I am loving these chicks. even though they are loud and messy they are the cutest things!
Today something happened. In the less than two hours I was gone to Zeyneps tennis lesson Buddy the chick had managed to get completely wet somehow and covered in feed. Nugget was crying out laying next to him trying to keep him somewhat warm i suppose. Buddy was so weak and frail so I took him and rinsed him off in warm water. I wrapped him in a towel and tried to keep him warm. It was not enough and so I improvised and took my hair straightener putting it under the towel and turning it on for a homemade incubator. Genius i thought and it was. He was warm again and both Buddy and Nugget were warm and asleep on the warm towel. But buddy was still almost lifeless laying on his side with his legs sprawled out. I tried to feed him but nothing worked. Nugget kept close by until buddy was warm and dry and still limp. I held him in my hands begging him to not die. There was nothing i could do. He opened his eyes for the last time to look at me, as if to say thank you for trying but its my time to go, goodbye. and with that he died in my hand, leaving behind his body and his last poop on me at the same time. I cried. I asked Heavenly Father to heal my little chick. I told Him that I had faith and i knew that He has the power to heal the little chick and bring him back but I understood if it was not part of the plan He had. He didnt bring buddy back but i do know he he cares for him. Even though he is a simple little chick He knows and cares because each one is His creation. He knows even when a sparrow falls. These animals, no matter how small and insignificant are precious to Him. they have personalities and are intelligences.
No nugget is alone and I can clearly see the difference. He is lonely and sad. I have held him in my hand and he falls asleep so easily. I am going to miss buddy. It may seem silly to miss such a small bird that I have only had for a few days but i do. Buddy was this tiny little thing. Brown with a black mark on his head. He was fearless and yet a baby, wanting attention and crying all the time. he was also a butt to nugget, pecking his head even though nugget is twice his size. He would also shove nugget out of the way to be the main cuddler in my hand. When i took them outside to the backyard and let them run around on the grass buddy was the cutest one to watch. He was so excited and yet the heat of the sun would make him so drowsy that he would be falling asleep where he stood. He would be so sleepy that he would lay on the ground and go limp when we picked him up, chirping happily.
I hope that i see him and my other pets one day. He was a sweetie and I am so sad that i could not save him but it must have been his time to go.
Take care.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Jon Schmit
Here is some inspiring music from Jon Schmit. He is an amazing artist! I have been to one of his concerts and my life is changed lol
maybe not as much as i would like but it was still incredible!
So here is a taste of Jon...
This video is so great even though it is a bit cheesy, i think it makes it more entertaining to watch :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR94NDIfGmA&feature=autoshare
and this is one of my all time favorite songs from him which is Taylor Swifts Love Song Meets Coldplays Viva la Vida! amazing! I hope you love it as much as i do!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXtVBJDPs6k&feature=related
maybe not as much as i would like but it was still incredible!
So here is a taste of Jon...
This video is so great even though it is a bit cheesy, i think it makes it more entertaining to watch :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR94NDIfGmA&feature=autoshare
and this is one of my all time favorite songs from him which is Taylor Swifts Love Song Meets Coldplays Viva la Vida! amazing! I hope you love it as much as i do!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXtVBJDPs6k&feature=related
Saturday, May 28, 2011
chicks and more
i have just not felt like posting which is really sad. sorry.
so updates i still need to talk about bodrum!
Well bodrum is beautiful! I felt like it was a combination of Mexico, California and Greece. All the buildings can only be two floors and have to be a white color. I had the best food there! seriously it was amazing! They have this pomegranate syrup stuff that you use as a salad dressing along with olive oil and it is the most delicious stuff ever! we had super fresh fish, and sea food, and so much more!
The first day we got there in time to drive from the airport to the main city part as the sun was going down. incredibly beautiful.
we drove through the main tourist part of town and it was so lively. there were people shopping, going to bars, and eating out. we got to our hotel which was this really cute little place. We spent the night there and the next day we decided to go look at the tourist town part and go shopping. We took the back way and I was dying for my camera. luckily zeynep let me use hers a little and i got some great shots. I still cant wait to get my own camera. I love the back ways. the houses are beautiful! all white with colorful shutters usually a royal blue and just about every house had lots of flowers growing up the side and all around the house. it was so rustic and what i imagine Greece to be like. Shopping was mostly just looking around for stuff for zeynep. it was weird but kind of good to spend time with just us three (me, zeynep, and Yudum). We were mostly looking for Bodrum sandles which are basically strappy leather sandles but Bodrum is famous for them. They are all hand made but it was out of price range for me, about $50 for most pairs. I got a sunburn from just walking around that day! i was shocked. oh and i was super excited because i saw this add and it had Audrey Hepburn on it! I totally thought of Alyssa Chudleigh and Jake Firl!!! miss you kids and our Audrey movie nights!
We spent the rest of the vacation at Kellys famalies apartment which was actually super getto for how rich these people are. They were trying to get Yudum to buy one too but there was no way Yudum would get that place after they saw it. It was nice in the part that looked lived in but it was on this random road and there were wild chickens that walked around the place. There were some other places that we looked at later which were super nice and we will be staying in one for a few weeks during the summer and i will put up pics of how nice these places are! its insane! but sweet for me :)
For kelly and I it was work the entire time. the parents kept saying how this was our vacation too and how we should relax but we were still supposed to watch, take care of, and entertain the kids. We would tan a bit and they would sometimes comment how we spent our time tanning and not hanging out with the kids but we were. the kids just didnt want us all the time since they had each other. things got a little heated and i was not happy most of the trip. Yudum was so rude! she kept treating me like i was just help, then act extremely fake and then be super nice to me. i didnt know what to think and i still dont. One day they asked us to get the kids out of the pool by 6:15 so we could get ready and leave for dunner by 7. Kelly and I started to tell the kids the time we would have to get out 20 min before then 15 then 10 and so on because we knew it was going to take forever to get them out like the night before. The kids got mad, ran to their moms and the moms told them that they could stay in longer so they ran back to us made faces and taunted us like "we got our way, we won, we dont have to listen to you" and they jumped in the pool. I was completely fed up and i marched up the the moms and had a talk with them. I gave it to them but i was nice and understanding about it but it baffaled me how thick these people could be about their children. I think it was mostly cuz they didnt want to be put in their place by their help. we smoothed things over enough but things are still kind of weird.
