snow
snow-oh, to see a great big man entirely made of snow
where it's snowing all winter throughthat's where i want to be
snowball throwing that's what i'll do how i'm longing to ski through the snow-oh-oh-oh-oh
those glist'ning houses that seem to be built of snow
snow-oh, to see a mountain covered with a quilt of snow
what is christmas with no snow
no white christmas with no snowsnow!
i'll soon be there with snow (chuga choo chuga choo chuga choo)
i'll wash my hair with snow (chuga choo chuga choo chuga choo)
and with a spade of snow (chuga choo chuga choo chuga choo)
i'll build a man that's made of snow
i'd love to stay up with you but i recommend a little shuteye
go to sleep
and dream
of snow

peanut butter & limes

so, it's been a while, again. i have been busy since returning from london (great trip, by the way, and will try to post some pics later on). last week kind of flew by. work was hectic after both ben & i being out of the country for a week, and dealing with varying degrees of jet lag. but the more exciting update from the week is that i started private tutoring sessions to learn turkish. a friend recommended a turkish tutor who works with embassy employees, and i've already had 2 lessons. so far it's going well- i am learning key phrases & can count to 30! it's a little frustrating that i can't just learn it overnight, but i'm trying to be patient.

the weekend was both busy and relaxing. busy in that i did a lot of shopping for holiday decor & groceries for christmas cookie baking. relaxing in that ben & i spent sunday entirely at home (and i mostly baked). my trip to 2 grocery stores on saturday proved extremely successful... i found everything i needed, and a few surprises. strolling the aisles of kippa (i think this is a british run grocery since they've started selling tesco products), i was perusing the 100 different brands of hazelnut spread (BIG in this county), when i noticed on the bottom shelf two stacks of peter pan peanut butter, both crunchy and smooth. peanut butter doesn't exist in turkey, so i put a jar in my cart and gladly paid the 9 lire (about $7) for it. my next stop was real (reh-all) market. i love the produce section at real because it's larger than any other market, and tends to have some unusual finds. well this trip did not disappoint, as i found a fruit so exotic to turkey i had given up hope of ever finding it: limes. LIMES! two huge baskets filled with limes. i bought 16, and paid about 16 lire... a bit much, but worth it in my mind. yesterday ben and i made a batch of margeritas to celebrate... i'll bet they drink them during christmas in mexico... feliz navidad?!

this week i'll celebrate christmas far from home, for the first time. we'll definitely make the most of it. on christmas eve we're having a cocktail party at the house, then will have dinner with friends on christmas. i will be sure to post pics from the festivities... merry christmas!

weather, and other updates

the latest thing that i really miss about living in new york/the US is snow. my fellow new yorkers probably think that's crazy. it's funny, last year i was also longing for a big storm all winter. i feel like they were always missing binghamton-- by a mile or 2. maybe it's from growing up in the north country, but to me there's nothing more satisfying than a huge winter storm.

here in ankara, it's all about the pollution. that's the kind of weather i note each morning when i wake up & look out our window, down below to the city: 'how much pollution is in the air today? well, it's a little less grey than yesterday...' it's not even warm-- it's just not cold enough to snow, and there's rarely any precipitation here to clear the air. we're in a huge drout, and anatolia is turning to desert. and the coal that many people use to warm their homes, because they can't afford alternative sources, is polluting the air. of course, it's gotten worse as winter approaches.

and the fog! you can't imagine the fog we get here. i think it's tied some how to the polluted air, but have yet to wickipedia that theory. it's been burned off by the sun today, but for the past 3 days it simply never lifted. i drove home twice without seeing any of the buildings on the side of the road, the fog was that dense.

i must say i am very excited for my trip to london. this saturday i'm flying first to istanbul, then on to london, to visit my dear friend alexa & her bebe, cecelia for a week. it's a bayram (holiday) here in turkey for the week, so it seemed the perfect opportunity. i've never been to london- only to heathrow.

in the meantime ben will be in the us with his father. they leave tomorrow morning, and i will be on my own for 2 days & nights, doing everything on my own, for the first time... in turkey. after living on my own for 6 years you'd think this would be no big deal, and yet i've found myself asking ben about the stupidest things, like: how do we set the alarm clock? how do i run the dishwasher? if i need gas in the car, will i be able to do that? it's like i'm learning everything again, and it's very frustrating. but that's why i think these few days alone will be very, very good for me. i need to be forced into a little independence. stay tuned for stories-- or possibly an s.o.s.??

