"What?" you ask, "I didn't think they were organized enough for that."
Well, they're not. But sure enough, I witnessed one today. So, story time:
Remember that dog that earned my life-long hatred for interrupting my sleep awhile back? The one who barked and whined all through the night and made it impossible for me (and approx 40 other families in the vicinity) to get any rest? Well, they've been keeping it indoors more often, but as the weather has gotten warmer and we've started opening windows at night, they've decided it'd be a good idea to let the dog out again. And it hasn't gone mute yet. (Really, if it was human, it would have lost its voice looooong ago. Can anyone explain that to me? How do dogs bark constantly for hours without losing any decibels, but if we try to yell for hours on end, we eventually go hoarse?)
So, I was hanging laundry outside today, the dog was out, and it must have seen something, a fly, a piece of trash, who knows, but it went nuts, barking, yipping, generally freaking out. A lady on a balcony in the building across from this dog tried shushing it, which didn't really work. Then, apparently, the owner made an appearance, because then it was her turn to go nuts. She was explaining (from what I gathered, my Turkish really does suck) that she has a baby who is sleeping, but the dog's barking wakes it up, and can the owner please make it shut up?! Well, he took offense, and they were off.
Less than 5 minutes later, Chris and I (I had to run inside and tell him to start popcorn and then look out the window, this was entertaining!) are watching and we see someone's head poke out of their window, then they see what's happening, that the dog owner is outside, and they come out on the balcony and start yelling too. This attracts more neighbors, who do the same. Before we know it, there are 6 different apartments' residents hollering, pointing, gesturing, and fist-pounding at the dog owner, who is hollering, pointing, gesturing, and fist-pounding in return. Then I hear the neighbors upstairs get in on the action. Then the ones below us. Then I see people from other buildings come out, and they join in.
I believe when I finally collapsed on the couch laughing hysterically, there were five buildings represented, a dozen accusers, one defendant and his son (everybody brought their children out to watch the fun), and one dog, which, with all the commotion, started barking...
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Life. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Things that Shock Us Every Time
Following in a similar vein to the post from a couple months ago when I detailed (in excruciating detail) the things that amused us in Turkey, this post will have some overlap, some areas which probably warrant their own post, and some things that you'll find boring. If you're not turned off yet, well, just wait :)
1. Turkish Driving
Now, I realize that I have whined and complained about this before. But I really do feel that it needs to be brought up again. I will try to be quick. First, I would never ever consider driving in the city here. I would kill/maim too many people/cats/numberous non-moving objects. Second, I believe in stopping at red lights. Doing so here is a great way to cause an accident. As is staying in 1 lane, not straddling the line. Third, I can't parallel park to save my life. Even in the US spots, which are generous enough for everyone's Hummer. Let alone the space only large enough to squeeze your car in and not leave enough room for people to walk beween bumper of either your car and the car in front of you, OR your car and the car behind you. I also am not a fan of double, let alone triple parking. Fourth, I would feel bad if I hit someone. Which I'm sure I would do. But I would also stop and feel incredibly guilty. Not keep driving without a second glance, figuring if they're in the road, they were asking for it. Even if it was a crosswalk. And they had the green light. And I had just run a red one (see reason number one above).
1. Turkish Driving
Now, I realize that I have whined and complained about this before. But I really do feel that it needs to be brought up again. I will try to be quick. First, I would never ever consider driving in the city here. I would kill/maim too many people/cats/numberous non-moving objects. Second, I believe in stopping at red lights. Doing so here is a great way to cause an accident. As is staying in 1 lane, not straddling the line. Third, I can't parallel park to save my life. Even in the US spots, which are generous enough for everyone's Hummer. Let alone the space only large enough to squeeze your car in and not leave enough room for people to walk beween bumper of either your car and the car in front of you, OR your car and the car behind you. I also am not a fan of double, let alone triple parking. Fourth, I would feel bad if I hit someone. Which I'm sure I would do. But I would also stop and feel incredibly guilty. Not keep driving without a second glance, figuring if they're in the road, they were asking for it. Even if it was a crosswalk. And they had the green light. And I had just run a red one (see reason number one above).
2. How many small family businesses there are
And how few large ones. Semis aren't really seen much around here, and I have been told that that is because there aren't that many large corporations that ship enough stuff to have need for semis. Things are changing gradually, and you are seeing more corporations coming in, like Kipa (owned by Tesco, a British company), Ikea (designer prices there, NOT the cheap place we're used to!), Marks & Spencer (another British company that is discount there, brand name here), etc. But for now, the clear majority of businesses are owned by a single family or a partnership.
3. How many of the SAME small businesses there are
Chris and I were walking along Betonyol the other day and were noticing, once again, how many of the same businesses there are. For example, our friend, Erol, owns a cell phone shop. In this shop he sells cell phones, refill cards for minutes on your phone, accessories, etc. When we (and I mean Chris) asked him the other day how business was going, he replied that he worked a lot, but still had no money. Çok iş, para yok. It's no wonder, considering there are 3 other cell phone shops exactly like his in a half mile stretch... The average street in Turkey is composed of apartments/flats on the upper floors, and businesses on the ground levels. These businesses will be eczane (drugstores), cell phone shops, bakal (convenience stores), bedding/furniture/appliance stores, and perhaps an electric or plumbing place, and some pide or döner restaurants. Thats about it. And they just repeat over and over again. All offering the same goods and services, but somehow they all manage to stay in business AND on good terms with each other. Quite remarkable.
4. How much Turks love children
In the US, if someone came up and starting touching your baby, most of you would instinctively jerk him/her away (or at least want to) and wonder what was going on with this person. When we board airplanes, we breathe a sigh of relief if that mother with the shrieking child walks past you toward the back of the plane (at least I do). Here, not at all. People get very happy when someone gets on a bus or ferry with a child, and they enjoy playing with the child, passing them around, etc. And the mothers like the fact that people are enjoying her baby. Along those same lines, if someone's child is misbehaving and the parents aren't looking, the neighborhood people feel free to yell at the naughty child, who actually pays attention and obeys!
Now, on the other hand, this also leads to children growing up pampered and being used to adults doing everything for them. Maturity tends to be delayed, and they don't have a concept about how to budget money, or even what things are worth. But enough on that, I'll save that rant for later.
5. How the country still functions despite complete unorganization and lack of preparation
Not for us. But Turks have perfected this art. This is one where I can't explain the concept, this is one that you must experience. But only if you have a lot of patience, or a lot of Xanax.
6. Fresh food and for cheap!
I know we've told you before about how cheap food is here. fresh baked bread: $.35, 4 lbs of fresh strawberries, $2.50, fresh farm tomatoes, 2 lbs, $.75. It gets ridiculous. And we're loving it! Although it sometimes saddens me to throw out chicken that is only 3 days old and has been refrigerated, I also know then that it didn't have a billion preservatives in it. And ground meat actually has a fresh flavor, probably because they grind it while you watch. You pick out which pieces of meat you want, and then they grind it for you. So none of that sneakiness of wrapping old, browned meat in freshly-ground red meat and selling it as fresh. Everything is so fresh, and because the growing season is so long, we've been eating fresh fruit and vegetables for a month now. Food is a beautiful thing.
