Turkish Food!

As I have mentioned before, my anne is a very good cook. The food here is wonderful!! Sooo tasty. Our eating schedule is a little different than most in Turkey, I think though. Since my family does not practice the muslim religion, we eat during sunlight. Usually, we wake up at elevenish. Then anne prepares the food while I take all the food to the porch where we eat. The same goes with dinner,which is eaten at about eightish. I am rarely allowed to help in the cooking or cleaning, although everyday I say multiple times 'Yardim istiyor musun?' (do you want any help?) Breakfast is the most different from America. These are basic rules for a Turkish breakfast-

1. Never cook your boiled egg all the way. Half raw is preferred and actually tastes pretty good, although probably not very safe.

2.Bread. Bread.Bread. would you like another loaf to eat? haha

3. Olives are a very common breakfest food. Yogurt is to only be eaten at dinner.

4. Four glasses of Turkish tea is the average. I probably have about ten glasses of tea per day. Most people have more.

5. Fındıck- a like nutella type stuff, except it is 70 percent hazlenut. 70 percent. They tell me that most days. I dont really get the big deal but...okay. 70 percent. Got it? P.s. Its only found in Turkey.

6.HELVA! This is my favorite breakfast food. probably because it really is more of a desert. I believe it is a soy/sugar compound. mmmmm. Tasty! and yesterday I discovered it comes in flavors! Also, only in Turkey.

7.Grape molasas and sesame paste goop stuff mixed makes a chocolate like dipping sause for your loaf of bread you get every breakfast. It tastes just like chocolate!! And its super healthy too?? Only in Turkey is chocolate sause healthy.

8. A big bowl of fruit including İngirs. This fruit also found only in Turkey looks like a bright colored mini pear. Its not sweet like most fruit here but more salty I guess? Only it doesnt actually taste like salty fruit. I dont know.Its a very different flavor. I wish all of you could try one.

9.Meat is never served for breakfast. NO BACON especially. As far as I know, Pork isnt sold any where around here. Nobody, nobody eats pork.

10. Mom- CHEESE. all the time. Eating just pure cheese is normal for breakfest.

Some other things I have noticed about food etc. here are-

1.No Microwave

2. No one drinks tap water. Its very unhealthy. Water from the hose is a even bigger no no.

3. You dont have anything to drink with dinner. Instead you have tea time about a half hour after dinner.

4. We dont have a trash can or recylcling. If you have trash you put it in a little baggie and it is taken outside shortly.

5. And finally- Baklava. Yummmm. The stuff in the US is nothing compared to this amazing desert. p.s. We never have desert here unless its baklava. Although, There may be some ice cream in the freezer, you get too full from the meals to ever want any.

Dinner-
We usually have some kind of vegetable or bean cooked in olive oil and spices.The flavors are so rich and delicious, but also very healthy. Sometimes meat, but not too much thankfully. Yogurt is mixed in to everything. So far my favorite is salma (or something like that) which we had the first day. It is richly flavored rice with vegetables wrapped and cooked in grape leaves from the garden.

How am I? I am great. So far my week of boredom have been totally bearable. Yesterday I got to go grocery shopping! hahahaha.I have certianly found the humor, because the fact that I looked forward to that all day is extremely funny. Oh! And Sude and I built a real life birds nest. It took seriously an hour but hey...Ive never built a birds nest before! Then we got eggs from the fridge and put them in it with our chickens. hahaha.
I am not extremely homesick thankfully,although Id like to say I love all of you lots. The weather has been rainy but is starting to clear up so I can go to the sea soon, and maybe a bike ride. Dardanous is very rural and peaceful, a bike ride would be wonderful in the cool rainy air. Our pet chicks are getting older and starting to escape their box.

Turkish soaps have also proven to be a good time passer, while helping my Turkish. Currently I am teaching Sude basic household objects names in English. Its fun teaching her English and she learns VERY quickly. After I get out of college,I have been wanting to join the peace corps and teach HIV/AIDS prevention. But now after enjoying teaching Sude English so much, maybe I should look into the English teaching department of the peace corps. Anyways...Now I am just ranting.

Lots of loves always, Amber