Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear Friends,

In America it's Thanksgiving. In Amasya it's just another day (not true, actually--in Amasya it's Teachers' Day, a holiday where you say thank for all that teachers do). Anyway, for my purposes it's just another day. It's kind of weird celebrating a holiday in a country where no one celebrates the holiday because it's hard to be specifically merry and joyful when all around you are just going about their usual business. I think that I felt so much anxiety today about how the day would go that I forgot to stop and give thanks for anything--it's shameful, but true. In the midst of trying so hard to remember what Thanksgiving should feel like (joy? check. unabashed good cheer? check. etc etc etc), I forgot some core aspects of the holiday, like giving thanks. Luckily, I have another two hours to celebrate it on this side of the world, and will mostly likely take advantage of the full day according to Texas time, just so I can get in as much Thanksgiving spirit as possible.

So, what am I thankful for this year? I am thankful for all of the nice people I have met in the last three months who have made my new Turkish life so much easier to live. For example, there are many people who are helping to make our giant Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday a success--I have my eye on using three different ovens Saturday alone! Anyway, Turkey without Turkish friends would be very sad indeed.

I am thankful for old friends in America, particularly those willing to skype and facebook chat at odd hours, or any time at all. Staying in touch with people at home makes it so much easier to live more fully here. Let me explain: it's a lot easier to take things that happen or don't happen with equilibrium when I have a life in America waiting for me.

I'm grateful for my family, especially the 'rents who seem to think I'm great, no matter what I do or how whiny I am on the phone. It's nice to have some kind of fan club, even if it's run by your mom.

I'm grateful for sunny days--we've had a few of those lately in Amasya and it all just makes me so happy. Today really felt like a classic, crisp fall day. Love it!

I'm grateful for all the fresh fruits and vegetables that one can get in Amasya--no joke. Having good produce around always puts a spring in my step. I am especially grateful for recent finds including cilantro AND fresh rosemary. The only thing that would be better is if I found fresh sage for tomorrow's dressing (but we can't have everything, now can we?).

Anyway, I don't usually make these kinds of lists, much less blog about them for my nearest and dearest, but I don't usually spend Thanksgiving in Turkey, so this is obviously a time for atypical occurrences.

So that's all I've got for now. I should go and clean something in preparation for guests tomorrow. Will post soon about the upcoming successes (and failures?) of our gigantic Thanksgiving bash on Saturday.

Thanksgiving to All and to All a Good Night! (I'm just itching for the Christmas season to start)

Well look at that: another post only a day later. BAM! I'm back.

So, at the end of my previous post, I alluded to crazy happenings and good stories from my Kurban Bayram holiday. I thought at first that I would ignore said happenings on this blog, but have been convinced otherwise by my partner in Kurban Bayram Holiday Crime, Carla, to share some stories.

My journey began in Kırrıkale, a city about 1 1/2 from Ankara. Kırrıkale exists...that's about as much as I'm inclined to say about it. I mean, I don't want to knock it too badly because after all, someone out there must love it, but I didn't really find much to interest me. However, I did meet a lot of great people there, and thus will remember it fondly. Life in Amasya is pretty quiet, but life in Kırrıkale is anything but, apparently. In my 48 hours or so there, I saw a lot of stuff happen--went to a lookout point "above" the city at 3 in the morning. Saw some stars. Ate at a Burger King (I've never been to one in America, so it was kind of weird having my first Burger King experience in Turkey). We we

nt to Ankara for half a day and shopped at two HUGE shopping malls that made me feel almost like I was back in America--they had an H&M and a Zaras. Wow. You see, in Amasya I never ever have moments where I just stop and think: "wow, it's almost like I'm back in America." It's just not possible--there are no spaces (restaurants, shops, walkways) that feel like any place but Turkey. Being in Ankara I definitely got that feeling, and it was both alien and comforting. Living abroad can be a real kick in the pants sometimes, so it's nice every once in awhile to have a little slice of America. But, after a day spent shopping, I was ready to return to real Turkey (whatever that means).

After Kırrıkale we continued on to Kapadokya, where we met many Fulbright friends. It was great. We stayed in a very touristy, but interesting, town c

alled Göreme. It has lots of caves and cool rock formations. Here's a pic:

So...in Göreme, we discovered that there is a lot of Marijuana in Kapadokya--who knew? We met these two guys, one of whom turned out to be a bit of a creeper in my opinion and the other who I really don't have an opinion about at all--anyway, they just lit up a joint, right in front of us, and were like, "yeah, lot's of tourists just come here for the marijuana." Go figure. They also said that there are really so few police in the area that the ones who are there don't really care if you smoke it, as long as you don't sell it. Anyway, just to be perfectly clear, I have never and will never smoke marijuana, but it was just such a bizarre experience I had to write about it. Other crazy things happened, like aforementioned creeper saying wildly inappropriate things. I won't go into details, but I will say that though many things are often lost in translation, skease is not--it always comes out loud and clear. Though not all Turkish men are skeasy--many of them are not--many of them are and I feel like I met most of the skeasy ones over this holiday, my first time acting as a real tourist in Turkey. All of have to say to the lady travelers out there is watch yourself because they see that you are foreign and they jump to all kinds of conclusions.