7. Speaking of food, the lack of ethnic foods
For a country that is known as the country that connects the East and West, you'd think there'd be a lot of fusion restaurants, ethnic foods, etc, right? Wrong. Restaurant food here is very homogeneous, although very delicious as well. But all the same. You have your pide, kebap, lahmacun, çorba, mezes, börek, gözleme, köfte, and a few others, but to be honest, that's about it. Chris and I came up with our list of restaurants and foods we want when we come home. Frighteningly, we had the same ones. In the same order.
1. Indian food. Chicken Korma, then Butter Chicken, both with large amounts of naan and mango lassis.
2. Vitale's Pizza. With pork products.
3. Thai food. Pad Thai
4. Bonefish Grill, Bang Bang Shrimp
And after that, we don't care. Maybe we'll start back with number one again...
8. How expensive alcohol is
A bottle of Baileys is over 50TL, which is about $35. For one, regular-size bottle. Malibu Rum, which you can get for what, $10? Here, double that. I'm not exaggerating. A normal Chilean Sauvignon Blanc is 30Tl, or $20. (In the US, it'd be closer to $12-$15). Now, I'm sure you're thinking, "Well Barb, that's not THAT much more expensive..." but don't forget, the income here is much much less than in the US, so when you make something more expensive in the US, and then consider that a good income is around $1200 a month for a person, NOW you see why my eyebrows raise whenever I see the prices.
Which is why I've begun drinking beer. It's still gross, people, and I can't imagine actually WANTING to drink it, but so much more reasonably priced!
9. How expensive owning a car is
First, getting a car is expensive. Not so much the prices, but the taxes you have to pay on them. For Turks to get a car, the taxes in the price make a simple car about 2x-3x more expensive than in the US. If they want to pay US prices and import it, depending on engine size, they have to pay an import tax of up to 100% (maybe more, I can't remember, do you, Chris?) the value of the car. That isn't even including the shipping costs!
Then, taxes on the car. Holy crap.
Next, inspection is required every 2 years, I believe. On some larger cars, it's required every year. This is also not cheap.
Then we come to fuel. The average price here is around 3TL ($2). Not bad, right? Except that that is for a liter. Multiply that by 4, and you have the price per gallon. Ouch.
And did I mention there's no parking? Parking structures, or even lots, are very new developments here, and haven't made it to most areas. Meaning people park wherever they can, including sidewalks (where they exist). The city has started making curbs very high, planting trees, putting concrete posts or other decorative things on sidewalks to prevent people from parking on them.
And yet, because owning a car is a great status, a majority of people have one. And those who don't are saving for one.
10. Exactly how many people you can fit on a bus
A lot. Sardines have more room than we do sometimes on those buses. Often during rush hour, there is no need to hold on to anything, because we're packing in so tightly that you can't move, even to fall down. I've given away a lot of my personal space, and basically have no problem until I can't breathe because of all the people around me pressing in. Now think of this in summer, 100 degrees out, no AC on the bus, and very few baths taken that morning. I'm so glad we're coming home!!!!
If I've forgotten any, I'll try to add them later. For now, looking forward to seeing you all soon!
And how few large ones. Semis aren't really seen much around here, and I have been told that that is because there aren't that many large corporations that ship enough stuff to have need for semis. Things are changing gradually, and you are seeing more corporations coming in, like Kipa (owned by Tesco, a British company), Ikea (designer prices there, NOT the cheap place we're used to!), Marks & Spencer (another British company that is discount there, brand name here), etc. But for now, the clear majority of businesses are owned by a single family or a partnership.
3. How many of the SAME small businesses there are
Chris and I were walking along Betonyol the other day and were noticing, once again, how many of the same businesses there are. For example, our friend, Erol, owns a cell phone shop. In this shop he sells cell phones, refill cards for minutes on your phone, accessories, etc. When we (and I mean Chris) asked him the other day how business was going, he replied that he worked a lot, but still had no money. Çok iş, para yok. It's no wonder, considering there are 3 other cell phone shops exactly like his in a half mile stretch... The average street in Turkey is composed of apartments/flats on the upper floors, and businesses on the ground levels. These businesses will be eczane (drugstores), cell phone shops, bakal (convenience stores), bedding/furniture/appliance stores, and perhaps an electric or plumbing place, and some pide or döner restaurants. Thats about it. And they just repeat over and over again. All offering the same goods and services, but somehow they all manage to stay in business AND on good terms with each other. Quite remarkable.
4. How much Turks love children
In the US, if someone came up and starting touching your baby, most of you would instinctively jerk him/her away (or at least want to) and wonder what was going on with this person. When we board airplanes, we breathe a sigh of relief if that mother with the shrieking child walks past you toward the back of the plane (at least I do). Here, not at all. People get very happy when someone gets on a bus or ferry with a child, and they enjoy playing with the child, passing them around, etc. And the mothers like the fact that people are enjoying her baby. Along those same lines, if someone's child is misbehaving and the parents aren't looking, the neighborhood people feel free to yell at the naughty child, who actually pays attention and obeys!
Now, on the other hand, this also leads to children growing up pampered and being used to adults doing everything for them. Maturity tends to be delayed, and they don't have a concept about how to budget money, or even what things are worth. But enough on that, I'll save that rant for later.
5. How the country still functions despite complete unorganization and lack of preparation
Not for us. But Turks have perfected this art. This is one where I can't explain the concept, this is one that you must experience. But only if you have a lot of patience, or a lot of Xanax.
6. Fresh food and for cheap!
I know we've told you before about how cheap food is here. fresh baked bread: $.35, 4 lbs of fresh strawberries, $2.50, fresh farm tomatoes, 2 lbs, $.75. It gets ridiculous. And we're loving it! Although it sometimes saddens me to throw out chicken that is only 3 days old and has been refrigerated, I also know then that it didn't have a billion preservatives in it. And ground meat actually has a fresh flavor, probably because they grind it while you watch. You pick out which pieces of meat you want, and then they grind it for you. So none of that sneakiness of wrapping old, browned meat in freshly-ground red meat and selling it as fresh. Everything is so fresh, and because the growing season is so long, we've been eating fresh fruit and vegetables for a month now. Food is a beautiful thing.
7. Speaking of food, the lack of ethnic foods
For a country that is known as the country that connects the East and West, you'd think there'd be a lot of fusion restaurants, ethnic foods, etc, right? Wrong. Restaurant food here is very homogeneous, although very delicious as well. But all the same. You have your pide, kebap, lahmacun, çorba, mezes, börek, gözleme, köfte, and a few others, but to be honest, that's about it. Chris and I came up with our list of restaurants and foods we want when we come home. Frighteningly, we had the same ones. In the same order.