Most of the trip was going out to eat at these really nice places for about two hours at least and the parents sat and talked while we took care of the kids. At dimmer the kids would be falling asleep at the table since it would be about 10pm and the parents would be talking and just ordering tea and coffee! The rest of the trip was spent either at the sea side with some sort of catering or by the pool. all in all it was a tought trip with work and frustrating beyond belief but it was beautiful and i got to spend some time with Kelly and three amazing kids.
oh we went to this completely traditional breakfast at this place where this old lady made a restaurant behind her house and used what she grew from her garden and produced herself. everything was completely homemade! the burrak and breads and everything. it was delicious! she cooked everything right there in this tiny kitchen and it was amazing to see Turkish foods made traditionally.
This week there has been some beef with Kelly and her host mom seyda which is partly why i have not felt like posting. basically i am not going to see kelly as much anymore but not because i did anything wrong but some people are not liking me as much as they should for unknown reasons. Lame and i am kind of pissed at Kelly too. But i have gotten to spend some awesome time with Aley which has been so fun. I spent the night at her house and the next day we went to the city. There is this huge park in the city and in it there was this Palace for the guests of the sultan and such. it was incredible! we could not take pictures unfortunately but we got some sweet pics in a part of the grounds that were not really explored anymore and was overgrown. i have to get them from Aley.
The big thing was that at the bus stop there was this man with a box full of baby chicks, and baby ducks! There were even some brightly colored chicks which is so sad for them. We saw him when we arrived and decided that if he was there on the way back we would get one. Well he was there. So now i have two baby chicks in my room! Yudum was really good about us getting them and so was Aleys mom. we are going to just trade them back and forth everyother day until they get too big and we will give them to some friends. I named mine Nugget and she is this cute little fat adventurous thing. She doesnt even cry that much but she eats a ton! Aleys is named Bubba and he is the cry baby! hardly stops the thing. If you dont give it enough attention, or it is away from the other for more than a min it freaks out! haha they are so cute i love them. Zeynep absolutely loves them too. I have a feeling i will wake up to zeynep sitting on my floor trying to see the chicks.
Well thats all for now. I will have more to say soon!
Take care!
now enjoy some pics!
so updates i still need to talk about bodrum!
Well bodrum is beautiful! I felt like it was a combination of Mexico, California and Greece. All the buildings can only be two floors and have to be a white color. I had the best food there! seriously it was amazing! They have this pomegranate syrup stuff that you use as a salad dressing along with olive oil and it is the most delicious stuff ever! we had super fresh fish, and sea food, and so much more!
The first day we got there in time to drive from the airport to the main city part as the sun was going down. incredibly beautiful.
we drove through the main tourist part of town and it was so lively. there were people shopping, going to bars, and eating out. we got to our hotel which was this really cute little place. We spent the night there and the next day we decided to go look at the tourist town part and go shopping. We took the back way and I was dying for my camera. luckily zeynep let me use hers a little and i got some great shots. I still cant wait to get my own camera. I love the back ways. the houses are beautiful! all white with colorful shutters usually a royal blue and just about every house had lots of flowers growing up the side and all around the house. it was so rustic and what i imagine Greece to be like. Shopping was mostly just looking around for stuff for zeynep. it was weird but kind of good to spend time with just us three (me, zeynep, and Yudum). We were mostly looking for Bodrum sandles which are basically strappy leather sandles but Bodrum is famous for them. They are all hand made but it was out of price range for me, about $50 for most pairs. I got a sunburn from just walking around that day! i was shocked. oh and i was super excited because i saw this add and it had Audrey Hepburn on it! I totally thought of Alyssa Chudleigh and Jake Firl!!! miss you kids and our Audrey movie nights!
We spent the rest of the vacation at Kellys famalies apartment which was actually super getto for how rich these people are. They were trying to get Yudum to buy one too but there was no way Yudum would get that place after they saw it. It was nice in the part that looked lived in but it was on this random road and there were wild chickens that walked around the place. There were some other places that we looked at later which were super nice and we will be staying in one for a few weeks during the summer and i will put up pics of how nice these places are! its insane! but sweet for me :)
For kelly and I it was work the entire time. the parents kept saying how this was our vacation too and how we should relax but we were still supposed to watch, take care of, and entertain the kids. We would tan a bit and they would sometimes comment how we spent our time tanning and not hanging out with the kids but we were. the kids just didnt want us all the time since they had each other. things got a little heated and i was not happy most of the trip. Yudum was so rude! she kept treating me like i was just help, then act extremely fake and then be super nice to me. i didnt know what to think and i still dont. One day they asked us to get the kids out of the pool by 6:15 so we could get ready and leave for dunner by 7. Kelly and I started to tell the kids the time we would have to get out 20 min before then 15 then 10 and so on because we knew it was going to take forever to get them out like the night before. The kids got mad, ran to their moms and the moms told them that they could stay in longer so they ran back to us made faces and taunted us like "we got our way, we won, we dont have to listen to you" and they jumped in the pool. I was completely fed up and i marched up the the moms and had a talk with them. I gave it to them but i was nice and understanding about it but it baffaled me how thick these people could be about their children. I think it was mostly cuz they didnt want to be put in their place by their help. we smoothed things over enough but things are still kind of weird.
Most of the trip was going out to eat at these really nice places for about two hours at least and the parents sat and talked while we took care of the kids. At dimmer the kids would be falling asleep at the table since it would be about 10pm and the parents would be talking and just ordering tea and coffee! The rest of the trip was spent either at the sea side with some sort of catering or by the pool. all in all it was a tought trip with work and frustrating beyond belief but it was beautiful and i got to spend some time with Kelly and three amazing kids.
oh we went to this completely traditional breakfast at this place where this old lady made a restaurant behind her house and used what she grew from her garden and produced herself. everything was completely homemade! the burrak and breads and everything. it was delicious! she cooked everything right there in this tiny kitchen and it was amazing to see Turkish foods made traditionally.
