Reactions, Part 1

I've officially been on a "katı rejim" aka strict diet for a week.  It's been an interesting week.

Turkey is a land of extremes.  I can safely say that I have lived these extremes in the past seven days.  One friend tells me, "good, you've gotten fat."  Yes, that is the actually word she used.  Fat.  If I was to walk up to a friend in the States and tell them they'd gotten fat I'd either get punched, loose a friend or both.  Another friend tells me that it's not necessary.  Another friend tells me that I'm always dieting.  Another looks at me as though my favorite dog or my mother has died.  (I realize that a dog and a mother are significantly different.  It's just that I'm still trying to figure out to what level her mourning on my behalf has gone.)

So far I have two favorites.  Or, as the case may be, non-favorites.

A week or so ago I went up to a neighbors at about 9 pm.  It was one of the girls' birthdays, so of course there was food.  Lots of food.  Pastries galore!  All things that I've been informed that I am no longer permitted to eat.  At all.  Of course, to me this is not new news.  I was informed of this six months ago and proceeded to do whatever came to me as convenient at the moment.  These gals have know this for the past six months.  So when I inform them that, please overlook my fault, but my doctor has said I really and truly cannot eat dough foods/work (yes, this is actually a direct translation and includes many, many fabulous foods), my neighbor tells me that its very shameful, I must eat.  So I insist.  Really, my doctor does not permit it.  Please may I just drink tea.  No, very shameful.  Insisting again, I say that unfortunately, as much as I love all of her cooking, I simply must follow my doctor's orders.  She tells me to eat now and just not eat tomorrow.  So I insist again.  This time I tell them that my doctor is concerned I might later end up diabetic if I continue down my current path.  The response?  You're not diabetic yet so enjoy!  Thankfully the conversation turned away from me and to other things.  I think I actually did not end up even drinking tea.  They might be mad at me, I'm not sure.  I went in to the girl's shop a few days later.  They don't seem mad.  Only time will tell.

Favorite number two to follow....

Dieting and Healthcare Adventures

Six months ago I went to a new endocrinologist.  This was after running around to several doctor's who's response to a hormone deficiency was, "You have a low hormone.  Here's a pill."  No questions as to why, no further tests on the specific hormone.  I don't know that the pill popping phenomenon any different here than, say Canada, England or America.  I probably should have just left that list to America as I have never been to England (although this week I've been asked twice if I'm English) and I've merely driven through and visited Canada more times than I have ever cared to count

Friday Basketball

The colors change, the cheers change, the fans change but basketball is still the same.  From Alaska to Turkey I somehow have found myself back in the stands.

Oh, and we won...

Thankful Things - February

Illness? Since when are we thankful for illness? Well...when you're ill in Turkey there are many things to be thankful for. And really, should we not be thankful in all circumstances?

First, I grew up in Alaska. The independent state. The "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" state. The "girls can fix their own cars" state. (As a side note, I once replaced the exhaust system on my old Subaru wagon with my step-dad. He claims I did most of the work. All I remember is him wrestling with a rusted on bolt.) Yes, we are a proud people. We get sick and still go out to haul firewood.

In Turkey you get sick and immediately receive the sympathy of everyone in your circle of friends. Every circle of friends. Tuesday morning I call a friend to cancel an English lesson and receive the offer of staying at her house for two days so she can take care of me. The past three days two of my friends from my running group have kept tabs on me. Friends may get upset if you cancel a date for other reasons, but if your sick you'd better stay home - there's no anger to be found.

I admit, all of this is a tad on the annoying side when you only have the sniffles, but when you're nursing a wicked sinus infection and don't want to leave your house, it's super!

Second, I normally have a huge dislike for anything found in the drug family. "Run far, far, far away" is my motto. This time I attempted to run far, far away. When after a week I actually found myself with a fever instead of improved health I decided that it was time to take myself to the doctor. So I did. I left my house, hoped in a cab, and headed to the health clinic. No appointment. No waiting (that part was only because it was seriously cold outside and 10 am on a Wednesday morning). Good questions. No payment. Just a list of drugs on a prescription sheet and I'm out the door again to the pharmacy. Meds included, this infection has cost me under 50 TL. And that is without insurance paying a portion. Turks love their medications and they are cheap!