1. Indian food. Chicken Korma, then Butter Chicken, both with large amounts of naan and mango lassis.
2. Vitale's Pizza. With pork products.
3. Thai food. Pad Thai
4. Bonefish Grill, Bang Bang Shrimp
And after that, we don't care. Maybe we'll start back with number one again...
8. How expensive alcohol is
A bottle of Baileys is over 50TL, which is about $35. For one, regular-size bottle. Malibu Rum, which you can get for what, $10? Here, double that. I'm not exaggerating. A normal Chilean Sauvignon Blanc is 30Tl, or $20. (In the US, it'd be closer to $12-$15). Now, I'm sure you're thinking, "Well Barb, that's not THAT much more expensive..." but don't forget, the income here is much much less than in the US, so when you make something more expensive in the US, and then consider that a good income is around $1200 a month for a person, NOW you see why my eyebrows raise whenever I see the prices.
Which is why I've begun drinking beer. It's still gross, people, and I can't imagine actually WANTING to drink it, but so much more reasonably priced!
9. How expensive owning a car is
First, getting a car is expensive. Not so much the prices, but the taxes you have to pay on them. For Turks to get a car, the taxes in the price make a simple car about 2x-3x more expensive than in the US. If they want to pay US prices and import it, depending on engine size, they have to pay an import tax of up to 100% (maybe more, I can't remember, do you, Chris?) the value of the car. That isn't even including the shipping costs!
Then, taxes on the car. Holy crap.
Next, inspection is required every 2 years, I believe. On some larger cars, it's required every year. This is also not cheap.
Then we come to fuel. The average price here is around 3TL ($2). Not bad, right? Except that that is for a liter. Multiply that by 4, and you have the price per gallon. Ouch.
And did I mention there's no parking? Parking structures, or even lots, are very new developments here, and haven't made it to most areas. Meaning people park wherever they can, including sidewalks (where they exist). The city has started making curbs very high, planting trees, putting concrete posts or other decorative things on sidewalks to prevent people from parking on them.
And yet, because owning a car is a great status, a majority of people have one. And those who don't are saving for one.
10. Exactly how many people you can fit on a bus
A lot. Sardines have more room than we do sometimes on those buses. Often during rush hour, there is no need to hold on to anything, because we're packing in so tightly that you can't move, even to fall down. I've given away a lot of my personal space, and basically have no problem until I can't breathe because of all the people around me pressing in. Now think of this in summer, 100 degrees out, no AC on the bus, and very few baths taken that morning. I'm so glad we're coming home!!!!
If I've forgotten any, I'll try to add them later. For now, looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Odds and Ends
I love doing postings like this, since I can be unorganized and discombobulated without having to feel bad: it's in the nature of postings with a title like this.
So, first, I guess some reasonably big news: Chris and I have decided that when we come back to the US, it will be a little more permanent than just a visit. I know, I know, it wasn't too long ago that I told you all that we were staying overseas another year, but I like changing my mind. So here is the current plan (also subject to change, of course):
We will come back this summer. I will work part-time while I crank out my master's degree in Library Science. Chris will finance said degree (the usual MO for us). Not sure where we'll live during this time, pretty much wherever Chris gets a job (and that is warm, I have gotten used to Izmir weather!). My program is online, so I can do it anywhere. After getting my degree, and a job in which I have summers off, we will live off my income, bank Chris', and then in the summers, travel on his money for 1.5-2 months. This way, we don't have to deal with bureaucracy stuff like residence permits, work permits, sponsorship, health insurance, banking, buying furniture for apartments, etc. And we'll actually get to travel, instead of living overseas and working all the time (that was Chris this year, not me). So this is our plan. However, if things don't work with this plan, we're keeping our options open as far as living overseas again. Who knows.
Other news:
The weather is FREAKING awesome! Low- to mid-70s and sunny everyday. We have been opening our windows everyday for some fresh sea air, and waiting for buses is actually rather nice now. Getting ON said buses is a little less fun, since they're roasting and stinky with a billion people packed on, but the waiting is nice, and usually we spend more time waiting for the bus than actually on it. This weather also means my students have been canceling in droves. I have two consistent students now, and that's about it. Which actually works well, since I quit my job...This is my last week. Then it'll be on to packing and getting ready to come home. A task that is a lot easier moving TO the USA instead of out of it...
Traveling and Trips:
Yesterday we went out to Yeni Foça to visit our friend Alis. For a place that's only about 40 miles away, it certainly took us long enough to get there! (I'm really really looking forward to having a car again!) First, we needed to get to the Otogar, our nemesis location in Izmir. It's from the Otogar that buses leave for all over the country, anywhere you could possibly want to go. However, it is a little in the middle of nowhere. Only a few buses go there, and not frequently (every half hour), it's not within walking distance of a metro stop, and basically just not fun to get to. I may have whined about it after our first trip to Ephesus, when we paid like 40TL for a cab ride out there...
Anyways, so we wanted to take the 54 bus that would get us there, but since we have to take another bus to even get to the 54 bus stop, we missed it. So before we got to the Otogar, we had to take a bus, the metro, then a taxi, all to get on another bus. Whew! However, once we got there, oh my....
Beautiful, peaceful, calm, serene...the list of positive adjectives could go on and on. You've seen the pictures from Çeşme, right? Well, Yeni Foça looks a lot like that only less developed and far less pretentious. A little more our speed (except maybe the pretentious part :D ) Alis' parents have a place that has a great sea view and a wrap-around veranda, which we sat on while sipping drinks, talking, and relaxing in the sun. Her parents also prepared us a HUGE meal, so good! We had köfte, marinated chicken, baked potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, all on a charcoal grill, AND side dishes as well as dessert afterwards! My stomach hurt for HOURS later because of eating so much! We also went for a quick drive around the bay, and Chris took pictures. Maybe he'll post them.
Getting back was another experience. But 3 hours after we left Alis', we were back home! AND we caught the 54 bus :)
We're hoping to get to Cappadocia before we go, all depends on timing. Cappadocia is another place that's not the easiest to get to. No train going there, you kind of have to go by bus. Another trip to the Otogar in our future? But our list of places that we really want to see before we come home is much longer than the number of weekends that we have left. And many of these sites, Cappadocia included, need longer than a weekend, since it takes at least a day of traveling to get there. So if we go, we'll keep you updated.
I think that's about it, everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all in a couple months!
* hugs
So, first, I guess some reasonably big news: Chris and I have decided that when we come back to the US, it will be a little more permanent than just a visit. I know, I know, it wasn't too long ago that I told you all that we were staying overseas another year, but I like changing my mind. So here is the current plan (also subject to change, of course):
We will come back this summer. I will work part-time while I crank out my master's degree in Library Science. Chris will finance said degree (the usual MO for us). Not sure where we'll live during this time, pretty much wherever Chris gets a job (and that is warm, I have gotten used to Izmir weather!). My program is online, so I can do it anywhere. After getting my degree, and a job in which I have summers off, we will live off my income, bank Chris', and then in the summers, travel on his money for 1.5-2 months. This way, we don't have to deal with bureaucracy stuff like residence permits, work permits, sponsorship, health insurance, banking, buying furniture for apartments, etc. And we'll actually get to travel, instead of living overseas and working all the time (that was Chris this year, not me). So this is our plan. However, if things don't work with this plan, we're keeping our options open as far as living overseas again. Who knows.
