A Visit to the Village

It's customary for the bride & groom to visit the family's home village after the wedding. It's sorta like saying "thank you" for coming to the wedding. A few weeks ago Umut and I went to his family's small village in the mountains, outside of Denizli (modern Colossea).

This is the village where his grandmother has lived her whole life and Umut's mother lived here before getting married and moving to the metropolis of Izmir. Umut spent his first 4 years living with his grandparents as well.

Even though I am from Tennessee, this was the 1st time I used a real outhouse! (Let's just say if you have to use an outdoor restroom in the winter, you think twice about drinking anything at dinner.)

It was one of the most extreme cultural experiences I have had since moving here in March. It was also one of the most rewarding. I loved getting to know Umut better by experiencing a little bit of his heritage.

So here is what you are looking at:

- Just the 2 of us chilling on a couch (a.k.a. floor cushion) in the living room/bedroom.

- The 2nd picture is Umut with his mother & grandma. He and his grandma have a very special and close relationship.

- The 3rd picture is where his grandma does mosting of her cooking...in an outdoor shed over an open fire! She has a stove but isn't interested in using it. I guess old habits are hard to break.

- The 4th picture is his grandmother's home with the mosque in the background. This is the mosque where Umut went to Koran school for many years.

Only in Turkey...

Beginning tomorrow (Friday) is a 4-day religious holiday for Muslims. It is a time when they remember Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. Muslim families sacrifice lambs and sheep. This afternoon while riding in the car, I saw a funny sight before me. A family had purchased their "sacrifice" and were driving home. Poor lamb! He has no idea this is his last night!

An Herbal Remedy

I am so sick of being sick. I've had a cough for over 2 weeks. For the last week I took an antibiotic (you can buy them over the counter here), cold & flu medicine, vitamin C and cough drops. The medicine helped, but I am not fully well yet.

At church yesterday one of our members told me there is a tea that works as an antiseptic. She assured me it would kill the bateria making me cough and slowing my breathing.

This morning Umut bought me the herbal tea and we are about to give it a try. It looks like the weeds my neighbor just cut out of her yard, so you probably need to wish me luck!

A Little Update

So what in the world have I been up to? It has only been 5 weeks since I last blogged, but it feels like a lifetime. First…I was sick for a few days and Umut’s neighbors (a retired couple from Istanbul) made me a special drink to help me out. Did you see the color of the drink she made???!!!! It was the color of…pee. Actually, it was intense flavors of lemon and mint. It was rough going down but in the long run, I think it worked! Whatever bug was in my stomach was certainly killed by that cup of tea!

Next you will see pictures of a bunch of cute school children in a parade. Thursday was the annual celebration of the Turkish Republic. Each year every city hosts parades of school children (indicating children are the future of the Replublic), speeches are made and elegant balls are thrown. I really enjoyed attending the parade, even though we were late and missed half of the show. I especially loved asking Umut about his experiences performing in similar parades in elementary school. It's crazy to think that one day I will be watching my own half-Turkish kiddos in a similar parade.