Important information!

I know many of you may be tired of the bathroom talk. With the talk about animal poop in the asure blog and the whole post about the proper usage of a squatty potty you may be beginning to wonder where my brain is. Well this post is also about a bathroom. Last one...I promise...well at least for now.



This sign was posted on the inside of a bathroom stall. This stall had a "normal" toilet in it. Actually it was a little fancy. It had the plastic stuff covering the seat. You could press a button, and the used plastic would rotate out and a fresh piece rotated in. Anyway...back to the sign. I was really amused by the directions on the sign. Here is a basic translation.

1. Don't smoke in the bathroom.
I know for a fact that this rule had been broken, because the whole bathroom smelled like cigarette smoke.

2. When using the "alafranga" toilet (normal sit down kind) your children should not stand on the seat. Teach them how to sit down and use it.
I can just picture children trying to stand on the seat and squat to use it!

3. Teach your children the right way to use an "alaturka" toilet (squatty).

4. Before AND after using the toilet don't forget to flush.
I never heard this one before! Seems like a waste of water to me!

5. Please throw your trash in the trash can.

6. After using the toilet definitely wash your hands with soap.

7. Don't forget to turn on the faucet.
This one confuses me. I think it should say 'don't forget to turn off the faucet' but that is not the word they are using. I looked it up thinking that maybe there could be some other way to say it, but I couldn't find anything else that made sense. The picture above looks like it is telling you not to leave it dripping, but that isn't what it is saying...as far as I can tell. The faucet they are talking about are the ones in the stalls. These are used to help "flush" the turkish toilets, and to help "clean" the people using the toilet. Why would you leave them on when you are finished? I have to say that almost every bathroom I have ever been in has a drippy faucet. Are they designed not to turn off all the way? Maybe someone who knows Turkish better than me....which is pretty much anyone around here...can explain it to me!

To edit or not to edit...that is the question.

I have gotten several comments on the Asure blog that I wrote. After reading it again myself I thought I should clarify something. I thought about just editing the post, but then I thought that if people have already read the post they might not read it again so they would never read the new sentence...are you ready? Here it is...

Asure is served cold or at room temperature.

Maybe people eat it right when it is done cooking, but I have never had it this way. Maybe I am supposed to heat it up, but from everything I have read on the subject...which isn't a lot...it never mentions eating it hot. So I am going with my original statement. Eat it cold.

If someone knows more than me about this subject let me know and I will post another blog with the new information!

Asure

It's that time again. You know the time when the Turks mix up a big ol' batch of asure and then pass it out to their neighbors. What? You say you've never heard of it? Okay then, let me fill you in.

The legend regarding the origins of asure goes as follows: "When the Flood finally subsided and Noah's Ark settled on Mount Ararat in Agri, those on the vessel wanted to hold a celebration as an expression of the gratitute they felt towards God. But alas, the food storages of the ship were practically empty and so they made a soup with all the remaining ingredients they could find and thus ended up with asure".

I must admit...I copied and pasted that last paragraph from a website on Turkish desserts. Okay...now that I have confessed let me give you my version of the holiday.

Asure is pronounced Ah-shur-ay....making sure to roll the 'r' in the word. One month ago we had a holiday called Kurban Bayram. This is the sacrificing holiday. Muslims believe that Abraham was going to sacrifice Ishmael and God stepped up and provided a ram in the thicket. Basically, our Abraham and Isaac story. Anyway, the month afterwards is asure month. I'm not sure how many of our neighbors make asure, but only one gives it to us...thankfully. What is in asure you ask? Good question. Brian says that Noah swept out the ark and made asure with what was in the dust pan. I picture every kind of animal poop imaginable when he describes it this way! Actually the ingredients are as follows....copying from website again...
Dövme (dehusked wheat for asure), Chickpeas, Dry white beans, Rice, Water, Dried apricots, Dried figs, Raisins, Orange, Sugar, Rose water, Walnuts (not crushed), Pomegranate, and the possiblities are endless. Our latest batch had hazelnuts, dried currants, and cinnamon on top. I would say that it is a lot like glorified oatmeal. That is what it tastes like to me. And I don't like oatmeal so I am not crazy about this "dessert" either.

On Sunday night we were having house church at our house. We had just finished dinner and were all sitting around the table when the doorbell rang. When I say all I mean 5 adults. There were also 6 kids running around so I'm sure it seemed really crowded to the nice little man from downstairs who was delivering his wife's homemade asure. He brought one bowl, but quickly ran back downstairs to get more since we had company. We ended up with the three bowls you see pictured above. One bowl was given to the single guy on our team. I'm not sure how well he eats being a single guy and all, and he said he loved desserts so he got to take home a hearty bowl of goodness to help him get by for a couple of days. Another bowl was given to friend who claims to love asure. Brian ate a little out of the last of the bowls and what is left is still in my refrigerator. Oh, Anna Grace also claimed to love it and asked for a bowl. Anna Grace doesn't love anything so I gave her a small amount to taste and I was right. She didn't like it.

I am thankful that God took care of Noah and his family on the ark. I am also thankful that only one of my neighbors shares asure with us. As they say in Turkey...afiyet olsun...or bon appetit!

For Paula

While I was in the states a friend of mine heard me talk about using a squatty potty. With the help of a couple of other friends who had been fortunate enough to have used one before I tried to describe what one looked like. This week Brian and I had the opportunity to visit a restroom that had squattys, and fortunately for Paula I had my camera!

How to use: Stand on the foot treads and squat all the way down keeping your balance without holding on to anything or touching the nasty floor. At the same time you must hold on to the tissue that you brought with you since most restrooms don't have any. If you are carrying a purse or have a jacket often you must hold onto them as well since the possiblity of there not being a hook is pretty good. And if you are wearing pants you will want to roll them up a bit so that they don't touch the floor which is usually wet and could have running water flowing over it. To flush: Pour a small pitcher of water (located under the faucet that won't turn off all the way...hence the wet floor... which is just outside of my picture near the stall door) in the toilet, or press a button on the wall making sure to stand at the extreme side of the stall so that your shoes don't get wet with the spray coming from the two small holes at the back of the toilet. Fun times!

