A Day for a Funeral...or the Royal Wedding

Yes it is true. Instead of watching the royal wedding i was at a funeral for my host dad.
So many people have been at the house it is completely overwhelming. I had to sleep downstairs with Havva on the couch that almost up to me knees were hanging off of.
Yudum asked if i wanted to go to the funeral and of course i was! Its my obligation to be there for Zeynep and Yudum to show i care for them and I want to be a part of this family. Also how many people who study a culture get to go to a funeral which is a big part of any culture! So here is how the day went...I got up, got ready, and took a shuttle into the city to the mosque where the funeral was to take place. Luckily i had brought my black dress which proved very useful for today. Another aupair Claire was sweet and offered me her clothes if needed since she has alot of black clothes. Zeyneps aunt also offered me a skirt if needed since a funeral is not exactly something you plan and pack for.
We were going to be outside and there were all these round wreath things that were plastic of different colors and with different words on them. later on they posted across them different names of achievements of his. I was trying to keep the kids entertained and talk to the family and friends who i knew. There were people videotaping and taking photos. I thought that this was a Turkish custom of recording the event like a wedding since we did have a caterer in our house but Dinese, a young girl who I had met told me that it was the news and they are only at  funerals with famous people, it was not a custom. Apparently i dont understand alot about my family. She said that his death was all over the news and the papers! Crazy! There were tons of people at the funeral! Yudum stood as people waited in a line to give their apologies to her like a wedding line but much more depressing. After they talked to Yudum some would come over to Zeynep talking to her in Turkish, pinch her  cheeks and kiss her. She didnt like it but put up with it all, She once turned to me and asked if there was lipstick on her face and there was a bunch left from the last lady who kissed her cheek. It was funny to me. Poor girl, she was a good sport. So i guess this is what happens at Turkish funerals. At the mosque the "religious man" comes and says some stuff and the men go and pray on mats on the ground, The women stay apart and morn. The women of the family 9Zeynep and Yudum) were given bouquets of fresia and these smaller lilly like flowers which i forgot the name of. (sorry Brother Romney) they would then places them on the casket. We also all pinned a picture of Arman and the years of his life on our shirts. They had big funeral flowers made mostly of gerber dasies. I didnt get to see the burial since Yudum didnt want Zeynep to be there. We took her with two other moms and a couple other girls to this American store where they sold american products that they illegally brought from the US. A girl said they have Dr Pepper there but when she asked they said they were out. Just my luck. suck. Everything was so expensive. a pack of oreos was like 25 lyra which is like $18!!! A big jar ok skippy peanut butter was even more! I didnt get anything there but the little one got a bunch of jawbreakers (which are her favorite) and some juicyfruit and orbit gum. I always give her only half a piece and so she was enjoying having her own pack to flaunt that she can have a whole piece lol.
We went to her friends house and Kelly came with Erin!! we had about 5 girls to watch and take care of. Zeynep has been randomly acting up and crying over the most random things. She is not talking at all about her Dad dying so i think this is her way of coping with it for now until she completely breaks down later. I am not a fan cuz she usually freaks out on me. We got into a pickle yesterday cuz we were planning on her and me staying at Kellys house or if she didnt I was going to. She heard us trying to figure out what the plan was and everything with the moms and she called her mom freaking out saying that she wanted me to stay at home and me sleep with her. Of course as soon as we got in the car on the way home she changed her mind and didnt care about me sleeping with her, she just wanted to get her way and i was stuck on the crap couch.

Today I have been basically stuck at the house all day with family and friends who mostly dont speak English or dont speak to me. I took a nice walk today by the big pond which was great and read sitting in the sun, finally getting some Vitamin D after my long winter in Rexburg. I loved it cuz there are tons and tons of frogs that i liked looking for and watching plus lizards. When i was reading i suddenly heard the frogs stop croaking and i looked over to see a stray cat having a grand old time racing after the frogs, snapping at them as they jumped from the shore into the water, it was so funny!