Other news:
The weather is FREAKING awesome! Low- to mid-70s and sunny everyday. We have been opening our windows everyday for some fresh sea air, and waiting for buses is actually rather nice now. Getting ON said buses is a little less fun, since they're roasting and stinky with a billion people packed on, but the waiting is nice, and usually we spend more time waiting for the bus than actually on it. This weather also means my students have been canceling in droves. I have two consistent students now, and that's about it. Which actually works well, since I quit my job...This is my last week. Then it'll be on to packing and getting ready to come home. A task that is a lot easier moving TO the USA instead of out of it...
Traveling and Trips:
Yesterday we went out to Yeni Foça to visit our friend Alis. For a place that's only about 40 miles away, it certainly took us long enough to get there! (I'm really really looking forward to having a car again!) First, we needed to get to the Otogar, our nemesis location in Izmir. It's from the Otogar that buses leave for all over the country, anywhere you could possibly want to go. However, it is a little in the middle of nowhere. Only a few buses go there, and not frequently (every half hour), it's not within walking distance of a metro stop, and basically just not fun to get to. I may have whined about it after our first trip to Ephesus, when we paid like 40TL for a cab ride out there...
Anyways, so we wanted to take the 54 bus that would get us there, but since we have to take another bus to even get to the 54 bus stop, we missed it. So before we got to the Otogar, we had to take a bus, the metro, then a taxi, all to get on another bus. Whew! However, once we got there, oh my....
Beautiful, peaceful, calm, serene...the list of positive adjectives could go on and on. You've seen the pictures from Çeşme, right? Well, Yeni Foça looks a lot like that only less developed and far less pretentious. A little more our speed (except maybe the pretentious part :D ) Alis' parents have a place that has a great sea view and a wrap-around veranda, which we sat on while sipping drinks, talking, and relaxing in the sun. Her parents also prepared us a HUGE meal, so good! We had köfte, marinated chicken, baked potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant, all on a charcoal grill, AND side dishes as well as dessert afterwards! My stomach hurt for HOURS later because of eating so much! We also went for a quick drive around the bay, and Chris took pictures. Maybe he'll post them.
Getting back was another experience. But 3 hours after we left Alis', we were back home! AND we caught the 54 bus :)
We're hoping to get to Cappadocia before we go, all depends on timing. Cappadocia is another place that's not the easiest to get to. No train going there, you kind of have to go by bus. Another trip to the Otogar in our future? But our list of places that we really want to see before we come home is much longer than the number of weekends that we have left. And many of these sites, Cappadocia included, need longer than a weekend, since it takes at least a day of traveling to get there. So if we go, we'll keep you updated.
I think that's about it, everyone! Looking forward to seeing you all in a couple months!
* hugs
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
African Encounter
I thought for once that I'd write something on the blog and give Barb a break.
Anyway, we've now seen the sands of North Africa. We didn't visit Africa, however. It visited us.
I got out of work on Monday and noticed that the cars all had mud sprinkled on them. It had been raining, and I figured a bus had driven by and gone through a mud puddle or something. Then I noticed that ALL the cars were covered with mud. Then I noticed that it was still sprinkling rain, and that my coat was flecked with mud, too.
Apparently on a fairly frequent basis, there are big sand storms in North Africa and the Middle East and the clouds of sand make their way around the entire Mediterranean. So when it rains, the sand comes down in the raindrops. It literally rains mud. You learn something new every day.
Anyway, we've now seen the sands of North Africa. We didn't visit Africa, however. It visited us.
I got out of work on Monday and noticed that the cars all had mud sprinkled on them. It had been raining, and I figured a bus had driven by and gone through a mud puddle or something. Then I noticed that ALL the cars were covered with mud. Then I noticed that it was still sprinkling rain, and that my coat was flecked with mud, too.
Apparently on a fairly frequent basis, there are big sand storms in North Africa and the Middle East and the clouds of sand make their way around the entire Mediterranean. So when it rains, the sand comes down in the raindrops. It literally rains mud. You learn something new every day.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Things That Make Us Giggle Every Time
A. Thunderstorms and car alarms:
So we had a thunderstorm Thursday night, a really loud one. Each time there was a clap of thunder, two car alarms would go off, pretty much only until the thunderclap was finished, then they'd quiet down. As soon as we got another clap, the alarms would go off again. It could have been annoying, but I think we were so overtired that it was just funny.
B. "Fashion," especially women's fashion:
I will try to get pictures to back up my statements/accusations on here. But it won't be easy because usually by the time I've finished gawking and asking Chris, "Did you SEE that?!" the object of my incredulous staring has disappeared. I will describe some recent sitings:
1) Chris saw this and wants to offer all of you ladies back home some advice- animal print, especially leopard, does NOT work on stockings! Instead of looking sexy, you simply appear to have a skin disease.
2) Never mix animal prints or mix colors of the same animal print. Please. Tiger stripes on a shirt do not go with giraffe patches on the jacket and leopard spots on the purse, nor do black and white tiger striped pants go with brown and gold tiger stripes on the shirt.
3) Unless you're a bird, you should not wear feathered headbands with feathers that stick up like a Native American headdress.
4) Unless you don't plan on sitting down for the entire night, sequined pants don't really make much sense. But they are fun to laugh at, so continue wearing them for people like me.
5) If you're over 25, you shouldn't have pink, purple, green, or blue streaks in your hair. And if you are over 25 and wearing a business suit while simultaneously sporting those streaks, don't be surprised when you hear snickers in your wake.
6) Actually, if you're over 25, you shouldn't wear backless shirts (75 year old with leather for skin, I'm talking to you!), skinny jeans, pigtails, or micro-mini skirts outside of clubs (and maybe not even then...)
7) If you dye your hair bleach blond from dark brown or black, PLEASE, PLEASE, continue to dye your roots!! You already look silly enough with that shade of hair, having 6 inches of roots showing isn't helping your image. Especially if those roots are salt and pepper colored.
8) Easy on the pink blusher...
9) Guys, easy on the hair gel. A little goes a long way.
10) And for heaven's sake, please leave the man-purses at home! Chris is pestering me to let HIM get one! (He's just kidding...I think.)
C. Alcohol Selection
"If you want beer, you may have Efes. I hope you like Efes, because it is the default beer in Turkey. If you're lucky we may have some Tuborg. Enjoy your beer.
Oh, you want wine! Well, would you like red or white? What do you mean, what kind of red? There is red wine. You know, kırmızı şarap? Well, if you want SELECTION, go to a store!"
