Blondes Probably Have More Fun

Why welcome back, fine reader! Before we start today, I'd like to take a little walk down memory lane to a housewarming party McSteamy and I attended just a few weeks after finding out that I had a new nannying gig in Turkey. While standing on the periphery of the crowd (having a brief but intense moment with some spinach dip) I met Atil, who had just moved to Corvallis and is an Istanbul native. Thrilled to meet someone who not only shared my passion for cheesy, spinach-y goodness but who also had the inside scoop on all things Turkish, I launched into a breathless monologue where I told him all about my new job opportunity and asked him roughly 10,000 questions about what I should expect. After thoughtfully munching on his sourdough and dip he looked me straight in the eye, and, with no sarcasm or irony, said Well, you probably won't be raped or killed or anything. But people are going to stare. Yeah...you're definitely going to get stared at and pointed at.  When I asked why I would be stared at, Atil simply shrugged his shoulders. You're blonde, he answered. People don't look like you in Turkey. But don't worry. You'll probably be fine. More dip?

Friends, let me stress to you that probably is not the adverb you want to hear when discussing your personal safety in a foreign country. (Or, for the record, your girlfriend's safety. Later that night, McSteamy asked me if maybe I should dye my hair before I left.)  However, I am happy to report that Atil was right about everything. Nine weeks into my adventure I am still very much alive and well, feel very safe, and for the most part have gotten used to the sideways glances and occasional stink eyes brought on by the faux pas of me being my very blonde, American self. I haven't been doing very much adventuring since my last post, so instead of pictures of food I thought I'd give you all my interpretation of Turkish culture, and highlight the biggest culture shocks I've experienced in the last 9 weeks.  Before we start, though, let me very clear about something (cue world famous Adaline eyebrow raise and nanny tone): everything I'm going to tell you is a GENERALITY! Turkey is a country of  74 million people. That's 74 million different sets of reactions, emotions and beliefs that can not and should not be contained in a single, non-Turkish-speaking American's blog. Obviously I can not speak for every single Turkish person, and if anything comes off as politically incorrect  or offensive I apologize. We will all assume it is due to my ignorance and/or inability to express myself. Do I make myself clear? (This is where you look mildly scared and shake your head yes). Excellent. Let us proceed.

Trumpets sound. Confetti streams down. A hush falls over the crowd as the drum roll begins... Ladies and Gentleman, I now present to you:

Adaline's 5 Biggest Culture Shocks of Turkey!!!
 

Turkish people are ridiculously welcoming...  If you've gotten to this point in the post you might be feeling a bit confused. But Adaline, you were just complaining about people staring at you. That's definitely true, but for the most part the stares aren't malicious or a la "Mean Girls." They are just genuinely confused about why there is a foreigner (or, when I'm with the fam, a group of foreigners) wandering around Konya. We're a bit more of a novelty here than if we were in Istanbul or another of the more popular tourist destinations, and we definitely dress and act differently than most of the people here. Most people don't speak English, but if they do they almost always start a conversation and welcome us to their country. If we're near a cafe or restaurant we're almost always invited in for Cay (Turkish tea) on the house, and we are regularly left homemade treats by our front door. For instance, while I was writing this post the doorbell rang and our neighbor was out front with these bad boys:

I'm unsure about the exact ingredients in the filling, but I'm pretty sure it was mostly unicorns and happiness.

I'm still willing to teach a class on the art of the subtle sideways glance, but overall we have been welcomed with a lot more graciousness than I first expected.

...and confused about why I'm here.  Konya is a fine city, but as I said earlier it isn't a huge tourist destination if you're not a devout follower of the teachings of Rumi (more on him in a later post). So, when I roll into town everyone is confused about why I'm spending time in Konya. Nannies aren't very common in Turkey either, so most of the time I just say that I'm visiting a friend (Stephanie and I decided that calling me her sister wife might be deemed inappropriate.;) Whenever people meet me, they always start with the same two questions: Where are you from and what are you doing here?  Then (presumably because of the high cheek bones and hipster glasses seen below) they almost always ask if I am German or Dutch.

 

It seems Oregon pale is similar to German pale...

Once we get through that (which honestly always confuses me, because by then I've usually told them I'm from the U.S.) the next question is usually if I'm married or not. This only counts as a culture shock because it's not my personal go-to when making small talk, but maybe that's just me. I get asked it a lot from members of both genders, though, and occasionally I think they're scheming to hook me up with their cousin or some such nonsense. Better watch out McSteamy... ;)

 

Lines are for squares. For all of their niceness, there is one place you don't want to be in Turkey: in line. I mentioned in an earlier post that it took me over an hour and a half to get through the line to get my Visa, solely because people will cut in front of you in every single line. This has happened to me at the airport, at the mall, and even at the grocery store. I missed a tram today because I simply got pushed out of the way. I've done my fair share of traveling, but I've never been in a place where the people are simultaneously so nice yet aggressive (hmm, now that I think about it, that could describe my all girls highschool experience, too). Driving is a similar situation, in which the rules about tailgating, honking, and speed limits are more polite suggestions than actual rules. And blinkers? Let's just call them white surrender flags. I'm not exactly known for my driving prowess in the States, but I'm going to be thrilled to be back to the land of respecting stop lights and leaving a car's length between vehicles. 

