aşure (uh?sure?ay!)

this time of year (january), Turks celebrate soooomething. so, they give their neighbors/friends a dessert called aşure. our neighbors brought some over tonight, being our first neighbors to share aşure with us. we have, however, had aşure at least 2 other times this month, and this was the best yet....... maybe it's an aquired taste?

aşure usually consists of 12 ingredients.. the one we got tonight had.... cinnamon, chickpeas, beans, crushed pistachios, crushed almonds, coconut, apricot, peach, pomegranate, raisins, bulgur rice, grapes.........

yum!

some people celebrate in honor of a prophet who died... some say it's just a time to thank God, but the most commonly celebrated is.....

Noah and the ark.... they say Noah made a dish similar to this after the flood because it's all the food he had left and he did it to thank God... so that sounds good to me. Thank you, God for your faithfulness (and aşure, of course).....

oh, and april and i decided we will come up with our own aşure-like dessert....with 12 random ingredients--any suggestions?

cozy cafe & taco bell sauce.

tonight i got to hang out with my friend *natalie. we hang out at least once a week, and she is great to just sit and have çay (hot tea) with... so i always enjoy our time together... she also enjoys filtered coffee, which is rare here... so, ya.... tonight I was excited to be able to hang out with her, since exams keep college students here SUPER busy...

when we met up, she said that she had seen some cafe she was interested in going to, and I was up for something new.. so we walked down this street a while and found this sweet little cafe. definitely reminded me of java or a number of small, chill cafe/coffee shops in america... i was thrilled, because i have been wanting to find places like that! she said "when my friends and I find places we really like, we go back there over and over and we say it's 'our place' so this can be 'our place' and I will show more friends where it is..."

the great thing about it is it's quieter than regular cafes and you would never notice it walking by, since it's upstairs. so, no crowds or obnoxious music. ah, blessing for sure. the father is looking out for me by providing a place like this for me.

on another note, today i microwaved a quesadilla of sorts and it was very small..... and the result was cheesy goodness... but it left me with a rare craving--taco bell mild sauce.... i know... i feel like a pregnant person because that is SOO random, but i really really want it now.... anyone want to send me a letter??! haha.

three months.
a couple of days ago marked three months.. how do i feel?
hmmmmmmmm.......

well, i have missed home a little more recently.
but, not terribly. just ya know..
i miss barbeque. ah! and tortilla chips and salsa.
man, i could go for some central bbq and then mexican food.
yea....

but...... hmm language..
it's coming.. i am understanding a lot more.
i thiiiink my pronunciation is better at times and sometimes i think it's terrible, so who knows.
we are getting into more complex stuff in our class and i am still happy, so that's a good sign. :)

i am ready for a short trip out of the city/country.
oh the possibilities.

oh and one thing that frustrates me to no end is the process of paying bills.
every month i dread it.
i think once i get it sorted out it will become easier.. but ya.
i want to pull my hair out some days.
DO NOT take for granted the luxury of checks and simple online bill payment in the states. ha.

strawberries!!!

Today i went to the pazar to get my groceries, as I do every Friday...

and there were....... STRAWBERRIES! 1 kilo for 2 lira.. or 2.2 pounds for $1.25 us dollars. wow! this makes me excited about spring/summer.

this weekend, i hope to: study, sleep, paint. maybe get out and take more pics. we'll see.

memories.pics.small victories.

small victory this week... i got a few of my favorite pics developed without anyone assisting me. yay. so, in celebration, i will share a couple of my favorites of my favorites. ha. (since blogger takes about a year to upload any pics....)


amos lee best describes my late night ponderings....
"A thousand empty windows
And only half the lights are out
I wonder what these people's lives
What they might be all about.."

do you ever have one of those days when you walk out of your apartment and realize an hour or so later that every piece of clothing you put on that day was a mistake?

that was my day.

but, good news is: i have rain boots now! i ordered some from piperlime in america and i got them today... yay! less of those days, hopefully.

google-helping people cook

today after a somewhat frustrating start to the day, i decided to go chill at starbucks for an hour or so and study and read.... it was nice and i am glad i did it, but i came home just before my tutor showed up for our monday night 1 hour session.

i didn't have time to cook anything before tutoring (and wasn't hungry after starbucks...) so, i tutored til about 630 and decided i would make potato soup.. but then my potatoes were all bad

so i googled broccoli red pepper soups to see if they existed since i had a ton of both..
and i found a recipe that sounded good.. so i decided to try, hoping for a quick, yummy dinner..

yeah.....