"Hello, welcome! What can I get you? Wine you say? Well, I have a small selection. Only the supermarkets have bigger selections and the ones close to you close at 9 PM. I have 3 varieties, all for 6TL (that's about $4) or under! Which can I get you? OF COURSE it is undrinkably bad! It's 6TL !!!! What do you expect?!"
D. Asking a question and expecting a useful response:
This used to annoy us. Now we just don't ask questions, or, if we can't avoid it, we ask as many people as possible and see if there are ANY answers that are the same. We'll go with that answer. You see, it's an embarassment to admit that they don't know something, so even if they don't have a clue, they will make something up as an answer. This is problematic when we're asking for directions. One person says, "Yes, go down this street 5 min," while another person says, "No, you are going the wrong way," while still another says that our destination is a 15 min walk in a third direction. That is assuming, of course, that we can understand them.
Asking yes/no questions has it's own issue: people never just say yes or no. They launch into a whole story, which I can't understand, and when I explain that I don't understand because my Turkish is non-existent (literally, Turkçem yok = my Turkish doesn't exist), they seem confused as to how they are supposed to communicate with me if they can't tell a story. Just "evet" or "hayır" will do, sir.
Bus drivers have their own language. Even Turks have no idea how to communicate or understand bus drivers.
E. "Five minutes"
This means anywhere from two minutes (not often) to 25+ (frequently). Literally. Other numbers are a little more accurate, but if an Izmir Turk tells you "five minutes," plan on waiting for awhile. Pull up a chair, order a tea, and relax.
I'm sure I'll come up with more. Hopefully this will just be Part I of many such posts.
I'm sure I'll come up with more. Hopefully this will just be Part I of many such posts.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Brrrrr!
You know you're from Michigan when your clothes freeze on the clothesline.
Oh wait, that can be in Turkey too. Yes, it's THAT cold here. Not quite what I signed up for. I guess we have to pay for our awesome weather in December and the first half of January though, don't we. Thankfully, Chris bought a space heater for the bedroom, so we're not freezing at night anymore. Last night when he went in to plug it in, the thermometer said it was 57 degrees in there! And that was only in the evening! So yeah, I'm very happy to get another source of heat. Hate to think about the electricity bill, but love to be warm!
On the bug front, things are progressing. We actually saw one so we know for sure that's what we're dealing with. We also haven't seen much evidence of migration outside the bedroom, which makes my life much easier. (I was dreading taking down ALL the drapes and washing them every 3rd day, especially since you all know how close together the buildings are here. And curtains are good insulation.) We've been spraying Raid for all we're worth and *knocking on wood* have only gotten a few new bites. YAY!!! Doing laundry is really getting old though.
On the work front (I guess I'm covering our lives in this post, sorry if it's boring), Chris is beginning his new seven-week module today. He has level C, which is pre-intermediate. Basically the level of students he just finished up with. He is teaching skills, which means instead of planning 20 hours of lessons and teaching them once to the same class, he will plan 6 hours of lessons and teach them to three classes. So that should make his life a lot easier. That is our hope anyways. My students are on their two week semester break, so I'm basically out of a job for 2 weeks. I have a whopping 4.5 hours scheduled for this week. Not sure if I can handle that heavy of a workload. I may have to speak to my boss about it... :) Things will change a bit for me after the break though. First, I will be on contract, so there will be steady income each week. (Then all the slacker students who don't show up don't cost me money!) I will also be working for ten hours per week in a school, teaching the teachers there how to teach TOEFL. (Say that five times really fast.) So that will be a new challenge, since I've only been teaching TOEFL for six months. Ah well, fake it til I make it. Or just fake it and forget about making it.
I received the sad news from one of my very good friends that she is deserting me for Istanbul. Although I am incredibly happy for her ( I mean, what kind of crap friend would I be if I wasn't?!), I also am VERY sad to see her go, and a little jealous of all the delicious food she gets to eat there. Istanbul has such exotic dishes as Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Mexican. And you KNOW she will call to rub it in a little. (I wouldn't be friends with someone who wouldn't do such a thing, since it would make me look bad when I did it.) So she will be moving next month or in March, and I think all the friends here will miss her. We love you, Jaime! And keep blogging so I can steal your posts again.
Well, I hear my washer spinning out. If I want our blanket for tonight, as well as sheets and pillows, I should probably go take care of that. Hope you all are doing well and staying warm! We miss you and July can't come soon enough (for several reasons)!
Oh wait, that can be in Turkey too. Yes, it's THAT cold here. Not quite what I signed up for. I guess we have to pay for our awesome weather in December and the first half of January though, don't we. Thankfully, Chris bought a space heater for the bedroom, so we're not freezing at night anymore. Last night when he went in to plug it in, the thermometer said it was 57 degrees in there! And that was only in the evening! So yeah, I'm very happy to get another source of heat. Hate to think about the electricity bill, but love to be warm!
On the bug front, things are progressing. We actually saw one so we know for sure that's what we're dealing with. We also haven't seen much evidence of migration outside the bedroom, which makes my life much easier. (I was dreading taking down ALL the drapes and washing them every 3rd day, especially since you all know how close together the buildings are here. And curtains are good insulation.) We've been spraying Raid for all we're worth and *knocking on wood* have only gotten a few new bites. YAY!!! Doing laundry is really getting old though.
On the work front (I guess I'm covering our lives in this post, sorry if it's boring), Chris is beginning his new seven-week module today. He has level C, which is pre-intermediate. Basically the level of students he just finished up with. He is teaching skills, which means instead of planning 20 hours of lessons and teaching them once to the same class, he will plan 6 hours of lessons and teach them to three classes. So that should make his life a lot easier. That is our hope anyways. My students are on their two week semester break, so I'm basically out of a job for 2 weeks. I have a whopping 4.5 hours scheduled for this week. Not sure if I can handle that heavy of a workload. I may have to speak to my boss about it... :) Things will change a bit for me after the break though. First, I will be on contract, so there will be steady income each week. (Then all the slacker students who don't show up don't cost me money!) I will also be working for ten hours per week in a school, teaching the teachers there how to teach TOEFL. (Say that five times really fast.) So that will be a new challenge, since I've only been teaching TOEFL for six months. Ah well, fake it til I make it. Or just fake it and forget about making it.
I received the sad news from one of my very good friends that she is deserting me for Istanbul. Although I am incredibly happy for her ( I mean, what kind of crap friend would I be if I wasn't?!), I also am VERY sad to see her go, and a little jealous of all the delicious food she gets to eat there. Istanbul has such exotic dishes as Indian, Thai, Chinese, and Mexican. And you KNOW she will call to rub it in a little. (I wouldn't be friends with someone who wouldn't do such a thing, since it would make me look bad when I did it.) So she will be moving next month or in March, and I think all the friends here will miss her. We love you, Jaime! And keep blogging so I can steal your posts again.