And finally, the biggest one of all:

Turkish people LOVE children. As most of you know, this little bundle of cuteness is one-year-old Aliah. 

But who is that holding her? you ask. That, dear reader, is an excellent question. I have no idea. Just like I don't know who this person is:

 

 

 Or these people:

Or this guy:

In Turkey, it is completely normal for total strangers to walk up to you and take the child you are holding from your arms, or, if she's walking around, pick her up. A few will ask before they take pictures, but most whip out their phones and start snapping. They will kiss her, pinch her cheeks, caress her head and just generally go gaga over her. Stephanie told me that when they first got to Turkey, the cashier at the grocery story took Aliah out of the cart and kept her on her lap the entire time she scanned the groceries. It's not just Aliah, either: when Lexis goes into a store or restaurant, 9 times out of 10 she leaves with some sort of candy, toy or other treat. And this love of children is not limited to one gender or age group. I almost went into cardiac arrest when, at Troy's basketball game on my second day in Konya, a 40-something-year-old-man started taking pictures of Lexis on his phone. Stephanie's reaction to my hypervenilation? Turkey, baby. Old ladies, prepubescent boys, college students, you name it: all of them have come up and admired Aliah and Lexis at one point or another. As someone who's job it is to make sure that the children I'm with are safe and (if possible) happy, I'd be lying if I said this was something that didn't take some getting used to. It definitely has its perks, though: shopping and eating are both made a lot easier when someone else is holding the squirming one-year-old. :)

Even with the difference in culture, missing friends and family from home and a severe lack of bacon, the past nine weeks have flown by. I hope you'll stay tuned for my trips to Izmir and Istanbul before I close up the blog shop and head back to Corvegas, where I suppose I'll have to get used to not being the only blonde and using my blinker again. Well, probably. ;)

Safe travels,

Adaline

 

Beachy Keen

At halfway through my stay here in Turkey, it has come to my attention that I may have led some of you to believe that my job could be what the proverbial they call a "cakewalk." You might think that living with a kind and generous family who let me frequently take naps, have visitors, and make me copious amounts of popcorn is too easy. That watching two adorable, well behaved kiddos and going on trips with them doesn't qualify as a stressful, deadly, or even dirty job.

Well, fine readers, prepare yourself. This is the post where I prove you wrong. 

This last weekend we set off for the coastal city of Alanya on a Saturday afternoon after my first solo (read: harrowing) trip to the farmers market. This is where the 'deadly' part comes in. As I was crossing the street to the market, something that can only be described as the love child of a bee, fly and steroid-infused mosquito decided it wanted some special privileges and flew down my shirt. This was complicated for several reasons:
     1) This was the first bug I had ever seen than looked like this. Anywhere. I think there's a quote about fear of the unknown being worse than fear of the known, and if there isn't a quote already then there should be. There was no way I was calmly waiting for it to fly away.
     2) I was standing on the divider in the middle of a fairly busy street. While rather distracted by my impending winged doom I stepped down into the street and was honked at and flashed some ungentlemanly hand signs by the driver of a classy Renault. My life flashed before my eyes...and that rusty bumper.
     3) In case I haven't mentioned it previously, Turkey is a very conservative country. Konya, the city I'm currently living in and the home of the aforementioned farmer's market, is widely regarded as the most conservative city in said conservative country. If I was already flirting with the decency line by going out in my semi V-neck T-shirt and jeans, then waving my shirt open and closed to try and get a winged monstrosity out of my cleavage probably wasn't the ideal way to handle the situation. My bad. Let he who has had a bug fly down his shirt and maintained a state of decorum cast the first stone (or maybe, in this case, a bug zapper).

Alas, I survived unscathed and was able to make it through the farmer's market. On an unrelated note, when I was waiting to buy some oranges a gentleman also waiting in line took one look at me and said "Excuse me, but I can tell you don't speak Turkish. What would you like to buy?" A part of me wished I could have had a witty retort available in Turkish, but since he was right the only reply I could come up with was "uh...oranges?" It turns out my new friend Yaz was born in Australia, and was staying in Konya for a while visiting some family. He was quite lovely, and insisted on escorting me around the market until I had all of my groceries because "the vendors will take advantage of you if you can't speak Turkish," even if it meant leaving his brother and elderly mother to fend for their own carrots and cucumbers. To be honest, I spent the same amount of money as usual at the market, but it was sweet that a random stranger was concerned for my well being. :)

Once I was finished up at the market it was off to Alanya! The drive is only about 3.5 hours, but during that time we drove through a desert (outside of Konya), up into and through snow covered mountains and then ended up at a temperate coastline. Of course, my camera was safely packed away in the back (blogger fail!), but I assure you it was one of the quickest geography changes I have ever experienced.