So i was stuck in an awkward house, Zeyneps older half brother asked me to come out back and sit with him and his friends but it was basically me sitting there and them all talking away in Turkish, randomly offering me sweets, or sitting there in awkward sad silence. Finally i just left. I just wanted to get away but I couldnt. Oh and i finally got my phone to work today but i didnt have anyones number so i couldnt talk to anyone. lame.
Yudum told me that Aley invited us to play and for dinner. She said that Zeynep didnt want to go but that i could still go and have a girls night with Aley for a while. Of course when Zeynep heard this she changed her mind and wanted to go. So I spent the night watching them, cleaning up after them, and playing games with them. It was fun, exhausting, and crazy with 6 little girls screaming and all wanting attention while making all sorts of messes. It was fun and good to get out of the house. There was this little 3 year old girl who was just too freakin adorable! as Jill would say it "I want to eat her face!!!". It was good having Aley to talk to and hang out with for a bit.

When i got home Yudums parents started teaching me Turkish! It was so cool! they were super nice and i really got on their good side, not i just need to study and remember the words they gave me.
ekmek is bread
patlican is eggplant
tavuk is chicken
tabak is plate
tuz is salt
biber is pepper

those are just the ones without accents that i can type without them being wrong lol

They are going ot teach me more tomorrow! :)
They said i was really pretty too :) It was fun

oh there is this dessert that I had one time with Seyda and Kelly but apparently it is a big part of funerals. It is like thick, sweet cream of wheat with toasted pine nuts. Its really good.. The tradition is that when you make it you pray and then you give it to your neighbors and when they eat it they pray for you. She gave 50 plates of it out to her neighbors.
Well i am sure there is more but i have written alot
 I will try to make them shorter lol sorry
its been a busy week.
Take care!!


ps sorry no pictures but i forgot my camera charger in a box that i accidentally left in the states, and i didnt think it would be good to take tons of pictures while i was surrounded by everyone i knew morning.

Is it Irony or cliche?

Two days ago i wrote about how i saw my first cemetery here and how it is my new secret garden. Well yesterday my host father died. It was in the morning and they were cleaning the house all day until the mother and a couple of her friends came back in the early afternoon. Soon after that the doorbell just would not stop ringing. I wanted to help and i tried to but there is not much i can do since i dont even speak Turkish. I spent most of the day in my room watching youtube videos of glee and the only show i can watch on hulu (literally the only show since i am in a foreign country). I would occasionally go check on things downstairs even though it was completely awkward for me. it was crazy cuz i went down and there were some people there and then the next time there was an entire catering service there with servers in fancy outfits and everything. Out back there were tables and those big outdoor heaters they have at restaurants. It was raining most the night which is the part that i cannot figure out if it is ironic or cliche. we picked up zeynep from school and went directly to their family friends house, where i had been before. Zeynep did not know anything until her mom picked us up like 5 hours later and told her. I played with them and kept them busy. we had an amazing dinner with salad, pasta, soup, steak, all of which was completely amazing!! and they had a great cake too! We went back and i had to play with her and her friend until midnight. Today people were over from early. Apparently it is tradition for two weeks of people being over from sun up to sun down. I heard it will only be about a week and i guess it makes up for the fact that people are here until after midnight. They just sit around all day in science mostly and eat and smoke. Its seriously so awkward. I am glad i had to take care of the kids who were just wanting to have fun and laugh. I had to have kelly go with me downstairs to get some food. You could cut the tension with a knife. Its a whole different feeling than the funerals i have been to. My family is not religious so that makes me sad that they do not have the comfort i do and grateful that i have the gospel. I spent the entire day with Zeynep and her friends. Its been exhausting but at least i got to see some of the other aupairs for a part of the time. At one point i was watching and entertaining about 5 little girls. The plus about all this is that the food is seriously so good! the catering is delicious (i wanted to take pictures of it but i dont think it would be appropriate) I will have to explain some of the dishes later. We got lunch with the kids at this restaurant today. Basically all the sweets and baklava i want. Dinner last night and we will be going out for lunch tomorrow. its a nice break from Havvas cooking which i am sorry to say i am not a huge fan of. Tomorrow is the funeral and I will stay with Zeynep for only about an hour and only for the ceremony. the mom does not want her at the burial which will be in the cemetery i found the other day (ironic). Yudum is of course having a hard time and so is Havva and Zeyneps older half brother and sister. Zeynep is doing great though. just being a little kid, she is a bit more touchy and bossy lately but thats about it. I am thinking that in a few weeks it will hit  her and she will just crash. She is getting really close to me so hopefully by then we will be close enought for me to really help her through it all. I love her. the other day she stood up for me and protected me from her friend who is a little boy and wanted to make me his prisoner.