i didn't read the part about roasting the red peppers
or the part about PUREEING since we don't have a puree machine

so i googled "can you puree with a hand mixer?"
and found out it IS possible, but not highly recommended
since i was halfway through with the soup i decided i would try..

well, just a hand mixer wasn't enough so i frantically searched the cabinets looking for something to help. ha
so i decided on a potato masher.. and mashed away (the red peppers, then two bowl fulls of the soup mix i mad made..

and almost three hours later, i had broccoli red pepper soup
it was delicious though...just a little more than i bargained for.

so google searches= potato soup recipe, broccoli red pepper soup recipe, how to roast red peppers, how to peel broccoli stems, cooking conversions, how to puree with a hand mixer...and maybe others.

catching up--holidays & 1st visitor

have i mentioned that i love living in sunshine apartment on idea hill?
that's what it translates into in english.
so inspiring--how can you not be creative here?

besides that, my favorite thing about this apartment is that i can always hear the (frequent) rain on my fire escape outside my window.
kind of like having a tin roof.
i think my room is the only one in the apt that has that sound, and i love it.

catching up......

first visitor.
my best friend, who is living in poland, came to visit for christmas!
she was here a week and we had a lot of fun.
it was nice to have a piece of home here for christmas.
it was nice that she's not a "touristy" person since i didn't have much time with christmas cooking and all.
and, we went skiing/snowboarding! (see below).

christmas.
this was my first christmas without my huge, awesome family.
it was sad but it helped to have a big group of friends here to celebrate with here.
we all had a big white elephant christmas eve party.
on christmas day, april and i made a lot of food and sweets and invited a turkish friend over to celebrate.
banana pancakes, socks on the tree, big dinner with close friends...all may be new traditions.

skiing/snowboarding.
i went with a group of people to uludağ.
it was supposed to be 2 or 3 hours outside of the city but it was, in fact, SIX hours.
after riding a city bus, a shuttle bus, a charter bus, a ferry, the same charter bus again, a city bus, 2 cable cars, and a taxi van, we arrived.
the snow was beautiful. the hotel and food were amazing.
i got to hang out with friends and enjoy the Maker's wonderful creation.
good times.
well, except for the fact that turkish men (in general) CAN NOT ski!!!!
i should have known this after my experience ice skating in turkey, but no, i got to experience it firsthand..
in the form of being knocked out by turkish men while skiing TWICE.
the second knock down resulted in a headache, soreness, and a very bent ski pole.
i'm talking at least a 45 degree angle bent. not normal.
i survived though, and it was worth it.
i think next year, i'll learn a way to say "hit me and die" in turkish and tape it to my back.
the guy #2 said "you didn't see me coming!" to which i replied "i usually look IN FRONT of me when i am skiing!"
ah, turkey.

new years.
the rain sometimes never stops here.
like all winter.
so, new years eve consisted of shopping at a mall in the afternoon and then going over to my boss's house to watch movies and eat pancakes with him, his wife, and daughter (around my age).
it was the perfect indoor new years celebration.
we ended the night by standing against a window watching fireworks off in the distance across the water (and some inbetween tall apartment buildings..that's when we closed the window).

i'm going to have a nephew

i am way too excited about this to have it share a post with a phone story..

so, my sister is 21 weeks pregnant and just found out yesterday she is having... a boy! April 25, Jackson Avery is due.. i can't wait!!!! :)

another phone crisis.

so, yesterday i had language..... well, i got on the bus, headed home.. and i got off the bus.. the bus was still waiting for people to get off so i decided to cross in front of it, but cars were coming in the second lane..so i took a chance and ran in between two cars, sucessfully, to the median.... well, maybe not sucessfully.. cause right as i hopped onto the median...

my phone bounced out of my jacket pocket and onto the median..
and then proceeded to bounce into the next lane of oncoming traffic!

so i see this all slow-mo... like noooo---o----oooo.. and literally at least 5 cars went over my phone..and it bounced around at least 3 of those times..and finally traffic was slowing and the light was turning red, so i stepped out in front of the next car (big truck actually) and put my hand up and said stop! and i gathered my phone.. [it was in four pieces..the front, back, battery, and sim card] and got out of the street..

the guy in the truck was all wide eyed and looked so concerned and i think he was like saying sorry ha....and so i crossed the street getting my phone back together and i was literally about to cry..thinking "oh great, its broken and i just flushed my last phone 2 months ago"

and then i got it together and turned it on and it WORKED!!....isnt that insane?! i promise at least three of the cars hit it and there's no visible damage..except that the back wont go on completely and there are a couple of knicks on the front

bus ride from europe...

i hung out with some friends on the european side last night and i listened to a mars hill podcast.. a guest speaker was there and spoke about isaiah. i think this one was from july... anyway.. i liked this point he made at the end..


