A Week of Ups and Downs

Well this last week has been filled with some exciting things as well as a few frustrations. I think Jayme and I both hit a wall as we realized this language is extremely difficult and we won't be learning it anytime soon. At least not in way that would allow us to effectively communicate in anything below surface talk. We are currently searching for possible language partners with whom we could practice Turkish on a regular basis. We've heard it takes one to two years to learn the language, so we shouldn't get too frustrated after only two months, but you can't help but feel like you should be further along. We've also been battling the crud that seems to be making it's way around the states as well. Thankfully we are able to get most of the same medicines here and after one z-pak, we hope to be on the mend. We are also realizing how much we miss a dryer as the last two times we've hung our clothes out, it's not only rained, but poured. You would think we would get better with our meteorological skills, but due to the fact that we are close to the sea or the mountains (I haven't figured out yet) a storm will blow in within minutes. I guess we need to start watching our neighbors and monitor when they put there clothes out. One of the good things that happened last week is that Jayme started teaching English to an 11 year old girl, Ilkim. She meets at Ilkim's house on M,W & F from 4:30-5:30. Jayme has really enjoyed working with her and she loves Jayme and has already invited her to a play at her elementary school. There is another girl that lives next door who wants to join the class, but Ilkim doesn't want to share Jayme. Go figure.

Alaska = Heat

From now on when I hear the word "Alaska" I'll no longer think of igloos, sub-zero temperatures and furry parkas. Thanks to our most recent purchase we don't have to wait 2 hours to bake a potato or wonder how to reheat the leftovers for the 3rd time without drying them out. Yes that's right, thanks to the Alaska MW 1000 all our dreams of fast cooking have come back to life. Since microwaves are not a hot commodity in the states it's hard to understand our dilemma, but after Jayme tried for a 1.5 hours to bake a potato on Saturday only to eat it half raw, we finally gave in. When asking our neighbors if they had a microwave, we got the typical response of, "No, I've heard bad things." Many Turks think that the newest technologies lead to cancer, and they may have a point, but we are taking our chances with this one. The only problem now is that, as you may be able to see in the picture, we will have to wait a month before eating anything other than sandwiches since we blew our eating budget on our new cooking machine. Didn't I hear something as a kid about spending all your money on a new wallet. Oh well, we are excited about the long-term success of this little machine and it has replaced the electric matress pad as our best purchase, which is another one of those inventions that they've heard bad things about.

Big Birthday Bash!

So we celebrated Jared's 28th birthday in style - we had a big party here at our house! We invited several of our friends, both Turks and Americans. I spent the weekend cooking and cleaning the house, with some help from Jared in order to prepare for the party. We had 12 people total which is about all our living room can handle. I made a chocolate cake, with chocolate covered strawberries for Jared - it turned out well, I was pleased. We had several other delectable goodies to choose from as well. Everyone seemed to have a good time and the language barrier did not seem to hinder anything. Fortunately the three Turks that were present speak pretty good, if not perfect English. We were so glad that our Turkish teacher, Türkay, could come as well as Celal and Evren, Jared's banker friends. The party raged from 4 until about 6:30 when the Turks had to call it a night. However, the American's partied until 9 pm! We really had a great time and Jared got some fabulous gifts including, several new dvds, cd's, an Adana Soccer team scarf, and a LeBron James T-shirt! We have attached several photos of the festivities. We had a great time and enjoyed opening our home to so many new friends.

Post Valentine's Day Celebration

We opted this year to forgo the Valentine's Day tradition and postpone our celebration until Friday night. Oddly enough, V-Day might be just as big of an event and marketing push here as back home. So much so that when I tried to make reservations for Friday night at Kıp Kırmızı they reminded me more than once that Valentine's is on Wednesday meaning, "why are you trying to celebrate it on Friday idiot, don't you know how the system works." But we showed up at 6:00 and were promptly seated at the "special table" which put us on display in front of the large window facing the road. The table was nicely decorated with rose petals and what was remaining of the rose was in a vase. Nice touch, but they did manage to add it to the bill, probably as a way to get me back for trying to buck the system. So after our romantic dinner, we swung around the corner for a night at the symphony. I'll let Jayme tell you about the fun she had there. Well... we were at the symphony and it was going so well - we were so impressed with the peformance. At intermission I had to use the restroom and went to get in line. There were only two stalls so there was a short wait. As I neared the front of the line I saw that the restrooms were indeed squatty potties. Here I was, all dressed up, coat on, purse in hand about to enter this TINY stall with a squatty potty. I really had to go to the bathroom so I went in, only to find out when you shut the door it is pitch black as there are no lights in the stalls! I had to roll each of my pant legs up to my thighs since there was water all over the floor. At that moment I realized what an oxymoron I was experiencing - a squatty potty at the symphony. Ah the joys of living overseas! Check out a picture of the symphony below.