Come visit and you, too, can try your hand at this extreme sport! I'll even hold your purse and coat for you although it will take away from the experience!

Another request.

After 44 reads only 14 comments or emails from people saying they are reading. Very interesting. I wonder who the other 30 people are! Anyway...I was thinking. Do any of you have blogs? I know of a couple, but if you have one I would love to know it's address. I would love to read your ramblings! If you have a blog either leave me a comment with the address or send me the address through email. Then I can comment on yours!

Curious...

I wanted to make a request. I put a site counter on my blog not too long ago. It was designed to help me see if anyone is actually reading this blog. I know some people are reading it because they are commenting. I am also seeing that 1500 people have looked at this blog since I put the counter on it. So I am wondering...where are all my blog readers from? Who is reading this besides the people who comment regularly? If you wouldn't mind posting a comment just so I can see who is reading this I would really appreciate it. All I want is your name, where you are from, and how you found my blog. I know some people are looking at this blog because they have clicked a link from someone else's blog. And others have a remember us card with the address on it. There may even be other ways that I am not even thinking of. So if you will give me a shout out I would appreciate it!

Translation?

Yesterday Brian went to the store to get some sodas. He came back with Diet Coke (of course!), lemon soda and apple soda. We had never tried the apple, and he thought it might taste a little like sparkling cider which we love. He was looking at the bottle and noticed it said "Elmali gazli icecek." That basically translates Apple Gassy drink. I just about died...mainly because he kept talking about what might happen to a person drinking apple gassy drink. For those of you who know Brian you can imagine what kinds of things he said and what kinds of faces he made. Now I'm sure if the drink was sold in America the translation would be more along the lines of "Apple Soda" or "Apple carbonated beverage" but it was funny translating it literally.

Anyway, it made me think about how many times things here are translated into English. Sometimes the translations are really good, and many times they are really funny! And then there are the times that they make absolutely no sense. The following paragraph is one of those times. These are the actual words written on a package for a loofa sponge. All spelling and punctuation errors are theirs - not mine! Some of you may have received this in an email from me not long after we moved to Turkey, but I think it is worth repeating! Read on!

Fiber Pumkin
Fiber pumkin is coming from cucurbite it's grouving up middle east of Turkey. If piell's up all poision bacterial after that you can use all fiber pumkin clean all bodies. It'll be marvellous for clean bodies it's finally end for celluite after that all bodies taking a breath. All of them making diffrent syle and sizes.
Use:
You'll use it with hot water and bath soap if you'll take a special pocket after push under the water it'll very naturel soft fiber pumkin. It's wont hurt all bodies. You can use all for faces cleaning. After all take bath you'll have to take very good bath.
Have a nice smooth and healthy life.

Are you kidding me? This makes no sense. You would think that if a person was going to try to sell something and wanted to use an English translation to tell how their product works or how wonderful the product is they would find a native English speaker to at least proofread the translation!

Surprised

I can't believe it. Yesterday I wrote an amazingly long blog about me. I know...not exactly what you want to read about, but hey, it is my blog after all. And then at the end I asked for feedback. I humbled myself...again, about me...took a learners posture and asked for people to critique me. I can't believe that out of the 60 people who looked at my blog over the last two days nobody said anything smart. And I don't mean brilliantly smart...I seriously expected someone to talk about how "messed up" I am or something. Maybe people saw how long the blog was and chose not to read it. Amy commented (and I appreciate it!) and I got one email about it, but that was it. Nobody took advantage of my invitation to say something ugly! Wow, you people are too nice!

Description change.

I was looking at the description I had for this blog. It said "what goes on and what's up on this side of the world." Then I was thinking about what I actually blog about. There are some pictures of life wherever we happen to be. There are stories about things that happen to us and around us. And then there are my random thoughts. I don't think my blog description really describes my blog. It isn't just about life on this side of the world. So in order to more accurately reflect the content of the blog I have changed the description. I am also going to create folders so that those of you who really only care to read about life here can find those posts more easily. Don't worry though, my reflections on life and my ramblings will still be available to all who dare to read them! Not all posts will have a category. Some are so random they would be in a category by themselves!

Personality Profile

About a month ago I got an email from a friend who has known me for almost 20 years. (Wait...am I really that old...yes we met freshman year of college...probably fall of 1987. Wow!) Anyway she read back through some of my old blogs and came upon the "Are there any questions?" blog of November 2. After reading it she had this to ask...

"What ways have you changed since your time in Turkey -- meaning, in character or spiritually?"

I told her that I would post the answer in a blog instead of in an email back to her, but have had trouble coming up with an easy answer. I feel like I have changed dramatically, but I can't really explain it. Before receiving her email our family went to California for Christmas and had a chance to spend some time with one of Brian's mentors. He challenged us to take a personality profile test to see how we scored. This personality test is the one that types you as a popular sanguine, powerful choleric, peaceful phlegmatic or perfect melancholy. I took this same test my senior year of high school and was a popular sanguine. I wondered how I would rate this time. Had I changed? So here is a partial answer to Karen's question and some other random thoughts I have about myself!

I had a lot of trouble taking the test this time. I don't remember how I felt when I took it in high school. Was it easier to know who I was when I was younger? It sure seemed to be! On this test I had to read each of four words on a line. I was supposed to select the word that most accurately described who I was naturally. If I had learned a behavior from a class, book, or for a job it is not considered a natural behavior for me. The test encouraged me to ask my friends or family if I had trouble choosing a word to describe me. It said that people often have a lot of baggage tied up in who they think they are so input from others can be insightful. If I was unsure of what a word meant there were definitions to help me make a choice. After reading all of those directions I got started.

