Banana Confusion

The food here was a little hard on my mom's stomach but she really likes bananas.  So one day we were at the train station and I wanted to buy her one for lunch and I saw that the restaurant there had "fruit" on their outside menu.  So I went in and asked in Turkish, "Muz var mu?"  Which means, "Do you have any bananas?"  The cashier said, "Yes, how many do you want?"  "One," I answered, and he looked at me rather strangely as he sent his helper off to get one.  Another man standing there asked me what I had asked for and I repeated with my stuffed-up nose, "Muz, you know, the fruit."  And they all started laughing and explained that they thought I asked for buz which means ice.  Just then the helper walked up with one piece of ice in his hand and a puzzled look and I explained that I wanted a banana not ice.  We all laughed and since they didn't have any bananas they at least gave me some grapes for a very cheap price.  Being sick and trying to speak Turkish at the same time is not a good idea.

American Treasures

 

Here's the pile of stuff that my parents brought me from America when they came.  As you can see, most of it I can totally live without, but it's always fun to have a taste of home :)  Mostly I wanted to the sunscreen, since it costs about $30 for a small bottle of the kind that actually works.

It's fun to share with others who have been here longer than me.  Last night we enjoyed American hot chocolate and cookies with Toll House chips!  Maybe tomorrow I'll put Parmesan cheese and small pieces of that forbidden meat (bacon, because it comes from a pig and the people of the majority religion here don't eat that) on my salad.

Turkish Fun

     In my recent trip to the beach I was searching for the word for "float" in Turkish.  The best I could get out of several people was "being still on top of the water" or "not sinking."  I guess there is no word like float.  Maybe Turks can't float.  I didn't see many of them doing it.  jk
     I did learn the word for "dive."  It's something like, "to leap off of something like a fish."  Language is so interesting...
     My new favorite Turkish word is "yerçekimi" which means "ground suckingness" aka "gravity" :)
    The amount of Turkish I can understand and use is absolutely a miracle!  God has given me a huge gift and I am grateful.  To Him be the glory!  Many prayed, and He answered.

    During a team conference for planning we stayed near a small village in the countryside.  It was interesting to see the difference in the pace of life compared to what I am getting used to every day with traffic, buses, and people everywhere.  We passed this little mosque and I wondered how many people actually come here to pray.  Maybe more in a place like this. 
    We rode bikes alongside farms and fruit trees and carefully passed wandering cows.

It was the kind of place where you can park your tractor on the curb downtown.  Once when we needed to buy water at 8 o'clock at night we were told to go down the road to the small store that looks like it's closed but it isn't.  We found it locked with no lights on.  But soon after we rang the bell a man came and helped us with our purchases and then set up a dilapidated ladder so we could pick fresh cherries from the trees outside the store.  I love small-town hospitality!

 

My new roommate (center) likes hiking and even though we don't live near the forest anymore we still make time to go there every once and a while.  We are getting along well and enjoy living together.  We both like a quiet clean place and I've enjoyed getting to visit the neighbors with her.  Sometimes we talk in Turkish just for fun to not have to switch our brains and some things can only be explained in Turkish.

 

My favorite wildlife sighting is turtles!  They always run away from you and try to bury themselves in a hole and pretend like you can't see them if they can't see you.

Just to give you a taste of the dangers of life here: This sign says "Beware!  There are stray dogs.   Do not enter the open land alone."  No lions or tigers or bears, just dogs.  Some of them are actually cute and they don't usually bother people, but we do stay away.
My new neighborhood is near downtown which means no stray dogs and a nice short walk to school.   We live next to a soldier's training camp and so every morning I hear them yelling and singing as they do their exercises.  I'm thankful to have a desk and a chair in this new room to sit at my computer.  But I miss my Turkish family, though I visit them often.

Thankfulness and Hospitality

One of our favorite summer activities is having people over to barbecue, or have tea or breakfast.  I have learned a lot during this month about being thankful for the everyday grace of the Lord and not being afraid to just shout it out whenever you feel like it!


I love eating outside and having time to just sit and chat and get to know people, encourage them, and learn.

I am learning a lot about hospitality and friendship and how valued that is in this culture.  I never want to be too busy to share a meal or a cup of tea with someone.  This is how relationships are built here, not over meetings or even at a restaurant.  I have learned from their example that what matters is sharing whatever you have with those around you.  Taking the time to listen and just pass some time together.  I think this is how Jesus, Paul, and the early believers spent many of their days.

Our pet duck

For the next few weeks I have the awesome opportunity to live with a Turkish family.  They also love our father and have encouraged me in my walk so much as we sing together and talk to the father each morning and night.  (In Turkish of course, which is really a challenge for me!)  I am able to understand almost everything they say to me and even sometimes when they talk to each other so that has been really encouraging.  PTL for such fast progress in Turkish that I may be able to finish by the end of September. 

It has been quite a transition to be speaking and thinking in Turkish all the time and also fun but sometimes hard to live with a kid who wants to play all the time.  They have been so patient and understanding as they teach me and we are becoming good friends.

So we have this pet duck.  This is actually the second one since the first one couldn't seem to stay afloat in the bucket as long as they thought it could.  It's really cute but pretty annoying in the morning when it wants out.

Here's a classic shot of their eight-year-old doing his schoolwork with her basking in the lamplight.  She's actually really sweet and likes to be held and follows us around.  Life with a family can sometimes seem like a zoo, not just because we have a duck.  It can be hard to get time alone.  But I am learning so much about culture and more language than I can handle.  It's cool to see how this was something I asked the father to provide a long time ago and He has blessed me beyond what I could have imagined.