An Afternoon on the Town

As of last week we are thankful for the privilege of using "The Accent." We share this beautiful 2000 Hyundai Accent with the Curtis's and it allows us a little more freedom than walking or taking the bus. On Tuesday's we have the day off from langauge class and so we used it as an opportunity to explore some new areas of town that we were previously unfamiliar with. Our first stop was the symphony, where we bought tickets for Friday night. This was much harder than I expected as there are many one-way and no-way streets in this part of town and we were "forced" to make use of the car's off-road capabilities in order to get back on the main road. After that we headed to the outskirts of town where the US-Turkish Air Force base is located. We heard there were some neat shops and restaurants in this part of town and were interested in checking them out. Our information proved correct as we made our way into a great rug shop where the owner was very eager to make us a "super" deal on not just one, but three rugs. There are some beautiful, hand-made rugs in this region and if we ever save enough money we hope to purchase one. We got Erol's card and told him we would come back when our American friends come to town, because we know they will want to buy one or three. He wouldn't let us leave before seeing his restaurant, "Happy House", that was just around the corner. His cook showed us around and as we had tea with him we talked about his picture of the Last Supper hanging in the lounge room. I thought things were going well but when I realized that he was more interested in Jayme than in the conversation we cut our visit short and made our way back into town. As we were driving by the big mosque we couldn't pass up a stop at McD's. It's the only one in town and the fries and ketchup taste just like home! It was also good to see that if we ever get in a bind, they will deliver. You never know when desperate times will call for desperate measures.

The Turkish All-American Meal

We've only been here for 5 weeks and our neighbors have invited us over at three times for incredible Turkish meals. It was time we returned the hospitality. So Jayme whipped up our favorite "All-American" meal of spaghetti, salad and bread; with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Everything was a big hit especially the ranch dressing, which they had never had before. We continue to enjoy our time with them and look forward to many more dinners together, at our place and theirs. In the pics Jayme is getting advice from İmer on the art of making Turkish tea. And Envar is reading to their 1.5 year old son, Alem.

A Visit to Paul's Neighborhood

Today we went to Tarsus, as in Paul of Tarsus. It was a great outing where we fully embraced our role as tourist and took countless number of photographs! We were so glad to get out of Adana and see some of the beautiful countryside that Turkey has to offer. The city of Tarsus is actually over 7000 years old and is one of the oldest, continuously inhabited cities in the world. There is a lot of history to be seen and a few of Paul's old 'hangouts' are still around. Our first stop was the Roman Road. There is a portion of the Roman Road (about 5K) intact just north of the city. It was amazing to walk the same stone road as the apostle Paul, Julius Ceasar, and Cisero (just to name a few!). From there we made stops at Paul's Well, the old city, an old Armenian church, as well as the so-called burial place of Daniel. Some believe that Daniel is buried in Tarsus, and in order to put the legend to rest, the fine people of Tarsus decided to start digging. So far no bones - but a lot of interesting history! It was an incredible experience visiting Paul's city and learning about the history there. The first picture is of Jared and I at the archway leading onto the Roman Road.

Flexibility?

I am learning more and more that life overseas requires flexibility. Last night Jayme was on the phone with Erin at 10:00 when the power went off. Power outages usually last for only a couple of hours, but they usually happen at the most inopportune time. (Not that there's ever a good time for a power outage.) The first one of the week occcured Wednesday as Jayme was preparing a lunch for the ladies on our team. Thankfully we have a gas stove and she was able to make the final preparations without the use of electricity. However, last night presented some different obstacles as there was no way to heat our room before going to bed and yesterday was one of the coldest days since we've been here, so we knew we might need more than just the electric mattress pad to stay warm. (which as referenced in the "24" Party blog has been our best purchase, at least when the electricity is on.) So we rounded up all of our blankets, put on lots pj's, Jayme seriously had on two pair, and got in the bed. We left some lights on so we would wake up if the power did come back on and thankfully at midnight, we were awoken by the sweet miracle of electricity. We shook the icicles off, turned the mattress pad on and enjoyed a semi-warm night. We obviously slept in and awoke to grey skies and rain, which presented another obstacle. Today was set aside to refrain from food and strategically walk through different parts of the city and lift up the people in those neighborhoods. So once again, another opportunity to be flexible intervened and we proceeded as planned but with the convenience and dryness of cars. We stopped along the way to meet different people with the intention of being open for divine appointments. One that we couldn't pass up was with a shepherd as he herded his sheep and goats through the city. We found it to be a little out of place, but I expect he found us to be a little out of place as well.

