Twenty-Seventh Post From Türkiye: One Year Down and Happenings

I can not believe we have been here for a year. I know everyone says that time flies but this last year seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. We truly love living here. And for the most part we feel right at home. We love all of the friends we have made and enjoy all of the travel we have been able to do so easily. Jack has lots more adventures planned for us, so I am sure I am going to turn around and another 2 years will have passed before I know it. Come see us soon so we can share all that we love about Turkey with you. 

Stuff That Has Been Happening Around Here

 Last Pinewood Derby

 It snowed several times in April and May.

 Cool stuff was built with Legos.

 Yard Sale to raise money for cub scouts. Truman contributed his time and his money by buying some junk.

 My mother's day gift to myself was a haircut for Truman. When you get your haircut in Turkey you come out fully coiffed.

 The Fifth grade class put on a play to show all that they had learned about the Trojan War in Host Nation Class. It was pretty fun to watch.

 Field Day! Tug of War and water balloon toss.

One Year In, Stuff We Love!

 The view from our apartment. I just can't stop taking pictures of it. We have had a wet, cool spring so it is particularly lovely right now.

 Shopping in Ulus. You always find what you need plus a few surprises.

 If you need tape you gotta find the tape store.
Jack wanted a grill so we went to the grill store area. About 10 stores all selling the same stuff. Makes it easy to comparison shop.

 Turkish Man Bags. Not purses. So practical, Jack is contemplating getting his own.

 The warning sign when you get on the highway. Watch out for pedestrians, bikes, horse carts and tractors as you barrel down the road going 90. We have seen all of these and someone going in the opposite direction. I LOVE driving in Turkey!

 Salty drinks. I don't actually love to drink them but I love that they exist. Here is Jack with his Şalgam. Spicy black carrot juice.

 Simit. Seriously how can you beat a tasty 1 lire treat whenever you want one.

 Teaching my primary class at church. These kids crack me up. Here they are acting out the parable of the Prodigal Son. And yes we have to meet in the kitchen.

 They way Turks love kids. People are always coming up and patting Trum on the head and telling him he is handsome. This is him with Ibrahim who gave us a tour of the Aya Sophia. He called Trum, Truman Kamal (Perfection) and is sure he will be president of the US someday.

 Pigeons in the mall. You would think this would gross you out as you are eating there, but as there is an army of women constantly cleaning, you can just enjoy bird watching while you eat your Chinese noodles.

  And of course good friends!!

Twenty-Sixth Post From Türkiye: Cub Scout Camp Out/Memorial Day

Truman's last year in Cub Scouts has been fun here in Turkey. The Pack is on the school year schedule so he has been in a bit longer than he would back home. It was great to finish it all off with a camp out in a tiny village in the Phrygian Highlands. The Highlands are beautiful and the geology is peppered with archaeological sites. 

 Making bread in the brick oven.

 The neighbor brought some goats over for the kids to hold.

 Flag Ceremony

 Geo-caching on the hike.

 Trum climbs a rock.

 Jack climbs a rock.

There was a wedding in the village while we were there.

When we were driving out to the camping spot we saw this big complex up on a hill and wondered what it was. Jack asked the owner of the camp and he said it was Seyit Battal Gazi Külliyesi. Jack got super excited because he references the place in his dissertation. So during the afternoon we drove over for a quick tour.

 Wishing Tree

 This man carves stuff from the local stone. We got a little box.

 Back in the villiage we came across this water trough made from a petrified tree.

 Truman crosses over and receives his Arrow of Light.

We had to leave the camp out early because Jack is now the branch clerk at church and he had to get back for meetings. Boo for meetings but it did force us to drive through the wedding so that was cool. For us, probably not for the people in the wedding.

 On Memorial Day we met a couple of our LDS volunteers and they took us to all the cheap t-shirt shops they knew of.

Elder Clark considers buying a lighter.

It was a terrific weekend!