"the bible is mainly just poetry. but the poetry is the word of God that imagines us to get outside ourself, by the Spirit, and entertain another kind of world that God intends us to have."
-walter brueggermann

oh, and i also sipped on a Starbucks caramel hot chocolate, while listening, and it made it THAT much more enjoyable. highly recommend (both mars hill podcasts and) starbucks caramel hot chocolate.. yum!

week off! yay!

this week is kurban bayram. this is good for me because i get the WHOLE week off.. most of it is over now but it has been a wonderful week. i painted my hall tiramisu. i edited a 54-page paper. i stayed inside a lot. i had a christmas movie night with friends and goodies. and i went to büyükada. oh, i also witnessed part of a sacrifice outside my apartment window.

kurban bayram is a yearly holiday for Muslims devoted to sacrificing animals in remembrance of Abraham and Isaac (they say, Ishmael) when God provided a ram in the place of Isaac and also as a time to give to the poor. I witnessed some sacrifices outside of my window and it burdens me even more to lift up their salvation to the Father. So, please, remember them, too.

seeing the sacrifices was actually something i hoped for because i wanted to feel it more.

sometimes i feel it a lot. sometimes i don't for a while. sometimes i get too settled. too comfortable. too okay with how things are. right now i am slipping into one of those times. i need to feel more broken. i need to be more aware. more alert.

tomorrow i am planning to go to çamlica...the tallest hill in the city with the biggest view. last time i was here i went there. that is the place i felt it most here. the realization of HOW many people are here who don't have Truth in their lives. return that feeling to me.

thanks, cooking, december?

thanksgiving was good for me..
i missed my family and celebrations, but my friends here made it feel like thanksgiving.
we had a mini celebration at English Tea Time, a big celebration Thursday, and we are doing something else this weekend! whew.

i have been experimenting and cooking a lot more since i have been here. i think there is just something about living in another country that makes you want to or have to cook from scratch more.. and i have more time here so i am not as lazy. ha. but ya.. i am enjoying it.. so by the time i get back, maybe i'll be an awesome cook, too. ha. i think it's because i realize i will be living here at least 2 years.. everywhere else i have lived the past 5 years has been for anywhere between 2 months and 8 months max.. so ya.

i can't believe it's december on monday.. i am kinda like that at the beginning of every month i think.. but really? december already!? i guess i need to look for some christmas decorations or something.

stories from the sea.

so ı had an adventurous and somewhat hilarious day today...

today we were supposed to go to büyükada, the big island, to hike up to the top of the hill because it's gorgeous..well we got to the iskele (boat dock) and there are 33mph winds today...

so no boats were crossing the bosphorus..
for good reason.. [see pics on facebook and you will understand more fully..]

so we stood around, took some pics and then decided to pile 8 people into a car and go to this polish village in a forest..so we got there successfully and it was beautiful.. and some of us decided to go down this steep incline to climb a tree..
me being one of them..

i made it to the tree and climbed it and then i had to get back up the hill..
the other two can run up the hill but it's muddy and slippery and steep.. and i couldn't get up
so i continued trying and sliding down the hill..and i ended up falling straight forward on my stomach and getting all muddy....and then FINALLY made it up with some help'

a little ways later, we decided to go the road less traveled and ended up coming to trees in the road.. one had fallen all the way over just where if i stepped over it, i could barely get over it..
so a turkish guy with us wanted to sit on it and take a picture.so he, april and i did...and right as the picture was about to get taken, the tree completely uprooted and we fell to the ground.. .
but it was pretty funny..

then we navigated and kept taking turns that made us feel like nobody ever went that way
so that was confusing and full of adventure, and then we ended up finding the way out...

and then we went to this turkish restaurant because there are no polish ones on this polish village hill..and celine dion, kelly clarkson, whitney houston, and any other cheesy music you can imagine played in the background.then we piled back in the car, headed back and dropped people off along the way...

till it was april and i and the couple whose car we were in.. well we were close to the fenerbache park which is right on the water.. so we decided to go so they could show us the park
remember, the waves on the sea are insane....

