Turkeyless in Turkey

Well Thanksgiving came and went and I barely noticed. I do enjoy spending time with family and friends for this holiday but missing the tradition of gluttany and all didnt really bother me. I tried to explain our traditions to my students and they just couldnt figure it out. I made them draw hand turkeys and write about what their Turkey does. I'm pretty sure they thought turkey's were chickens as they were all laying eggs.

I was just catching up on some US news when I came across an article about Ms. Palin. I thought it was quite comical. She was complaining about Michelle Obamas plan to get children on a better nutrition plan. How in the world could you ever disagree that this is a good idea? Its fabulous. Obviously our society has shown that we can not control our eating habits and especially the lifestyles of our children, so yes the governement should step in. We are the laughing stock of the rest of the world. People have made many many comments to me about "but christy, you are american and you arent fat." Why are all Americans fat, Christy? Congratulations, you arent like that. Seriously many people have said that to me. I get embarassed that I come from a society that so graciously accepts obesity and worse, wont help our children fight the pattern. Enough of my little rant on the US.

Since it was the holiday season, I was feeling a little bummed out. A friend of mine invited me to a cafe where he was playing balama (turkish traditional instrument) I went there after I finished work, and it was a great night. An equivalent situation would be goign to a coffee shop to hear a few acoustic guitars. This was a bit different than hearing your normal cover band in the USA. He played songs that everyone knew and the whole bar was singing at the top of their lungs. It was great! I had no idea what they were saying but the fact that everyone was singing along the whole night was pretty cool. THey even passed the microphone around and had other people sing. He asked at one point if I would come up and play the guitar but i declined, not worth it when meredith isnt there to carry me vocally and musically. Later in the night thought when everyone left i did play a song, but they were trying to sing Turkish to it,Definitly doesnt work. If you listen to traditional turkish music, you will figure out why really fast.

Aside from that. I am learning turkish traditions really fast. Apparently when someone invites you somewhere you do not pay. I paid for my beer before we left last night and i got a stict scolding from about 3 turkish guys. The owner then told them in Turkish that Its an american thing, which i asked him to explain. Then they left disappointed. Note to self.. wait to pay:)