Today i met my friends Claires kids who she watches. The girl Lal is so cute!!! She asked me if i was a fashion designer and said i looked like i was. Then she started to call me the fashion queen. she was dying to play dress up with me and show me all her fashion stuff since she wants to get into fashion. it was so stinkin cute! she wanted to sit next to me at lunch and since i had to leave her house early since Zeynep got in a mood swing and started crying to go home we couldnt do our fashion show. She told claire after i left that she really likes me and was sad i had to leave.
Later tonight Zeynep wanted to play dress up but dress up me in my clothes. she she went through my stuff and dressed me up and made me pose while she took pictures. then she wanted to dress up in my clothes which was so cute and funny cuz of course everything was way too big for her but we made it work. she really likes my clothes. I will get those pics up soon i hope, they were on her camera.
Hopefully things go well for the rest of things. I will keep this updated.

oh ps, my sister might have a huge tumor! or it might just be an extremely large cyst on her ovaries. Hopefully its the latter one. either she will have to get surgery since it goes from on her bladder to her belly button and the doctor said she is the size of a 4month pregnant woman!
i forgot the other thing i was going to write about so its now the end
goodnight
take care!


Keep them in your prayers please!

My Secret Garden

One thing that I have been wondering about since i have been here is where are the cemeteries?? i have not seen one while i have been here.
Anyways... i was walking to the starbucks today to get out of the house and study and i saw this side road that i never really noticed before. There was a bunch a green and trees behind this wall and I wanted to know what it was. I walked around the block and found an opening and what do you know it was a cemetery.  The most amazing one i have ever seen! it was as if i stepped into another world when i walked through the entrance gate. Everything was suddenly calm, peaceful, natural. Each grave was different, unique, and beautiful in its own way. Most graves had plants and flowers growing out of it. you could see the difference in wealth of the families who laid their loved one to rest. The ones with the most elaborate graves had their elevated, outlined in a marble box with beautiful carvings or mosaics in the sides. The more humble graves were divided by steel fencing or staked bricks that on the older ones had fallen apart. The most simple graves of all were tucked into little spaces between the large marble boxes with a wooden panel that stated the person whos body lay under the shallow earth that covered their coffin, the mound clearly visible displaying the outline of where the body lay. The saddest part was seeing the boxes and mounds too small for an adult, the ones only a couple feet in length where a childs body now rests, lifeless. The pathways i walked on were covered in bright green moss, and even though i was standing in a graveyard there was so much life all around me. Stray cats walked along the edges of graves and birds hopped around enjoying the new spring flowers that were popping up everywhere. I could have stayed in there for the rest of my afternoon. I was sad as i left, as soon as i walked out of the gate I was back with the noise the people and the rush. The peace of the cemetery had stayed behind now that i was gone. I looked over the wall at my new favorite place and decided its my secret garden.