This week there has been some beef with Kelly and her host mom seyda which is partly why i have not felt like posting. basically i am not going to see kelly as much anymore but not because i did anything wrong but some people are not liking me as much as they should for unknown reasons. Lame and i am kind of pissed at Kelly too. But i have gotten to spend some awesome time with Aley which has been so fun. I spent the night at her house and the next day we went to the city. There is this huge park in the city and in it there was this Palace for the guests of the sultan and such. it was incredible! we could not take pictures unfortunately but we got some sweet pics in a part of the grounds that were not really explored anymore and was overgrown. i have to get them from Aley.
The big thing was that at the bus stop there was this man with a box full of baby chicks, and baby ducks! There were even some brightly colored chicks which is so sad for them. We saw him when we arrived and decided that if he was there on the way back we would get one. Well he was there. So now i have two baby chicks in my room! Yudum was really good about us getting them and so was Aleys mom. we are going to just trade them back and forth everyother day until they get too big and we will give them to some friends. I named mine Nugget and she is this cute little fat adventurous thing. She doesnt even cry that much but she eats a ton! Aleys is named Bubba and he is the cry baby! hardly stops the thing. If you dont give it enough attention, or it is away from the other for more than a min it freaks out! haha they are so cute i love them. Zeynep absolutely loves them too. I have a feeling i will wake up to zeynep sitting on my floor trying to see the chicks.
Well thats all for now. I will have more to say soon!
Take care!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Yummies
I am loving this new blog that I found called Design sponge and today I have been stuck on the recipe part of it. I want to share my joy and the tasty things that I want to try and make soon!
Simple Strawberry Yogurt Soup
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/06/in-the-kitchen-with-amy-cotler-strawberry-yogurt-soup.html
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/02/in-the-kitchen-with-giao-tracs-vietnamese-spring-rolls.html
Fresh Fruit Cake
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/09/in-the-kitchen-with-lena-corwins-fresh-fruit-cake.html
Roasted Strawberries
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/04/in-the-kitchen-with-heidi-swansons-roasted-strawberries.html
Simple Strawberry Yogurt Soup
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/06/in-the-kitchen-with-amy-cotler-strawberry-yogurt-soup.html
Vietnamese Spring Rolls
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/02/in-the-kitchen-with-giao-tracs-vietnamese-spring-rolls.html
Fresh Fruit Cake
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/09/in-the-kitchen-with-lena-corwins-fresh-fruit-cake.html
Roasted Strawberries
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2011/04/in-the-kitchen-with-heidi-swansons-roasted-strawberries.html
Sunday, May 22, 2011
When all else is gone, He is there
This is my second post today and I think i will post another one later about Bodrum or with something random like another youtube video. I have not had internet for 4 days so give me a break if i go a little technology nuts.
Yesterday and mostly today I have been homesick. Now i have not really been homesick since my first night here in Turkey so this hit me pretty well. I could not wait to get to church this morning because I know that the Lord is always there, the gospel is true and never failing; it is unmovable and unchangeable. This gives me so much comfort when everything in my life is different He will be there. I wanted to listen to my ipod on the bus over since it is at least a 45 min ride to MECİDİYEKÖY and from there I take the metro to Taksim and walk a little bit to church. I knew that the songs on my ipod would remind me of people and good times that would make me even more homesick but Still i wanted to listen. I plugged my head phones into my ears and tried to turn it on but i guess it did not turn all the way off last time I had used it and now it was drained of life. Luckily I had my phone that has a radio on it and I still heard a few songs that made me nostalgic but it was nothing compared to what it would have been if it were my ipod i was listening to where almost every song has some meaning attached to it. I think that Heavenly Father knew this and He is the one that made it so I could Last until church. At church in Relief society we were talking about the personal and Priesthood line on communication between us and the Lord. I started to think about how I missed having the Priesthood so close and basically surrounded by it while at school. Then i started to think about my friends especially my guy friends, and FHE brothers (Tyler) who I could call on any time to give me a blessing or help me out. I am so blessed to have that most of the time. I started to cry. Then I started to think about how grateful for this truth I have and the comfort it gives me. I started to cry more.
The gospel is true. It means the world to me and sometimes I forget that a little bit but it is truly the joy in my life. It has given me so much and the coffee, tobacco, modesty and other things I have given up for it are truly a drop in the bucket compared to what it has given me; An education, great friends, comfort, a Savior, family, hope, standards, miracles, and the list goes on and on.
He also knows that I have been missing boys. Ok dont judge me. but it is exciting to have someone to crush on and look forward to seeing. I love having a summer romance but Turkish guys are not really the kind for me. Yes they are attractive and I am sure some are really great but most dont even speak English. I want a cute mormon boy. :) Once again He knows because there was this cute mormon boy at church today who was just visiting since he was backpacking with his sister and friend through the country. It was just nice to see a mormon boy my age that I might actually like in a different situation. Dont judge me but it helped me feel better. Heavenly Father knows! lol
I feel so much better since I went to church, felt the Spirit, gained knowledge, and took the sacrament. At the end of the day, no matter what. He is there, even when everything else in my life is different.
Take care.
Yesterday and mostly today I have been homesick. Now i have not really been homesick since my first night here in Turkey so this hit me pretty well. I could not wait to get to church this morning because I know that the Lord is always there, the gospel is true and never failing; it is unmovable and unchangeable. This gives me so much comfort when everything in my life is different He will be there. I wanted to listen to my ipod on the bus over since it is at least a 45 min ride to MECİDİYEKÖY and from there I take the metro to Taksim and walk a little bit to church. I knew that the songs on my ipod would remind me of people and good times that would make me even more homesick but Still i wanted to listen. I plugged my head phones into my ears and tried to turn it on but i guess it did not turn all the way off last time I had used it and now it was drained of life. Luckily I had my phone that has a radio on it and I still heard a few songs that made me nostalgic but it was nothing compared to what it would have been if it were my ipod i was listening to where almost every song has some meaning attached to it. I think that Heavenly Father knew this and He is the one that made it so I could Last until church. At church in Relief society we were talking about the personal and Priesthood line on communication between us and the Lord. I started to think about how I missed having the Priesthood so close and basically surrounded by it while at school. Then i started to think about my friends especially my guy friends, and FHE brothers (Tyler) who I could call on any time to give me a blessing or help me out. I am so blessed to have that most of the time. I started to cry. Then I started to think about how grateful for this truth I have and the comfort it gives me. I started to cry more.