thanksgiving: a re-cap

this was in a lot of ways a thanksgiving of firsts. it was my first thanksgiving away from home, my first time cooking for 8 hours straight, and my first time cooking a turkey. i made a few of mom's ttd's, or 'typical thanksgiving dishes.'

the menu included a baked brie cheese with apples and a 3-cheese hot artichoke dip to start, followed up by pumpkin soup, then stuffing with cranberries, mashed potatoes with celery root & gruyere, brussels sprouts with shallots, glazed carrots, green beans & mushrooms, and a caprese salad. the food came out perfectly-- i was really quite impressed, especially with the turkey, which was juicy & full of flavor. i think rubbing it with butter, garlic & shallots helped. of course, it wasn't without any trouble-- two hours after putting it in the oven, i had to call dad in a bit of a panic to find out why the thermometer was reading 180 degrees already. turns out we hadn't placed it in a deep enough spot. thanks dad :)

all in all it was a fun (though exhausting) day. our friends arrived at 7pm and we had a great time with them. here are some pics:

the prized turkey. there was some fighting over the drumsticks, but i think the boys worked it out.

serhat, my saving grace! he showed up at 4pm and didn't stop cooking until i did. what a huge help!

the gals- enjoying the food with a view of the city.
can & can, feeling a little stuffed i think.

the help ; )

heaven ain't hard to find

right before thanksgiving, just as i was beginning to freak out about where i was going to find some of the key ingredients for our dinner, some wonderful & kind american friends took us on a field trip... to the commissary! what is it? it's a magical place for military personnel where they have an american grocery store & mini wal-mart type store that sell products at normal american prices... right here in ankara! ben and i were like a couple of kids on christmas morning, running through the isles, filling our cart. i finished the shopping while ben went to buy beer & wine (waaay cheaper than at any turkish grocery).

look what we found! (the coors light was for our friend yelin, who went to school in alabama & lists it (along with beef jerky) as the things he misses most.)

i mean this grocery store had EVERYTHING... so we bought some non-perishable items to tide us over for a while-- like frank's hot sauce, canned black beans, and a few spices.

craisins, cranberries and turkey broth!

bacon, tostitos & salsa, oatmeal, folger's coffee... my pantry runeth over. literally.

giving thanks

well, we're back in turkey. actually we've been back for two weeks now, i just haven't had the time to blog. the wedding was a complete whirlwind, but wonderful. i think it was everything sarah & jeffrey had wanted, and more beautiful than any of us could have imagined. it was full of candlelight. romantic, intimate, and emotional.

now we're back in turkey, and the re-adjusting has begun. it was hard to come back. after being home for only a week, and having so much fun with my family and close friends, i had to board a plane and go far away all over again. that was difficult. and upon arriving, i was reminded that i'm a foreigner in a strange land, where i don't speak the language (though i'm working on it), and where i have no old friends. i spent the first week feeling pretty down, but this week i'm doing my best to turn it around. it's thanksgiving, after all, and that means a time to give thanks! so i would like to count the following blessings:

:: ben. he is such a source of strength support, and love for me. he constantly is reminding me that he is here for me. what can i say-- he's pretty great!

:: family. even though they are far away, i feel their presence in my life every day, as they support me from afar. during the wedding week i was reminded of how extraordinarily close we are. i was also fortunate to get a glimpse of us through the eyes of our new family, the stephens, with the many wonderful remarks they made. here in turkey, and far away in australia, i also have a family, including three new aunts, two new grandmothers, and a little brother. i am so grateful to them for accepting me, immediately, as one of their own.

:: friends, old and new. while i was home i was visited by a few old friends. it was wonderful to sit and talk about our lives, our every day, just like we used to. i miss them so much but i know i can look forward to seeing them again whenever i return.

now that i'm back in turkey, i'm also reminded of the many new friends i've made in the short time i've been here. about 14 of them will come to my house tomorrow to help me celebrate thanksgiving, which says a lot about their thoughtfulness & how much they care about my fitting in here. our good friend serhat will even come early to help us cook, his wife is bringing apple pie.

tonight and tomorrow, as i cook & bake up a storm, i will be counting each of these blessings. happy thanksgiving.

