I discovered Turkey's "Punky Brewster"!

3 of Umut's cousins visited us this week. They were so adorable! The youngest, Gözde, captured my heart. She had learned some English phrases like "Good Night" and "You are so beautiful" and as her shyness wore away, she practiced a few times with me.

When Gözde first came over, her hair was in pig-tails and all I could think of was, "She's a Turkish Punky Brewster"! She is from Denizili, which is modern-day Colossae and Laodicea. In Denizili, there is a famous landmark of calcium waterpools. It's one of the coolest places in Turkey and I was able to see it last week on the 7 Churches tour. (see the picture)

Anyway, I've decided that nothing is cuter than a little Turkish girl with big brown eyes, thick dark hair and a missing front tooth.

7 Churches of Revelation Tour

One of the really cool perks of living in Turkey is the historical treasures from biblical times, especially the New Testament. Last week I went on a tour (along with Anna Melvin!) of the 7 cities Revelation 2-3 was written to. Some cities had more of an impact on me than others from an archeological standpoint (like Ephesus and Pergamum), but at the end of the week, the Lord spoke to me on a few points.
1) He reigns. These cities once dominated the world and now they lay in ruin. Ancient columns over 5 feet in diameter built by man and made of marble and granite have tumbeled yet the Lord's handiwork included sprinkling the ground with wild white daisies and red tulips. Yes, He reigns.
2) When we were touring Sardis, there was a hill covered in bright green grass where a flock of sheep were grazing and following their shepherd. I felt like I had stepped back in time 1000 years ago. At one point I heard a baby sheep "Baaaa" in a pitiful and helpless cry. My eyes filled with my own tears and I thought, "God, that is my cry. Thank you for never leaving me or forsaking me. I am pitiful and helpless without You."
3) Don't get lazy fighting the good fight. For whatever reason, the people of these churches are gone. The land which once carried the gospel is now starving for the gospel. Don't get lazy. Fight the good fight and finish the race.

A Turkish Engagement Party!

On Friday Umut's parents hosted what I thought was a "welcome" party, but it was more of an engagement party. Talk about jumping into the deep end of culture study!

The women cooked the entire day at our apartment. They filled the table with dishes full of food, which mainly had a humus or chicken-salad consistency. (See the picture!) About 15 people came over and ate, and ate, and ate. There was also lots of Rakı...a Turkish liquor that is strong enough to challenge the best drinker. 4 of the men finished off 3 bottles and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Essentially, they sat in the corner and toasted every new glass of Rakı and as the drink began to settle in their system all the typical Turkish passionate emotion came out. 1 minute they were laughing until they cried and the next minute they were singing sad songs and crying together.

At one point baba Ceylan ("father Ceylan") had enough "liquid courage" to dance a traditional Turkish dance with one of his friends. (CHECK OUT THE VIDEO AT THIS POST!) I was actually quite impressed and incredibly relieved because it gave me an excuse to quit dancing with the ladies. You see, as the future bride, I was supposed to dance by snapping my fingers & swaying back and forth with the other women. I DREADED the dance part of the evening, so baba Ceylan unknowingly came to my rescue.

We also did a traditional ring ceremony where our engagement rings (men & women both have engagement rings) are tied to a red ribbon and the girl's father says a blessing, places the rings on the couple's hands and cuts the ribbon. It was really fun to participate in the ceremony and the pictures don't quite to it justice. (See the picture of me with the Ceylans.)

What a fun evening Friday was!

My 1st week, cont'd

On Thursday I went to a cafe with Umut & his best friend, Sarkan, to watch their favorite Turkish soccer team play Germany in a EuroCup match. The cafe was full of mainly men, smoking, playing board games, drinking chai (black tea) and yelling at the TV. It was awesome! I bought one of those brightly colored scarfs you see European soccer fans where. When Umut's team scores, fans in the stadium light sticks full of fire & smoke to communicate there home field is "hell" to the opposing team. These Turks are passionate about their "football"!

Yesterday was my 3rd full day in Izmir and Umut was going to be gone half of the day. I am not quite confidant yet to get around town on my own, after all, it is a city of 3 million people! So Umut took me to his former high school, where his dad is the head vice principle. Umut & I ate in the cafeteria, which I found to be hilarious! Turkish school cafeterias are SO different. As we entered, it sounded more like a rave club than a public school. They were blaring Justin Timberlake & Madonna music so loud I could barely hear Umut. Students were all wearing uniforms & looked at us like we were the most unimpressive people they had ever seen. The food was actually good...and the lunch lady gave us extra large portions because she knows Umut. :)

Then I was a guest speaker in the English class & believe it or not, I had a blast! The students were really interested in "American university" life, my family and how I met Principle Ceylan's son. I hope I can go back and this has increased my desire to explore the possibility of getting accredited to teach ESL. Probably the best part was when I showed them pictures from home and got the chance to explain a picture of a friend's baptism. After class 3 girls ran up to me, whipped out their cell phones and asked for my email address. My 1st Turkish (albeit they are 16) friends!

My 1st week in Turkey!!!

Where in the world do I begin? Literally, "where in the world"? My trip began on Sunday in Nashville, where I flew to Charlotte on a delayed flight & missed my flight to Munich by 10 minutes. I literally watched my plane leave the terminal! So after spending the night in a cheap hotel in NC, I made it to Munich and eventually to Izmir fairly easily by Tuesday afternoon.

And once in Izmir, Umut & I have been going none stop. Needless to say, our reunion at the airport was wonderful. He & Baba Ceylan ("father Ceylan") greeted me with lots of hugs & kisses. They drove me to their apartment, where I was warmly greeted by Anne Ceylan ("momma Ceylan"), many giddy neighbors & gorgeous flowers.

Since then, I have been learning how to use public transportation (scary!), some basic words around the house (table, cheese, thank-you) and how to properly greet people...which includes lots of kissing on the cheeks!

My "Bucket List" before leaving the US:

Time is flying here in Nashville. So I wrote a list of things I want to do before I leave. Kinda like a bucket-list, minus the whole “before I die” part. I thought I would share them with you.

1) Red Velvet Cupcake with a whipper-snapper center. I wish we had Hey, Cupcake! in Nashville. (I had a cupcake on Friday. Although delicious, it wasn't from Hey, Cupcake!)

2) A sweet tea with my mom. (She brewed me up a perfect pitcher of sweet tea on Saturday.)

3) Jalapeño Cheddar Poppers...this is really an excuse to go to Sonic (Yum...had 3 poppers on Tuesday.)

4) A bath, since there is just a shower in my future Turkish home (Check!)

5) A great hamburger grilled by my dad. (He grilled a bleu cheese burger for me on Friday night.)

6) A long game of Frisbee with Maycie (The weather in TN was rainy, so I had to make this game a short one.)

7) Worshipping (in English) with other Believers. (I attended church with my family on Sunday morning.)

8) Eat lunch with my sister, Shannon, at her work. (My mom and I went to her school, where she is an elementary counselor, and loved seeing all the kiddos.)

9) Sleeping in on a Saturday morning since mornings start early in the Ceylan household (Unfortunately, I never got to do this...too many last minute details before leaving the US.)

10) Watch Lost with my sister, Kelly. (Wednesday night we watched Lost. I am so glad Jin is back!)