All the lovely things....

There have been so many unique and striking things that have come across my path every day as I live life here in Turkey... a few examples: camels crossing the street at will, flashes of lightning off in the distance that light up the entire horizon often, the rocky cliffs of coastline diving into the deep cerulean blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, blue smurfs everywhere here like on advertisements and such, public workout structures in the parks next to the sea (so strange- it's a good idea but there is no resistance to any of them so they are really just un-fun big people play structures!) I was thinking today- one of the things that I WON"T miss when I leave this country is people honking every time they drive by- I'm not exactly sure why they do it- I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they just honk to let the person on the street know that they are coming and Turkish men just trying to get a rise out of me : ) I woke up late this morning, rolled out of bed and hurried to get the bus. After getting off at my stop it is still about a 15 minute walk to the house where I teach depending on which bus I get. It's a beautiful walk and nice so early in the morning (7:30 is early for me : ) but I am usually still waking up and so it's really delightful to be honked at every time a car goes by... I usually jump halfway out of my skin : ) haha- is that a legitimate saying? I'm not so sure.

Celebrating the New Year here was awesome! Not necessarily because of Turkey- but just because I had a really great experience with the people I was around. For New Years Eve I was invited to a party at the house of the pastor of the international church that I frequent here. They are really fun people- originally from California but have lived here for like 14 years and have 3 kids all home from school for the break. They had a big party in their beautiful apt. on the 15th floor in the city and invited everyone from the church. It was a blast- lots of people came and we played games, ate a lot, danced, and shared about the year and hopes and dreams for 2009. Dinner was home made chili with rice and yogurt (you put it on everything here). I feel so blessed! I rang in the new year in Antalya, on the roof of the 15th floor with new friends, looking out over the city lights and stars beaming in the night sky, watching fireworks explode in the air and dancing around with sparklers. It was a beautiful surprise of a new years celebration. It was awesome to be with people from all around the world who in reality I barely know but laughed and celebrated with, hugged and somewhere in there became friends with.

New Years day was the best I think. I got to head out to the beach for my very first time with the same family I spent new years eve with... and it was a blast! We happened across a new go-cart race track out there so of course we thought it was the perfect time to race- so off we went screaming across the track for ten minutes which I have decided is one of my favorite things to do... ever. As we made our way down to the beach, we happened (once again- it was a day of beautiful surprises) to see a man with a stray dog who had rececntly had puppies. There were 6 little black pug nosed puppies and 6 of us so we spent about half an hour cuddling and petting and holding these adorable little pups. Then we finally went for it and ran into the Sea! It was glorious! The water was so warm compared to the Pacific- even in January! We played around and swam in the water for about 20 min and then got out and that's when the cold seeped in- even though the water is still warm the air is freezing.

After we got home we all crowded into the kitchen to drink steaming mugs of salep which is a hot, sweet, cinnamony and creamy sort of rice milk which I love- it's like it comforts your whole body as it seeps down your throat and into your belly! After that I went to the Turkish cinema to see the film "Australia" with a few friends. Although I was not crazy about the movie- I did get to eat corn in the movie theater so hey what else could you want right? Haha- that's right- corn, not popcorn. Corn is a VERY popular snack here. They serve it in cups with a spoon and dress it up with all kinds of different things like sweet chili sauce, butter and crushed red pepper, mayonnaise, and the list goes on. Yeah- so pretty much the best start to a new year that I could think of.

Still I do miss lots of the little things back home. Some days I am ready to step on a plane and fly right back and others I am so happy to be here. My job is challenging in and of itself and that is further complicated by the fact that we are in a very foreign country. Even-so I have a deep sense of residing peace in my soul in being here right now because i know that God has great purpose in this and that He loves me and the ones that I am helping deeply. So I enjoy all the lovely things and try to share them with you the best that I can. Hope you see lot's of unique and striking things that delight YOU wherever you may be today!