The pile is large, but helpful. I am especially loving my netty pot - not on the list from the doctor, but something my wonderful step-mom brought over from the States a few years back.















Oh, and notice the scribbled words on the Zinnat box? Yup, dosage instructions from the pharmacist. It's a different world here.

Third, I'm reminded again and again that I am not the key figure in my life. Not in my work, not in my play, not in my friendships. It is His work, His play, and these are His friendships. I am the steward. Apparently this steward needs to rest. And so she shall.

Another Sunrise

I'm sitting in the same spot...watching the same sunrise....in the same home....in the same region of the country. So what if I just stayed here? No, not in this spot, not in this house, but in this region. These are the questions one ponders at 6:22 am when all 6 children are still sound asleep, the coffee brewer of the house has not yet awoken, and one does not want to get on a 5 hour bus at 2 pm.

Back to home I will go, but with thoughts brewing.

Different Friends

I have this friend. She would be my social director if I let her. We run together, play together, laugh together. In March we're going to Antalya to run a race together (she the half-marathon, me the 10k). Yesterday we spent all day together. It went something like this...
Woke up at friend A's house around 6:30, had nescafe and a nice quiet time (said friend does not wake up until the last minute). Battled snow home, called friend B. Yes, plans are still on. Drank more nescafe - the sign of real laziness - jumped in the shower and headed off to friend B's house. Watched her dig out her car, received a gift, drank espresso, left for lunch with other running friends. After lunch hung out with friends B and C around the Ankara castle area. Bought items for my table in Bozeman (come on, come all!). Separated off from friend C, went to sit a bit more with friend B. While sitting and talking, met up with more of friend B's friends. Said my good-byes (at this point it's 7 pm), went home. Home for 10 minutes when the phone rings. It's friend B. They're at a restaurant near my house. Come, come, come!!! I come. 8:30 pm and a free meal later I'm home and tired.
Said friend B is lovely. She has all kinds of issues, but laughs a lot, loves to talk, and loves to be with friends. And she could easily be my social director if I let her. This is fairly par for the course in a culture where friend groups may be large, but there are not very many of them. Mine are large AND many.
So this morning I shall be alone. I shall not run at the track with friend B - Z from group A. I shall go to the gym. Later today I will hang out with friend A from group B and friend A from group Q. But this morning, I think it's time for this introvert to hang out with...friend Silence.

The Daily Trash Removal

My original plan was to find something to be thankful for each month, something specific to life here. These are interesting words that just came from my head through my fingers to you - find something to be thankful for. I need to chew on that for a while.

Now that I'm done with my sage moment, I have decided that I cannot wait until February to share this thankful thing. Trash pickup. Yes, daily trash pickup from my front door.

As a child I lived in a city that had the potential of being overrun by garbage bears.

In order to protect our town from just such an epidemic, we could not put our garbage out on the street until around 3 am (4am?) the day of garbage pick up. Said pickup happened once a week. So the garbage collected every week either in the garage or outside in a secure area. In my family's case, the garbage collected in the garage. Imagine with me, if you will, fridge clean out day. You open the fridge and realize there is something dwelling in it that could very soon grow legs and walk out on its own. You remove all old items in order to remove the offender. And you realize that the trash was picked up yesterday. So now all that smelliness must sit in your garage for the next 6 days. And it's not winter...it's summer. The hottest week on record.

Now put yourself in my current place. I realize there is an offender in my fridge (today - the special cheese I forgot to eat). I remove the offender to the garbage, tie up the bag, and put the bag out front of my apartment door in the hallway. In a few short hours the building janitor will come around to collect the trash, like he does everyday. He will put the trash outside on the street. Tonight at 9 the trash guys will come and remove the trash from the street. No collected smells, no dreaded trips to the garage (which, of course, I do not have).

Yes, I am thankful for daily trash pickup.