Songs Heard in Migros

This addition to the blog may be more for our sake than yours, but we needed a way to log one of our favorite treats. So we are keeping a list of the songs we hear in our favorite grocery store. We are not sure if they turn this music on when we come in as a way to keep the foreigners in the store or if it's a staple. Don't laugh, they do this at some of the restaurants. The best thing is that no one in the store knows what they are singing about except us. So it's really funny when a song from the likes of Mariah Carey, Madonna, or Michael Jackson comes on. (See list on right)

Ball of Fire!

What a day! On Saturday morning Jared went with Matt, Craig and the bankers to Çukurova University to play basketball. We had a great time and hope to make it a weekly event. In the meantime, Jayme and Katie were busy buying material to make curtains. The traditional curtain here is not much more than a thin sheet, quite similar to a shower curtain. However, that doesn't do much to keep out the sun, which is necessary if the summers are as warm as expected. So, needless to say, the store owner found it somewhat confusing when Jayme insisted on buying upholstery fabric instead of the sheer curtains. The fabric is approximately $3 a meter, so she should be able to cover the windows for next to nothing.

After ball, Craig and I found the girls at our favorite Saturday restaurant, Hamiyet's Kitchen, where we met her son as he waited on our table. With Craig and I both needing haircuts, we asked the son, who had a sweet do, where he got his done. It just happened to be next door, so we gave it a shot. It was possibly the first time any ladies had set foot into their barber shop, but they didn't seem to mind. It was quite an experience with several laughs as well as a scare or two as we were introduced to the"ball of fire." The "ball of fire" actually resembles a long Q-tip dipped into a flammable liquid, then set on fire. The barber then proceeds to bop you on the side of the head or under the nose, carefully singeing any hairs that don't belong. It's a little scary the first time, but I hear it gets better and might be something we should introduce at home.

Saturday night we had another late night with the neighbors as dinner didn't even start until 8:30. It was an interesting mix as they also invited their Swedish friends who also brought along their Mongolian friend. So here we are, seven friends speaking; Turkish, English, Swedish and Mongolian - with only one couple able to understand all four. We came home more than a little exhausted.

Bazaar

Today we made our first visit to our neighborhood's fruit and vegetable bazaar. Each neighborhood has their own bazaar, one or two days a week. There was every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable, and the prices are the best in town. We came away with 6.5 lbs of potatoes, 4.5 lbs of tangerines, 2 lbs of tomatoes, 1 lb of strawberries and 18 eggs, all for 9 YTL ($6.50)! This is definitely the way to shop!

Comfort Food

Well TVU Player came through for us, but unfortunately the Saints did not. However, we are quickly recuperating thanks to yesterday's grand opening of the new Burger King about 8 blocks from our apt. Jared and the boys checked it out last night and Jayme and the girls are going for lunch today. Between all of us, we will do our best to keep them in business! We continue to explore around and outside of our neighborhood. Below are some pictures of the sites. Yesterday afternoon Jayme went with the ladies to a baby shower for one of the girls from our church. While she was gone Jared managed to find a basketball court with some teenagers that were eager to play with the American. A good time was had and plans were made to meet up again today. At least I think that's what they said.

Go Saints!

We are hopeful that TVUPlayer will come through and we will be able to watch the Saints vs Bears tonight. We're having a party with lots of food, so it will be a big disappointment if it doesn't work out. It starts at 10pm here so we hope NO puts them away in the 1st half allowing us to get some sleep.

Here's a few pictures from our balcony. In the first one you can see the foothills of the Taurus Mountains. Not seen is in the picture is a large lake in between the houses and the mountains that provides incredible scenery. On top of the houses you can see the solar panels which are used to heat the water inside the house. We are currently using an electric water heater, but would like to figure out the solar thing as our water heater provides just enough hot water for one 5 minute shower. This shouldn't be a problem in the summer as our apartment will be 90 degrees inside instead of 50. The next picture shows the park, which is full of kids on Saturdays and Sundays and next to the park is our fruit vendor, who jayme likes to call the "van man".