Anyway, apart from some uncomfortable social situations, Göreme and Kapadokya was really really nice. It was great to get away from my daily routine and be with a larger group of Americans--it was really nice to complain together and laugh together and everything else together. However, being away from Amasya also showed me how must I really like Amasya--after a few days I really began to miss my life here, which is an excellent sign, in my opinion.

After our sojourn in Kapadokya, we went on to Antalya, which was warmer and sunnier and just altogether nice. Antalya is on the southern coast of Turkey, right on the Mediterranean. It is beautiful, really beautiful. I actually was not that impressed by the city itself--it just kind of felt like another big city, and it was hard to escape the touristy spots, but the scenery made up for anything that the city itself lacked.

We stayed in a nice pansiyon in the old part of the city, which was quiet and clean and nice after our 12-person dorm room in Kapadokya. We did some shopping--I bought a new hat (it has a flower on it--my favorite kind of hat). Antalya also had it's share of sorely mistaken, skeasy men, but they were pretty easy to shake off. On one occasion we were walking down to the beach at sunset--fully clothed (scarves, jackets, etc), and a car with two young guys pulled up beside us and asked if we would like to "tour Antalya...together." Uh, no. So we walked on down the winding road to the beach and they followed us (car in reverse), "Ladies, maybe we can spend some time together...blah blah blah." So they parked their car and followed us to the beach, and sat down on either side of us. Five minutes later, Lothario (can't remember his real name) turns to me and says: "Mary (because for some odd reason almost all the men in this country under the age of 30 drop the second part of my name. WHY? I AM NOT MARY). Anyway, "Mary," he said, "You will kiss me now?" "No, " said I. "But Mary, today is my tatıl (holiday). Tomorrow work I go to. So we kiss now?" End of the story is that I ended up jumping up and running away and I hear him behind me say (in English) to his friend, "She is crazy." Yes, I'm INSANE for not kissing a man I'd just met who didn't even know my NAME. UGH, the feminist indignation! The absolute feminist INDIGNATION. Too much for words. But a good story, right?

Anyway, by the last day in Antalya, I was pretty ready to go home. Two bus rides later (a total of 14 hours or so on the road), and I was home. Thank goodness. The end...until we see each other so I can tell the REALLY good holiday stories in person :) A hint, potatoes and birds are involved. Cryptic, isn't it?

So, in some ways this week has been really great. In other ways it has been the week straight from hell. Let's talk about the good things: I am going to my first Turkish wedding tonight, where I will wear a new pink dress that I like very much. What could be better? Last night I attended the bride's henna night, where female friends and family members come together to dance and put blobs of henna on their hands (this is a gross simplification, but you get the idea). Unlike other cultures I've seen where henna is used for marriage, in Turkey they don't really make designs with it--just a large circle on the palm. The long and short of it is that right now it looks like I have a weird rash on the inside of my hand--oh well.

Other good things this week: I have a new office. I share it with three other people, which means it's a little cramped, but at least I have a desk and a place to put stuff--it's also really close to where I live, which is very nice. Maybe I will finally be able to have students visit me (probably just a delusion on my part).

It is both cold and dark in Amasya--a magical combination. It's dark by about 4:45 these days, which is just a tad early for me. I really like sunlight and...you don't get so much of it here. Yesterday is was legitimately sunny for about an hour, and then it got cloudy. The good news is that it's not nearly as cold here and it is other places in Turkey. Inner Anatolia gets COLD. All and all I feel pretty good about the weather in Amasya.

This coming week is important for two reasons: mid-terms and THANKSGIVING. It's going to be weird celebrating Thanksgiving away from family, but I think it's going to be an OK week. On Thursday I'm making a small Thanksgiving dinner because I don't have to work that day, then Friday I'm planning on Tex-Mex Thanksgiving (because why not?), and then Saturday we are renting out an old Ottoman house and hosting a BIG thanksgiving for a few Americans (maybe) and a bunch of Turkish friends and colleagues. I'm quite excited. I just hope that it all goes off well. Yesterday, after mentioning that I longed for cornmeal to make cornbread dressing, a wonderful friend found some for me and gave it to me as a gift. Warmed. My. Heart. It's weird how much I miss things like cornbread or the taste of masa--apparently corn is a really important part of my diet in America.