The gospel is true. It means the world to me and sometimes I forget that a little bit but it is truly the joy in my life. It has given me so much and the coffee, tobacco, modesty and other things I have given up for it are truly a drop in the bucket compared to what it has given me; An education, great friends, comfort, a Savior, family, hope, standards, miracles, and the list goes on and on.
He also knows that I have been missing boys. Ok dont judge me. but it is exciting to have someone to crush on and look forward to seeing. I love having a summer romance but Turkish guys are not really the kind for me. Yes they are attractive and I am sure some are really great but most dont even speak English. I want a cute mormon boy. :) Once again He knows because there was this cute mormon boy at church today who was just visiting since he was backpacking with his sister and friend through the country. It was just nice to see a mormon boy my age that I might actually like in a different situation. Dont judge me but it helped me feel better. Heavenly Father knows! lol
I feel so much better since I went to church, felt the Spirit, gained knowledge, and took the sacrament. At the end of the day, no matter what. He is there, even when everything else in my life is different.
Take care.
Wal-Mart
one of the few things missing from Turkey is Wal-Mart.
and Oddly this video makes me miss it more....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvxNgdFeWqM
Enjoy and take care!
and Oddly this video makes me miss it more....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvxNgdFeWqM
Enjoy and take care!
Monday, May 16, 2011
Woops!!
ok bad me. i have not written about Emis visit yet. I guess i could right now or can i go to bed. hmmmm. i will write about the recent stuff and then if i have the stamina i will write more. sound fair? ok good.
So i am super super excited because tomorrow we will fly to Bodrum for 4 days!! woot woot! Bodrum is a city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and its basically a summer home area for the rich and famous. Its a great place with a bunch of stuff going on i guess. My family is planning to get an apartment there and stay there this summer for a month or two. Kelly will be there this summer with her family so it will be great. we actually might buy an apartment right next to them! Here are some pictures of Bodrum from online
I am super excited. We will be staying with Kellys family for the weekend. :) A great weekend away from the city with the kids, shopping, and eating fancy! so stoked!
Today I met with some other Aupairs for lunch. It was really fun and i met two new girls! they are really great but both of them are a bit older. I was the youngest one there. Aley, Kelly and I are the youngest ones so far of the aupairs. more will come for the summer so we will see.
Yesterday I went with the family to what i thought was going to be a 3 year olds birthday party which was true but there was only a few cousins there and Zeynep. The rest of the party was for the Grandpa so there was a bunch of adults there. Everyone was dressed up and drinking wine. It was fancy. They had a bbq which was a paid person cooking the meat and serving everyone and the housekeepers bringing out the rest of the foods and such. So according to tradition on a big occasion they had a couple belly dancers preform. It was basically a more talented stripper! They were wearing almost nothing, super ugly, with bug boobs. They even had quite a bit of chub which made me feel better :)
They would go dance on the men and the men would put money in her bra thing. She got bank too! They were putting 100 lyra bills up in there! It was really sad cuz the kids were watching and one of the belly dancers even had her mom there watching and clapping along. She was this little old traditional looking Turkish woman but she was encouraging her daughter to be a belly dancing stripper. A girl said her mom is the one who sets up her appointments and such. Yudum asked me what i thought this morning. She said that in Turkey they dont have strip clubs or pole dancers or any place like that, they only have belly dancers and it is not one on one ever like a lap dance. They only get them on big occasions. It was still weird seeing the women encouraging the belly dancer to dance with their husbands. At least now i can say i have seen a belly dancer! I need to get a new camera or something soon! I will have to take pictures next time i see one.
so i guess i have a little in me left. Emi got here on Wed morning and i was worried we would be late. We were rushing the whole time to get to Takism square and then find the shuttle to get to the airport. Even thought Emis plane had landed over a half hour before we waited for over an hour for her to come out. The Visa lines are killer. We decided to take the metro into the city again after we looked at a map and planed out how to get to where we were going. We were sitting on the metro just talking and catching up. When we were getting close to where we were getting off and switching we took out the map and the guy sitting next to us pointed out that we had it wrong. Apparently we had to walk a ways to the next metro. He spoke great English and he was sitting to us the whole time acting like he only spoke Turkish! lol he was super super cute! And really nice! He took us to the next metro and rode with us until we got to where we wanted to go. He was so friendly and i was really hoping he would ask for our number but he did say that its a small world and we would probably see each other again. I sure hope so! :)
We wanted to go to the Blue Mosque but before we went and got Kofte which is the Turkish meatballs. It was super good and Emi loved it. I got to impress her with my limited Turkish skills as i ordered our lunch! That made me happy that i was the one taking care of her!
We just looked at the mosques real quick and i got her the candy stuff and tasted like gummy bears. She really liked that lol
We went and found the grand bazaar which was my first time there. It was big and everything was more official. not like the other markets and i like. People knew how to cheat Americans there but we were good at bargaining and got some sweet bowls and Emi even got some Turkish delight! I got to treat her to everything it was fun! While trying to find our way back to the metro to get back to Taksim we went through the spice bazaar real quick and we got to see the Bosphorus. Basically Emi got a short glimpse of Istanbul in only 3 and a half hours. We said goodbye to Kelly at Taksim and then emi and i went down the walking street until we decided on ice cream and sat to talk before i had to take her to the airport shuttle. The time went by way to quick but it was still so good to see her. I missed her and i loved being able to show her MY city and on my 1 monthaversary too!!! Awesome day with two awesome girls! She brought me top ramen too! :) I have not heard from her since then so i am a bit worried but i am sure she is overwhelmed with her new country and internship. I hope to hear from her soon! well its bed time,
nighty night!
take care!!
talk to you after Bodrum!!!!! :)
So i am super super excited because tomorrow we will fly to Bodrum for 4 days!! woot woot! Bodrum is a city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and its basically a summer home area for the rich and famous. Its a great place with a bunch of stuff going on i guess. My family is planning to get an apartment there and stay there this summer for a month or two. Kelly will be there this summer with her family so it will be great. we actually might buy an apartment right next to them! Here are some pictures of Bodrum from online
Today I met with some other Aupairs for lunch. It was really fun and i met two new girls! they are really great but both of them are a bit older. I was the youngest one there. Aley, Kelly and I are the youngest ones so far of the aupairs. more will come for the summer so we will see.
