Celebrating 5 Years Re-Post: Q & A

To celebrate 6 months in country I asked people to send me questions, and I'd answer them.  (Yesterday's post referred to the questions that I got from my dad.)  Anyhow, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of those questions...


we have lived in a foreign country for six months!! can you believe it? i was reminded of how foreign a place we live in when a group of a bout 40 young men were dancing to a clarinet-type instrument and a drum on our side street last night. i was quite certain they were celebrating our six month anniversary, but a friend (obviously wrong) said it was more likely their last hu-rah before being shipped out for their required military service. you decide! anyhow, it was quite fun, and boy did i want to go whoop it up with them. but alas, a woman's place is in the home, over the stove or with a cleaning rag in her hand.

but i digress. anyhow... six months! so i figured that it was only fitting to finally get around to answering the questions that you left on my feb. 14th post. i know this will be riveting. as, always, please ask whatever questions come to your mind, either by comment or by email. we've been here for six months and things are not so striking anymore, so i forget to tell you about them!! also, remember that our knowledge and experience is so limited, and that whatever i say is for the part of the city where we live (if that). as you go east, things change quite dramatically!


here goes...
max asked, " do people date? do married people date?"
well, max, i have noticed that here in the city courtship is quite similar to what we experience in the states. couples seem to be out and about, on dates. but, they are not nearly as physical if you know what i mean! physical relationships, even pda is extremely rude and shames a family.

i do not think that married couples date, or care to spend time away from their kids! if we are invited to tea, the children are always included, and trips to the movies, shopping, restaurants, and other date type outings are for families. the people here REALLY value children. when they have them, they do not seem to want to drop them off for others to care for. they enjoy being together as families- even extended families! unmarried singles live with their parents until they get married. my language helper is in her mid 40s and has never been married. so, she lives with her folks!


shana asks, "how is the health care? are you able to see a doctor whenever you need to?"
shana, so far i have nothing but positive things to say about the health care. whenever we have needed to see a doctor- school physicals, illness, etc.- it has been so quick and easy. the government does offer a medic aide type health insurance for really poor people, but of course, the care (we've heard) is not great. private insurance is also available here. although we (our family) have world wide health insurance, our visits have not exceeded the deductible, so we just pay out of pocket. i know this sounds horrifying, but is has been so inexpensive! i think we have spent maybe $250 on health care- that includes 1 school physical with lab work, 1 pediatrician visit with vaccinations, 1 dr visit with chest x ray, and an e.r. visit with treatment!! all of that with out any wait time!! so far, i am quite happy with the health care we have received!! we even have a german friend who chose to have his knee operated on here rather than in germany, the us, etc, because the health care is very good and extremely affordable.


jennie asks, "do you have mcdonalds? what do they serve? do they have bacaroni (how callie says it) and cheese?"
jennie, of course they have mcdonald's, we still live on planet earth!! they serve the exact same things, and it is heavenly!! well, except for breakfast. they do not serve breakfast. i think that's because mcdonald's breakfasts have so many pork products that once you remove that element, there's nothing worth eating! they also have the mcturk here. it is a burger patty and a chicken patty in a pita with tomatoes, lettuce, mayo, and ketchup. the people here love mayo and ketchup. they use both on their fries and most sandwiches. mcdonald's is quite a bit more expensive than any other fast food style place (well, except the other american fast food places), so we don't eat there very often. but, when we do, this is what we get: 1 chicken nugget happy meal, 1 cheeseburger happy meal, 1 cheeseburger, and 2 #6 value meals- which is the double cheeseburger value meal- with a round of sprite. the kids love the happy meals here because you get to choose what toy you get!!

the only bacaroni and cheese here is the kind i make. i have two options- delve into my dwindling stash of kraft mac and cheese cheese powder or make it from scratch. of course the kids like the fake stuff so much better. here's something interesting... we can only find 1 kind of yellow cheese here. it is called burger cheese and it is sliced (but not individually wrapped). it tastes like a cross between american and cheddar cheese. it is kind of expensive, and i only buy it when i am going to make cheeseburgers or macaroni and cheese. other than that, its a zillion different types of white cheeses.


stephanie asked, "what are your favorite foods? are you able to fellowship with like minded believers?"
the food here is really good! the kids love pide- which is cheese on flat bread baked in a stone oven. i love börek- which is layers of pastry with different fillings like cheese, spinach, spicy potatoes, or spicy meat. justin loves döner- which the greeks call gyros. it is that meat that is cooked vertically on a spit. they shave it off and serve it with rice or in a sandwich. justin and i love çığ köfte. it is very fine bulgar with spices and tomato paste that is kneaded for an hour! you wrap it in lettuce and/or a very thin flat bread and squeeze a little lemon on top. We all love tish rice. it is basic white rice that is sauteed first then cooked in chicken broth. it is fantastic! the candy here is good- lots of hard candy and chocolate. the fruits and vegetables are really wonderful- fresh and sweet. oh yeah, bread. it is our staple.