Blah Day

It has been a way off day today. I am super sore and tired but the part that just made everything fall apart is how Zeynep was just being a pain today. I didnt go to church today since I have no idea where it is and i would have had to take public transportation by myself. Also the father is super sick right now and went to the hospital cuz he had watermelon stuck in his throat. The mom sounded really sad on the phone and things didnt sound good so she needed me to take good care of Zeynep today. She said she would take me there next week so that is better i guess. And i should be getting a phone tomorrow!!
Zeynep has just had quite the attitude lately. I think its mostly cuz she went to bed late a few nights ago and has been sleepy/grumpy. She can get quite sassy and i just wont put up with it. Anyways now i am exhausted. she has horseback ridding today and then this huge tennis thing where they got metals for the tournament they played in before i got here.
Tomorrow i am supposed to go out with Kelly so that should be good. I have been getting more and more homesick lately. I have also had this feeling like heartbreak but i am not sure why. I dont have anyone to have a broken heart about. Hopefully the rest of today will be good. Yudum could see i am exhausted and i didnt get to go to church today so she is giving me a short break while Zeynep is at her friends house. They just got back from the hospital. I think it is serious this time.

Oh i almost forgot!! My family is in the Newspapers!! last week they had the photoshoot. Her dad is a professor and has written a bunch of books and apparently he helped a company go from being worth a couple million to over 300 million in like 10 years or something like that. so they were on the front page of a couple newspapers and in the center layout of one of them! it was crazy. its not everyday that you work for someone who is on the front page of a newspaper! That was cool. too bad he is really sick.

Kelly gave me her favorite book to read. Its called the Glass Castle. So far it is really good. I will let you know how it is when i read more. I have only read the first two chapters.Its a really interesting book and its a memoir.
Kelly's family is so awesome! she lucked out so much! she didnt come here through Huma but got here on her own which is scarry but she got the best family! they are the nicest people and we go out with the mom all the time! She loves to hang out with us and go shopping. She gets her own huge room and bathroom. They are going on vacation this summer and she will get her own apartment below theirs. She has all these good foods to eat, she is super relaxed and the mom buys her things and takes her out all the time!!

Well thats all for now!!
Take care!


From Children's day

Children's Day

Today was Children's day in Turkey which is a big deal. At least to Zeynep it was. Her school had a big celebration with a performance featuring many of the kids from the school. Zeynep was not in it but many of her friends were. I have not seen her that excited about anything!! It was sweet because she would hold my hand walking through the crowds and everything. The show was amazing! They even repeated most of what they said in english! The kids were so good!! they did several dances from around the world and even a Bollywood one! I loved it. These kids are so talented i dont know how they do it!
Well after they had a little carnival thing with face painting and everyone got a flower. It was cute.
I had a bunch to write before but i forgot most of it.

Tomorrow i am going to try to go to church, by myself, in the city. I have to take a public bus and then the metro to the square where i have to walk a few blocks to where LDS.org says it is. Lets hope i make it! :)
Well thats all for now since i forgot everything!

Take care!

It made my Day

Today Zenep was playing with one of her friends down the street. We went to the park and I was playing with them. They were climbing on this support for the shade roof and her friend turns to me and says that Zeynep loves me. I sad no and repeated what Zenep last said (she was right there too) but then the girl said no Zenep told me that she loves you and she loves you more than Lauren (her last aupair). That just made my day!!! I am so happy. she really is a sweet girl and we get along great! She always wants me to come with her on her play dates. When i ask if she wants me to come she always says "of course!"
We are working on making a letter box for me where we put note for each other. She already has one since she and lauren did it when Lauren was still here. I need to write her a note tonight. I have written her one this week already but she is always asking when i will write her again. she is a funny girl :)