Yesterday I went with the family to what i thought was going to be a 3 year olds birthday party which was true but there was only a few cousins there and Zeynep. The rest of the party was for the Grandpa so there was a bunch of adults there. Everyone was dressed up and drinking wine. It was fancy. They had a bbq which was a paid person cooking the meat and serving everyone and the housekeepers bringing out the rest of the foods and such. So according to tradition on a big occasion they had a couple belly dancers preform. It was basically a more talented stripper! They were wearing almost nothing, super ugly, with bug boobs. They even had quite a bit of chub which made me feel better :)
They would go dance on the men and the men would put money in her bra thing. She got bank too! They were putting 100 lyra bills up in there! It was really sad cuz the kids were watching and one of the belly dancers even had her mom there watching and clapping along. She was this little old traditional looking Turkish woman but she was encouraging her daughter to be a belly dancing stripper. A girl said her mom is the one who sets up her appointments and such. Yudum asked me what i thought this morning. She said that in Turkey they dont have strip clubs or pole dancers or any place like that, they only have belly dancers and it is not one on one ever like a lap dance. They only get them on big occasions. It was still weird seeing the women encouraging the belly dancer to dance with their husbands. At least now i can say i have seen a belly dancer! I need to get a new camera or something soon! I will have to take pictures next time i see one.
so i guess i have a little in me left. Emi got here on Wed morning and i was worried we would be late. We were rushing the whole time to get to Takism square and then find the shuttle to get to the airport. Even thought Emis plane had landed over a half hour before we waited for over an hour for her to come out. The Visa lines are killer. We decided to take the metro into the city again after we looked at a map and planed out how to get to where we were going. We were sitting on the metro just talking and catching up. When we were getting close to where we were getting off and switching we took out the map and the guy sitting next to us pointed out that we had it wrong. Apparently we had to walk a ways to the next metro. He spoke great English and he was sitting to us the whole time acting like he only spoke Turkish! lol he was super super cute! And really nice! He took us to the next metro and rode with us until we got to where we wanted to go. He was so friendly and i was really hoping he would ask for our number but he did say that its a small world and we would probably see each other again. I sure hope so! :)
We wanted to go to the Blue Mosque but before we went and got Kofte which is the Turkish meatballs. It was super good and Emi loved it. I got to impress her with my limited Turkish skills as i ordered our lunch! That made me happy that i was the one taking care of her!
We just looked at the mosques real quick and i got her the candy stuff and tasted like gummy bears. She really liked that lol
We went and found the grand bazaar which was my first time there. It was big and everything was more official. not like the other markets and i like. People knew how to cheat Americans there but we were good at bargaining and got some sweet bowls and Emi even got some Turkish delight! I got to treat her to everything it was fun! While trying to find our way back to the metro to get back to Taksim we went through the spice bazaar real quick and we got to see the Bosphorus. Basically Emi got a short glimpse of Istanbul in only 3 and a half hours. We said goodbye to Kelly at Taksim and then emi and i went down the walking street until we decided on ice cream and sat to talk before i had to take her to the airport shuttle. The time went by way to quick but it was still so good to see her. I missed her and i loved being able to show her MY city and on my 1 monthaversary too!!! Awesome day with two awesome girls! She brought me top ramen too! :) I have not heard from her since then so i am a bit worried but i am sure she is overwhelmed with her new country and internship. I hope to hear from her soon! well its bed time,
nighty night!
take care!!
talk to you after Bodrum!!!!! :)
Saturday, May 14, 2011
My Monthaversary
Sorry i have not posted in like a week. i always have stuff that i want to write about but then i get lazy and dont want to type a bunch.
well i will start off venting and then get to the good stuff.
this week Zeynep has been a real pain. There were two days where i just about lost it. she had no respect, and would not listen to me. I felt like the help. I was not ok with that at all and if it was not for my awesome friends Alley and Kelly who was there for me i might have. She was the biggest brat to me one day and we were at Kellys where i had broken down crying for a while and watched a movie while the kids played downstairs. at the ending of our stay she came with Erin, snuck into kellys room, turned off the lights and jumped on me and kelly. From that moment everything was great like nothing was wrong. The next day she was great with me but then a brat to Havva and her mom and today she was great all around. I wonder what tomorrow will be like?? Anyways i think it had alot to do with her dad dying, i thought it was going to hit her a few weeks later and guess what....its been two weeks. she has this weird thing where she bits of the skin on her thumb and lately its been really bad. its raw skin like when you pop a blister now, she cannot even grip her tennis racket. Oh and i think she is stealing from people from school and her friends. Ever since her dad died she had been getting a ton of stuff from her friends at school. she says they give her these full pencil packs with markers, gell pens, pencils and erasers. She has gotten like 4 more pouches, tons more pens, mighty beans, and things. Kelly said that a bunch of Erins stuff has gone missing, she described some of the stuff and it sounds familiar. Erin lost a bunch of mighty beans and zeynep got a bunch of new ones so i showed kelly all zeyneps beans and kelly picked out all the ones erin lost, they were all zeyneps new ones. We want to make sure that this is what is going on before we talk to the parents. And this next week we are going to Bodrum with Kellys family so it would be best to work it out after.
This week has been great other than that. kelly and i went out on our own on tuesday and we figured out how to get around a bit on our own it was great! we are so much more confident now. We met a new girl Bethany who is here with her sister Lacey who is working for humas family. She is super sweet, a little older than me but i really like her. Her family sounds insane though. All the kids do is read and go to their activities. They are all super smart in the family also i guess.
On wed. it was my monthaversary of coming to Turkey! Crazy right! I have lived in another country for a month! I can get around the city, talk enough to buy something, order food and get around. its amazing here and i cannot imagine doing anything else with my summer. Kelly was a month the day before so we got to celebrate together.