Strengths-
1. adventurous, adaptable, animated, analytical
whew...this isn't so bad...definitely adaptable

2. persistant, playful, persuasive, peaceful
hmmm...persuasive...wait...is that a good thing or not....definition - convinces through logic and fact rather than charm or power...okay yes persuasive

3. refreshing, respectful, reserved, resourceful
Oh my ...I need definitions for these...
refreshing - renews and stimulates or makes others feel good
respectful - treats others with deference, honor and esteem
reserved - self-restrained in expression of emotion or enthusiasm
resourceful - able to act quickly and effectively in virtually all situations
Well, I would like to be refreshing, but I think reserved is a better description

And on it went. The strengths weren't too hard, but the weaknesses were another story!

Weaknesses

1. brassy, bossy, bashful, blank
okay...I guess of these I am bossy.

2. interrupts, impatient, insecure, indecisive
definitely indecisive, but wait, let me see a definition...
indecisive - finds it difficult to make any decision at all
Well, that's not me. I am not indecisive in the important things...just in deciding what I want to eat or what fun thing I want to do. And then it's just because there are so many good options! Okay, then what about insecure...
insecure - is apprehensive or lacks confidence
Well good grief...none of these are me. What does Brian think...interrupts - is more of a talker than a listener, starts speaking without even realizing someone else is already speaking...what? That isn't right. What does Abby say...definitely not interrupts...insecure. Okay...insecure.

3. unpredictable, unaffectionate, unpopular, uninvolved
What....this is crazy. I mean I know I have weaknesses, but I don't think any of these are me either! After consulting my "friends and family" I decided on unaffectionate - finds it difficult to verbally or physically demonstrate tenderness openly....although I don't think that is a "natural" personality trait for me.

And on it went. I tried to take the test by myself, but had too much trouble. When I finally finished I looked at my results.

Sanguine - 8
Choleric - 16
Melancholy - 4
Phlegmatic - 15

So what does this mean? I am a combination Choleric/Phlegmatic. Then I read on about normal healthy patterns, and it didn't mention this combination. So I continued reading. "There are two combinations that are not natural: Sanguine/Melancholy and Choleric/Phlegmatic." Well, that would be me. Not natural. Basically the test said that if your types don't go together you are masking your true personality and to retake the test making sure to consult the definitions. I tried this, and although I changed a few answers the results were still the same. I did see answers that I thought used to be more my personality...like in the strength examples above...I probably would have picked adventurous and playful when I was in high school, but I don't think I am those things as much anymore. Basically I am messed up!

I thought about this and what it means. I think that after reading about each personality I am more sanguine/phlegmatic, but I have learned a few things since I have been overseas. This is where I am finally answering Karen's question.(Sorry it has taken so long!) Since I have been in Turkey I have learned how to be more assertive. It is not natural for me, but I can do it. I have learned how to confront my problems instead of ignoring them hoping them they will go away. I am more unemotional, independent, and confident than I was before I arrived. I have some choleric traits naturally, but not enough for this to be my dominant personality type. After being on a small team and having to work through problems with people I have learned a lot about how to relate to others. I don't think I am messed up. I am just more well-rounded in my thoughts and personality.

So that didn't really touch how I have changed spiritually, but I do feel like it is all related. God has taught me great things about who He is through my personality trials! As I learned to step out of what was natural for me I had to depend on God to work it out. Before coming overseas I didn't know what it meant to depend on God! Now I realize that I can't do this on my own! Not at all! And there is so much more I could say, but this is already way longer than most people want to read so I'll stop with this question. If you knew me before I went to Turkey and then saw me again while we were in the states or converse with me regularly through email do you think I changed? Do you see any differences in me? I want the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Neighborhood pictures

I always seem to take pictures of the scenery from my balcony, but I never have pictures of the outside of my building so here it is. Our apartment is the third gray balcony from the top (looking at the shorter side of the building). This balcony can be reached from our kitchen, Erica's room and the salon. We also have the small pink balcony (2nd from top) on the longer side of the building. This looks fancy from the picture, but is too small to actually use for anything other than storage. The white building in the background has been built in the last year and a half. It was an empty lot that had quite a bit of trash in it. The kids used to play there and collect stuff for pretend houses they built. They were sad when they started to build a real house there!


This is the mosque located just down from our building. We hear the call to prayer 5 times a day from the speakers at the top of the minaret. Very few people go to pray when the call is heard most days. The exception is Fridays at noon. That is when they have their "sermon" and then the cars are lining the streets.

An obsession!

As many of you know I was so excited to be able to eat some of my favorite foods while we were in America. And now that I am back in Turkey I am enjoying some of my favorite foods here. One of my favorite snacks in Turkey is something called a simit. It is basically like a unsalted pretzel covered in sesame seeds. I think they are yummy!


You can buy simits at the grocery store, local bakery, from a simit stand, or from a simitci who carries them on a tray balanced on his head. They cost about 30 cents each early in the day, but as the day goes on the price gets cheaper. I guess they want to make sure they sell them all!


One of my friends came over the other day to teach me how to make one of my favorite asian dishes...California rolls! I love them!

We put all the ingredients on a plate so we could mix and match. My favorite was avocado, crab, cucumber! This is not a Turkish dish but I learned to love it here because there is quite a large Korean population at our school.


And finally I just had to show everyone what I requested for my last meal in America! A vegetable plate. Most people thought that was strange, but it was filled with all the veggies we can't get in Turkey. Sweet potatoes, cream-style corn, yellow squash and black-eyed peas with cornbread! It was so good, and I was so full when I finished this meal!

This language!

Yesterday, Brian went to the grocery store to pick up several things. I had already ordered groceries online, but these were things that I had forgotten and needed for dinner and over the next couple of days. He was able to find everything on the list except beef bouillon.. He wasn't sure where to look or what it was called in Turkish so he proceeded to try to explain to the helpful little man at the market what he was looking for.

Brian - "I'm looking these things that are beef flavored. They are shaped like cubes."
Grocer - "sugar cubes?"
Brian - "No, it is beef flavored and sometimes you put it in soups. There are also chicken flavored cubes that can go in soup."
Grocer - "bulyon?"
Brian - (feeling really stupid) "yes, bouillon."

