FDA got nothing on me

What a day of cultural thought. First, I met Brandon and we went to the Grand Bazaar to so some bargaining. We were both looking at Tavla boards (backgammon) and kind of wanted ones to play, not for touristic purposes. Obviously we werent going to spent a lot of money on them. One guy was arguingwith us and finally was like what is your lowest price? I said 30 apeice for two really small boards (very over priced even at 30) and he was like "so not 5 more, and i said no. he goes "what is this a game for you, dont you care that we need to make money?" Brandon and i looked at each other confused and walked out. Most shop owners love talking to us, and we wouldbe pretty nice and talk to some of them back, and most importantly we are inclined to buy from you if you dont pressure us, bad sales tactics man. It did get me thinking about that though. I do know that Turkey is really poor, these shop owners dont sell a lot, and its defintely not tourist season. Whats thier life like? I like supporting their economy but then i think, hm would they buy things in the US? No, they wont even go to the US. so why are you hating me for not spending what little money i have on you?

The whole poverty issue is interesting here, More on that in a later post.
When i was at home later, i was very much looking forward to my return tothe states. I tried so very hard to change my plane ticket. and my chat sessions with STA just didnt go through. On my way to work i realized that a lot of days i miss being home, but something about teachign always changes that. And yes once again, my class tonight made me realize why I love teaching in Turkey.

My students love me. That makes me feel good, but i also wonder if its cause of my personality or if I'm actually teaching them well. I love the attention though. I need it. I need the affirmation that I'm appreciated, and here I get it.

I was missing Christmas activities and was thinking about cookies i could make. when i got home from work, my roomate told me she bought something today. itwas cookie cutters!
I was so excited so we started talking about what we were going to make, and holiday celebrations. This discussion turned into a cultural discussion and i realized how lucky I am to be American. there are many times that i wonder what it would be like to have european passport, and now what if i was a turkish citizen. Life kind of sucks. they arent allowed anywhere. I couldnt figure out why and she is very knowledable. which is very useful. Ok I'm realizing i'm not making any sense and I have a lot I want to add, so I will continue in the morning.
iyi geceler. (goodnight)


I realized i never got to the reason for the title of my post. Food poisoning? What? I'm still trying to get used to not refridgerating things, keeping food out for days. however, its very convenient. Who knew you wouldnt die if you ate food that had been sitting on the stover for a few hours. (in some cases longer)