It was perfect because i also got to see my sister. I will have to write about the tomorrow since i am soooo tired right now. but things are great.
Oh today Zeynep went to a birthday party. The house is super nice and big. its not as big as houses in the US but here it is a mansion! its three floors and has an elevator! no lie! an elevator!! it also has a huge kitchen, giant bar downstaires, and a big pool. that was all of the house that i saw. the party was so ligit. these kids get so much swag its boggling. they had manicures, makeup, and hairdressers. They all got a custom shirt with their names printed on them, a tutu, hat clip thing, and a purse with different things inside. it was insane! oh and the cake was a coture purse that looked like the cake boss made it or something.
Today Zeynep wanted to make earrings for her teacher since it was her birthday but we didnt have any real materal so we took twist ties (the kind on your bread) and took the wire from that. We used her beads and sewing thread and the wire to make the earrings. it sounds totally getto and it would be if it was not an 8 year old making them but it was genius also! it really worked. i kind of like the ones i made for me also. :)
well bed time. I will write tomorrow i hope.
take care!
well i will start off venting and then get to the good stuff.
this week Zeynep has been a real pain. There were two days where i just about lost it. she had no respect, and would not listen to me. I felt like the help. I was not ok with that at all and if it was not for my awesome friends Alley and Kelly who was there for me i might have. She was the biggest brat to me one day and we were at Kellys where i had broken down crying for a while and watched a movie while the kids played downstairs. at the ending of our stay she came with Erin, snuck into kellys room, turned off the lights and jumped on me and kelly. From that moment everything was great like nothing was wrong. The next day she was great with me but then a brat to Havva and her mom and today she was great all around. I wonder what tomorrow will be like?? Anyways i think it had alot to do with her dad dying, i thought it was going to hit her a few weeks later and guess what....its been two weeks. she has this weird thing where she bits of the skin on her thumb and lately its been really bad. its raw skin like when you pop a blister now, she cannot even grip her tennis racket. Oh and i think she is stealing from people from school and her friends. Ever since her dad died she had been getting a ton of stuff from her friends at school. she says they give her these full pencil packs with markers, gell pens, pencils and erasers. She has gotten like 4 more pouches, tons more pens, mighty beans, and things. Kelly said that a bunch of Erins stuff has gone missing, she described some of the stuff and it sounds familiar. Erin lost a bunch of mighty beans and zeynep got a bunch of new ones so i showed kelly all zeyneps beans and kelly picked out all the ones erin lost, they were all zeyneps new ones. We want to make sure that this is what is going on before we talk to the parents. And this next week we are going to Bodrum with Kellys family so it would be best to work it out after.
This week has been great other than that. kelly and i went out on our own on tuesday and we figured out how to get around a bit on our own it was great! we are so much more confident now. We met a new girl Bethany who is here with her sister Lacey who is working for humas family. She is super sweet, a little older than me but i really like her. Her family sounds insane though. All the kids do is read and go to their activities. They are all super smart in the family also i guess.
On wed. it was my monthaversary of coming to Turkey! Crazy right! I have lived in another country for a month! I can get around the city, talk enough to buy something, order food and get around. its amazing here and i cannot imagine doing anything else with my summer. Kelly was a month the day before so we got to celebrate together.
It was perfect because i also got to see my sister. I will have to write about the tomorrow since i am soooo tired right now. but things are great.
Oh today Zeynep went to a birthday party. The house is super nice and big. its not as big as houses in the US but here it is a mansion! its three floors and has an elevator! no lie! an elevator!! it also has a huge kitchen, giant bar downstaires, and a big pool. that was all of the house that i saw. the party was so ligit. these kids get so much swag its boggling. they had manicures, makeup, and hairdressers. They all got a custom shirt with their names printed on them, a tutu, hat clip thing, and a purse with different things inside. it was insane! oh and the cake was a coture purse that looked like the cake boss made it or something.
Today Zeynep wanted to make earrings for her teacher since it was her birthday but we didnt have any real materal so we took twist ties (the kind on your bread) and took the wire from that. We used her beads and sewing thread and the wire to make the earrings. it sounds totally getto and it would be if it was not an 8 year old making them but it was genius also! it really worked. i kind of like the ones i made for me also. :)
well bed time. I will write tomorrow i hope.
take care!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Crafty shares
I love blogs. Mostly crafty ones or fashion ones. mostly ones with both. That is way i am super excited about my two new blog finds today :) see the excitement!
i guess i could add a few more of these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:)
ok so here they are
http://www.designspongeonline.com/
and
http://kellyhicksdesign.com/
- i learned how to make tissue pom poms today in like 30 sec. it was awesome.
i hope you enjoy them as much as i do! :)
Take care now
i guess i could add a few more of these !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:)
ok so here they are
http://www.designspongeonline.com/
and
http://kellyhicksdesign.com/
- i learned how to make tissue pom poms today in like 30 sec. it was awesome.
i hope you enjoy them as much as i do! :)
Take care now
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Dear Mom...
Dear Mom
Thank you for everything. For carrying me for 9 months even though i made you fat and tired and then going through labor to bring me into this world. Thank you for teaching me manners and how to be a good person. Thank you for helping me explore and learn about the world so that I may know what I love to do and be successful. Thank you for the fire and bravery that you gave me through your example and genes. Thank you for the delicious food you always made. Thank you for being my sunggle and cuddle buddy. Thank you for cleaning up my vomit, wet beds, boogers, dirty diapers, and every other disgusting thing that i produced. Thank you for kissing my scraped knees, and taking me to the hospital when i broke my nose and ankle on mothers day. Thank you for coming to every sports game and you could and always supporting me in them. Thank you to taking me and picking me up from school. Thank you for waking me up for seminary every single morning at 5am. Thank you for buying my groceries for my first week at school. Thank you for washing all my clothes for the first 18 years of my life. Thank you for my surprise birthday parties. Thank you for the love you show to others and your complete selflessness when you give everything you have to us and other people. Thank you for always supporting me when you could. Thank you for mending my socks with holes. Thank you for showing me how to be thrifty. Thank you for your humility.Thank you for making the majority of my halloween costumes. Thank you for the good times wrestling even though you beat me. Thank you for being so strong and hardworking. Thank you for keeping our family together. Thank you for your faith and complete devotion to the Lord. Thank you for your service to others. Thank you for your culture. Thank you for your smile, laugh, and spirit.