I have also had that same experience. Right before we went back to the states I went to Starbucks with a friend. My drink was really hot so I tried to ask for the little cardboard thing that helps to insulate your hand. I tried explaining it to the nice lady, and she looked at me and said, "you would like a sleeve?" Yes, a sleeve. I didn't know what they were called in English, so I had no idea what to call them in Turkish!

I think this is why I try to plan out what I am going to say before I have to say it! When we first arrived back in America I even found myself planning conversations there so that I wouldn't have to figure out how to say something! Then I realized that my eye doctor speaks English! So did the hairdresser and the cashier at the grocery store! Now I have to remember that I am back in Turkey. Today at the mall I beeped when I went through the metal detector at the entrance. I turned and looked at the lady and said, "Am I okay?" in English. She just looked at me and waved me on. Turkish, Natalie, Turkish. One day my brain will catch up with my body!

Clarification

While we were in the states several people mentioned that they enjoyed reading our blog and getting our updates. This made me feel a little guilty because it has been a while since I have sent an email update! After starting this blog about a year ago I have sent very few updates thinking that this blog could serve that purpose. But, I am realizing that for security reasons I am not really updating anyone on our work in the blog...just on our life. So I have decided to start anew with the emailed updates. What does this mean? If you currently received emails from us (blog updated, personal, or whatever) you will automatically be put on the update distribution list. If you check this blog because you got this site from a friend, off of a "remember us" picture card, or some other way and would like to receive email updates on our work please send me your email address so I can add you to the list. And finally, for those who get emails from us but don't want updates, email me and let me know and I will take you off the list. Hopefully that covers everyone! Expect the first update email in a week or so. We are just getting started and still trying to recover from jetlag!

Blog = life, funny stories, my crazy thoughts
Email updates = work related stories and requests

Email me at natalie@dixonchronicles.com or leave a comment on this site and I will take care of you. I will delete all comments that have personal information such as email addresses as soon as I add your address to my address book.

Welcome Home!

We are back in Turkey...finally! After several weeks of not knowing when we were leaving Texas it seemed to happen very quickly. We got back January 25 and immediately had 11 people over to hang out and help keep us awake until bedtime. We ordered pizza from Dominoes and had lots of fun. The top picture above shows the Dominoes sign in the trees under the Dostlar Manti sign. I was standing on my balcony, zoomed in, and took this picture to show how close it is. And they deliver too! I wish I had taken a picture of the pizza to show everyone what it looked like. The cheese and pepperoni pizzas look pretty much the same. There is very little sauce on them, but they are pretty good. We also got a pizza that had feta cheese on it. You can order pizza with corn kernels, square pieces of meat that are supposed to be ground meat, and something called garlic sausage that takes getting used to. They are round just like pepperoni, but often cut a little thicker. I am pretty sure there were some of these sausages on the pepperoni pizzas because I would occasionally get the garlic sausage flavor and some of the meat looked a little suspicious. Welcome home!

Some other things I have noticed since I have been back....everything seems really small. I remember thinking that things seemed huge in Texas when we first arrived back in June, but I guess I got used to it because things here are tiny! The toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, microwave ovens, cereal boxes, milk, sandwich bread, and various other things are a lot smaller than I remembered. Even the rooms in my apartment look smaller. Will thought his room shrunk while he was gone! Now things are looking a little more normal. Brian and I watched a TV show called Designed to Sell while we were in the states. The idea behind the show is to update your house a little so that you get more money for it when you sell it. One of the main things we heard over and over is that most people have too much furniture in their rooms. They overcrowd. Well that is how our house looked to us when we got back. Our furniture was too big for our small rooms. We don't have closets so we have to put wardrobes in the rooms for our clothes. A wardrobe, bed, table with a lamp, and a dresser take up a lot of space. We have walking paths and small play areas in the kids rooms, but the people on HGTV would cringe if they walked in here! Welcome home!

We have really enjoyed being back and getting to use our electric blanket, our space heaters, and wearing long johns! We don't even own these things in Texas but enjoy the rare occasion when we need the fireplace there. I wasn't happy about coming back to really cold weather for long lengths of time, but I was excited about being able to get warm when it is cold! Very strange I know. It snowed last night so this morning we walked to church in the snow. I think we will have many opportunities to use our blanket, heaters, and long johns in the next few weeks! See the pictures above for proof! Welcome home!

Some dates...finally!

Well, it's official. We finally received our passports today and now have tickets to head back to Turkey. We fly out on January 24 at noon, Texas time and arrive in Ankara on January 25 at 2pm Turkey time (6am Texas time). We are happy to have something to work towards. I was tired of living in limbo...knowing we were headed back but not having any specific dates! The kids will have 3 days of life before they have to start back to school. Hopefully it will be enough time to get over jet-lag! At this point they don't have a choice. Thanks to everyone who has been thinking about us during this time. We really appreciate it! Now think about how we can get all the stuff we are planning on taking back into our suitcases! That may take a miracle!

Old School

Recently we have been having some internet issues. We finally had a repairman show up at our house and...gasp...it is our modem. It plugs in and looks like it should be working, but something on the inside decided to quit. We don't think we need to spend the money on a new one since we are leaving soon so we have resorted to using the old stand-by...dial up! I can't believe how slow it is! Definitely old school! It took forever to download my emails today. (I am currently at my parents' house loving their DSL as I type this blog.) What does this mean you ask? Well, no more pictures or mass emails until I get back to Turkey. I'm not sure how skype or other programs will work on dial up. We will have to just try it and see!

Exactly when will you be going back to Turkey you ask? Good question! I wish we knew! We are currently waiting on the kids' passports. We sent them in for renewal a long time ago! We still haven't received them. According to their website we should have them "on or before January 13". We already had that same message another time we checked and it said January 10. That day came and went. Now we are hopeful that we will have them in the next couple of days. Once we receive them we can give our company the go ahead to get our tickets. I have no idea what the earliest travel date will be for reservations. It may be the end of January before we will actually be leaving. We are half packed and not sure what to do with ourselves. We have kept the kids home from school after the Christmas break because we planned on being back in Turkey for the second semester of school which starts January 29. That will still be the case, but with the way things are going we might end up missing a couple of days. We will keep you posted on our plans.

