Leaving Austin was in some ways easier, and in other ways harder than I thought. I miss my mom and dad the most, and also my cats. But on the day I left there were no tears, only excitement to be with Q again. On the day I left, June 29th, I talked to him once early in the morning and he was thinking they were not going to take him to the airport that day. But then I didn’t hear from him the rest of the day, I knew that they probably took him, I was excited, nervous, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. When I landed in Chicago, it took some time to get to the gate. I had to take a train to the international terminal, get a new boarding pass from the Turkish Airlines desk, and then wait to go through security again. Security took about 30 minutes. Then I was finally making my way to the gate when my cell phone rang…it was a San Antonio number.
“Hello?”
“Hey baby, where you at?”
“I’m in Chicago, where are you?”
“I’m at gate 16…waiting for you.”
“Holy shit, I’m almost there!”
The first hug in two months…it was ecstasy.
His air marshalls were nice, we were expecting them to be hard-nosed federal agents with no heart, but it just goes to show it’s not the job that makes the person. They let us sit together.
I was able to fit everything we needed into two big suitcases and two carry-ons. One big one held only clothes, with our Vonage modem and few spare cell phones shoved into pants pockets. Oh, and I shoved a keyboard in there too. The other big one, a hard-sided Samsonite case fit one desktop computer, one flat screen monitor (minus the base), three power strips, another keyboard, and enough cords, network cables, and power adapters to choke and elephant. On the carry-ons I had two external hard drives, two internal hard drives, two laptops, a video card, and I somehow managed to fit our other flat screen monitor (also minus the base) in there too. I had to unload everything each time I went through security which was once in Austin, once in Chicago, and like three times in Istanbul. I had it down to a science by then. Sending the hard drives through the x-ray machine that may times made me sweat, but nothing got wiped.
Besides the delay in Istanbul, everything went pretty smoothly. My visa was only $20 and that buys me 90 days. I can apply for a residence visa when we get our Turkish marriage license, or in the worst case scenario we can take a ferry to Cyprus and I can buy another visa on the way back in. Weekend in Cyprus…oh darn… 😉
The food here has been amazing. For breakfast we usually have bread, feta, awesome strawberry and apricot jams that his grandma makes, and olives. She also makes homemade yogurt that is super thick, and it looks and tastes just like the best phily cream cheese you’ve ever had. She laughs and thinks I’m crazy when I put in on bread. You get offered hot tea anywhere you go, even in stores. I used to hate turkish tea (rize tea) but over here it tastes so much better because it’s fresh. I drink it everyday now.
One thing Adana is really famous for is it’s lamb. Here’s an analogy for you- Kobe : Beef :: Adana : Lamb. The have a special breed that’s extra fatty, and extra finger-licking good. Now don’t get me feeling all guilty about eating cute little baby sheep, if you tasted it, you would understand.
We also both love that there is no pork here. He’s Coptic Orthodox and follows Old Testament dietary laws, and I’ve just never liked the taste of anything pig. Coming from a place where you have to ask them to keep bacon off your salad, it’s a nice change.
Food is ridiculously cheap over here. A kilo of tomatoes cost about 50 cents, and we bought two kilos of cherries from this cart for a dollar and a half. We also bought some apricots. I never realized this before, but I had never had a non-dried apricot! Tastes just like a peach.
Much to my relief, I was able to find some good peanut butter in the grocery store, if not I was going to have my mom ship some to me. I can’t live without peanut butter. The orange juice here tastes odd though, very tart. It tastes more like grapefruit juice.
More about my adventures in food next time!
Turkish Delights 
July 8, 2009 at 3:08 pm |
Awesome! I’m glad you are happy over there so far. It must be totally surreal. I look forward to the next episode.
It was surreal at first, but I’m surprised at how fast I’m getting used to everything.