Well, I hear my washer spinning out. If I want our blanket for tonight, as well as sheets and pillows, I should probably go take care of that. Hope you all are doing well and staying warm! We miss you and July can't come soon enough (for several reasons)!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
EWWWWWWW!!!!
Bed bugs!
Yes, that's right. And while the logical left side of my brain says that this could just as easily happen in the USA, that there are exterminators in Turkey, and that it's not that bad (at least it will make a good story, right?), the emotional right brain has been screaming with disgust for about 2 days, drowning out all logic. Researching on the internet isn't helping matters, since mostly what we read either (a) grosses me out further- they LIVE in my mattress, and only come up a couple hours before dawn to crawl over me and bite- (GROSS!!!! EEEEW, I itch just thinking about it, and the couch looks so good), or (b) focus on how hard it is to get rid of them, with the only option really being an exterminator, and even then, not an easy (i.e. cheap) task. Great. For those of you who are wondering, simply washing the linens doesn't work (it has nothing to do with being dirty, you all know my housekeeping isn't THAT bad!), nor does replacing the mattress. We need chemicals, people!
So how did we acquire these new little pets, you ask? (I requested a kitten or a puppy, not bugs!!!) GREAT question. We have no idea. We haven't been to a sketchy hotel lately (Pammukale was a while ago, people, I've already thought about it), we haven't had friends over or stayed at anyone's house, we don't have pets, nor wild animals roaming in our apartment... All I know is that two days ago, I went to bed fine, and woke up scratching. Yesterday I had new bites to scratch, and today I have even more souvenirs. Lucky girl, I know. You're all writhing with jealousy, aren't you. Or are you squirming because you're imagining being bitten by bugs while you sleep?
So if anyone comments, PLEASE don't tell me stories that (a) will further gross me out or (b) detail how hard it is to get rid of them. A little sympathy and comfort for my whining would be good. That and a care package of calamine lotion...
Yes, that's right. And while the logical left side of my brain says that this could just as easily happen in the USA, that there are exterminators in Turkey, and that it's not that bad (at least it will make a good story, right?), the emotional right brain has been screaming with disgust for about 2 days, drowning out all logic. Researching on the internet isn't helping matters, since mostly what we read either (a) grosses me out further- they LIVE in my mattress, and only come up a couple hours before dawn to crawl over me and bite- (GROSS!!!! EEEEW, I itch just thinking about it, and the couch looks so good), or (b) focus on how hard it is to get rid of them, with the only option really being an exterminator, and even then, not an easy (i.e. cheap) task. Great. For those of you who are wondering, simply washing the linens doesn't work (it has nothing to do with being dirty, you all know my housekeeping isn't THAT bad!), nor does replacing the mattress. We need chemicals, people!
So how did we acquire these new little pets, you ask? (I requested a kitten or a puppy, not bugs!!!) GREAT question. We have no idea. We haven't been to a sketchy hotel lately (Pammukale was a while ago, people, I've already thought about it), we haven't had friends over or stayed at anyone's house, we don't have pets, nor wild animals roaming in our apartment... All I know is that two days ago, I went to bed fine, and woke up scratching. Yesterday I had new bites to scratch, and today I have even more souvenirs. Lucky girl, I know. You're all writhing with jealousy, aren't you. Or are you squirming because you're imagining being bitten by bugs while you sleep?
So if anyone comments, PLEASE don't tell me stories that (a) will further gross me out or (b) detail how hard it is to get rid of them. A little sympathy and comfort for my whining would be good. That and a care package of calamine lotion...
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Hoş geldiniz, 2010!
Chris and I were talking the other night, and we both agreed that although 2009 was fun, we really do hope that 2010 is a little less...surprising. Although I am sure that I will never regret this experience, the act of giving up my home, "career," car, and stuff to travel to Asia and live there is something that I think I need some recovery time from before I do it again.
We had an extraordinarily low-key New Years, as is our usual MO. My students all canceled, so I had the day free, but Chris had to work. When he got home we ate, and then watched a movie. Now, I had been pestering him for awhile to watch "Cleopatra" with a young Elizabeth Taylor. I just don't see the fascination with the old lady, and I wanted to see what everyone was so obsessed about. Four painful hours later, I was still wondering...
It did serve to pass the time until 11:45PM though. We turned on our TV to try and find the Turkish version of Ryan Seacrest (Chris swears he's out there! Scary) and instead stumbled upon probably the biggest train-wreck of a New Years Eve show I've ever seen. Although I will try hard to make this believable, let me assure you all that I was having a hard time believing my eyes.
There were 3 hosts. The first was a singer. Although she was quite pretty, her fashion sense was a disaster. First, imagine a gown that is knee-length in the front, and floor length in the back. Now color it magenta (that's bright pink for you men out there). Now add feathers to the back. And her wrists. Within the feathers on her wrists are huge, thick diamond cuffs. So it looks like the feathers got caught there. She also has a matching necklace, although perhaps a more appropriate term would be neck-and-shoulders-lace; oh yes, it was so wide it went from around her neck to draping over her shoulders. And as Turkish women are wont, waaaaay too much blush. So that was her.
The next host was a man who was probably about 70 years old. His hair was dyed jet black, however, which just looked weird, but did match his suit. He had a huge mustache, and was trying very hard to make this a serious show. When he sang, he sort of bobbed around (dancing?) and every once in a while, did a shimmy that just served to look like he was possessed.
The third host was a younger guy who looked surly. I don't think he smiled once.
During the course of the show, feathers were lost, there was a dog on the stage, a cake with sparkler candles, an audience full of old, extremely drunk ladies, audience members on stage dancing, certain audience members hustled off the stage by the older host after they didn't dance well enough (the good (and hot and young) dancers were left alone). But the best part? 11:58, they went to commercial! And Turkish TV doesn't do short commercial breaks, I think the shortest I've seen is 10 minutes. So somewhere between an add for Ayran and an add for chocolate, 2010 was rung in. A ship in the harbor blew its horn, which is how we knew when to clink glasses and smooch.
We opened our windows to watch fireworks. This was partly because we found it so cool that it was warm enough to leave the windows open, and partly because I still haven't washed the windows, so in order to actually SEE the fireworks, we kind of needed them open. We were able to see fireworks all around Izmir, all around the bay. Absolutely beautiful.
So that was our New Year's Eve in Turkey. Low key, but just like we like it. We both hope that this year is as fun and exciting as last year, although perhaps a little less dramatic. We also hope that all of our friends and family have a blessed year in 2010. And that someone will come and visit us. :D
Love you and miss you all!
We had an extraordinarily low-key New Years, as is our usual MO. My students all canceled, so I had the day free, but Chris had to work. When he got home we ate, and then watched a movie. Now, I had been pestering him for awhile to watch "Cleopatra" with a young Elizabeth Taylor. I just don't see the fascination with the old lady, and I wanted to see what everyone was so obsessed about. Four painful hours later, I was still wondering...