And more...

The kids on their scooters...a Christmas present from Brian's parents.


The flamingos at the San Diego Zoo...they were loud!


A mountain...somewhere along the way.


Hill tops covered with windmills


What Jacob did on Christmas day. He was coming down with strep throat! Thankfully we were able to see a doctor/friend and get some medicine. Thanks, Doc!

Pictures from the west.

The kids standing next to a cactus. Those things are huge!


A picture of the desert...somewhere in Arizona


Las Palmas Dr. on the way to Brian's parents' house.


The Hollywood sign as seen from Griffith Observatory.

Remember us!

Since we have been in the states we have had new "remember us" cards made. If you would like one either leave me a comment on here with your home address or send me an email with your address and I will mail one to you. All blog comments are emailed to me as soon as you leave them so when I get your address I will delete your comment so your address isn't out there for everyone to see! My email address...just in case you need it...is

natalie@dixonchronicles.com.

If you don't want a card but want to see what we look like here is the picture printed on the card.

Promised pictures...

I don't usually take scenic pictures. Usually I make sure to have people I know in the scenery...two pictures for the price of one....but these pictures were exceptions. Enjoy.



The view of Los Angeles from the Griffith Observatory. Notice the layer of smog over the city!


A saguaro cactus...one of many we saw on our drive through Arizona.


The start of sunset over the Pacific Ocean as seen from Camp Pendleton.


Mountains and a full moon.

Holidays and Plans

I've been meaning to post a blog for a couple of weeks now, but have not been able to find the time! I thought I would try to update everyone on what we are doing now and what our plans for the next several couple of weeks will be.
Currently, we are in California visiting Brian's family. We will be here until January 2 and then will head back to Texas to pack up for Turkey. We don't have plane tickets yet, but will let you know as soon as we know our exact plans. The unofficial date is January 12. Needless to say we have a lot to do before we can head back to Turkey. I keep having dreams that we are sitting in our kitchen in Turkey and I am remembering things I forgot to bring with me. Namely food items! I had dreams about food before I came back to America and now I am dreaming about forgetting food when I go back. I think I must have a problem!
Well that is all I am posting for now. Stay tuned for pictures next time!

Life in the USA

Look at this yummy cake! Will's birthday was December 5, and this was the cake he requested. My thoughts...I could make this in Turkey sometime! Yea! Add this to my "American things I can do in Turkey" list!


Two 4packs of Bubba teeth and what a sight we are! I wonder what our host culture would think of these things!


Driving home from a Thanksgiving camping trip in my parent's RV. These things are incredible. You can do so much while you are driving down the road. I sat there and ate a snack then went to the bathroom and washed my hands. All while my dad was driving. Amazing!


Sitting around the campfire singing Christmas songs. It was a wonderful time with family.

I love America! We have been in the states for almost 6 months. I can't believe it! The time here has been really good. We have enjoyed spending time with family and friends and just being able to relax. These pictures are a glimpse of us relaxing in the good ole USofA!

Substance

On November 2nd I asked my blog readers to help me come up with something to blog about by asking questions about things they wanted to know. Only 5 people responded and most of them with easy questions to answer. But, leave it to Mentanna to ask something that I really had to think about. So, after a few days of thought and a few weeks with not enough time to blog I am finally ready to answer. Here is her question and my answer.

Which American trait do you like least about yourself, and which Turkish trait would you most like to adopt?

I think the American trait I like least about myself is the feeling of entitlement I have. I have noticed that we as Americans want things our way and in our timing. We have rights, and we are good at making sure our demands are met. I have mentioned this before, but I think it is important enough to mention again. When I am in America and sometimes when I am overseas I find myself expecting people to do things my way and I get upset if they don't.

In restaurants we expect the cook to prepare the food the way we want because we are paying for it. We ask for substitutions and make changes to the items offered on the menu and expect the restaurants to accommodate us. In Turkey and I would venture to say in quite a few other places in the world, people go to restaurants and order the food the way it says on the menu. They expect it to come like is says on the menu. The restaurants tell you on the menu how they cook it and if you don't want it that way you don't order it. Now, there are some places that will make exceptions, but mostly they do it their way, not mine. One sidenote...most restaurants in America don't mind making substitutions to their menus. They are happy to accommodate their customers. I have taken advantage of this quite a bit since I have been here. I am not complaining about that. It is the customer who tells the cashier at McDonalds that the french fries better be fresh and hot or she will bring them back that I have a problem with.

I also have a great example of getting my haircut in Turkey. The first time I went to a kuafor...hair salon...to get my haircut I told them how I wanted it cut. They did an okay job at following my directions, but it wasn't exactly like I had in mind. Now there was probably something lost in translation so I didn't worry about it too much. The next time I went back to the same place and told them that I didn't want my hair to be the same as the first time. I wanted something different. What did I get? Exactly the same thing. The stylist figured that he must have done something right the first time or I wouldn't have come back. I learned then that if I wanted my hair to be cut differently I either needed to go to a different salon or have a different person from that salon cut my hair. So that I didn't offend the stylist by demanding that someone else cut my hair I went somewhere else the next time I wanted my haircut. I actually like that I can go to the same stylist in America and have her do my hair the way I want and that it can be different every time. Very easy!

I think that Americans feel like we have earned the right to complain, pass judgement, and basically demand that things go our way or else. It wasn't so much like this in the 1950's and before. People were used to hardship and things not going their way. I think that when we were dealing with progress and civil rights (both good things) in the late 60's and 70's we got off track and became demanding of our own rights. We do have rights. It's how we demand that they be met that I want to flee from.

And now...

The Turkish trait I would most like to adopt is their idea of hospitality. For example...

