Village in the Meadows

I finished reading a book this evening about a man's experiences as a Peace Corp volunteer in a Black Sea village during the 1960s. Admittedly, much in Turkey has changed since the 1960s. And there are many differences between village and city life. But in some ways Turkey is Turkey regardless of where you find yourself.
I stumbled upon the below quote and it reminded me some of my own experiences over the past year and few months. While I have not ridden in the back of a flatbed truck or lived in a mountain village, I have had to explain myself repeatedly and am still in the process of taking on a new culture and a new way of viewing the world. By God's grace alone, the process of change will continue over a life-time of work and life lived out as a stranger and alien.

"A critical defining element of the two years was the fact that nearly everything about it was an exotic adventure. Nothing was familiar about living in a rural mountain village in a Muslim country where you had to communicate in a foreign language (I never learned another language well enough to use it), traveling on foot or in the back of a flatbed truck, eating local foods or explaining ten times a day who you are. Almost everything that you thought of as a constant in your life becomes variable; something surprising was happening all the time. Our senses were flooded with sights and tastes and sounds and odors that were not unpleasant but were often unfamiliar. Yet the challenge of figuring out how to survive and to travel and communicate was great fun and constantly rewarding, and it left us with hundreds of stories to tell in later years. Ultimately, it all became quite comfortable. Part of the reason is that if you are interested, Turkey is a comfortable place and the Turks are comfortable people. They show their pleasure when people find pleasure in them. Part of it is that you learn to do things you don't know how to do, and you learn to figure out things you don't understand. That makes the adventure less intimidating and more memorable." - Village in the Meadows, Malcolm Pfunder, co 2007

Weddings!

Last weekend I went to my friend's dad's cousin's relative's wedding. Yes, you read that correctly. And no, I was not crashing the wedding. No crashing necessary here! There are always plenty of weddings to choose from this time of year. The race is on to get them done before the month of fasting begins.
We went into the düğün salonu, the hall where the party would be held, and were greeted by absolutely none of my friend's acquaintances. In a sea of a few hundred people, she knew no one except those she came with. Slowly, as we waited for the bride and groom to enter, cousins, aunts, and uncles did start to appear. And they kept appearing. Here you invite pretty much everyone you know to the wedding celebration. It's a feast! Or sometimes not an all out feast, but it's a party, no less!
The bride and groom at last entered in between firecrackers and immediately began dancing. Their official legal ceremony had happened previously, so this was a time only for celebration. They danced, we watched. More people danced, we watched. The mixed nuts and water appeared. Then the real fun began. The direct translation into English is games, but these are not games so much as regional dances. I rid myself of my embarrassment (yes, I was the only foreigner in the room) and learned to dance.
At the close of the celebration the gold came out. Both bride and groom came to the middle center of the room and put on sashes - the bride's was red, symbolizing purity. Each person who had brought a gold bracelet, a gold piece or money came forward to pin it or place it on the bride or groom. One by one the dj announced the giver and the amount given.
And then, the time came to leave. Now, imagine this event spread out for four days with several other types of events mixed in, way more food, and way more people and you have a village wedding. In some ways a village wedding might resemble the wedding at Cana or and other wedding from Bible times. And as soon as I attend a village wedding, you will know...