Home, Where My Thought's Escaping

With only 8 days to go before we leave, I am realizing how many things I missed that I had no idea I would ever miss. These are things which make me happy or which I enjoy. Nothing like absence to make the heart grow fonder! Here is a list of things I am looking forward to enjoying again:

1) Sharp cheddar cheese
2) Free speech
3) Root beer
4) Sour cream
5) Thrift stores
6) Garage sales
7) Peanut butter
8) Bacon
9) Greasy breakfasts
10) All Mexican food
11) Chinese takeout
12) Indian takeout
13) Seeing kids in car seats
14) Pedestrian right-of-way
15) HGTV
16) Convenient recycling
17) Seeing signs that warn of fines for littering
18) A variety of wines and beers
19) Listening to the radio in English
20) Living in a house with things that are mine and not university-issued (down to the silverware!)
21) And most of all, seeing my friends and family or at least being in a closer time zone!

There are some things I will miss here that I am currently enjoying in Turkey:

1) The smell of honey suckle
2) Feeling saturated in history
3) Cheap fresh bread
4) Cheap good olives
5) The pastries made with pistachio

"Interception! Fumble Recovery!"

Well it’s that time of year again. The time of year when, were I back in the states, I would have honed and perfected the ability to dip a tortilla chip into some yummy, scrumptious Velveeta and salsa dip just before the ball was snapped so that I could yell out "Interception! Fumble recovery!" while the Buckeyes are on defense against Michigan. Yes, it is that time of year.
This year, apparently, The Game has reached epic proportions since so much is at stake for both teams. Read the Slate article here.
I am an Ohio State fan by birth. I have never attended Ohio State or even lived in Columbus, save for six months when I was about four. But, in the same way that people are born into Catholicism or royalty, I was born into cheering for Ohio State. I wish I had a few pictures to post of me as a baby in my Ohio State sweat suit, me at the Rose Bowl with my family in 1997 and me one year in college where a friend and I watched the Ohio State/Michigan game in which my friend is waving a paper flag that says "Michigan sucks goat balls" and has a block O on her fur trapper hat (she was from Kalamazoo, MI). It is a classic picture but alas, none of these are digital and not even here with me in Turkey to scan. The point is I am a big OSU fan (or as big as a nerdy temporary, ex-pat can be). And I hope Ohio State wins. Amen.

Visit this blog and scroll down to the post "Ohio State Football" to see some great footage from the Northwestern game last year of the band.

It’s true that Ohio State football has the vestiges of a religion with the traditions, ceremony, saints and prayers. I love it. I will probably be unable to see the game today in real time. Although, we met a Michigan fan at darts who is taping the game so maybe I will get to see it in a few days... But, in the same way that you don't have to attend church to believe, you don't have to see the game to believe. And I believe. Go BUCKS!

UPDATE: Ohio State beat Michigan 42-39...HI-OH!

Oh! Reminders of Home!

Oh! Pork sausage! Oh! Andre 3000! Oh! Baked beans! Oh! Old Navy T-Shirts and American accents!

Yes, last night was a good night. We joined a darts league at the pub at the British Embassy. Oh!

It was wonderful and I am glad we are going to be visiting there on a weekly basis. In addition to the pub fare and TV broadcasting music videos like aforementioned Andre 3000, the people we met on our team and the other teams were delightful. Neither of us is great at darts but I had always fancied it as my preferred bar-game and used to practice some in my parents basement so I wasn’t too bad. We played against a Turkish team and they were wonderful company and competitors. Our team did fairly well although we did lose the beer leg so we owe the other team next week. Oh! Twix candy bars!

We needed this bit of a pick-me-up because we have no toilet or floor in our bathroom as it has all been ripped up to fix a leak downstairs…and we are having to trapse between two apartments (at least in the same building) to pee and sleep and wash and eat and all that. I guess it could be worse. At least we don’t have to go outside.

We also spent the weekend in a lovely fishing village, Amasra, on the Black Sea and I will post some pictures ASAP.

Rearview mirror

The week here has been filled with taking care of everyday things which I will write about in another post with pictures but I haven't taken the pictures of all of those little things yet.
And I wanted to show a little bit of my journey from Victoria to Ankara as it has been a journey with many stops.

Before driving from Victoria to Denver, my Dad and I went kayaking in Brentwood Bay - I love the purple starfish there. In my mind leisure time in Victoria will always be synonymous with purple starfish (and homemade wine!).

The place to rent a kayak from there is Brentwood Bay Lodge. Then paddle out to see the starfish!

Along the drive to Colorado, my Dad and I happened to stay in a town called Cascade Locks along the Hood River. It was a great little town and had a bar on the main drag called the Salmon Row Pub - they had the most excellent smoked salmon appetizer there. I would like to spend more time in that area sometime - it looked like a beautiful place to explore.

Then it was back to sunny Colorado for a spell. Below is a picture of the Yucca in bloom

I had one marvelous adventure in Boulder while I was there...Peter gave me a gift of a glider flight for my birthday! That is me below in the glider just after I have landed. The glider was towed up to about 5,000 feet and then the pilot flew over the Flatirons in search of thermals - we climbed to about 10,000 feet! I was allowed to take control of the glider three times. The first time was the scariest as I made the nose dip...I did a bit better after that just going straight and not changing the level of the plane at all. It was very beautiful and quiet in the glider and I had never seen Boulder or Colorado from that perspective! It was lovely!

After some time in Colorado we visited some family in Ohio and Michigan. Here are some fish in my Aunt's pond.

We also dropped off Chama-cat there. This was very sad but I thought it was best for her to stay stateside. Here she is on the balcony over the grape arbor at here new digs.

So there is a look in the rearview mirror of this sojourn in Ankara!