wedding weekend underway

well it's 8:30am and all is quiet at 17 hamilton ave as the family rests. we're getting ready for two crazy days... and the fun has already begun! last night we did a lady's and men's night out, respectively. sarah & i picked alexa up at the airport & then headed to kitty hoyne's irish pub. there we met up with mom, lynn (jeffrey's mom), my aunt noel who flew in from san francisco yesterday, lynn's two friends anne and lani, and mom's close friend chris from skaneateles. we had a great time toasting to sarah & catching up with friends we hadn't seen in a long time. poor alexa was jet-lagged and sick with a cold, but she hung in there.

meanwhile ben & dad were out with the men (jeff's dad dave, my uncle jim, and a few other friends), who went to the sherwood inn in skaneateles.

it was fun and now it's time to gear up for a long day of preparations. the first item on my to-do list is a trip to syracuse to pick up my dress for the wedding, now that the alterations are complete. then it's off to have pedi's and mani's at a local salon. at 4pm i'll head to the church to rehearse a song i will sing at the wedding ('to make you feel my love') with the musician, and at 5pm the rehearsal will begin! whew. i'm tired already.

back in the usa... for a bit

we returned to the usa yesterday (ben & i). after a 9 hour flight (which, surprisingly, departed on time- and we were even going to arrive early except that jfk made us circle for 30 minutes instead) we passed easily through customs & passport control (ben was not detained, we're so thankful), and then waited about 20 minutes for our suitcases to appear on the luggage carousel. this always seems a cruel joke from someone watching from above, when you're as exhausted as we were. of course,that was nothing compared to the hour long wait we had at the national car rental. if you're flying into jfk, take my advice & never rent a car from that location. i've never had a good experience, and this one was probably the worst. BUT we were lucky in that we ended up with an upgrade & now are feeling like true americans, driving around in an embarrassingly large saturn suv.

we loaded the car & proceeded out of the airport, following the 'exit' signs carefully but still ending up on the wrong path... neither of us was thinking straight & jfk airport's traffic pattern required more thought than either of us could hadle. this resulted in a lovely tour down the belt parkway which took us past coney island, sheepshead bay, and the verazzano bridge. slight detour.

an hour or so later we pulled into hoboken, unloaded the car & had a wonderful welcome at sarah & jeffrey's apartment. so happy to be here, with family, for this wonderful event of my sister's wedding! today we'll head up to auburn (maybe making a few short stops at various outlets along the way). can't wait to be back at home for a bit.

i'll try to post pics & stories as 'wedding week 2008' progresses...

hope

this morning ben & i woke up at 7am (that's 12am eastern standard time) in a hotel in istanbul and immediately turned on the tv, just in time for barack obama to begin his speech after the election win. after watching the coverage all day yesterday (here it's been covered on english stations bbc world & al jazeera network), we've heard many different perspectives from all over the world, including afhanistan, iraq, iran and many african countries, and all echoed one message: a message of hope.

today throughout our meetings at a local university located on the black sea, the conversation inevitably turned to obama's win, and the president, too, spoke of hope. he recalled a year spent in belfast, maine 40 years ago, a study-abroad opportunity presented to him as a high school student. he laughed when he recalled meeting the son of his host-parents, who looked him over & asked, before saying hello, if he had bought his clothing in new york city (assuming people in turkey would dress very differently). he described this year as one of the best in his life, and went on to say that 30 years later his 'american mom' came to visit he & his wife here in turkey, another memory he counts as the best in his life.

he also said he knows that american people are as a whole good, friendly people (his example: when visiting his wife's family in britain, he would never dare to look in the fridge for a snack, while in america, after 30 years, he would still feel comfortable peeking into the fridge of his host family).

he couldn't find a reason why we had chosen such bad leadership in recent history, but feels that this also seems to be a trend throughout the world- even here in turkey. electing obama has given him hope for america, hope for the future, and the leaders of the world.

i think his is a pretty good sentiment to illustrate how so many of us feel today. hooray for obama! HOORAY FOR CHANGE!!

some highlights

...from last night.

a gypsy, mccain, palin, and a tennis player.

mccain and palin got down... oh yes we did.
homer & marge made an appearance.

mccain kept the crowd entertained. it was the least he could do-- though everyone was concerned he might have a heart attack.

our host, the turkish ali g.