But, now that we are getting closer to the holiday season in America, it is interesting to note the things that I miss. For example, this morning I woke up and wanted so badly to be in my mom's kitchen while gingerbread cookies were baking--that was literally the first thought I had when I woke up this morning. There is something so comforting to me about the smell of molasses. Too bad you can't get it here. Or, even more random considering I don't eat these often in the states, I miss home-made rice crispy treats. Why? I don't know. But if I could find corn syrup and rice crispies you know what I'd be doing!

However, the thing, that I have no hope of getting, that I will miss most this Thanksgiving, is cranberry sauce. You can't find cranberries or cranberry sauce in Turkey (to my knowledge) and the berry here that is most like a cranberry (and still not very much like a cranberry) just went out of season. I asked at the market today and the man mad an X in the air with his arms and said "bitti" (finished). I walked away like a sad puppy.

In other news, I've made some important decisions of late--namely that I'm going to be applying to Middle Eastern studies programs in the fall (2012). It took me a long time to decide what I want to go back to school for (I've been thinking about it for the last year), but I think it's the right decision. That means that I need to improve my Turkish rapidly. RAPIDLY. It also means that I need to study and re-take the GRE (not so rapidly). Math is the problem, but so far I've been really good--I study math for about an hour every morning. Do I make progress? I don't honestly know. But, I'm sticking to it, so that has got to be worth something.

I can't think of anything else to report. I went on a 9-day holiday, which I returned from a week ago tomorrow. It was crazy, but enjoyable. There are many stories that I could tell, but they are probably best told in person, so I'll store them up until I'm back in the states.

Will post again soon because I've made an new initiative--two posts a week! Watch out for them.

Hello friends. I am currently sitting on my very own bed in my very own apartment using my very own internet. Praise the powers that be for all those things! Internet at home is revolutionizing my life in Turkey!

So, this week I don't have any students. Not a one. Some of the showed up, but not enough for a real class. So, I am kind of wandering around aimlessly this week, doing this and that. Editing something here, researching graduate schools there, you know the like.

I had my second Turkish lesson with my Turkish teacher Ibrahim--it was a little lacklustre because I was distracted by other things. However, my Turkish is coming along (not nicely really, but it is coming along). For example, this morning I was able to negotiate paying my water bill using only Turkish and not having to draw any diagrams. How, you ask? Well, I started by explaining (roughly) that I am a dumb, but lovable, American. It turned out to be a charming exchange and he even evinced some interest in Texas. I felt pretty triumphant.

The time has changed in Amasya and it is getting dark pretty early. I am not such a big fan, I must admit. For example, by 5 o'clock today it was dark dark dark. But the daylight that we did have was pretty and pleasant. That is definitely worth something.

At the end of this week (friday morning), I am going to leave Amasya for Kırrıkale (sp?) to meet up with a friend and then continue on to Göreme to see awesome land formations, like the fairy chimneys (yes, that is what they really call them--awesome!). After Göreme may come a trip to Antalya. We shall see. Antalya is supposed to be one of the most visited or the most visited place in Turkey because so many Russian tourists come down to see some sand and sea. It should definitely be very pretty. You can expect some good photos in the coming weeks.

I wish there was more to report at this point, but there really isn't. Oh, one interest thing: I learned how this dish called çiğ köfte is made. Çiğ köfte are made from bulgar, spices, onion, and traditionally RAW meat. So, you can't get real çiğ köfte in the stores anymore, because of the RAW meat problem, which makes it a great thing for me to eat. Anyway, some research assistants from the university came over to make it at our apartment. It was quite a production. It turns out that it should be made on the floor (not literally on the floor, but you should sit on the floor and make it). So, there is this big pan that looks like a spring form, but isn't. In the pan you mix the bulgar mixture with water and over the period of like an hour or so you add in different things until the bulgar has soaked up the water and the mixture is dry enough to squeeze into köfte balls (not really balls because the shape is the inside of your fist when you squeeze the köfte together. Anyway, it was interesting to see it made. There was also some dancing. After the çiğ köfte is ready you eat it with lavaş and/or lettuce with lemon juice. You drink this thing called ayran with it, which is water and yogurt. Pretty tasty. They were also nice enough to make me some before adding in the raw meat. I'm still doubtful about whether eating raw meat "cooked" by spices is advisable, but everyone else seems to have survived.

Also, I should add that this çiğ köfte party came only one night after a rather successful Halloween party staged by yours truly and housemates. We carved melons that looked like pumpkins (because the pumpkins here are green) and were generally merry. We had candy and played pin the leaf on the pumpkin. It was cultural exchange galore!