Thanks for everything mom, I love you.
I hope you have a wonderful mothers day :)
Thank you for everything. For carrying me for 9 months even though i made you fat and tired and then going through labor to bring me into this world. Thank you for teaching me manners and how to be a good person. Thank you for helping me explore and learn about the world so that I may know what I love to do and be successful. Thank you for the fire and bravery that you gave me through your example and genes. Thank you for the delicious food you always made. Thank you for being my sunggle and cuddle buddy. Thank you for cleaning up my vomit, wet beds, boogers, dirty diapers, and every other disgusting thing that i produced. Thank you for kissing my scraped knees, and taking me to the hospital when i broke my nose and ankle on mothers day. Thank you for coming to every sports game and you could and always supporting me in them. Thank you to taking me and picking me up from school. Thank you for waking me up for seminary every single morning at 5am. Thank you for buying my groceries for my first week at school. Thank you for washing all my clothes for the first 18 years of my life. Thank you for my surprise birthday parties. Thank you for the love you show to others and your complete selflessness when you give everything you have to us and other people. Thank you for always supporting me when you could. Thank you for mending my socks with holes. Thank you for showing me how to be thrifty. Thank you for your humility.Thank you for making the majority of my halloween costumes. Thank you for the good times wrestling even though you beat me. Thank you for being so strong and hardworking. Thank you for keeping our family together. Thank you for your faith and complete devotion to the Lord. Thank you for your service to others. Thank you for your culture. Thank you for your smile, laugh, and spirit.
Thanks for everything mom, I love you.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Market Shopping day!
Sorry i havent posted for a while. I just have not been in the mood to type. This week was the week marker for the funeral and on the day it was like it was one of the first days after he died. Yudum said that some friends where coming over and i thought ok no big deal she always has friends over just to chat with. Next thing I knew i heard the doorbell ring and a bunch of noise from downstairs, when i went down there was the catering people getting th food ready and already people were showing up. Its a traditional thing with funerals the on the week after and 30 days after they have people come over and they feed them and remember the dead and visit the gravesite. of course I was the one who had to watch all the kids. Most of them are great kids but there is this one girl. Alara who is this little ,cute girl and then you find out she is crazy! She likes to scream and she has a very high pitched scream. She also riles Zeynep up also and they are bouncing all the walls! She was the one who last time she was over decided to hide my show stuff and some of my makeup in different places in the bathroom. i think they tried to pull it off again but i made sure they knew it was not going to happen again. After that i went to Kellys house and spent the night. it was super fun, we watched this movie with the cutiest little kid, and ate ,and talked. The next morning (like every morning for her) we had pancakes and nutella! so good! We then went to the kindergarten kids performance at the school which her kid Alp was participating in. He was the cutest thing ever! his part was a rockstar daisy. Zeynep was there since she knew people in it and her teacher let her out. After the show I went to the city with Aley. She has this place that she likes to go to so we went. This place is so great! it is not very touristy and its the more local kinds of people and shops. There was this great big Mosque there that I loved to see! I was to explore it more another day and take pictures when i get another camera or find a charger. We had lunch for like 3 lyra each ($2) and then walked to this open market that is only on Fridays. It was amazing!! everything was super cheap! They had socks for 1 lyra which is like 60 cents, pickles for 3 lyra a kilo, shoes for 15 lyra ($10), and shirts for like 5 lyra. I also got strawberries for 2 lyra a kilo!!! They were so good and cheap!!! Next time i will get at least two kilo cuz they were gone by this afternoon! I also got some sweet jewlery for dirt cheap and perfume ( nina ricci ligit stuff and i have wanted for years! and it was 15 lyra!) . The energy was amazing and the people were pretty nice. I had to control myself to not but so many things. Aley was looking at some stuff at this one stand and i looked to the other side of the walking way and there was this really attractive Turkish guy looking at me. I kept looking back and every time he was staring at me! It got a little creepy but it was nothing when we moved on. Well as we were walking down the next row of booths he had gone around to come the other way to find me and was hardcore staring at me! When we passed him (i was trying to just not pay any attention to him at that point) he was talking in Turkish. Aley then was like he is stalking you cuz he turned around and was looking for me again. She ducked behind a fish stand to watch him and at the right moment we just booked it to the other side of the market where she got something that she was going back to buy and we left. It was freaky really. I think she was mostly trying to get me for sure safe and then said it was probably not something big but still better safe then sorry.
Down the street we found this great shoe shop that was higher quality but still had some good deals. I was so tempted but since i had gotten flats already that day i resisted. I will go back.
Then we wondered into this clothing shop and found out everything there was only 10 lyra! which is like $6.30!! I didnt let myself look through almost any of the stuff but i still walked away with a new plaid shirt and dress! it was so worth it! The worker there said ( with the help of Aleys broken Turkish and Charades) that i looked Turkish. WHich i really do.
All in all I only Spent about 50 lyra or a little more which is about $35 so great day!! Aley spent the night at my place and we watched two movies and then talked until about 4am!!! it was bad but we both couldnt sleep and then couldnt stop taking. Roommates you know how that is! ;)
When Zeynep woke me up exactly at 9 this morning (the earliest her mom will let her wake me up thank goodness, especially since she was up since 5 am ) with a paper place that said "Time to wake up rrrrring!" with an alarm clock drawn to 9'o clock. Aley was already gone to her family which was crazy!
Oh Zeynep the other day said that she wished i was married. That was weird but today I found out that she was saying that because she was asking her mom if i was a mom so she could get me something for mothers day! so cute!! We went to the store today and I had to help her get her mothers day presents which was so cute! she was so excited and of course her mom was paying for it all, but i had to help her cover up what she was getting all this stuff for but of course her mom knew and we were talking about it later. It was so fun. Then we made cards for them for mothers day and wrapped the presents. she was so secretive and giddy and
winked at me once when i covered for her.
