Something for the cowgirl in me...

or something to destroy the cowgirl in me... time will tell.
so there i am riding off into the sunset on my Turkish horse (within the limits of the riding rink, of course). Okay, now I have done alot of things since I have been in Turkey, but it's always interesting. You may not be able to totally comprehend it, but ordinary life is just way more interesting in a second culture, I highly recommend it. I have not ridden a horse since childhood. I never disliked it, but Camp Sycamore as a Girl Scout was quite a few years ago. Now a horse is a horse, of course, of course...(anyone remember where that's from? Penny for your thoughts.) But, its still bigger than me and higher off the ground than I am, (which isn't saying much, granted).
So, one of my friends called me and told me she wanted to take me to look at the horses. She has joined the riding club at the university. She picks me up and immediately as I get into the car in my skirt, I realize that I am improperly dressed. We are not actually going to look at the horses, of course we're going to ride them. Why had this thought not crossed my mind. My covered friend has joined the riding club and she wants to take me to ride horses. It's just all a bit interesting to picture in my mind, but nonetheless, that is what it is and I go and change my clothes to something more appropriate. You see, I do all the things that I did in my former life, they just all seem to have a new twist to them over here. Variety is the spice of life, my 9th grade history teacher used to tell me.
This is one thing that I have to admit, he was right about. It sure has been.
There are absolutely no flattering pictures of me riding the 'Typhoon'. It was awkward. I mount the horse and am instantly reminded that my instructions are all in Turkish. The man telling me how to get on the horse, how to sit, how to hold the reigns, and how to make him go and stop properly--all very necessary things to learn, mind you--are coming to me in Turkish. I am not a totally easily scared person, but I'm sufficient to say a bit nervous at this point. Several loops around the fence and many many 'I don't understand you's later, I am ready to call it a day and gaze at the lovely horses from afar. He proceeds to make the ride a bit longer than I thought it was going to be and then I have to show him, yes I do know how to politely tell you to 'get me off the horse now', in Turkish. I did manage to last my '8 seconds' of fame though. I managed to ride longer than one of the girls I went with, who actually happened to be in the riding club. Nicely done, eh? Sufficed to say, next time I get on a horse, it will be one that speaks English.

Something uncooked

Okay, So i have this friend. My sweet perfume D.V.D. friend. I invited said friend over to cook today. (I know, you are thinking, how in the world do you get the courage to invite a friend over to cook in your non-air conditioned kitchen in 100 degree heat in June?) But, I did. So, we planned it all out. I was going to have her over and teach her how to make this one Turkish food that I know how to make and she doesn't. She is always laughing because she says that I'm like a Turk because me and my roommate are forever getting our language helper to teach us to cook Turkish things. We were both really excited. She's really sweet and we've been planning to cook together, but putting it off for months now. She asked off work for the afternoon. I went to the store this morning and got all the ingredients we needed. I had a recipe on hand from my other Turkish friend, who actually taught me to make the aforementioned food. I've made it before. It's my favorite. Delicious. I'm sure I'll make it for some of you when I get home. My mouth is watering thinking about it.
Where is this all leading, you ask? Well, my friend came over today and I whipped out my recipe card--which I painstakingly collected the last time I had made the food, because usually they don't measure when they cook. The recipe card, I will give you that it was a bit odd for my friend. I lost her vote of confident right then and there. (Mistake #1 on my part--but I didn't have time to memorize it!) They don't use recipes. They use generalizations. A water glass of this, several spoons of this spice, some oil, etc. I happened to need the card. I wanted it to be exactly like my friend and I made it.) So, I got this one ingredient (we'll call it Ingredient A--I'm not sure what it is in English) out of the fridge and get our bowls and pots ready. My friend looks at me and conversation goes something like the followings:

her: Are we going to use Ingredient A?
me: Yes, my friends' recipe calls for it.
her: No, there is no Ingredient A in the food we're making...
me: Okay, but I've made it before and eaten it several times made by my friend who gave me the recipe with Ingredient A in it. It's delicious and tastes like ever other time I've had the dish. I think we should just try the recipe with Ingredient A. I have bought everything for it.
her: No, she firmly says, let's not make it. We can't make it. My mother can make it better than us. Should I call her and get her to verify your recipe for us? We should have invited her over to make it for us.
me: Well, come on, let 's just try it. I think it'll be great with the recipe I have, surely there is more than one way to make the dish--(especially the way they throw ingredients in without measuring, I'm thinking.)
her: No, we don't know how to make it. We can't make it. Let's make something else. My mother will make that other food for us some other time.
me: I don't have all the ingredients for this new food (that we hadn't planned on making)
her: Doesn't matter, what do you have? What you don't have enough of, go ask the neighbors for some...