It did serve to pass the time until 11:45PM though. We turned on our TV to try and find the Turkish version of Ryan Seacrest (Chris swears he's out there! Scary) and instead stumbled upon probably the biggest train-wreck of a New Years Eve show I've ever seen. Although I will try hard to make this believable, let me assure you all that I was having a hard time believing my eyes.
There were 3 hosts. The first was a singer. Although she was quite pretty, her fashion sense was a disaster. First, imagine a gown that is knee-length in the front, and floor length in the back. Now color it magenta (that's bright pink for you men out there). Now add feathers to the back. And her wrists. Within the feathers on her wrists are huge, thick diamond cuffs. So it looks like the feathers got caught there. She also has a matching necklace, although perhaps a more appropriate term would be neck-and-shoulders-lace; oh yes, it was so wide it went from around her neck to draping over her shoulders. And as Turkish women are wont, waaaaay too much blush. So that was her.
The next host was a man who was probably about 70 years old. His hair was dyed jet black, however, which just looked weird, but did match his suit. He had a huge mustache, and was trying very hard to make this a serious show. When he sang, he sort of bobbed around (dancing?) and every once in a while, did a shimmy that just served to look like he was possessed.
The third host was a younger guy who looked surly. I don't think he smiled once.
During the course of the show, feathers were lost, there was a dog on the stage, a cake with sparkler candles, an audience full of old, extremely drunk ladies, audience members on stage dancing, certain audience members hustled off the stage by the older host after they didn't dance well enough (the good (and hot and young) dancers were left alone). But the best part? 11:58, they went to commercial! And Turkish TV doesn't do short commercial breaks, I think the shortest I've seen is 10 minutes. So somewhere between an add for Ayran and an add for chocolate, 2010 was rung in. A ship in the harbor blew its horn, which is how we knew when to clink glasses and smooch.
We opened our windows to watch fireworks. This was partly because we found it so cool that it was warm enough to leave the windows open, and partly because I still haven't washed the windows, so in order to actually SEE the fireworks, we kind of needed them open. We were able to see fireworks all around Izmir, all around the bay. Absolutely beautiful.
So that was our New Year's Eve in Turkey. Low key, but just like we like it. We both hope that this year is as fun and exciting as last year, although perhaps a little less dramatic. We also hope that all of our friends and family have a blessed year in 2010. And that someone will come and visit us. :D
Love you and miss you all!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Home Sweet Home
Here is a video that my awesome wife made of our apartment. Sorry this has been so long in coming; I know we've been promising it to people basically since we moved in. But this was the first time the apartment was clean enough to be deemed video-worthy.
Theoretically, we'll add some more videos showing more of our neighborhood. Don't hold your breath, though. I'd estimate another 4 months.
Btw, once you follow this link, there is a link in the upper right-hand corner that says "View HQ video" if you have a fast connection and want to see it in higher resolution.
Theoretically, we'll add some more videos showing more of our neighborhood. Don't hold your breath, though. I'd estimate another 4 months.
Btw, once you follow this link, there is a link in the upper right-hand corner that says "View HQ video" if you have a fast connection and want to see it in higher resolution.
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| From Videos |
Monday, December 28, 2009
Genius
I heard a quote that I have loved ever since- "Smart people copy. True geniuses steal." So in keeping with that spirit, I'm stealing my good friend Jaime's posts from her blog. They are similar experiences to mine, only she writes about them much better than I could. And she notices the little day-to-day silliness that I giggle about and then promptly forget to tell you all about. So here it goes. By the way, if you want to read more of her blog, you can find it @ http://jmillerrapp.blogspot.com/. Happy Reading!
Gevrek Geliyor (or, The Bagel is coming)
I've heard him many times before. Walking around the neighborhood, hollering something to draw attention. And despite his daily tour and incessant wailing, I could never understand what he was saying--is he collecting junk? talking about vegetables?--until yesterday. I left the house at 8:28, still in a fog of sleep. As I stepped onto the sidewalk, a teenager sauntered by with a tray of gevreks (the Turkish equivalent of the bagel--only waaaay cheaper and more common and CAKED in sesame seeds) resting on his head.
He hadn't finished his first holler before I recognized him. It's you! You're the one disturbing the neighborhood's peace. Every. Day. At about 8 am. I sped up, wanting to evade his path. When I was a mere meter in front of him, I could sense an immanent holler. The air behind him was sucked into his massive lungs and experienced a momentary vaccuum right before he wailed.
"Sicak gevrek." (Hot gevrek.)
God it was loud. Sort of sing-songy but unappreciated since I was still technically asleep. My hollerer kept hollering.
"Gevrek geliyor!" (The gevrek is coming!) I walked faster, joining the few other people heading to work. No one looked particularly excited about the hot, coming gevreks, let alone rush over to him to buy their own piping hot gevrek before all the gevreks are gone. In fact...
"Sicak gevrek... bir lira... Gevrek geliyor!" (Hot gevrek... 1 lira... the gevrek is coming!)
... Everyone else was ignoring him, too, rushing away, trying to avoid the blast of sound emanating from his fit, soon-to-be-man lungs. He should still have been in school. Maybe he's practicing to be an imam, I wryly considered. He could do the call to prayer without the frigging megaphone broadcasting to the neighborhood.
I kept my pace up. After awhile, he stopped hollering about the gevreks being hot and simply kept repeating that the gevrek was coming.
Eventually The Hollerer must stop and set up his tray somewhere like all the other gevrek vendors. God only knows where he stops, but he uses my neighborhood as part of his route to the eventual resting point. It's a trade-off: Would I want him anchored to my corner, hollering all day, or would I be happier with his current morning route? I don't know but I'm just glad it's not me doing the hollering.
A truck rolls slowly down the street. The driver is on a loudspeaker blasting: "Fresh tomatoes--one kilo for one lira." The message ricochets off the tall walls created in the corridor of apartment buildings lining Mithat Paşa Street. His son stands in the bed of the truck, yelling a similar message at a lower volume.
The truck--laden with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers--stops midway between the two small grocery stores in front of my flat. The driver gets out, stands in the street and hollers about his tomatoes again.
Women in the flat directly above the truck start to notice. A couple poke their heads out of windows and lean off of balconies, craning their necks to see the produce. One on the sixth floor confirms the price with the driver and disappears into her flat, only to emerge a few moments later on the street to buy.
A head appears in a second floor window; her friend from the sixth floor buys her tomatoes for her.
The driver, as he looks around at the tall flats and balconies, notices me peering down at him. He hollers about tomatoes at me, but I sink back in my chair, out of his line of sight. Thankfully I didn't have my camera out right then when he looked at me. What a yobancı...
No one else comes to buy and he climbs back into the cab, his son braces himself against the truck walls and they continue their crawl down Mithat Paşa.
This kind of thing happens regularly in İzmir. Farmers with local, fresh produce park their truck--often in the street--and set up temporary shop. I can't imagine that local manavs (green grocers) are happy about this, but what can they do?!