One of her friends came over and at one point they were showing me the dances they had learned to Kesha's tick tock. I had to listen to like like 5 times in a row. Its a very long song. very long.
Well when her friend left she got ready for bed. but on her red pjs and then got out her grass hula skirt. She then put on the Waka waka song and started to dance. :) i love this kid.
oh anyone interested in Aupairing for a family for the summer?? Anywhere from one to 3 months and they can help with the ticket. I met the family tonight and they have a great 8 year old girl and a darling little year and a half year old who you wouldnt be required to take care of. Anyways its a sweet set up so let me know!
Someone posted this video on facebook and its so cute i have to post it! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEN-kHe5o_Y
Take Care!
Down the street we found this great shoe shop that was higher quality but still had some good deals. I was so tempted but since i had gotten flats already that day i resisted. I will go back.
Then we wondered into this clothing shop and found out everything there was only 10 lyra! which is like $6.30!! I didnt let myself look through almost any of the stuff but i still walked away with a new plaid shirt and dress! it was so worth it! The worker there said ( with the help of Aleys broken Turkish and Charades) that i looked Turkish. WHich i really do.
All in all I only Spent about 50 lyra or a little more which is about $35 so great day!! Aley spent the night at my place and we watched two movies and then talked until about 4am!!! it was bad but we both couldnt sleep and then couldnt stop taking. Roommates you know how that is! ;)
When Zeynep woke me up exactly at 9 this morning (the earliest her mom will let her wake me up thank goodness, especially since she was up since 5 am ) with a paper place that said "Time to wake up rrrrring!" with an alarm clock drawn to 9'o clock. Aley was already gone to her family which was crazy!
Oh Zeynep the other day said that she wished i was married. That was weird but today I found out that she was saying that because she was asking her mom if i was a mom so she could get me something for mothers day! so cute!! We went to the store today and I had to help her get her mothers day presents which was so cute! she was so excited and of course her mom was paying for it all, but i had to help her cover up what she was getting all this stuff for but of course her mom knew and we were talking about it later. It was so fun. Then we made cards for them for mothers day and wrapped the presents. she was so secretive and giddy and
winked at me once when i covered for her.
One of her friends came over and at one point they were showing me the dances they had learned to Kesha's tick tock. I had to listen to like like 5 times in a row. Its a very long song. very long.
Well when her friend left she got ready for bed. but on her red pjs and then got out her grass hula skirt. She then put on the Waka waka song and started to dance. :) i love this kid.
oh anyone interested in Aupairing for a family for the summer?? Anywhere from one to 3 months and they can help with the ticket. I met the family tonight and they have a great 8 year old girl and a darling little year and a half year old who you wouldnt be required to take care of. Anyways its a sweet set up so let me know!
Someone posted this video on facebook and its so cute i have to post it! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEN-kHe5o_Y
Take Care!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Church on May 1st
Sunday was quite the adventure.
I have not been able to go to church since i have been here and I was determined that this week i would go. Things kind of got crazy with the death and everything but Yudum was still supportive if I wanted to go. She was worried and had me call the branch president to make sure we still had church because it was May 1st. Apparently it is Labors day and here it is a bug thing. The Labor unions march/ parade down the street to Taksim square which is the main square of the city. There are hundreds of people and the police block off a bunch of roads near there. I guess in the past things have gotten really violent and to there were police everywhere all decked out in armor with fencing along the marching streets.
Yudum had gotten me a taxi to take me there. He would try one way and it would be blocked so he would try another and that would be blocked, he was getting really frustrated and started going up one way streets and all this crazy stuff i was so scarred i was going to die or he was going to hit someone! He stopped and was talking to some police cuz he couldnt get to the Hilton Hotel where i was going to be dropped off cuz everything was blocked and next thing i know two of the police men were about to get in a fight and others had to come between them to stop it. I was so afraid!! I was this little lost girl in this taxi wearing my sunday best and these crazy turkish police were about to get in a fight! all i want to do is go to church! Finally after much debating and going back and forth he was able to drive me past the guards up to the back of the hotel. Then this man brought me up the back and showed me where to go. The plan was to call the branch president when I got to the Hilton hotel since the branch met across from it somewhere. The only problem was that today there were people parading down the street between me and the where i needed to be. The people were carrying flags and shouting and whistling. The flags had different unions on them, hammers and sickles, people, and even (for my fellow meso american tour members) Che Guevara!!! that was a big shock. Someone later explained to me that the soviet communism has been forgotten in the younger generation and now the Marxist communism with the pure idea of equality is a big thing. So it was really cool to experience that even though it was so crazy!!! The branch met in a building that was literary on the street just a few floors up. so during the sacrament fast and testimony meeting we could hear cheers and yelling outside as more groups passed going to the square. One guy was talking about how the gospel is restored and how it is such a great thing and the outside there was a roar of cheers. it was so perfect and great and true!! haha
The branch was great. there were not many people there since it was extremely hard to get there and a bit dangerous. The people were so nice and welcoming! and over half the members are American and most speak English so church is in English!!! I can understand most of it!!! Oh and can i ask everyone to pray that Turkey and Istanbul will open up to the church and we can grow. THanks!!!
So one of the members was going to help me find my bus that i needed to take home. Yes thats right the public bus! by myself!
Well it was fun we talked and he was teaching me Turkish. He is American but has lived here for a few years. I didnt know but we had to walk uphill for over a mile and i was wearingmy pencil skirt and heels. my feet were killing by the end of it and i was excited to sit when the bus got there. Well that didnt happen...i forgot my akbil which is a smart ticked thing that you put money on and you can quickly get onto the metro and busses, so i had to wait and pay with coins which not only cost me a bit more but also cost me a seat and i had to stand the entire way which was about 50 min. My feet were seriously dying!! and today they still were sensitive to walk on. Later we went to dinner with a bunch of Yudums friends ( i learned that we will be on a yacht for a week exploring the Mediterranean sea in June!!) Zeynep was also at the giggly tired stage so she was alot of fun. :) It was a very interesting, adventurous, and good day all in all. I was glad it was over though.
Take care!
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