First Drama from the Kiddo

SO yesterday I was working with Zeynep on her English homework. She was writing a song using the assigned words about making pancakes. We were having a great time together doing all this. Now she has this panda pillow pet and i started having it kiss her. She told me to stop and that she didnt like kisses. I told her that i liked kisses....especially from boys. I asked her if she liked boys and she had a stern NO! But she was also hardcore blushing! I started asking her if there was a boy she liked and teasing her a little bit. She was blushing and smiling and then she started to hit me with her her pillow pet. We were laughing and next thing i know she runs to her bed and puts her face down into the pillow. I go to her and ask her whats wrong and then she runs into her moms room and onto her bed calling to Havva. Right then her mom walks in the house and she then calls for her mom. I didnt know what was going on so i told the mom what happened and she went to talk to Zeynep. Zeynep starts bawling and ranting on at high speeds in Turkish. The mom Yudum and Havva start laughing and come out to explain to me that it has nothing really to do with me. She is in that stage where she is starting to like boys but she doesnt want to like them or have them like her. Yudum had to explain to her that liking boys is good and that she is in love with her father and they got married and was able to have her which was a good thing. Zeynep just kept crying in Turkish. She didnt talk to me for like 15 min and then she called for me to come help her finish her homework. She said she didnt understand why i would do that. Why I would say those things and hurt her like that! hahah it was so cute!! she is in that stage and even though she was upset with me for a bit i thought it was so cute. The first fit she threw and it was because she didnt want to love boys!!! After I explained to her that  I was sorry, i didnt mean to hurt her and i promised i wouldnt talk about boys unless she wanted to we were good again and soon enough she was laughing and joking. Little kids are full of surprises :)
Take care!

only 10 things

here are my 10 things for Turkey and the US

10 things i Miss about the States:
1. Having guy friends
2. My roommates and friends
3. Taco bell and Panda Express
4. Forever 21
5. Good cheese (not weird goat cheese that smells and tastes funny)
6. Peanut butter
7. Dr. Pepper
8. Netflix
9. Hiking and other outdoor activities
10. Drinking 6 glasses of water with each meal!


10 things i love about Istanbul
1. The metro (its super clean!)
2. Bread!
3. Good olives with the pits
4. Olive oil
5. Outdoor markets with all the cheap stuff
6. The wet wipes they always give out at food places
7. Amazing mosques/ call to prayer
8. How stray cats and dogs roam the streets but they are clean and there is not poo everywhere!
9. Cute Turkish guys
10. Meatballs


I am sure i forgot a bunch of stuff but this is it for now!!
Take care!

Out with Kelly

Well tomorrow it will officially have been a week since I arrived in Istanbul! Its so crazy to think about it .I have been able to do so much and it feels as if i have been here for so long.
This week I have had so much fun with my new friend Kelly. We went out with her Aupair mother to the city and she gave us a tour. It was pouring rain most of the time we were out walking around so we got soaked, even with umbrellas. We went back the the walking street i went to on Friday with all the great little shops and then took a real quick look at the Galata tower. After that we got hot drinks. I got my white hot chocolate, Kelly got her Turkish coffee and the mom got her Turkish tea. We drove around as she pointed out different places we could go and we stopped by the Blue Mosque to look around. We got lunch at this place that served meatballs which were really good! They were made of Sheep which i dont like lamb so it was amazing. It turns out it was even a very famous place we went to. We also tried two different desserts for fun. I am loving all these new things!
We went and explored the open part of the mosque which was beautiful! the detail is amazing! we plan to come back another day when we will have more time to learn about it and go through everything. There was the Turkish guy who was following us for a while trying to get us to talk to him. it was funny :)
Turkish men are quite the lookers! and word is that the swim teacher looks like a Greek statue. I am interested  when i will get to see for myself. another aupair said she wants to paint him he is so attractive.
Anyways enough of that.
WE got these candies that were like different sugar thick syrups that are twirled onto a stick. And you would think that it would get hard but it didnt. I thought they tasted like Gummy bears! It was good but so sweet that after I ate about half i was done. We drove around a bit more and then headed home. I had the night off too but Zeynep wanted to hang out with me so she stayed in my room and we played on the computers and showed each other pictures. She is a sweet girl :) she kept talking to me on facebook chat even though she was sitting on the bed next to me. :)
Today we went to one of the malls in Istanbul and it is Huge!! You have to go through a metal detector and put your bag through an x-ray machines like at the airport before you go into big stores, banks, or other such places here. I was so excited because they have an H&M here!!! one of my favorite places!! now all they need is a Forever 21  and i would be so happy here!
For lunch at the food court we had Mcdonalds too!! it was a little different but still basically the same. They also had BK and Popeyes and starbucks. I just wish they had a Panda Express and a taco bell. :)
I bought...
2 necklaces
2 earings
1 sweater
for less than 40 Lyra which is about $30!! :) i love it when i bargain shop

It was such a fun day and tomorrow we are meeting with some other aupairs for breakfast and then exploring the little town plaza near where we live.
Well thats all for now!! miss you all! :)

Take care.