Maybe I never lived in a big-enough city in the States, but this approach to food is entirely new to me. I think that there would be all sorts of red tape stopping my farmer and his son from selling their veggies on the street: no business permit; health and cleanliness standards that someone in a white coat would be willing to quibble about; disturbing the peace with all that hollering.
Then there's the moving traffic violation of his son enjoying the morning sun in the back of the truck... Not to mention the crime of selling tomatoes for so absurdly cheap: At today's exchange with the American dollar, that's 32 cents a pound for fresh, farm-picked tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes. Beat that Monsanto.
Domates--Bir Kilo, Bir Lira
I am living the life: sitting on my balcony in a light breeze, drinking my morning Nescafe and eating my muffin, watching the waves a few hundred meters away.A truck rolls slowly down the street. The driver is on a loudspeaker blasting: "Fresh tomatoes--one kilo for one lira." The message ricochets off the tall walls created in the corridor of apartment buildings lining Mithat Paşa Street. His son stands in the bed of the truck, yelling a similar message at a lower volume.
The truck--laden with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers--stops midway between the two small grocery stores in front of my flat. The driver gets out, stands in the street and hollers about his tomatoes again.
Women in the flat directly above the truck start to notice. A couple poke their heads out of windows and lean off of balconies, craning their necks to see the produce. One on the sixth floor confirms the price with the driver and disappears into her flat, only to emerge a few moments later on the street to buy.
A head appears in a second floor window; her friend from the sixth floor buys her tomatoes for her.
The driver, as he looks around at the tall flats and balconies, notices me peering down at him. He hollers about tomatoes at me, but I sink back in my chair, out of his line of sight. Thankfully I didn't have my camera out right then when he looked at me. What a yobancı...
No one else comes to buy and he climbs back into the cab, his son braces himself against the truck walls and they continue their crawl down Mithat Paşa.
This kind of thing happens regularly in İzmir. Farmers with local, fresh produce park their truck--often in the street--and set up temporary shop. I can't imagine that local manavs (green grocers) are happy about this, but what can they do?!
Maybe I never lived in a big-enough city in the States, but this approach to food is entirely new to me. I think that there would be all sorts of red tape stopping my farmer and his son from selling their veggies on the street: no business permit; health and cleanliness standards that someone in a white coat would be willing to quibble about; disturbing the peace with all that hollering.
Then there's the moving traffic violation of his son enjoying the morning sun in the back of the truck... Not to mention the crime of selling tomatoes for so absurdly cheap: At today's exchange with the American dollar, that's 32 cents a pound for fresh, farm-picked tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes. Beat that Monsanto.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I hope you all are having/had a great day! Chris and I really enjoyed ours!
My first Christmas abroad was remarkably like being home! I made cookies last night, woke up this morning and went over to our friend Nesta's house. She had cooked a feast for us! We had pork (a beautiful, beautiful thing, forbidden pork...) that she had gotten when she was in Greece, potatoes, candied carrots, fried mushrooms, apricot dumplings, with gravy all over it. Absolutely divine! For dessert (it's not Christmas without dessert!), she made us a New Zealand special dessert, which is basically a homemade marshmellow cake, baked until it's crispy on the outside, but still marshmellow-y and soft on the inside. Smother it in whipped cream and put some kiwi on top, and you're set! The rest of the afternoon was spent in a food coma. Absolutely wonderful.
Tomorrow we're meeting one of our new friends. I was in Starbucks the other day, heard English being spoken, and almost got whiplash when I tried to see who it was. I introduced myself, and found out that he is from South Carolina, is here doing logistics for the military, and his wife is visiting him for the holidays. Since she likes shopping as much as I do from the sounds of it, I suggested we meet up sometime soon. :) Later we will go to our friends' Roxana and Ata's house for a Christmas party. It's strange that it is beginning to feel like Christmas only now. I have another week to enjoy it though, since in Turkey, Christmas is celebrated as New Year, complete with the "New Year tree," "New Year Santa," and gifts. So I kind of get Christmas twice. I love this tradition. (And Chris loves Turkey because he doesn't have to deal with any Christmas!)
I have managed to get Chris' cold. I'm not going to complain too much though, since, as he pointed out, I've avoided being sick for many months when he has been nothing but sick. It's just a cold, and I'm sure with all the great American medicine that he brought back I'll be fine soon. We're going to have to invest in gallons of Nyquil though...
So tomorrow it's back to work for us, although a short day. It's been a wonderful day for us, and we do hope you all have enjoyed it as well. Miss you and we are thinking of all of you, especially today.
My first Christmas abroad was remarkably like being home! I made cookies last night, woke up this morning and went over to our friend Nesta's house. She had cooked a feast for us! We had pork (a beautiful, beautiful thing, forbidden pork...) that she had gotten when she was in Greece, potatoes, candied carrots, fried mushrooms, apricot dumplings, with gravy all over it. Absolutely divine! For dessert (it's not Christmas without dessert!), she made us a New Zealand special dessert, which is basically a homemade marshmellow cake, baked until it's crispy on the outside, but still marshmellow-y and soft on the inside. Smother it in whipped cream and put some kiwi on top, and you're set! The rest of the afternoon was spent in a food coma. Absolutely wonderful.
Tomorrow we're meeting one of our new friends. I was in Starbucks the other day, heard English being spoken, and almost got whiplash when I tried to see who it was. I introduced myself, and found out that he is from South Carolina, is here doing logistics for the military, and his wife is visiting him for the holidays. Since she likes shopping as much as I do from the sounds of it, I suggested we meet up sometime soon. :) Later we will go to our friends' Roxana and Ata's house for a Christmas party. It's strange that it is beginning to feel like Christmas only now. I have another week to enjoy it though, since in Turkey, Christmas is celebrated as New Year, complete with the "New Year tree," "New Year Santa," and gifts. So I kind of get Christmas twice. I love this tradition. (And Chris loves Turkey because he doesn't have to deal with any Christmas!)
I have managed to get Chris' cold. I'm not going to complain too much though, since, as he pointed out, I've avoided being sick for many months when he has been nothing but sick. It's just a cold, and I'm sure with all the great American medicine that he brought back I'll be fine soon. We're going to have to invest in gallons of Nyquil though...
So tomorrow it's back to work for us, although a short day. It's been a wonderful day for us, and we do hope you all have enjoyed it as well. Miss you and we are thinking of all of you, especially today.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
A Balmy December Day
It is 8pm on December 20. It is also a pleasant 66 degrees (19 Celsius). There are certainly SOME advantages to living in Izmir.
Friday, December 18, 2009
It's My Birthday!....
and I'm sick. This sucks.
On the up side, there's a T-storm going on, and I love storms. And I never get them on my birthday in MI.
Thanks, everyone, who emailed and Facebooked me birthday wishes! I smiled at each one!
On the up side, there's a T-storm going on, and I love storms. And I never get them on my birthday in MI.
Thanks, everyone, who emailed and Facebooked me birthday wishes! I smiled at each one!
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