we fellowship with one other family (almost) every sunday evening. they are the family that we came here to work with. we share a meal together and talk about a particular scripture lesson during the meal. then the kids play and the adults study it a little more in-depth. it is much like a small home group. i so miss corporate worship and a large fellowship, though!


heidi asked, "what do you say when people ask why you moved there?"
we tell the truth. we moved here for justin to join in a new business opportunity that exports tish handicrafts to the usa. sometimes we explain that it is a social enterprise that ventures to help poor families survive, and the we feel god opened this door for us.


lainey asked, "are grades the same? do kids go through 12th grade?"
well, lainey, they are similar. public school starts with first grade. a few public elementary schools have kindergartens. although, there are rumors that the government is about to start public kindergarten at all of the elementary schools. the elementary and middle schools share buildings, so you either go to morning or after noon school. at our school, the middle school is in the morning and the elementary school is in the afternoon. elementary school is 1st- 5th grade and middle school is 6th-8th grade. at the end of 8th grade the students have a choice to drop out or take a big placement test to see which high school they get into. there is a wide range from college prep down to apprenticeship programs. the college prep schools go through the 12th grade. the university entrance exam is quite difficult, and even students that completed the college prep high school may not get into university. we know a girl who has taken the exam 4 times and failed. now she is in a year long study course to prepare for the exam that is given every june! the pressure is intense!

grades are given numerically. 5 is the best and 0 is failing. students in our area are congratulated if they did not get any 0's!


chip asked, "does coca cola taste the same?"
chip, you are the coca cola corporate expert. maybe you could convince them to fly you over here for a little quality control! i love coke! i think that the regular tastes almost the same, but the coca cola light tastes more like coke zero than diet coke. it is not 0 calorie. i have heard that the sweetener is different, and that is why the taste is a little different.


anika asked, "what is your hardest daily task that wasn't any big deal in the sates? what ingredients do you lack for cake baking?"
talking!!! ha ha! i guess that may not count as a task, but i sure do miss flapping my gums! i would have to say that cooking is the hardest daily task. in the states you could turn it into a big deal, do something quick and easy, or go out. here you go out or you cook from scratch. since we do not have a car, i can only buy what i can carry home. which, means i am at the market about every other day. there are no frozen foods, or quick prepare (just add _______) type of things. we do have breakfast cereal. it is a little pricey, but a life saver. for breakfast and lunch we usually have yogurt, fruit, cereal, bread, and cheese. we used to have peanut butter but if you read my jif post you'll know that's a thing of the past! i try to make a decent dinner with vegetables, meat, etc. this has been quite a learning experience!! i thought that i was a from scratch cook, but every night is another story!! we have found hot dogs, so we have them about once a week! they do not compare to the yummy goodness of oscar mayer, ball park, or heaven forbid johnsonville!!! our fridge and cupboards are quite bare because you can't really stock up on perishables. the only thing that comes in a can is tomato paste and corn- which is unusually expensive. another weird thing about corn here is that although it isn't very good, it is a special treat! at the malls they have corn stands (as in plain old corn kernels in a cup) where we would have cookie stands! one small cup of corn is about 2 lira! another thing that i am not used to is that we do not import vegetables and fruits. so, what's in season is what's available. its not like in the states where you can usually get what ever you want you may just have to pay a little bit more for it or look in the frozen foods section. this summer i have got to figure out how to freeze, preserve, and can correctly!!

for cake baking i lack vanilla that tastes good (we only have a weird powder type) and baking powder. also, depending on what type of cake i want to make there may be more! i wanted to make callie a strawberry cake for her birthday. but strawberries are not in season, so no strawberries to be found! also, the sugar here is a bit more grainy so the two cakes i have made (thanks to my mom for sending cake mix!!) have had grainy frosting! i have to figure out what to do about that, or look a little harder for powdered sugar! also, i have yet to find food coloring, so no fancily decorated cakes!



my dad has some really good questions, but i am so tired of typing, and i seriously doubt that anyone has read this far. so, i will save them for another day! if in fact, you have read this far, i must apologize for my rabbit trails! once i get going about something, there is so much to tell! hopefully it is somewhat understandable!!