election 2008

with the election just days away, it seems to influence every conversation as of late, even here in turkey. last night ben & i went to a halloween party hosted by the cultural affairs officer, tom, and his wife. there was a man there dressed as 'election 2008.' a clever costume! ben and i went as mccain & palin (though not in that order), and i will post pictures soon.

this election is the first i have witnessed in my life to pique such strong emotions from everyone, of all backgrounds. below is a letter written in explanation, written by my the man who served as the best man at my parent's wedding, one of dad's closest friends, my uncle bill. i hope he won't mind my posting it here, but i think it needs to be shared, as it so eloquently speaks to what i know is true in my heart:

October, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

A friend of mine recently said, “One thing worse than talking politics with family and friends, this year, is not talking about it.” He got me thinking and I decided to write this short letter about why I’m voting for Obama-Biden. Please understand that my love and loyalty to you is not at risk. I’m not judging you regardless of your political leaning and I hope you won’t judge me. You can read, copy, forward or delete this message. I don’t expect any response. I just want to have my say.

I’ve been very blessed in my life. I grew up in Lorain, Ohio long before “diversity” was a cliché and I learned that a jumble of people from all over the world was normal. I carried that lesson into my adult life and have lived and worked in environments where racial, cultural, gender and language differences are a good thing. I’ve always felt lucky to have been born in Lorain and in the United States and I also realize that my birth was a roll of the dice. Along the way, as I’ve loved my country, I’ve also been aware that we are 5% of the world’s population. The notion that “we’re number one” has always rung a false note for me and, while maintaining my gratitude for my home country, I’ve leaned towards the “We’re all in this together” perspective. I’ve believed this in my personal life, my professional life and in the way I view myself in the larger world. When I lived in Syracuse in the 60’s and 70’s a Native American friend taught me the Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.” I’m the first to admit I’ve lived an imperfect life and I haven’t always acted according to that Law, but the words have guided me and sum up a lot of my philosophy and world view.

That brings me to Election 2008. I won’t review all the reasons for and against Obama or McCain. I’ll just outline my personal reasons for supporting Obama and Biden.

Like it or not (I personally like it), we live in an increasingly diverse world with increasingly unclear boundaries. For the sake of our “next seven generations” we have to become more willing to understand and live with the diversity that is irreversible.

When I look at Obama and the people around him I see the next seven generations. In McCain I see the past. I’m not worried about the past affiliations of either of either man or running mate, whether it be William Ayers or the Keating Five. I care about their current affiliations and I see that Obama is connected with a much wider representation of the real world than McCain. Of course I can’t predict with certainty that taking a reasoned, collaborative approach to our place in the world will yield peace and prosperity, but I think it’s our greatest hope. I’ve certainly seen this approach work on a microcosmic level in my own work in Rhode Island. I definitely don’t believe that we can continue the “Us and Them” approach of recent years. I believe that if Obama is elected there will be an immediate enhancement of own image across the world. This will open opportunities for negotiation and cooperation that we can exploit to the advantage of everyone. One of my skeptical friends says I’m a dreamer and that every politician makes promises he/she doesn’t keep. I know that, but I’ve also known a few who have been true inspirational leaders who have kept their word, or enough of it to matter. I’m without any blind illusions and I’m hopeful.

I’ve lived through almost thirty years, starting with Reagan, of a growing belief that “government isn’t the answer to the problem, it IS the problem.” I think that belief has become a self-fulfilling prophesy. The more we believe it, the more we undermine government. I was inspired by Jack Kennedy in my youth to become a teacher because he believed that public service is an obligation and a great honor. I have seen government at its best a few times in my adulthood, generating philosophies, policies and practices that were honest and effective. For example, I worked at the Providence Mental health Center from 1978-1986 during the “golden years” of community mental health and saw the extraordinarily positive effects that well-financed, accountable public services can have on individuals, families and communities. I have also seen the gradual dismemberment of the public mental health system in the last twenty years. I’d love to see a return to a belief that GOOD government is one of the answers to our problems. From my point of view, Obama and his associates are much more attuned to this perspective than McCain and Company. I can even envision myself returning to work in the Obama years.