Hamiyet's Kitchen

Jared and I headed out for some lunch today and went back to a restaurant we had been to once before. It is sort of like a Two Sister's in Adana, homecooking if you will. It is a little hole in the wall where you just sit in this little Turkish lady's kitchen and eat her good homecooked food. We were the only ones in there since it was late for lunch. We both had full plates of stuffed eggplant, green beans, rice and bread. It was delicious, and it was topped off with a hot cup of Turkish Tea. When we got home, I went over to spend some time with my neighbor, Imer. She had another friend over so we all sat around visiting, laughing and getting to know each other. Of course there was food involved and tea and lots of Turkish! A good time was definitely had. We also wanted to add a few pictures of some local sights. The mosque you see is the mosque that is closest to our house. We hear the call to prayer 5 times a day from this mosque. They are called Camii's here (pronounced Jah-Mee). Also, just down the road from us is a fabulous fresh bread store, each day they make all types of bread. As we were walking out today we saw them passing large piles of Pide (pita bread) out the window - it was not wrapped up or anything, they would just lay it out the window and the delivery man would pick it up and put it in his car.

Guys Night Out - Ladies Night In

So Craig and I show up at the bank at 7 to hang out with the banker (Celal) and his friend (Evren), who just happens to be a stock broker with the same bank and speaks great English. We headed to a nice area of downtown where we met up with another one of Celal's friends. She didn't speak any English, but felt like she had seen Craig before. They ordered for us and it was the best meal we've had since we've been here. We talked about sports, some politics, Turkish history and inner peace. Towards the end of the dinner, the lady realized why Craig looked so familiar. She had a dream last night were she meet two foreigners, one of whom looked just like Craig. Interesting! I believe a good time was had by all and we made plans to meet up again, hopefully for basketball next Saturday. Meanwhile back at the house, the ladies were cooking up a storm. They made chicken tetrazzini, salad, and a wonderful strawberry shortcake, which they shared with the guys upon their return. Enjoy the pic of the 3 cooks in their uniforms.

New Bank, New Friends

Congrats to Jared on his big accomplishment yesterday; he opened our first Turkish bank account. It may not seem like that much of a big deal, but when the account representative speaks broken English and Jared speaks less than broken Turkish, It's a real big deal! (baby steps) It also generated a new friendship as Jared and Craig are hanging out with the banker and some of his friends Friday night. In the meantime, Jayme, Katie and Jessica are using guys-night-out as an opportunity to have some ladies time and share cooking secrets and favorite recipes. No, they aren't grandmothers! Hospitality is just a big part of the culture here, so it never hurts to brush up.

Word of the Week

Thanks to a recommendation from our friend Scott Taylor, we have added a word for the week so that you can learn some Turkish words and phrases along with us. Check back often and we will quiz you when we get home.

New Sleeping Schedule

As many of you know we were early to bed people back home. Usually by 9pm we were moving in that direction. Well in Turkey, many people don't even get off work until 9, so we are quickly realizing that we are in trouble. Last night our neighbors invited us over for tea at 9:00. Everything was going great; we were eating good food, practicing our Turkish and meeting family members that came by to "see the Americans." But we ran out of Turkish words by 10pm and started yawning around 10:30. Unfortunately they were just getting warmed up. We continued to converse in the fairly good english that the wife knew until we were able to slip out at midnight. That's only after accepting an invitation to go to the movies with them on Thursday. And of course it starts at 9:30pm. So, now that we are finally over jet lag, we have to make another adjustment with our sleeping schedule which may be even harder than jet lag. But we are thankful for their friendship and know that we will have to make many more adjustments as we learn to live in another culture.

"24" Party

Language is going as well as can be expected. We are starting to get adjusted to the jet lag thanks to our newest purchase. An electric matress pad!! The temperature in the house hovers around 50 degrees so we can now sleep through the night without waking up to fight off hypothermia. And the best thing about it is that it was only 20 lira, which is roughly $14. We also made another "necessary" purchase in a dvd player. I don't how much it will help with ministry, but it will certainly help us stay sane and connected to some of our favorite shows and movies. Tonight we had our first "24" party. Jayme cooked pancakes and Craig, Katie, Jessica, Chris (a teammate of ours) and his friend from out of town, John, came over and we ate and watched Season 1, Episode 1. We hope to make it a weekly, family gathering, so don't tell us what happens b/c none of us have seen it. Have a good weekend and Happy MLK day, we don't get that holiday in Turkey.

Week Bir

Well we have been here one week now and we are getting settled in. We have enjoyed going to all the stores and grocers in our neighborhood to get things for the apartment. We started language class Monday morning and will meet M, W, Th and F from 9-11am. Then we use the afternoons to go out and practice what we've learned. We have learned some "getting around" words that certainly help in basic intoductions and greetings. Turks are quick to correct us if we get it wrong but they are also impressed that we are trying to learn their language. We met our neighbors the other day as we were trying to figure out our washing machine. They couldn't fix it but did invite us over for dinner that night, which was incredible. They are a young, cute couple with a 1.5 year old and we look forward to spending many more meals with them. Check back soon as cultural mistakes are beginning to happen the more we think we know the language. Here's a pic with our language teacher.