well we decide to park so we can check out the waves and take pics and whatnot.these waves were insanely big,HUGE!
well, there was this tree with these benches on it with an amazing view of the sea and i say to april "man i wish you could take a picture of me standing over there and waves coming up" and she decides to run over there so i can take her pic and then i go over for her to take mine.. and the waves come higher and higher

and i think to myself "i should really bring my camera over and take a picture of these humongous waves" yea......... not the best idea of the day

i definitely got SOAKED by a monster wave..
i am talking about jeans so wet they are falling off, hoodie soaked through to my shirt which is soaked through to my undershirt........ hair dripping wet. and it's sooooo windy

but i am just glad everyone got to see it because it was HILARIOUS
then we walked back to the car with people stopping to stare

and yea. made it home and took an awesome shower

magic coat.

because i did not bring one, because it is getting colder, and partly because i wanted to blend in here, i bought a plaid pea coat this week.
it was on sale, and would equal about $24 USD!!! so that was nice..

but i am beginning to think that it is a magical coat.
the first day i wore it, i had at least two Turks say i was very fashionable (a first here) and a couple of people say i looked Turkish.
today i wore it again and i had about ten people talk to me in Turkish with that look on their face like they fully expected me to respond in fluent Turkish.

maybe i should chunk all of my American clothes and buy a Turkish wardrobe..
do you think maybe i would learn Turkish faster that way?

new friend!

after language class, i baked brownies from scratch for the first time.
then, i cleaned the WHOLE apartment, other than sweeping.
i felt so domesticated

i took them to english tea time, so i was hoping they would turn out well....
and they did!

even better, i made a new friend!!!! yay!
that's a great feeling at this point..
i really desire to live life with people.
i want to develop friendships and speak truth into people's lives.

i really feel like i am adjusting well here...
i know i could use more practice with language and speaking it with natives here..
but, overall, i think my expectations coming in were pretty reasonable.

i didn't expect to make tons of relationships right off.
i expected to be tired. to get lost. to be frustrated at times.
i did not expect to be fluent in the language in a month or two months or a year....

all of these things i think i have had a pretty good perspective on.
so..... we'll see how it goes.

sometimes i do slip into the mode of "i need more turkish friends!" or "why don't i understand this conversation or remember EVERY single thing i learn!?" but then i remind myself: i am living in a new country, and just living here is enough to make you exhausted, let alone try to learn the language and invest in a friendship...

things are going at a pretty good pace. :)

one month!

i've been here a month! crazy..
it's been a good month.

i went to a birthday party last week.
this saturday, i am supposed to go to the "big island" to hike up if the weather is nice.
we'll see, i think it is supposed to start raining tomorrow for like 8 days nonstop. ha.

keep thinking about me and developing friendships..
i'll go to English Tea Time Wednesday night, so hoping some other girls will be there.

anyone else think it's weird Thanksgiving is sneaking up so fast?

new friend

tonight i made dinner before april got home.. making me feel a bit like a house wife. haha. but, it was fun and relaxing in a way.. i made brownies too..

so, i called my neighbor to see if she wanted to come over for cay and brownies.
she was busy waiting on her sister, so we didn't make cay.
but, we took her brownies and she invited us in for cay!
so it worked out, and we were showered with snacks too.
so, i am definitely excited about new friends, conversation, and cay.

scarf addiction....

so, i am forming new "addictions"...
i went to the "tuesday pazar" as everyone calls it, for the first time today..
it was my favorite one i have been to and i got really good deals.
i got two scarves for what would be less than 4 US dollars! nice.
so, you see why this can be habit-forming..

i also kinda learned how to make cay (chai) the other day.
i have only done it once, but, it is yummy and will add to my coffee addiction. :)

i have gotten to spend a little more time with my neighbor who is around my age.
i'm hoping to continue developing this relationship..
all of the neighbors i have met are so sweet and welcoming (even if they don't know english..)

my hard drive crashed, but a friend helped me find an apple retail dealer who honors apple care, so i won't have to pay anything. that's nice. i dropped it off today, and he should call me in about a week.... so ya.. :)

weekend maddness.

this weekend was waay too busy for me. ha.
i went to two huge malls and a huge bazaar.
but, i did get to go to ikea to get some stuff for the livingroom and go to the Spice Bazaar (without guidance!!!).
April and I are getting better at finding our way when we get lost. doesn't sound like an accomplishment, but believe me--it is!

i started a book study with some women i know and it was really really good.. it's something i definitely need, so I hope to be able to continue...

i have been studying language a lot (but i need to much more...) I am trying to figure out a tutor and how much a week.. that will help me be able to speak it better.

oh, and i went to a halloween party friday with other Americans, and it was fun. April and I were M&M's. simple and free.

we DID meet up with our neighbor friend last night!!! that's something I have been hoping for, so she came over and we are hoping to see her again Monday or Tuesday... so be thinking about that.

tomorrow is more language class... :) i think it will be an early night for me. yeah.