Hi Again!

SO i found out that the lady who got me the job always does the same thing. she talks to girls on GreatAuPair.com and acts like she wants to hire them but then changes it to get people to live with other families and she gets paid. sneaky sneaky. With another Aupair that i met she didnt tell her she was living with another family until she had already bought her ticket here!! they are not on good terms. luckily she told me long before. I made sure i knew what i was getting into before and thats why i think. Also with my family i didnt know until she was driving me to my house that her husband has cancer. it doesnt affect me too much except that she is not home alot because of it and things can get a little tense. It turns out that i am more like a full time babysitter, paid to be their friend and help them with using their English correctly. I love my little Zenep though, we have fun but she can be a stubborn little thing. We just need more time to understand the way we each work better. I have to go with her to all her lessons so i am halfway through my book already!! maybe i should take up knitting too since i have so much time just sitting and watching her.
but things are good. i am meeting new people and us aupairs have an instant understanding and friendship

Yesterday i went out with a couple of the other Aupairs. We went into the city, took the metro, went ot lunch which was really good and then visited the Galata Tower which is one of the oldest towers in Istanbul built in 528 during the Sovereignty of the Byzantine Emperor Justianus. It was super cool and had a great view of the city. I was so glad i had them with me because the girls knew quite a bit of Turkish and helped me to find an outlet converter. I also bought me a guitar for my stay here for 75 Lira which is about $50 which is great! i love it! well i will write more soon!! love you all!!!

Take care!

great day

Today was good. I didnt know that it would be so cold! its been raining and it is windy too! didnt expect that. i should have brought a coat but i am sure i will get one here. I also found out a left a box with a bunch of stuff in it including all my jewelry and perfume. I went with the housekeeper Hava who speaks very little english on a tour of the grounds and country club. It was super nice and i cant wait until it is nice enough for me to enjoy.
We got home in time for Zenep to come home and I helped her with some of her homework before she wanted to show me all her computer games. Huma and her aupair that I talked to last night Leslie, came over and it was good to visit with them (even though i sound like a man because i am sick). After that Zenep had a play date with her friend. There happened to be a new aupair Kelly who got there a day before me! i am so glad that there is another new aupair that is as lost as i am. She is 19 and from canada and a super great girl! Things are looking up! I have some new friends and getting into how things are going a little better. Tomorrow I am meeting a girl Claire and Leslie for fun and lunch in the city :) I am excited and I hope everything goes welL! i have to get used to the shuttle system here.

Turkey Moment:
-They drink alot of tea here but i cant so i guess thats not much of a problem. i just hope i don't offend anyone by refusing.
-There are many Muslims here and so today i kept hearing the call to prayer! I was super excited! Thanks to Emi and my world religion teacher i know what it is! Zenep doesnt like it. She also doesnt know anything about religion. Not even about heaven or church!
- I ate an amazing Turkish meal! I am not sure what it is called but it had peas, chicken, and a sauce which you mixed in with rice. They also had pickles not, only the common cucumber ones but the vegetables too! The kids loved these ones. They fought over the cabbage :) its more of a zesty spicy pickle then ours which are more sweet but i like it! We also had the magium ice cream that they had in mexico! it was great to eat at the playdates house. I had a soda which tasted a lot like japanese pop. Slight lemon flavor but it tasted like bubblegum with club soda. it will take some getting used to
-They have out of the box milk which is not my fave but it is good and reminds me of my Meso trip....at least it was cold! :)

Take care!!!