July 8, 2009 at 3:18 pm |
Oh Jen! This sounds AMAZING! I know the circumstances were less than desirable, but what a lovely time you two are having! I am incredibly jealous + wish I was there. I look forward to keeping up with your turkish delights! 🙂
Come see us, I’ll find out when the cheapest tickets are, or maybe you could talk your parents into a graduation present…:)
July 8, 2009 at 3:24 pm |
I’m so happy that things are working out for the two of you. I’m so jealous of all the wonderful food that you are describing. Stay safe and happy!
Come taste the food, come visit!
July 8, 2009 at 5:03 pm |
Wow! I know from my own life that living someplace outside of your comfort zone is a tremendous learning experience–one to be treasured for the rest of your life.
Looking forward to hearing more!
Yeah, I hope I can learn some Turkish, I’ve picked up a few words already.
July 8, 2009 at 8:46 pm |
What happened to the rest of your “stuff” you had to leave behind? Are you having anything shipped? The food thing is interesting. Why are they not supposed to eat pigs but it’s okay to eat cute little baby lambs? LOL, just wondering. I don’t think fresh apricots have much taste, but maybe that is just me. I think they taste like bland plums.
I didn’t really enjoy the fresh apricot either, fuzzy skin, which is why I don’t like peaches or green beans. The no pork thing is Muslim. Interestingly, Jews and Muslims have a lot in common when it comes to food, originating in the same place and all. Lamb is considered one of the cleanest things you can eat, where as pig is the dirtiest. Just like Jews eat Kosher, Muslims eat Halal, the animals are raised much better, and “killed” better. One way Turkey is not Halal is they do drink alcohol, and lots of it. You know how fried chicken always has that nasty black stuff near the bone? It’s because they didn’t drain the blood properly, they wouldn’t serve that here. You’d love it, Birdie, food isn’t over processed, even the prepackaged stuff we’ve looked at doesn’t contain preservatives or dyes. I can even taste the difference in the milk, grass feed, no hormones… Oh, and as far as our stuff goes I left it all with my mom. I’m having her save my books, but the rest we don’t really care about. We didn’t have a whole lot to begin with.
July 9, 2009 at 3:29 am |
So glad you are safe. A trip to Cyprus to get another 90 days. How interesting. Love your descriptions of the food. Please describe the architecture and the city and your apartment. Does everyone speak English? Take care of yourself. Love you.
I’ve come across very few people that speak English, but this is not a very touristy area of Turkey. We did get a new potential web client, and they spoke English. She wants me to design a new look for their web video player. I’ll also try to remember to take some pictures of the inside of the apartment today. His grandma’s a little camera shy though. Love you too!
July 17, 2009 at 9:36 am |
Aaahhh, when I was in Turkey I went into the grocery store at least four times, just being a tourist. I loved looking at all the strange and delicious things! You’re so lucky!!
I was wondering if it was hard for you to find vegan food in Turkey. I know they have lots of all veggie dishes, but wasn’t it hard to communicate “No meat products”? I find it hard to communicate anything…
July 22, 2009 at 3:08 pm |
Oh hell yeah it was hard. Like the time I was all ‘Vegetarian?’
And they were all ‘Yes VEGETABLES!’
And the dish came out and it was green peppers stuffed with rice and LAMB.
“YES VEGETABLES!”
So I was vegetarian there, not vegan. Just too difficult. Also, have you found the glorious wonder that is Popkeks? ❤ ❤ ❤
Haha, I bet! Before you come next time, let me know and I’ll give you a list of all veggie dishes. It’s not too hard to be vegan because they don’t use butter to cook with, mostly olive oil. Restaurants are tough though- meat, meat, with a side of meat. And yes, I tried my first popkek last night and almost went into diabetic shock! So good!
July 21, 2009 at 8:32 pm |
Thanks for putting the pictures of your living space. It looks small but cozy. I like the one of you and Q. Still want to see a picture of Grandma. Tell her your Mother wants to see her. Tell her your Mother thanks her for taking care of you!! Love, Mom
I’ll do my best to get a picture. Love you too!