1. Turkish picnics - they are an all day affair. You bring most of the food in grocery sacks and prepare it at the picnic. Tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, onion, and pepper chopped up and mixed together with a little oil and lemon juice makes a shepherd's salad. Turkish bread, some grilled meatballs, chicken or lamb, grilled peppers or tomatoes, mixed nuts and seeds, and fresh fruit makes for some good eating.

2. Visiting in people's homes - When we first went to Turkey I had problems with this. We would go to someone's house for dinner at 5 and they wouldn't even serve dinner until 7:30 or so. By the time they served dessert, coffee or tea, and fruit (the final course) we had been at their house for 5 hours! It was amazing. There is no such thing as a short meal or a short visit.

3. Neighbors who bring food - I love this! When Turks bring food to their neighbors they bring a real dish not a disposable one. When the dish is returned it is returned with food on it. My problem is I never know what to put on the dish when I return it. My neighbors will bring stuffed peppers, bulgur pilaf or cheese pastries (not a sweet dish) and I always wonder what they do with the muffins or cookies I put on the plate when I return it. They bring real food and I return dessert. I'm sure it says something about me, but I don't think they will like most of the American food I cook and I can't cook Turkish food nearly as well as they can.

Sorry for such a long post. Mentanna must have been tired of my fluff blogs and wanted some substance. Most of Mentanna's posts are long and full of substance and I guess she wanted some company. You can click on the link to her blog on the right side of your screen (you may have to scroll down to find her name) and read some really good stuff if you are looking for more substance! Thanks, MLG, for the great question!

'Tis the Season

I just wanted to post some pictures of our neighbor's yard. They have decorated for every holiday since we have been back. They had several inflatables in their yard for 4th of July and halloween, but their Christmas decorations take the cake. They have 12 inflatable decorations in their yard. Six of them are quite large and the other six are smaller. One is a snow globe with actual white stuff blowing around in it. You can see it to the left of the archway over the sidewalk. They also have a blow-up carousel that actually turns...on the right of the archway. Not seen in this picture is a huge santa Mickey Mouse, and you can barely make out a Christmas tree, and a snowman on the far right. The smaller inflatables are Christmas ornaments and Winnie the Pooh characters. There are lights on their house, a candy cane lined sidewalk, a flag on the side of the fence, a santa hanging from their garage roof, and signs that say "Reindeer Crossing" and "Santa stops here." Incredible. These inflatable things must be fairly new; because, I don't remember them from before we went overseas. And they aren't cheap either. To decorate this yard this much must have cost a small fortune! I took these pictures at night so you could see the lights, but during the day the inflatables really show up.


I guess there is so much electricity going through their yard they had to put up the following sign!

Will's hair....

I'm not sure what all to say about Will's hair except that it is a far cry from the pictures of his hair posted here on May 4! He loved the long shaggy hair look when we arrived back in the states, and he had just gotten his haircut. He decided to grow it out then. That was June 12, and he hasn't had a haircut since! He wanted me to email these pictures to his friends, but I decided to just post them here instead. That way you can all enjoy goldilocks!



This picture looks a little distorted, but it was the only one I took with a view from the front!

The great outdoors!

Some friends and I went away for a girls' weekend this past weekend. It was so nice to get away from the kids and the responsibilities of home and just relax! We played dominoes, ate, talked about being godly wives, ate, talked about raising godly daughters, ate, talked about heart friends and accountability, and ate some more. I don't think I felt even a tiny hunger pain the whole weekend!

As you can see from this picture we took advantage of the campfire and moved the TV outside. We watched a video called Your Girl which gave us lots of advice on how to raise godly daughters.


The girls! This picture looks a little more feminine than some I took! At least we had our legs crossed! We decided after no showers and smoky campfires for two days we looked and smelled a little manly!

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

I realize it is a couple of weeks early, but Anna Grace has gotten us thinking about what we are thankful for. She was given a piece of paper with the same title as this blog. There were 105 empty blanks for her to fill in with things she is thankful for. This is what she came up with. I won't subject you to the spelling mistakes she made...you should be thankful for that!

family, mom, dad, Will, Jacob, Erica, friends, me, Eric, Tyler, Harley, teacher, Mrs. Fisher, church, school, Mrs. Campbell, Mrs. Lundy, Mikah, Mary Erin, Andrew, Nicholas, animals, squirrels, dog, cat, hamster, chipmunk, zebra, giraffe, body, food, drink, clothes, God, Jesus, us, grapes, bananas, pears, apples, house, everyone, TV, shirts, pants, mittens, gloves, scarf, candles, couches, chairs, pictures, camera, coconut, windows, girls, boys, cup, mug, plate, play, toys, people, Turkey, New York, Texas, Egypt, monkey, gorilla, fireplaces, computers, bible, cheetah girls, High School Musical, Zac Ephron, The Little Princess, jewelry, water, books, pillows, movies, furniture, cars, trophies, music, showers, baths, stop signs, stop lights, rocks, spirits, flowers, moon, sun, stars, earth, electricity, toilets, Jupiter, planets, coats, snow, closets, rugs, carpets

Interesting list...I know! She was proud of herself for coming up with that many.
So what are you thankful for?

Some answers.

Here are the answers to some of the questions posted by my blog readers.

1. Am I going to the craft fair tomorrow? Well, I went to the craft fair with Amy...thanks for asking...and I bought soup and dip mixes. I looked at all of the other items, but couldn't bring myself to buy anything that I was going to have to figure out how to get it back to Turkey. I kept thinking about the weight limit my bags were going to have and it was a good shopping deterant. I did see some pretty jewelry that wouldn't have taken up too much room, but we are saving for a new laptop so I just looked longingly at it and walked away.

2. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? I am a crunchy girl myself. We usually buy both because the kids prefer the creamy, but give me some peanut butter with a little substance to it so I can justify the fat and calories.

3. When do we go back to Turkey? Well now, that is a good question. Our plan is to go back mid-January...like maybe the 11 or 12. We are still waiting on medical clearance from our company, but shouldn't have any problems.