Finally, a personal note. I’m not a one issue or a one party voter and never have been. Since 1961 when I first voted I’ve cast ballots for Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and, yes, a Socialist. My vote has always depended on the person and the issues, not the party. I’m also gay and, as I’ve gotten older I’ve seen my status improve (most people couldn’t care less “what” I am as long as I’m a decent, reliable person) and I’ve also seen my world become riskier. More visibility means more danger. I have more vocal enemies than ever. I see nothing in McCain or his associates that tells me that my future and the future of the next seven generations of gay people is safe. Obama and the people around him, while not the allies I dream of, are at least willing to talk about us as full members of the community and give me hope that some day we’ll officially be first class citizens.

Of course I have many more opinions, but this is enough. If you got this far without hitting “Delete,” thanks for reading. Get out and vote.

Love,

Bill and Uncle Bill

it's here!

so today at 2pm while ben, lori & bob and i waited for our next appointment, ben received a phone call. the movers were sitting outside of our building wondering why there was no one to answer the doorbell. a day early.

this came as no surprise considering how utterly INEPT this company has been from day one. actually, i shouldn't blame the entire company-- just the owner, who we've been dealing with directly. she is, for lack of a better word, useless. i had spoken with her on tuesday & explained the situation with our week being filled with meetings, and that friday would be the only day i could sneak away to accept the shipment.

anyway. we rushed home, and luckily the crew had waited for us. they opened the back of the van to show me the huge container that had served as the vessel for my life's belongings across the sea... with a few delicate items strapped to the top. this was cause for some concern, but it seems that it was customs officials, not the movers, who had taken the items out & not been able to fit them back in the container, and luckily upon opening them we didn't find a single scratch.

in about 15 minutes they unloaded the entire container & placed the boxes where i directed them. we counted them twice, opened each one to make sure nothing was broken or missing, and signed off on the paperwork. i would like to give a big shout-out here to roger's movers in binghamton, ny, who so carefully packed my entire life's possessions allowing not even a single scratch.

my stuff is here! looking around the apartment at my own things- some which i've missed, others i'd forgotten- is overwhelming. i can't explain the feeling, but i think it's something like homesickeness, relief, and feeling like a kid on christmas morning all at once. i'm happy and crying simultaneously, all the while making mental notes of where certain things will go.

i will post some pics of my unpacked belongings soon-- but for now, i'm off to sort through the mess and possibly decorate a little.

quickly

i've been neglecting the blog... i know! and i'm sorry. it's just that a) i still don't have the mac back (and probably won't until after we return from the us in mid november) and b) i've had little-to-no free time lately, and that's no exaggeration!!

this past sunday the vice chancellor & associate director from suny central arrived from the us for a 2 week visit. i had invited them over for dinner & to welcome them, which led to a sunday spent cooking. ALL day. literally. i will say that dinner went off without a hitch -- started with a 3 cheese hot artichoke dip with crudite and crustiny (remember, there are no crackers in turkey so we must improvise), followed by parmesan smashed potatoes, garlic sauteed broccoli, a caprese salad (i found mozzarella! finally!) and balsamic roasted chicken, ending with a pear/apple crisp & vanilla ice cream for a taste of home-- and ben & i were glad to host our first dinner party in the apartment. they were exhausted & that was, so far, our earliest night, ending around 10pm. let's just say last night we were hosted for dinner at the former yok baskan's (pres. of the higher education council) home, and did not leave until 1am. sooo tiiired.

each day has been packed with meetings at the higher education council, various university's, and american embassy. it has been a whirl-wind, and it's hardly over yet. on sunday we leave for a 2 night stay in izmir, and then on tuesday fly to istanbul for the remainder of the week. next saturday ben and i will leave istanbul for the us, to attend sarah's wedding. yes: it's insane.

but it has been a learning experience for me and i am glad to be getting my feet wet, so to speak, with the real work of this new job.

in addition to work, the other updates i have to share are that my stuff is FINALLY arriving from the us on friday (well, it's here in ankara now but it's a national holiday today so they won't deliver it until friday... let's just say i've had it out with the turkish moving company several times & am ready to never deal with them again). i cannot wait to see my own things again, mostly the kitchen utensils, warm coats & wall decorations.

secondly, ben and i are taking time to have some fun on friday & saturday in celebration of halloween. we've been invited to 2 parties hosted by americans who work at the embassy. we've got our costumes all set... stay tuned for pictures ; )

karaoke

tuesday was our friend asli's birthday, and her husband mehmet organized a surprise dinner/karaoke night. yes, they have karaoke in turkey! i met some new people & we had a great time, as you can see by the pics below!