Now for anyone reading this who has toddlers, you know very well that there is a limit to how far you can drive without being driven crazy. Lucky for us, that limit was reached at the Grenada Hotel!

It turns out the Grenada had just reopened on March 1st for the tourist season, but because it wasn't quite in full swing we got a nice discount. I would have stayed regardless: the buffet had an coffee bar open 24-7. It was more like a resort than a hotel, complete with a gigantic, bridge covered pool:

spectacular ocean views:

scenic, greenery covered grounds:

and even a little aquarium. Be still my marine-biology-degree-holding heart!

We had a lovely time, and it was nice to get out of Konya for a bit. The next day we ventured into downtown Alanya, where we found this castle:

Once we got up close and personal, it was really cool. It had a pretty epic view of the town below, too. Just another dangerous part of my job description: leaning over castles on cliffs to take pictures.

 I don't know anything about the castle, but for all of the Game of Thrones fans out there, the Turkish word for castle is Khaleesi. The more you know...

 Now, after a long, strenuous day of eating at buffets and viewing castles, you can't go wrong with some time at the beach.

 This was Aliah's first ever beach adventure! She was a big fan of the sand, but not as much of the water.

There you have it. If you thought my job was too easy, I hope this discussion of the perils of farmer's market shopping, the fear of leaning out of castles and the dirtiness of clinging beach sand have shown you that my every day here is filled with dangerous and stressful jobs.

Well, maybe not. But I did change a diaper today, so at least the job can get a little dirty. ;)

Safe travels,
Adaline

Walking(shaw) in Konya!

Well hello there, fine reader. Come here often? If you do then you know that I haven't posted anything in awhile. I apologize, as I know that this has probably caused all of you a lot of sleepless nights, binge eating of Ben & Jerry's and a general disinterest in your jobs, families and social lives. Perhaps we could blame my absence from the blogosphere on age related memory loss?

 

That's right, people, when I return from Turkey I will not only be wiser, classier, more sophisticated and better looking...I'll be 25! The DeVries created a magical birthday celebration that included (but was not limited too): delicious cake, a package of coffee, party hats, a room full of balloons and a 'Happy Birthday' headdress. Plus, they even made this poster:

Obviously, the hours it took coming up with 25 things to love about me were spent narrowing down the probably very substantial list. Right? RIGHT?

I couldn't have asked for a better day, and I'm truly grateful to be living with such a warm, fun and generous family!

A few days later I was treated to another birthday extravaganza: the arrival of my favorite intrepid explorer, the one, the only (cue spotlights, trumpet blasts and falling confetti): Allison Walkingshaw!!

For those of you who don't know, Allison and I first met as interns at the Hatfield Marine Science center, where a mutual love of  ice cream, period dramas and early bed times blossomed into a friendship further fueled by Downton Abbey and Breyer's Oreo Cookie blast (you should probably stop reading and try this immediately). She and her husband Eric have been living in Marburg, Germany since September, so she was able to pop over to Turkey and stay with us for a week! Due to the limited flights in and out of Konya, we actually met Allison in the capital of Turkey, Ankara.

Ankara is much bigger than Konya, but quite frankly I didn't notice a lot of other differences between them. Both have lots of apartment buildings, shopping areas, and most of the amenities that you expect to see in big cities.

  

One thing I love about both cities is their dedication to parks. Almost every park has a brightly colored, whimsical play structure (in the picture above, it's in the bottom left corner under a white tent), lots of open space, gazebos, and even workout equipment for adults! For instance, here' s one in Konya that Allison and I visited and that the DeVries' and I later went to:

This one has the delightful addition of creepy Disney characters.

 This same park also has a covered bouncy house, ball pit, and trampolines where you pay a couple lira for the kids to bounce to their heart's content (evidently adults in their 20's aren't allowed, though. My bad).

We got back to Konya on Saturday night, so after a rest day that involved a wonderfully greasy pizza and an unmentionable number of cookies Allison and I headed up to Sille. My last post was about this little village so I won't get into too much detail, but we were able to do some hiking up to one of the many cave churches.

 Obligatory "Look, I'm in a cave church!" photos were taken...

... and I won't name names, but some of us were made squeamish envisioning our possible demise as we leaned over the edge to take pictures for our devoted blog followers (who I realize are mostly made up of my parental units. You're welcome, guys).

And like most of Allison and my adventures, food was involved:

 The rest of our week was filled with copious amounts of baked goods, a Downton Abbey marathon, child hassling and a fair amount of tram riding. It was a wonderful visit, and I can't wait to reunite again this September in Corvegas!

Now, before I go, it's time for a quick shameless plug. Perhaps you're reading this and thinking to yourself that you wish you had another travel blog to read. One by a well written, travel oriented person who's living in a charming German town and posts weekly about her life there. How interesting, because I know just the blog! Check it out here. (In case you didn't figure it out, it's written by this week's celebrity guest). If nothing else, I'm sure there will be some embarrassing photos of yours truly from her visit to Turkey. ;)

Safe travels,
Adaline