4. Are we excited about going back? Yes and no. Erica is loving junior high in America, but will be fine once we get going. The other kids are all saying that they are ready to go back to their friends. Brian is really ready to go back, and I can do whatever. I am okay being in the states right now, but when the time comes I will be okay going back. One confession though....I might cry. I have never cried leaving America...not the first time or any of the times I have visited. This time I think I might be emotional about it. We will see.

5. What kinds of things have the kids noticed written on the bathroom stalls? Will came out of the restroom at a restaurant the other day and told Erica that if she was looking for a good time she could call Hannah at 281-***-****. We just about died. He thought that if a girl was looking for a good time she should have written her number in the girls bathroom where potential friends could read it. Oh, the innocence of youth.

6. Which country do I like better, America or Turkey? Now Abby, you know my answer. "They are very different from each other. They both have great things about them that I love. I like them equally well." Never commit to one or the other. It isn't good to bad mouth your home country or your host country.

7. Do I still make library cards for my personal books and then check them out to people? Why? Are you interested in borrrowing one? No, of course not. That is so high school! But, we do have a lot of DVD's in Turkey that we check out to people. They have to write their name in a little book along with the titles of the DVD's they are "checking out". Does that count? Those things are expensive, and after losing a few we got smart! Now we know who has what! And we are popular too...lots of people check out our movies! If you would come visit us, Mentanna, you could see if you approve of the system.

There were a couple of other serious questions that will take serious answers so I am waiting until I am in a more serious state of mind to answer them. Seriously!

Are there any questions?

I need to write a blog. I feel it. But, I don't know what to say. I keep having these moments that cause me to comment, "I am going to write a blog about that." But, when I sit down to write about them no words will come. Or I will have forgotten what it was I wanted to write about. Like now. I am thinking that I need to write a blog about how I am getting old. I am taking 6 different pills every night. All but one of them is a supplement. All have been recommended by doctors. That's it. Nothing funny or enlightening about that. It sounds good when I think about it but typed up on the computer it doesn't seem like much.

Another idea I had...when is it that your kids go from thinking you know everything to thinking you know nothing. With 4 kids in different stages of that thinking I just was wondering. And it isn't like Erica, the 13 year old, thinks I don't know what I am talking about. Deep down she realizes that I am almost always right. It's Anna Grace, the 7 year old, that seems to think that I don't have a clue. The boys don't seem to have a problem in this area. Jacob questions when he thinks I might possibly be wrong about something but usually takes my word for it. And Will, well who knows what he thinks! He seems to be pretty sure of what he thinks and doesn't ask for our opinion or advice much. Okay...so that is it for that topic.

I have also thought about writing about how while in America I am expecting more of people than I do in Turkey. I ask more of waiters...sauce on the side, no eggs even though the meal comes with them, substitutions. I don't know if it is because I know that they are used to it and expect to serve me or if it is because I can speak their language. In Turkey I might ask for sauce on the side except that would mean I would need to know how to say it in Turkish. And then I would wonder if they would be happy to get it for me or just think I am a demanding American.

All of these and many more thoughts have been floating around in my head. I just don't know how to write about them. I think I am in a slump. I was speaking to a group about our experiences overseas, and when I was done with what I had to say I took questions. Maybe that is what I need to do now. While I am in this slump....not able to come up with much to say myself...what do you want want me to write about? What do you want to know? Please...I am taking questions!

South Carolina

Brian and I were priviledged to spend several days last week in Lexington, South Carolina. We went to a conference at Lexington Baptist Church and ended up getting much more than we ever anticipated. Our host family, Bryan and Cindy Herring, was great! They are big Clemson Tiger fans as the following pictures will show. A fellow conference attendee told me that when she moved to SC she was told she had to decide if she was going to be a South Carolina fan or a Clemson fan. It was true! We were only there 5 days, and we, too, had to make that choice! Of course it was much easier because of who we were living with!
. I had to take a picture the second day we were with the Herrings because for the second day in a row they were dressed in Clemson clothing! Notice the paw prints on the pants! That night we went to a family member's television store and watched the Clemson game on a big screen TV. They won 63-9! At least we chose a winning team! The chairs, plates, and cups were all orange! Their great niece was also there dressed as a Clemson cheerleader!

The next night I took a picture of the Herrings and Brian who was wearing as close to orange as he wanted. Being a Baylor alumni it was a major step to wear burnt orange, but he figured it was closer to Clemson's colors than green and gold.

Not satisfied with the burnt orange, Bryan Herring bought Brian a Clemson shirt and cap to wear the next day! It only took three days to win him over!


While we were driving around on Saturday afternoon we saw a stand that sold boiled peanuts. I mentioned to Cindy that one of the guys on our team in Turkey loves boiled peanuts and even got some in a package that he shared with us. That night for a snack she made some for us to try...fresh, hot, boiled peanuts anyone? These pictures are for you, Patrick!

OOB

I keep thinking about needing to write a new blog, but the problem is I am not in town. I can write a blog from out of town obviously, but we have been really busy so I haven't had the time to do it. We actually go home tomorrow, Oct. 15, and I have plans for a blog. It will have pictures. So for now I leave you with what we call an OOB in Turkey. An OOB is what we send in to our supervisors when we go out of town. OOB stands for Out of Bed.

OOB
Who - Brian and Natalie
Where - Lexington, South Carolina
Dates - October 11-15
Why - M conference
How can I be reached? (insert telephone number here) I don't want everyone in cyberspace to know my phone number so I won't insert it myself!

Stay tuned for pictures from Lexington!

Yummy!

I was reading the newspaper this morning and saw a picture of this yummy fruit basket. I looked them up online and was really impressed with how pretty these baskets look. They even had a veggie version. I guess this is the health conscience person's version of the cookie bouquet! One could do this himself if one wanted...Abby, next time someone tells you to bring the fruit this is what I expect to see! No fruit on toothpicks allowed! And so I don't get in trouble for taking these pictures from someone else's website I'll tell you where I found them! www.fruitflowers.com and www.gourmet-cookie-bouquets.com. I don't know anyone who works at these places...I'm just impressed with their artistic abilities!
I think they almost look too good to eat! I said almost....

