New Home

My dining room

Living room

kitchen

milk- its sold on the shelf- not refrigerated!

my room! - yet to put up my "live, love, laugh"

* my room * It's hard to get a good shot of my room but here's the wardrobe, with all of your cards (SMILE) * rooms typically don't have closets here, so 'dolaps' have to do*

It's a funny thing- "growing up" and moving out.

This is a big move for me. Interestingly enough, my first time "living on my own is in another country, in a city of over 12 million people, where I can literally only speak of few words of the language (so far!). If there were ever a time of diving head first into something big and new, this would be it! So I'm learning how to do all of the "grown up" stuff now- at 24 years old. It's time to go grocery shopping (at a store where I hope I'm buying the right ingredients). I've learned the beauty of google translate- to help with baking recipes using Alanna's specially made cookbook for me. See below for my funny story about making Chili. It's time to do laundry, even though on my first try my laundry was "stuck" in the washer because I couldn't open the door. I'm learning to enjoy the process of each household chore. Laundry involves hang drying my clothes. It's a time to prepare dinner and relating to mom's lack of enthusiasm about cooking after a long day of work. I'm realizing that the time involved in the process makes things that much more worth it. It's a time for cleaning the house- even though cleaning the bathroom still kind of grosses me out. I'm hoping one day I will have a man who will take care of this job! It's a time of doing dishes by hand- actually pretty relaxing, in my opinion. It's a time of getting to know myself better and take in the whole new experience.

It was my second day in my new apartment. I left in the morning, mentally preparing myself for how I would get to another part of town. I rehearsed what I would say in the minibus and I embraced the ride. In all of the preparation, I totally forgot to take notice of where I live! ha, I left home without even knowing how to get back. It wasn't until I was probably half way to my destination that I thought, "oh no, I don't think I'll know how to get back home. I know I need to get on the minibus again and go the opposite direction of where I am headed now; however, I forgot to take notice of a landmark that would indicate my stop!" woops! So I went throughout the day... and then on my way home I had to call a friend to ask for directions to my own house! Now that's humbling!! A new friend helped me get home and she suggested I pick up a couple groceries so I could make myself some dinner. A good thought. Spaghetti it was going to be. Sarah kindly dropped me off at my house and then when she left I unpacked my grocery bags, only to realize that I didn't know how to work my stove! I've never lit a match before and never lit a gas stove. I just stared at it, clueless as to how it "came on." So... after standing there and see it not "turn on" I resigned to going out to the street to get something to eat. Minibus road it was. There's lots there. By this time it was probably close to 8pm. I was hungry. As I made my way over there, I looked down and realized I was wearing my slippers. Oh boy! What a day. In my best attempt to "dive in" I forgot to think about the things right in front of me.

I went to make Chili. A good hearty dinner. I bought beef, beans, peppers, onion, tomatos, mushrooms and corn. Well, I couldn't read the labels at the grocery store so I ended up buying a whole lot of tomato paste. That wasn't exactly what I had wanted. I thought I could counteract the thick paste by just adding water. more water. more water. It turned into very strong tomato paste tasting, spaghetti sauce looking "Chili." I think there was enough food to feed the entire apartment building and the problem is that it didn't even taste good! Yuck. I didn't want to throw it out though. All of that effort couldn't be put to waste, so I ate some over what I thought was rice (which was actually noodles) and then froze a large container full. My roommate didn't seem to mind it... but yuck! next time, I know tomato paste is plentiful- and not the chili ingredient I'm looking for. haha. All you can do is laugh. To make it true to Turkish taste, just simply add yogurt. Yogurt, eaten with everything!

So here I go. I'm diving-in. I'm going for it. Willing to make mistakes. Willing to have silly stories. Willing to learn. Willing to try.

Like Granny's cooking... made from scratch and made with love always tasted best!

Here's to the learning the process! Thanks to the families here for showing me the ropes, for letting me learn and being there to give me helpful tips. I'm grateful!