Sometimes when you are in a foreign place, you do things you would not normally do at home, like eat McDonalds. I have weened myself off of McDonalds over the past couple of years in America, but for some reason, here in Turkey, McDonalds is delicious. I guess its a comfort thing. I also am not too big a fan of Pepperidge Farm cookies, but when I found these, it wasnt even a question as to whether I was buying them or not. So I spent YTL 18 on two packs of cookies....
Also sometimes when you are in a foreign place, things happen to you that would not normally happen to you at home. This happens on a daily basis for me, or pretty much whenever I go outside. Thanks to my blonde hair and blue eyes, I am easily recognized as foreign, and so get a lot of stares. Sometimes it works to my advantage, however, because I get free stuff. Such as fruity smoothie like drinks...
I cant take full credit for those drinks, however, because the first free stuff went to my friend Margot. She was waiting for me and another girl to meet her at this restaurant and apparently she looked sad. The waiter brought her free profiterols, and then when we got there, he gave her a free hot chocolate. Then the waiter brought us free drinks, and then Margot got another drink as well. It looked like toxic waste....
And then sometimes when you are in a foreign place, you try to bring a little bit of home in and it just does not work. My mom sent me the ingredients for green bean casserole, macncheese and stuffing, so I decided to make thanksgiving for my host family. So Margot came over and we set to work on cooking. I was pretty proud of myself for making the casserole, even though it was not as good as at home. And since turkey is not a usual meat choice over here, we opted for KFC chicken and biscuits.
I was actually happy with the way the food turned out, but then my host family kind of dropped the ball. My sister came home and said she forgot and that she had already eaten. She did try stuff though which was nice of her. My host mom came home later and enjoyed the food but spoke in Turkish the whole meal. My host brother doesnt speak often so I am not sure as to what he thought of the whole experience. So Margot and I sat in silence at the end of the table while my host mom talked to Bahadır, and we thought of thanksgiving at home. I realized I was hoping for something that could never be and got a little sad.
The next week, my group took a day trip to Konya. It turned out to be the most poorly planned trip. We left at 930am and got back at 330am, when only two cabs are on the ODTÜ campus (there were about 20+ kids who needed cabs). Konya itself was cool I guess. Things like that get ruined when you are frustrated with programs... And when you are ill.
We went to Konya mainly for the whirling dervish ceremony. There were two ceremonies that day, one around 130pm and the other around 8pm. We went to the later one........So that we could check out the museums and stuff in Konya.
I did get to see the box that apparently holds Muhammad or Rumi or some important Muslim figure's beard. Guess that is pretty cool.
The ceremony was actually neat, but I was really tired at that point so I probabaly could have gotten a lot more out of it had I not been so exhausted. I also think that if we had gotten better seats that were not right next to these blinding lights (they were on for the first hour of the show).
But it really was a neat show and you should look into the dervishes. Everything is a symbol, including their hats.
Oh and in case you were wondering, they have pet stores in Turkey, too. This bird here is only 5000 dollars. And he has a special talent: he can bark like a dog. I have video.
The cool part about pet stores in Turkey, however, is they have more exotic animals. Like this bird. I didnt ask how much he was.
And in case you were wondering, they have elevators in Turkey as well. Normally, they are small and crappy and you have to open the door when the elevator gets to your floor or forever ride. But, this elevator is a special one. You can fit 66 people in it! I am going to test that one day. I promise.
Oh and one last "in case you were wondering," they do not celebrate Christmas here, but there are Christmas trees and santa clauses everywhere. Dont be fooled. Its for New Years.
Santa is called Noel Baba here. Baba is Turkish for father. I dont know how he is associated with New Years, but this is Turkey.
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