the group

the ladies, getting into it (it got a little crazy when the turkish songs came on later)

even the guys sang a few tunes!

asli & mehmet, singing 'tainted love.' too cute.

singing 'the greatest love of all' by whitney.

happy birthday evie

on saturday ben & i were invited to a first birthday party for our friend nilay's daughter evie. it was fun to experience a turkish birthday party (friends & family, lots of great home-cooked food) and meet some of nilay's friends. evie provided non-stop entertainment with her adorableness.


evie in her chair, which she ADORES bouncing in!

concentrating on blowing out her first candle on her first birthday cake with some help from mom.

seriously-- she could not get enough of this chair. look at those cheeks!

pics from the outing with the taa

below are some pictures i took during the outing to the castle in kecioren last week... sorry they are late!

we climbed up these stairs to get to the restaurant... a well-earned meal.
inside the tent... at the restaurant... sitting shoesless on the floor awaiting our meal.
the dinner, mostly lamb cooked in various forms, with a pile of rice pilaf and an interesting sort of dumpling, with a few french fries in the middle.

the castle

inside of the castle-- lots of turkish tiles, marble, and brass... also note the green light illuminating the plants under the stairs. this is a turkish phenomenon: throughout the city there are green lights highlighting trees and plants. i don't know why, but they love it!

it's official! well, almost.

last week ben and i headed back to the police station to pick up my residence permit, having been told it would be ready by the 8th of october. this will serve as my official ID here in turkey, once my visitor's visa expires in november. of course, it's only valid for one year, so next year at this time i will have to go through the entire process all over again, and it's not a fun one!

when we arrived at the police station to pick it up, it was a bit hectic. the semseter has begun for all turkish universities which means that all international students have arrived... and all of them require residence permits. there were people of all different nationalities, none of whom seemed to know any turkish. they all looked pretty panicked, and again i was really grateful to have ben as my personal interpreter!

once we got up to the counter to give my name and ask for the permit, a police officer stepped forward and told the crowd that though we were told our permits would be ready, they were not. this was clearly a lie (as we had watched several others pick them up), and an attempt to be rid of the crowd. ben insisted mine was ready and luckily there was another officer willing to go back & check... mind you, they do not use an automated or electronic database for the permits, but instead they keep track with a giant book that the officers have to leaf through, looking for a picture that matches the face standing before them. if we had believed the first officer and accepted that the permit wasn't ready, it would have meant coming all the way back on another day, waiting in line all over again, etc. thankfully the kind & willing officer was able to locate my permit and we went on our way.

this is definitely one of those experiences you just have to chalk up to 'life in turkey... ONLY in turkey.'

a recap of the week

still no mac, but i figured i'd better blog anyway before i get too far behind with the updates. this week has gone by very quickly with lots going on.

on tuesday ben & i had dinner with kemal guruz and his wife, guniz. kemal is one of the founders of the turkish dual diploma programs, former head of the yok (higher education council of turkey), and a retired university president. let's just say, he's kind of a big deal. ben and i were delighted when he invited us to his home for dinner with his wife and another couple. it was a lovely evening. kemal's knowledge of the higher education system here, the DDP and each participating campuses is phenominal. it was certainly a critical learning experience for me. also, it was so great to be in such a warm & inviting home, with classical music playing in the background & delicious home cooked food (reminded me so much of being at home with the family). kemal's wife even cooked a peach pie for dessert, what a treat!

on wednesday night i went on an outing with the turkish-american association (taa). a woman named marlene who coordinates many of the taa's events had contacted me to find out if i'd be interested. ben and i both agreed this would be a good opportunity for me to do something on my own, and hopefully meet some people.

well of course it couldn't go off without a hitch: ben and i wound up leaving work a little late and running into traffic, so i missed the bus departure from the taa. luckily ben knows this city like the back of his hand and was able to speak with the bus driver & agree on a meeting spot. i wasn't sure what to expect as we waited on the side of a busy road for the bus to pull up, but i thought it would probably be about 10 people, mostly american women in their 30s or 40s (i don't know why, it just felt that way based on marlene's voice over the phone). instead, when the bus pulled up and the door opened, about 30 people of all different ages, mostly families and couples, greeted me with a loud 'hi katie!'. needless to say i was slightly embarrassed as i climbed aboard & fell back into the first available seat. but everyone quickly fell into their own conversations, and i was happy to spend the trip eavesdropping on the southern, british, and canadian accents.