So, one trip to the neighbors later, I realized my afternoon activity and dinner party were not going to go quite like I had planned. I didn't totally love what she cooked for us (she would not let me help, even though she confessed that she never cooks at home and wasn't sure it would be good!!!). Maybe I was just looking forward to what I thought was going to be on the menu. I was a bit offended at first, but then I just laughed and thought, welcome to my life here. Obviously, I can't be the expert on Turkish food and my recipe cannot be trusted for I am not a Turk. Welcome to flexibility and humility.
But, p.s. if you're ever invited over to dinner to my house...for future reference, eat what I cook for you and pretend to like it. (smile). I'm okay with this being the cultural norm where I'm from.

Something overdue

Back in time. I never posted this...but it is so worthy of being posted. Especially for the MS family who has since left me. I always chickened out on adventure that included heights and claustraphobic spaces with you guys, but not this time!!! I did it! Read on. So, after we left Konya (several posts back...remember the oldest salt shaker in the world?), we headed back to Kapadokya to let the visitors see one last sight before they left us and headed to Ephesus. I told you, so much cool stuff in Turkey. Kapadokya is such a neat place. (Cappadocia is the English spelling--1 Peter 1:1). It is the neatest place. There are all these land formations of rock that people at one point in history had built their houses into. We toured a bit, shopped a bit. The tourist areas are full of shopping, and of course since I have a problem...I had to stop in and do a bit of shopping. All gifts,... of course. We had the food that they're known for. Chicken in a pot basically. But, they bake the chicken in the clay pot and then you get to break it open to get your food out! I don't think everybody gets to open it or maybe even wants to, but of course we did! It's all part of the experience! I opened one, even though I wasn't eating it! I hope my pot's owner didn't get to much grit in their chicken! I might have whacked the pot a little bit too hard!

So, while we were in Kapadokya, we did some exploring. You know, last time I went on the near death (maybe small exaggeration...maybe not!) four-wheeler experience. This time, I faced my fear of heights and claustrophobia! So, the picture below may not look as grandiose to you as it does to me, but give me a little credit here! If you look very very closely, there is a window near the top... I'm in the window. I climbed and crawled through the rock to reach the window! Aren't you so proud! Doesn't matter. It was big to me!

Something fatherly

Tomorrow is Father's Day and I have the absolute best dad in the world. I am a total daddy's girl and he's totally wrapped around my little finger and he knows it and I know it, and we just like it that way! And lest you think that I am only a total clone of my mother, so much of who I am is from him, too. I am not one of those people who could say that their father wasn't a good example of how we are to think of our Heavenly Father. I've never met a man who has been a more godly example to me more than my dad. That's not every one's story, but it's mine and it's blessed. So, tomorrow I'll tell him 'Happy Father's Day' and how much I love him just like every other day. But, this year is a sad Father's Day for all of us. I've experienced another new milestone of being overseas for some amount of time. I have had a loved one to die. My papaw died Friday, and I wasn't there. His mind hadn't belonged to his body in some time and his body had been slowing down and slowly starting not to work for awhile. But, he was my papaw and as far as he was concerned, I hung the moon. I think he may have been as smitten with me as my dad is. They're totally biased (don't you know!). And, he was like no other in my book, too. But, I wasn't there to kiss his cheek like I loved to do and tell him that I loved him and that, ...that is hard. I'm at such a good place with being overseas right now. I love where God has me at this moment, but I am ready to be home. I want to be home this weekend. It's just his body in a box. It's not the papaw that I used to take long walks with, look at lots of Pearl Harbor pictures (that I wasn't always as interested in as I should have been) with, or wake up early and drink coffee milk with just for the company, when I could have slept in. He's not here anymore. Going home wouldn't bring that back. But, it's the goodbye. It's the knowing, I wasn't there and I'm not there. And that is a whole other set of emotions that I am learning how to deal with today. It's the having the greatest dad in the world and knowing that this Father's Day, he's missing his dad...and I'm not there.
But, then there is the weight lifted, the sweet peace, the comfort in knowing that always God is Sovereign and He is good. And, this Father's Day, He was kind to my old dying papaw. He hadn't been himself in sometime and my mamaw couldn't take care of him anymore and neither really could my parents. His poor body was hurting, but in that sad and somehow kind moment, he was no longer hurting and he was at that instant and until forever more in such a better place. And that, in spite of the sadness this Father's Day is the gift that we will be taking with us from our Heavenly Father who is preparing a place for us and knew it was papaw's time to be with Him there.

"Amazing Grace"
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That sav’d a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears reliev’d;
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believ’d!
Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come;’
Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has promis’d good to me,
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease;
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who call’d me here below,
Will be forever mine.
--John New­ton

Something new

Words are not enough. I won't even try to do justice to what these pictures mean to me.