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 ; )