Wake up!

my family has been so nice! I was super homesick last night but she helped my to feel much better. It was also better once i got the internet working so i can talk to people and i got to talk to some of the other aupairs in the area and we have planned to meet today and have a girls day on friday! hopefully everything goes well and i have two new friends! I have to get an outlet converter now before my computer runs out of juice!  it will also be nice to use my straightner :)
i woke up this morning to the sounds of my window covers slamming against the house. Apparently Rexburg is trying to follow me since it is raining and windy. Thank you for your effort to keep in touch Rexurg but I think you can skip the weather!
other than that i have tried my first Turkish food (a pastry type thing that had cheese in it) it was good, maybe a different cheese then fetta but i am excited to try the next thing! I have already tried learning a few Turkish words but after my night i think i forgot them :( i have time.
Also the tv has a few english channels which is nice and that is what yudum turned on last night to help me feel better about missing everything.
Well i need to get ready and have Yudum show me around!!

Take care! Love you!

Day numero uno!

well i made it!!! finally after a very long trip! . The first ride to dallas was not long but I had to go to the other side of my airport to catch my flight. The next ride was the long one. I sat next to this lady who wrapped her head and I remembered the only thing I took away from my anthropology class to just be nice to people especially those you sit next to in the air plane. Well it turns out the lady was going to turkey on my same flight. She talked to me a lot about her family and showed me pictures and stuff. It was good to talk to someone. She invited me to stay at her house in Istanbul but on the other side. She really wanted me to nanny for her grandkids in new mexico but not gonna happen. We stuck together through the rest of the trip until the last plane. It was nice to have someone watch my bags at times. Well they gave us food which was actually good and I watched Narnia 3, the black swan, and the tourist. Let me just say that the black swan is crazy and I didn’t like it. London was way cool they had these crazy toilets that were square and had pre sectioned toilet paper. They are crazy obsessed about the royal wedding too!! There was a pillow, tea, biscuits and other things dedicated just to the royal couple.
 It was great because all of the sudden I was surrounded by all these cute guys with British accents. The last trip was the worst but I got the most sleep. There was two guys on either side of me and the food was not my favorite. Istanbul is crazy huge!! It reminded me of Mexico City a lot. The driving is very much the same. It is different but I like it. I just don’t know if I like the thought of it for 9 months!! I have been super homesick at first but talking to some aupairs here is making me feel alot better. I am meeting with them tomorrow. We will see what happens. Take it one day at a time! I miss everyone so much and I have already cried a ton. Hopefully it will get better. Like Jill said I just need to get in the pattern of things. It will be hard but I pray hard that I can do it and that it will pass quickly.

idk if the photos are showing but i will post more if they dont. :) take care!

 

Hair Bob

today i got a haircut from the paul mitchel and i am so not going there again.it took almost two hours!! i told them exactly what i wanted and i didnt get any of that
cut off as least as possible
no A-line or bobs
and choppy layers
 well they cut off about two more inches and when the girl tried to give me her choppy layers the instructor came and evened them all out as well as officially making it a bob haircut. i was not happy, not i need to fix it myself and hope it grows out fast.

on a good note my dentist was so cool!! there were all these cool gadgets and my dentist was a good looking man! i could barely looks at him!
i also had in-n-out for lunch which was super good
i got new luggage!
a new new satchel :)
and i got to see jill again one last time before i left!!!! good day :)
now in a few hours i am off to Turkey!