Did you know...

Did you know...

CSI is currently filming in 15 different cities including Las Vegas, New York, and Miami. CSI:Waco coming to a television near you!

Everything really is bigger in Texas. The mosquitos look like small birds!

You seldom get asked to read your bible in church if all you carry is a Turkish bible.

The restaurant service industry expects you to complain so they replace foods that look too well done or are not substantial enough, and bring refills on drinks before you can even drink 1/3 of them. e.g. "Here are some more pancakes. The others I brought looked too done." "This bloomin' onion is too small. I ordered another one for you."

Watching poker on TV is much more exciting than playing it in real life.

American products such as nacho cheese, bacon bits, peanut butter, crunchy cheetos, and shredded wheat taste better when someone brings them to us in Turkey than they do when we buy them ourselves from the stores here.

You can email your digital photos to Walmart and they will print them in an hour!

Being able to choose from 8 different college football games on TV is not as exciting as Brian thought it would be, and trying to watch all of them at the same time gives his thumb a workout!

A 24 count box of crayola crayons only costs a quarter during back to school sales!

When you have nothing to do and lots of time to do it in going fire ant hunting is a noteworthy event!

Ask me!

Brian went to the eye doctor today to see what could be done about his hazy PRK eye. He has one eye that sees fine up close and at a distance, but the other eye can't see very well at a distance. The doctor told him that he could get glasses if he wanted but that it really wasn't necessary. He opted to get them and just use them for driving and other activities when clarity is nice...golf, baseball games, etc. This isn't what I want you to ask me about or why I am writing; however, the visit reminded me of a funny story about Anna Grace getting her eyes checked in January. The problem is the story is only funny if I tell it to you. I can't describe it well enough on this blog to do it justice. Then I was at church tonight and a friend reminded me of a story about Jacob questioning our job. Again, not something I can share on this blog. So I thought I would write a blog to tell you that I have these funny stories to tell. If you see me and want to hear funny kid stories ask. There is also one about Will learning how to spell words in English....only funny if you hear it. I'm sure I can probably come up with something funny that Erica has done as well, but I need to think about it! And....she is 13 so she might die of humiliation if I share stories about her!

Other Discoveries

I was at the grocery store yesterday and noticed more new items I hadn't seen before. First of all I saw brown marshmallows. They weren't a yummy looking chocolate brown...kind of a dirty brown. They were called Toasted marshmallows and they were covered with toasted coconut. They actually looked pretty gross but would probably taste great in a s'more. I didn't buy them...maybe next time.

There was also an item called Cottonelle for Kids. I had seen a coupon for it and couldn't imagine why they would make a special toilet paper for kids. The package said that it helps kids learn how much to use. Evidently kids follow paw prints printed on the paper to a puppy and then tear it off there. It looks like about 5 squares. I thought this sounded silly, but wonder if I should buy some for Jacob! That boy uses more toilet paper than anyone I know!

Until next time...

What's new?

I have watched a lot of TV over the last few weeks, and I have been to the grocery store quite a bit since we have been in the states. I can't believe how many different food choices we have! It is amazing! I noticed on a commercial for TGI Fridays they have a couple of new appetizers. Fried macaroni and cheese bites...what?!? How do you make macaroni and cheese more fattening...fry it! It actually sounds interesting to me, and I wouldn't mind tasting it. I just can't imagine it. They also have green bean fries. They must not have liked the fact that green beans were so healthy. I guess it would be similar to fried zuchini. Sounds kinda yummy to me.

We have also noticed that almost every kind of candy bar has an ice cream with the same name. They also come in super size, regular size, miniatures, and bite size. You can have your chocolate in any size or shape you want!

Another thing I found interesting is how all of the snack items come in the old package sizes and new 100 calorie packages. I guess they are trying to control our portion sizes for us since we haven't been too good at it ourselves. They have cookies, crackers, gummy snacks, and other fun things in the new 100 calorie packs.

Lastly, we are somewhat concerned about Olive Garden's never-ending pasta bowl. You can create as many pasta and sauce combinations as you want. Those people who only had a 100 calorie snack pack at snack time must be starving when dinnertime comes! Olive Garden knows this and is coming through for them! I think the commercial said there were 42 different combinations!

So what do you think? Have you heard of any new food items that I might have missed? Let me know!

Football...Texas Style!

Will's one request when we came back to the states was to be able to play American football. We signed him up for the local team and he started practicing. Practices are three evenings a week, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday and the games are on Saturdays! Who knew we were making such a time committment? Then last week they had a pep rally on Friday night. This week they have to go on Tuesday evening for team pictures! I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into! Right after football started they had a parent meeting to let us know what all we could expect. One thing that the coach said really shocked us. He said that the kids would be weighed every week before the game to make sure they "made weight". He said that he did not want kids starving themselves before the games to be able to make weight. Then he said the limit was 145 lbs! For a 10 year old! I could not believe that some kids would have to starve themselves to be under 145 lbs! So after a couple of weeks of practices they did their first weigh-in. This wasn't for a game but just to let the kids know where they stood. After weighing Will there was much discussion about him being too light to play. He weighed 62 pounds in full pads! The coaches decided to move him to the 9 year old team...I have no idea what their weight limit is! He was a little disappointed but he is no longer the smallest on the team and as a mom, I am thankful that 145 lbs kids won't have the opportunity to tackle him! These pictures are from his first game. During the first quarter Will recovered a fumble by the other team while being surrounded by their guys. The announcer said..."Fumble recovered by the panthers number 87 Willlllll Dixonnnnnnnnnnnn. He heard it and loved it! We cheered like crazy people!

Number 87, Willlllllllll Dixonnnnnnnnnn



Will went in and out every other play to deliver the play to the huddle. It was so fun to watch the coach interact with him. The coach told him "stay with me" then would tell him the play and he would run in to deliver it.