Food for Thought

This gorgeous red pepper set me back, essentially, 16 cents. Now I want to know: Why? Why is it not possible to get a similar product for the same price in North America? I know I talk about the cost of food here nearly every post but things like red peppers for less than 20 cents each never cease to amaze me.

NOTE – the cost of all food is not so reasonable. For instance, there is a “new product” at Real, the grocery store…Haagen Dazs ice cream! But a pint of HD will set you back 15 YTL which basically translates into $15 a pint! And, I should say that the variety and selection of foods here is limited compared with N. America or the UK. And the quality of some things, e.g. olive oil (surprisingly), cereals, local ice cream etc., is not high, but it is adequate and affordable.

I find it paradoxical that a country that struggles with things like customer service, quality control, time management etc., is able to produce much better staple foods – fruit, veggies and grains, at a price which (I think and hope) most people can afford – than any of the seemingly economically advanced countries like the States, Canada and the UK.

I just keep coming back to: Why? Why are good, ripe, fruit and veggies that might not look perfect but taste delicious only available at farmer's markets and Whole Foods and similar stores or web services (e.g. SPUD, which I miss dearly) at boutique prices in N. America? (And I am guilty as charged because I will shop at said stores for produce.) It just doesn’t make sense to me. Why can’t we N. Americans manage to lower the price of staple foods AND raise the quality so that everyone is able to eat well?
And by “eat well” I do not mean having access to small batch produced ice creams and 100 varieties of sugary cereals and the same variety in potato chips. Those things are luxuries but now they seem to have become staples as the price on such products seems to drop while things like a nice, freshly made loaf of bread costs $4 and tomato-y tasting tomatoes (if they actually still exist outside of people’s own gardens), cost $11 for 6 (enough to make a good spaghetti sauce or soup). (Compared with Turkey where a fresh loaf of bread is 30 cents and enough fresh tomatoes for a sauce costs about a dollar.) No wonder they keep saying there is an obesity epidemic in the States! And it’s not just because there are soda machines in schools. It is cheaper to make KRAFT mac and cheese, serve some sort of fresh veggie (if it is on sale), otherwise, open a tin of peas, and then offer ice cream for dessert. Because to make a nice fresh tomato sauce or even a fresh salad and serve fresh fruit for dessert COSTS MORE! Substantially more! (By the way, I love KRAFT mac and cheese too, I am just trying to make a point. I love ice cream for dessert too, but fresh fruit is lovely too.)

Having had this rant, it is true that I am looking forward to coming back to N. America. I am very much looking forward to coming home. But, I just don’t understand how countries that are at the cutting edge of everything else can be going so wrong when it comes to basic necessities, like food.

Pretty, pretty necklace!

Presents from America! My friend, S., made this beautiful necklace for me and it arrived today. She made it with sterling silver and green quartz with tourmaline. Isn't it lovely? It's so special to me too because moss agate is my totem stone according to Native American astrology. Yay!!!

Thanks S.!!!!

A Good Thing

If, like me, you were digging in your garden to plant your Van Gogh tulip bulbs and snowdrops for next spring and stumbled upon the bases of Doric and Corinthian columns, try transforming them into a meditation bench. It's a good thing.

Eski Kandil

After shopping for gifts today in Ulus, I stopped for lunch in an “antik ve café” shop: Eski Kandil. Just around the corner from a crossroads filled with baskets, hookahs, evil eyes, kilims and more, I went up the steep wooden steps, passing lovely prints for sale, and stumbled into a tiny room with four (maybe five) tables each covered with different table cloths and a tiny veranda outside with one table and room for six people.






It was lovely. Being the only one there, I had my pick of tables – I chose the table outside.




I ate an Ayvalik tostu made of salami, cheese, pickle, tomato and mayo. I would call it Turkish grilled-cheese. That was washed down with a cup of tea for only 4YTL. Perfection.





A man sat on a stool across the street sewing something made from gray material and three men enjoyed the view from a roof. The call to prayer broadcast from a loud speaker sounded garbled and to me, grating and fascinating all at once. I wouldn’t want to hear it everyday because it reminded me of the drive-through speaker at Wendy’s, but given that it was sung, it sounded beautiful all the same. And how could I not be fascinated, when feeling slightly scared, but mostly at peace listening to a strange language sung over loud speakers in the part of a capital city that rambles with ruins, relics and religion?

Bowling For Turkey

It’s a cold and rainy day here. Even the surfeit of hot tea doesn’t take the edge off. ‘It’ being a Friday, the students are in high spirits and the faculty seems worn out and ready for the weekend. Me? I had to take an hour-long nap yesterday as we get back into the grind (and I NEVER take naps).

We had planned to go bowling at the mall tonight (it’s not like good ole’ Brunswick Bowling with the sticky concession stand and league trophies and announcements on display) – it is swanky – or as swanky as a bowling alley can be – with darts, pool tables and the rules and ‘how to’ of bowling complete with diagrams posted at every lane. It certainly doesn’t have the soul of some of the bowling alleys I’ve been in. Like the one outside of New Haven going west on 34 (I think…I can see the intersection and the Stop and Shop on my left hand side in my head…). That bowling alley oozed Big Lebowski-ness with more fervor and sincerity than the Big Lebowski. Or the place where I joined a parent-child league with my Dad, oh orange vinyl and Las Vegas psychedelic carpets! I like to bowl.Watching people, particularly men, here, bowl is a hoot. They might read the posted instructions and then ignore them completely, step OVER the line and literally launch the ball, overhand (or sideways I guess given the weight) down the lane and it often goes in the gutter 2/3 of the way down. But it’s usually a family-affair here and everyone seems to enjoy it. Suffice it to say, we aren’t going bowling tonight.