Sunday Church

well church was depressing today...
mostly because i miss my singles school ward!! i miss sitting with my roomies and seeing some of my most favorite people in the whole world!!!
its always weird going to my old ward/ my grandmas ward. everyone asks if i remember them from when i was 4 and i only recognize them from other times i have visited.
 i dont think i could go to a family ward in provo, just saying...
i also found out my best friend when i was little who we play nice to each other now is pregnant and due in three months! crazy!
i also feel like my grandma is trying to show me off a lil bit which is awkward in so many ways with that ward.

great story thought from my vast visit there...
it is a family ward that is combined with BYUs married housing so there are many, many little kids. I forget how quite singles ward is without all the screaming children. anyways, there was this little girl hanging over the back of a bench and eating pretzels. She dropped one to the floor and the little girl who was sitting right there picked it up. The girl who dropped the pretzel started reaching for the pretzel and saying it was hers while the other little girl just stared at her. Finally the girl with the pretzel watches the other girl trying with all her might to get the food and stuffs the pretzel into her mouth.  the other little girl now goes nuts screaming and crying. While the other girl once again just watches. She just eats the pretzel, shrugs and turns back to what she was doing before. I am not sure if it was more funny or sad. little kids are entertaining i will say that. and they are not created equal...its a lie that all babies are cute. sorry but true. watch now i am going to birth a little monster. knock on wood!

Now i am currently at my crazy grandmas Omi's house trying to keep her from poisoning us with sprouting potatoes what feel squishy. She just gave me a piece of this weird fruit and tasted like mold...gross. this is the same grandma who i found a jar of pineapple spread and expired in 1992!! haha i love her. we just spent along afternoon pulling weeds from her yard. it was great fun! no lie!! :)
Love Peach and Chicken Grease!!

Dumpster Diving

Tonight I went with my good friend Tanae and her roommate Christine around to different apartment complexes to chech out their DI (like goodwill)  piles. The first few were great but the rest were bums. We found some sweet stuff though....
a tri pod
Hp printer
Fish tank with food
Starsky and Hutch
a blender
and a few other fun things.

I am telling you i dont know why it took me this long to start doing this!
in my apartment complex earlier this week I found this suit jacket blazer which is great cuz I wanted to get one and now i dont have to! :)
bueno!
It was a great time and i got to spend some good time with Tanae today. i love that girl!
I would put up pictures but i forgot it at Tylers house so i will put some up when i get it back!! :)

goodnight and see ya in the morning bright and early so i can finish clean checks and packing!

saying goodbye

its happening. Today was the first real day of saying goodbye to people. I said goodbye to two of my roomies Christina and Mckenzie, Jake Firl, and Alyssa and Diana!
It is such a sad time i just dont know what i am going to do once i have to say goodbye to tanae, jill, and chelsea too!! Right now i am watching Jill pack....i hate this.
The count has started.....
one more final, two more days until utah, four more days in the country, and nine more months until i am back at school.

Change

I decided i didn't like my old profile so i just changed everything up. Hopefully everyone likes it! :)
Change is good and so i dont feel bad. everyone needs change and i will most likely change things again soon.

Worm Suicide

Today I got out of my last class (anthropology)only to look outside and to my dismay find it sleeting. Rain and snow are bad enough on their own but together they are absolutely dreadful! Having no hood to cover my head with i resorted to using my scarf as a head wrap. Walking through the unfortunate cold, complaining, I asked the three girls i was with why is it that worms come out of hiding only to die on the sidewalks? It doesn't make sense. I know there has to be a reason but none of us knew what it was. So what is it??

The last of the last

Hey it is officially the last week of school! i have so much to do and so little time to do everything. not only that but in 8 days i leave for Turkey!
i am going to miss my roommates and friends so much! its killing me just thinking about it. i will miss late night movies with junkfood or jumping onto jills bed at 2am! making food with chelsea and working out at the gym with them. so much i am leaving behind but i have high hopes that i will also have much to gain :)
we will see what happens. i will write more soon!

Finals

Shoot me now! please dont but i am going a little crazy! can i just say that it is really not necessary to have a portfolio, oral exam, test, and final for one class in two weeks!!! This is for Spanish...and we have our workbooks to do and two test reviews for it too. Why so much?? Good news though i only have three more papers, and three more tests to do next week!!! :)
(Its good when you had about that much this week too)
anyways it will soon be over. dont give up people!!!