Buttocks is very popular in Turkey!

Yesterday afternoon Nihal and I took the kids to a local mall that has kids rides and games on the top floor. (See photo below.) Afterwards, at the food court (I ate yogurt soup and they all had KFC, ironic, huh?...doesn't Nihal look like Susan Serandon?) Nihal made the comment, "Buttocks is very popular in Turkey." I must have had a blank look on my face, as she continued, "People have vay too much buttocks." I said, "Do you mean big buttocks?" She said, "Too much, vayyyyyy to much". (Where is Ava Gabor from? Turks have a hard time pronouncing "w"...they pronounce it as a "v" just like the Gabor sisters.) I patted my butt and said, "Do you mean this?" She said, "Buttocks in the face. Too much."

I wondered briefly, was it true the REAL Borat was a Turk as the rumors said, and was Nihal related to him? But she added, "Look! That lady! Too much buttocks in face!" I looked at the woman she was referring to, her eyebrows were in the middle of her forehead and BING - I finally got it - botox!!! :-))))))))

Nestle the nanny...

isn't happy. (Picture of us below.) Usually she makes border runs every three months to Bulgaria, stays a few days to visit family, then gets a new visa when she comes back to Turkey. A friend called her and said there's a new law, that she won't be able to return for 6 months...which means she'll lose her job. Her family is very poor, she sends almost all her money home. She's leaving for Bulgaria tomorrow and we all hope she can return on Monday! Maybe her friend is wrong, or maybe she can bribe a border guard....

Heat wave!

It's 99 degrees here as I write this and no AC! The only fan in the house is the one I bought for my room....so I am going to sit in front of it and watch season 1 and 2 of The Office! (I brought them with me)I have been at the pool all day. Tomorrow it is supposed to get down to 92 and then the next day in the 80's again. Whew...

To escape the heat last evening I went to two malls - one called "MetroCity" and the other called "Kanyon" (which means in Turkish...you'll never guess..."canyon"!) The power kept going out at MetroCity, some of the stores are the same -- I saw a Claires, The Body Shop, etc. Most stores are different and I'm happy to report the "maternity tops" aren't as popular here as in the US! Unfortunately clothes are more expensive here :-(

Kanyon is a BEAUTIFUL ultra-modern mall...with the most expensive clothing shops - European brands and way out of my price range! I was told the sales start in July :-)))) I went into a make-up store - again lots of European brands and very expensive. The SAs literally followed me around...either that's the custom here, or I look like a shop lifter, or they wanted to see my "glow" :-) I ran into a person I had met at Saturday's party -- out of all these millions of people, isn't it strange! We had a Starbucks together and spoke plenty of English!

Time for the fan.....

For the BBers...

I was told there is a MAC in the part of town called Taksim. You know what I will be looking for :-D

Another round with a cab driver, the hoity toities and Saturday night

Just had another fight with a cab driver! I walked walked walked tonight, and just wanted a cab ride up the "hill". Now this hill isn't an ordinary hill, it's soooooooo steep that when I walk down it I have to lean backwards to keep from toppling forward. It's about 1/2 mile long. I caught a cab at the bottom of the hill - should have been about 2 Liras? It was almost 18 because the a$$hole took me for a ride around the city! When I got to the apartment I pointed at the meter and said NONONO! I got Nihal out to translate. We both yelled at him - Nihal in Turkish and me in English. I finally threw a 5 at him. He threw it back and yelled at us. Then he went to the guard shack and complained, they called the apartment and Nihal then called the cab company. Oy.

There is an oh so posh set in this neighborhood. (See picture of shoes below - who wears stillettos and diamonds to a swimming pool? Well these women do!) They don't dare get their faces wet or their make-up will wash off. They run their servants all the time...."blow up the float for my daughter! (usually HUGE pool floats of some kind) Bring my dinner to the pool! I said I wanted a PEACH martini! Crush the ice!) etc. It's amazing to watch!

I went to my first expat party last Saturday. Only one other American there...mostly German, Turks, Brits, French and Asian. It was a blast! It was in a small bar on the first floor of an ancient wooden Greek house, run by two German/Turkish women. There is a small patio outside but at some point a neighbor called the police and we all had to go inside. Which was ok because it had cooled off by then (around 1AM) and then everyone was feeling pretty good and then the karaoke began...although people didn't sing alone, everyone sang together - UK style. I left at 3AM and heard from a guy who said he didn't get home until 10AM :-)

That's it for tonight!

The evil eye!

In Turkey, you will see the Evil Eye (Nazar Boncuk) everywhere! It's on key chains, hanging by doors, on bumpers of cars, on children's bracelets. It protects people from bad fortune. If someone thinks a bad thought about someone, the person to whom the bad thought is directed can be protected by the evil eye, in which case, the "eye" breaks. Pictured on the left is an evil eye hung beside the front door.

Introduction to my Turkish family and home in Istanbul

My last day of work for the summer at my university job in Memphis, TN was 2 Fridays ago. A week ago tomorrow is when I flew the friendly skies to Atlanta, then to Amsterdam, then over Bulgaria and Romania and the Black Sea to Istanbul, Turkey. I will be spending most of my summer in Istanbul (a few days in Ayvalik -- a small seaside village --Israel and the Greek island of Lesbos) before returning to the states on September 13th.

I am staying with a family in the section of Istanbul called Ulus...considered an upscale neighborhood. I am tutoring the two daughters, Ece and Defne, age 7 and 5, in English and I am being treated as a guest. Turkish hospitality has a reputation for being amazing, and this is how I have found it. There is a live-in nanny/housekeeper/cook from Bulgaria. Whenever I wake up in the morning, a Turkish breakfast is served to me -- olives, various breads and cheeses, thinly sliced meats, tomatoes and cucumbers. Cay (tea) is served from a double stacked teapot - one pot has the tea and a glass (not a mug) is filled half way with strong tea, and the rest of the glass is filled with steaming water. Sugar cubes are used for sweetening...I haven't seen loose sugar.

The neighborhood is landscaped very nice, with winding stone paths and all sorts of vegetation and flowers -- it looks like a resort and extremely hilly. We live on the side of a mountain and there are almost always nice breezes. Down one path is the swimming pool, which I go to every morning! The wife, Nihal, is very nice. The husband, who is a doctor, is rarely home It's late and I am going to bed - more tomorrow!

A letter from Ece and Defne

Hi Briget's friends in America:

From Ece: My name is Ece and I live in Istanbul. What are you doing? I am seven years old. How old are you? Today I go to swimming pool at summer house by the sea. I have dark brown eyes and black hair. I have a big mouth :-) Yesterday was my friend's birthday party. My friend's name is Mina. I love ice cream too much! I love flowers. I like to color in the coloring book.

From Defne: I love butterflies. I love coloring and drawing. I love to sleep a lot! I like strawberries. I love dogs. I like cats. I like cherries. I am five years old. I love balls. I like to swing. Yesterday a baby rabbit come her name is White-Black, because she is white and black.