On rainy days like today, it seems better to stay in and watch movies. Maybe knit a bit. Peter is going to make a Shepard’s pie (cottage pie, actually, as I am not a huge lamb fan but I am trying really, really hard to learn to appreciate it since there is so damn much of it here) and I have plans to make Cowboy Cookies from the Moosewood website although I wasn’t able to find chocolate chips in the on-campus grocery. Hopefully, I will have better luck at Real. Otherwise, I’m going to try chopping up Toblerone and using that instead.

Ok, moment of surreal “ I know I am Turkey when…” There is scary scaffolding outside of the window upon which two 2 x 4 planks are propped which is holding up (god knows how) a bucket of plaster and a man singing away in the rain. Where the f*&k is OSHA in this country?

No Pictures

It has been too long but every time I sit down to write an entry, I try to put pictures in and get bogged down. I think I have run out of storage space for pictures and am now trying to negotiate Flickr. I wonder why they spelled it that way? As I am currently doing a lot of editing and focusing on writing skills, these sorts of questions nag at me. Maybe that was just the domain name available. Of course, I overthink and become paranoid thinking that I am missing some clever innuendo on their part(i.e. Flickr’s). Partly because Peter has brought home cryptic crosswords and keeps throwing out clues to me which require lateral thinking and being super subtle and clever that just frustrate me. For example, one Peter made up to illustrate cryptic crosswords:

Clue: No Turkish gentlemen do as they are told (5)

Answer: Obeys

or one he made for his social psych course:

Clue: Is cola shaken up? It is for your course! (6)

Answer: "is cola" is an anagram (shaken up) of SOCIAL

Have a look here on tips for doing CCs or just because you like wordplay.

Anyway, I am not good at these and while I like the “oh yeah, that makes sense” once someone gives me the answer, I am not compelled to ruminate on it waiting for my Aha! moment. Anyway, all this editing and cryptic crossword business has made me paranoid about words and meanings. And wish I were more attentive to my words. I think it is helping my academic writing though. The verdict is still out on that. So is the writing, actually.

In other news, things here, are…well, the semester is just starting. It’s hectic. The stress makes me miss the following things: beeswax candles, sweet potatoes, Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Home and Garden TV, my personal bubble and organization. But, on the other hand, I am enjoying the fact that there is ALWAYS, ALWAYS fresh, hot tea on offer, my first tortoise sighting, making beaded earrings and going to a bar (The Papillion in Kızılay) where they play good, old school country with no embarrassment, pretense or line dancing. I think country music is the best drinking music, hands down. But only if you are with friends or a lover – alone it’s rather masochistic. Oh, and I like the fact that there is a wide range of coconut (hindistancevizi = Indian walnut) flavored products like pudding, ice cream, cake etc. since I love coconut.

Also, Ohio Sate beat Texas. I am not religious. But on my residence permit application they asked for religion – I almost put “Ohio State Buckeye” – but was worried I’d be called in for questioning and my Turkish just isn’t quite up to snuff for talking my way out of something like that. I do miss college football. I missed it in Canada too. The energy, the loyalty, the traditions and the possibilities that come with a new school year both for sports, but also academically and personally (not to mention new school supplies, new clothes, new chance to make impressions etc.). I miss my Dad shouting “interception fumble recovery” at the TV and my Mom being very laid back until a score and then sort of letting out a “whoo!” when there is a touchdown. And the snacks – yummy salsa and melted Velveeta with chips! There is an American style football team here, maybe I should check it out….

We’ve been eating really healthy, vegetarian food lately but in the middle of the night last night we decided to make burritos (for tonight’s dinner - not right then – that would have been like those days in college when you phone Fatty J’s for cheese sticks). Mmmm, Fatty J’s pizza. Mmmm. Since we can’t get the right kind of cheese here or sour cream, we’re going all out with the guacamole! Yay! I will never take burritos, or enchiladas or tamales for granted again!

Oh, and something I am hoping to post more on with pictures – there is an exhibit here about James Watson – a bit about his life and DNA and things – I didn’t get a chance to look at it too much, but the exhibit is from the States and Germany but the Turks have added an artistic component to it. So, there are gorgeous ottoman motifs that have historical significance that have been reworked to reflect the double helix, for example, and they are embroidered or made with mosaics and they are really, really lovely. And thought provoking. I hope to put a few pictures up… That is the best thing about being in a university setting – all the goings on that are free and insightful – they just seem to be difficult to find, or notice, or go and see since they are literally, right under your nose. Why does this happen? All the good stuff just lurks around while we look to other neighborhoods, cities or countries (or earth-like worlds) for the good stuff. And all along, the good stuff is just down the corridor.

I have been very busy and hence not posting. But I have been productive, although procrastinating too, but I am feeling like there may be some closure to some of my projects...soon.