this outing was to the neighborhood of kecioren, where they have built a massive castle on a very steep hill, complete with waterfalls, about 500 steps, and ozbeki restaurants up top. all of it seems to be made from marble (not as expensive in turkey, but certainly just as elegant). the evening started with dinner at a traditional ozbeki restaurant. these restaurants are in large tents that looked to be made of burlap. upon entering we had to remove our shoes, and we sat on the floor. the food was very similar to turkish cuisine, with various forms of lamb. about half way through a man dressed in what i assume was traditional garb came out and performed a number of dramatic songs for us.

after dinner we headed out to the castle, where the mayor of kecioren was waiting to give us a personal tour. he was clearly very proud of the castle. to me the castle seems an extravagant waste of money. on the tour we didn't see much besides a restaurant and 2 or 3 VIP lounges. oh, and there was a very small museum with artifacts that had no lables indicating where they were from or what the significance was. so we all wandered around & did our best ooh'ing and aah'ing to please the mayor and his entourage of body guards.

after the castle, the mayor handed us each a gift bag with magnets & postcards of his beloved castle. then we headed up the hill to the last stop of our tour, the cable car rides. as part of the castle they build gondolas which glide out over the suburb of kecioren. the ride was ok (we mostly looked out over the rooftops of houses), though we were all a bit nervous when the cable car started to vibrate loudly on the way back. the highlight for me was talking to the others in my cable car, learning that one woman was british, from leeds, but had lived in nyc for a long time. another woman who was with her baby boy & husband was from toronto. both women were with their turkish husbands who spoke fluent english and turkish, like ben. all in all it was a nice experience, and i think i might do it again.

last night ben's grandmother returned from germany. she'll be with us for about 2 more weeks before returning to australia, and i'm glad to have her back. tonight we'll take her out for a fish dinner to celebrate her arrival.

that's all for now...

long time, no post

since it's been a week since my last post, i figured i ought to write something today in case anyone is checking for an update. there is actually a good reason why it's been one week since my last post, and that is called a logic board. apparently, the logic board in my macbook is ill... or, possibly dead. i'm anxiuosly waiting for confirmation of this from the mac technician who has had it in their care for the past 2 days.

how, might you ask, could a 1.5 month-old macbook have any problems at all? well it could have something to do with the glass of water that was poured over it while we were on vacation last week. who would do such a thing? i don't want to mention any names here, but to give you a hint it begins with a B, ends with an N, and has an E in it. still not getting it? it also rhymes with hen. yeahhhh.

i hope to post more soon, from the macbook. fingers crossed.

bayram feast

to celebrate the end of ramazan & beginning of bayram, serhat's family hosts a special dinner for family & friends who are spending the holiday here at the rubi.  we attended this dinner the first time i visited turkey, two years ago, as well.  it's a wonderful celebration with live music, a feast & lots of raki (traditional turkish liquor).

the buffet

serhat & beril, our hosts.  

asli & mehmet, good friends who also traveled from ankara for the holiday
ben & i 

that's all i have to blog about for now, i will try to post some more before the end of the week.  for now i'm going to enjoy the breakfast that has yet again been prepared for us... sitting on the patio, overlooking the mediterranean on this beautiful morning.

ahhhhhlanya

we arrived late monday night to serhat & beril's beautiful home in alanya.  this is one shot of this amazing place (that's serhat).  serhat's family runs the rubi hotel, which is about 1 km from the house.  they spend the summer living & working here, and then return to ankara for the winter months.

tuesday morning ben & i awoke to the housekeeper and beril's sister preparing us breakfast.  all of the cuisine they prepared was typical of the black sea region of turkey... and of course it received my stamp of approval.
we ate on the back patio overlooking the med.  hard to believe this is their everyday life!  here's beril's sister, berat & her friend merve.

after breakfast we all put on our swimsuits & headed to the rubi for a day at the beach.  before jumping in, we took the elevator to the top of the hotel to pay a visit (and wish a happy bayram) to serhat's parents.  their home is on the roof of the hotel, overlooking paradise!

we spent a good part of the day swimming & then retired to the beach bar.  another important part of life in alanya (besides the food & beautiful scenery) is tavla & efes beer.  ben let me win one out of three games...  such a gentleman!