…and not a family of five. It's true. See the video below for further proof : )
Frankly, this suite would be perfect for a couple looking to spend some quality, sip-champagne-and-gaze-into-each-other's-eyes, time together. Sadly, its luxuries immediately diminished once we took up residence. The jetted tub (in the bathroom without a door) is used to scrub feet dirtied by sandal-walking through Turkish streets. The gilded, mirror-backed TV is usually tuned to Cartoon Network. The giant, wall-to-wall window is problematic for a little girl who got used to our home in Alaska, where windows looked out into nothing but nature, (thus allowing her to change her outfit while also observing the outdoors.) Thankfully, no one has called about a semi-clothed child peering out a third-floor window. In order to prevent scandal, we now pull the curtains closed before dusk.
But for now, this hotel room is our home. Every morning we take an elevator to the 8th floor and enjoy a buffet of breakfast items. Jack, Brenn and Meg practice their Turkish on smiling waiters and chefs who undoubtedly hear us mangling their beautiful language. We’ve started to ask for their names so that soon we can greet them properly. Breakfast includes food not regularly seen in American (or European) establishments. I’ve grown to love eating tomatoes and cucumbers in the morning! In fact, I think I’ve eaten more fresh fruits and vegetables in the last week (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, corn, carrots, cherries, apricots, melon, and watermelon to name a few) than I did during a month of winter in Alaska. It’s a-ma-zing.
After breakfast we either do a little schoolish type work or we clean up our room (which regularly descends into chaos.) Then we head outside to brave the city.
Mostly, I think we’re braving the heat. It’s SO hot.
I’ve successfully navigated our area of Izmir in order to find the market, some grocery stores (all small), a pharmacy, a few clothing stores and a currency exchange store. There are certainly moments of frustration, like when a place that google maps made seem promising (for buying men’s undershirts, as an example) turns out to be devoid of undergarments of any kind. Or when I'm standing in a store trying to decipher which bottle is laundry detergent and which is washing machine cleaner (nearly bought the wrong thing...thank goodness for google translate.) Or when I'm trying to find a pair of flip flops for an early morning trip only to discover that most stores close at dinner time. There is no 24hr Walmart.
And did I mention that it was hot??? When we left AK it was 50 degrees (10 °C for the uninitiated: ), here we've regularly hit 100. I hear a lot of temperature-related complaining from the three children whether I use Fahrenheit or Celsius. Which is understandable. We have been in Alaska for the last three years after all : )
We generally end up taking a jet-lagged and heat-induced nap in the afternoon while we wait for Paul to come back from work. Then we head out for dinner and finish the day with a walk (a much cooler walk) near or along the water. People come out as the temperature drops and the harbor-side park is full and bustling. There are vendors selling color....flowers, balloons, and cotton candy. Its really a lovely way to finish the day.
Last weekend we were able to take a three-day, seven churches of Revelation tour with a group from Paul's unit. It was incredible. I'm saving all my pictures and videos for a future blog post. True, we did fight jet-lag for the first half of each day, but it turns out that giant buses are the perfect place to snooze between excursions to ancient ruins. A win-win!
So in general, we’re adjusting. We’re figuring out our surroundings, learning bits and pieces of the language, looking for an apartment to rent, enjoying new foods, filling out lots of residency paperwork, doing multiple loads of laundry (small washers and dryers here!!) and finding our stride.
And that’s the update! Merhaba (“hello!”) from Turkey! We miss ya’ll and hope that you enjoy these adventure reports : )
For more pictures of Turkey, I often update my two Instagram accounts. The one @snyder.elizabeth is a locked and personal account. Friends and family are more than welcome to send me a request to join! For all my other pictures (usually the more artistic or dramatic ones) you can check out @elizabethjanesnyder and follow without any permission needed : )
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