For the last month, I've been reading The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain. What a fabulous book. He describes a three month trip abroad to Europe and the Middle East in 1867. It is fascinating to read about the places I have visited recently through the lens of the 1860's. I will probably be sharing more with you as I continue reading, but I keep thinking about a quote that I read. One of the things I love about this book is how different the world was 150 years ago, but how truths like this can still ring so true.
"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Borad, whjolesome, charitable niews of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. "
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
A Sunday Drive, Turkish-style
Last weekend, Rana (my sister-in-law), Jake and I visited Rana's family's summer house in Arsuz. Arsuz is a small town on the Mediterranean Sea, and a great place to escape the heat and noise of the city. We had a fun time with Rana's family. (I didn't realize how much I had missed Rana's mother's cooking!) It was an all-around great weekend.
On Sunday afternoon, Jake suggested a Sunday drive. When we were young, our parents would occasionally take us for drives on Sunday after church. We would go out into the countryside for a few hours, looking at the fields, the scenery, maybe drive around a lake; really wherever the car took us. I'm not positive that we completely understood or appreciated those drives as children, but it is a great way to see some of the sights in our area of Turkey. After Jake's suggestion, Rana's brother said, "To where will you drive?" Jake explained that he didn't know...maybe we'd visit a historical site nearby, maybe just drive by the sea, but he didn't really know. After some convincing, Jake, Rana, Rana's brother's family and I all set out on our "Sunday drive."
About three minutes into the drive, the question began popping up again. "To where are we going, Jake?" "I don't know," Jake would explain. Two minutes later, "To where are we going?" "I really don't know. Maybe the mountains." This dialogue repeated itself a few times until we saw a beautiful, rocky beach. Jake pulled into the beach, and we got out. We had a great time collecting rocks, taking pictures, watching the sea and enjoying each other's company. We got in the car, and Jake was going to continue the Sunday drive a bit further until someone said, "We've been gone almost an hour. Maybe we should get back."
Whether its the directionless driving or the ungodly gas prices, it was a strange concept for their family. (In response to the suggestion of a long drive with no endpoint in mind, Rana's mother asked Jake if he peed gasoline.) I remember all-day drives simply to visit a good restaurant in a neighboring state. This drive was a short one, but wonderful at the same time. I think it was a good breaking-in experience for their family. I'll try to post some of the pictures from the beach and maybe next time we'll make it an hour and a half...
On Sunday afternoon, Jake suggested a Sunday drive. When we were young, our parents would occasionally take us for drives on Sunday after church. We would go out into the countryside for a few hours, looking at the fields, the scenery, maybe drive around a lake; really wherever the car took us. I'm not positive that we completely understood or appreciated those drives as children, but it is a great way to see some of the sights in our area of Turkey. After Jake's suggestion, Rana's brother said, "To where will you drive?" Jake explained that he didn't know...maybe we'd visit a historical site nearby, maybe just drive by the sea, but he didn't really know. After some convincing, Jake, Rana, Rana's brother's family and I all set out on our "Sunday drive."
About three minutes into the drive, the question began popping up again. "To where are we going, Jake?" "I don't know," Jake would explain. Two minutes later, "To where are we going?" "I really don't know. Maybe the mountains." This dialogue repeated itself a few times until we saw a beautiful, rocky beach. Jake pulled into the beach, and we got out. We had a great time collecting rocks, taking pictures, watching the sea and enjoying each other's company. We got in the car, and Jake was going to continue the Sunday drive a bit further until someone said, "We've been gone almost an hour. Maybe we should get back."
Whether its the directionless driving or the ungodly gas prices, it was a strange concept for their family. (In response to the suggestion of a long drive with no endpoint in mind, Rana's mother asked Jake if he peed gasoline.) I remember all-day drives simply to visit a good restaurant in a neighboring state. This drive was a short one, but wonderful at the same time. I think it was a good breaking-in experience for their family. I'll try to post some of the pictures from the beach and maybe next time we'll make it an hour and a half...
A Tale of Two Apartments
It is a hot, muggy, 90-some degree day in Adana, Turkey. The date is August 2006. Jake (my brother) and I are in search of a furnished, three bedroom apartment. A realtor tells us there is one available. We look at the apartment. Its in a great location and a good sized apartment, but that's as far as the positive list goes. Its dirty (very dirty,) old, painted green and yellow, one of the bedrooms is locked shut, has a small bathroom, but, all things considered, livable. We take the apartment, considering it is the only furnished apartment in the neighborhood.
Last year, had many adventures in the moving-in process, countless hours spent opening electricity, phone lines and ADSL, countless hours spent waiting for electricians and phone guys to come hook up the stuff, many problems with neighbors and people in our building, a very very cold winter, and my roommates had to move out half-way through the year for a month due to a mold invasion. Altogether, it was an incredibly misearable experience. And I haven't even mentioned the complete doctor's office that was shoved into the locked bedroom, which we got to clean out.
It is now 2007 in Adana, Turkey. We are in search of a new, un-furnished apartment. We check out three great apartments in the area, all of which are new, clean, spacious, and very attractive, all in their own way. We had a great experience with our realtors and chose an apartment. Meeting with our landlord went amazingly smoothly. During the time with him, he told us the electicity and water can stay registered in his name. He lives in the same building, so if we have any problems, we can contact him extremely easily. Great location, new building, no waiting, no mold, and very few surprises. The only surprises so far have been great, God-sent type surprises.
We are extremely happy and extremely comfortable in the new place. We keep comparing the experiences and thinking about how completely different the moving in process has been so far. I feel like we've been paid back in full for the heartache that was last year's experience!
Last year, had many adventures in the moving-in process, countless hours spent opening electricity, phone lines and ADSL, countless hours spent waiting for electricians and phone guys to come hook up the stuff, many problems with neighbors and people in our building, a very very cold winter, and my roommates had to move out half-way through the year for a month due to a mold invasion. Altogether, it was an incredibly misearable experience. And I haven't even mentioned the complete doctor's office that was shoved into the locked bedroom, which we got to clean out.
It is now 2007 in Adana, Turkey. We are in search of a new, un-furnished apartment. We check out three great apartments in the area, all of which are new, clean, spacious, and very attractive, all in their own way. We had a great experience with our realtors and chose an apartment. Meeting with our landlord went amazingly smoothly. During the time with him, he told us the electicity and water can stay registered in his name. He lives in the same building, so if we have any problems, we can contact him extremely easily. Great location, new building, no waiting, no mold, and very few surprises. The only surprises so far have been great, God-sent type surprises.
We are extremely happy and extremely comfortable in the new place. We keep comparing the experiences and thinking about how completely different the moving in process has been so far. I feel like we've been paid back in full for the heartache that was last year's experience!
The semi-new blog
Hey everyone! If you're reading this, you saw that I've switched my blog to blogspot from wordpress. Hopefully I can start understand this new system soon. In the meantime, I'll try to keep you updated on my life here in Adana. Miss you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)