The Village

On Thursday we took off again for the holiday (Byram in Turkish.) This holiday is called the sugar holiday or the Ramadan holiday because it marks the end of Ramadan and you eat a lot of sweets, actually just a lot of food in general. Though we left on Thursday we spent one night in Maraş where my host uncle lives with his wife and very cute, very spoiled daughter. Friday we set off for the village, the drive was beautiful, sprawling hills and mountains dotted with little houses and farms. There are times when because parts of Turkey are so modern and western I forget that Turkey has this whole other part to it, and this trip really reminded me of that. The village is exactly what you would expect from a Turkish village complete with dirt roads and donkeys pulling carts. The house is very cute with a little kitchen that produces outstanding food and the 'old style' bathroom which is basically a porcelain hole in the floor.

We were at the village from Friday to Tuesday afternoon and it felt like a very long time to me. My family is very sweet, especially my great aunt who nicknamed me Fatma and is always speaking to me in rapid Turkish. Fatma by the way is supposed to be a very classic Turkish name but literally sounds like Fat-ma, though I didn't really have a choice in the matter it is starting to really grow on me. For Byram younger family are supposed to go from house to house to visit the older people and their families, and to every house you go you are offered this smelly hand stuff, tea and some sort of yummy food. Though I enjoyed the tea and food it felt like a lot of people talking about me a lot and maybe it was just my imagination I felt like I was the butt of a lot of jokes, but hey I guess that comes with the territory. At one house after about twenty minutes of conversation my host sister looked at me and said "ah they are still talking about you!" It was frustrating to not understand what was being said and I felt a little bit like a pet but it was really interesting to be a part of the holiday.

A little bit more on the food!
I fasted the last day of Ramadan and though I was hungry all day it was totally worth it for the feast it came with. Dilşad and I helped make this past that is served on big platters with chicken and beef in the middle that everyone picks off. There is also huge amounts of home grown tomato salad with cucumbers, onions and all kinds of spices. Breakfasts were this kind of fried dough that expanded and looked like little baguettes but were hollow and delicious. These were eaten with jam, yogurt, cheese, nutella, or really anything. Also there was more tomato salad, always fresh bread, Aryan (a drink of yogurt and water that I am pretty fond of) more tea, and Turkish coffee. I could go on and on.

The holiday was nice but I was excited to get back to Adana. It is starting to cool down, and that is very nice especially since my school uniform consists of gray pants and a polo. School started Friday, and I think it is too soon to tell how it is going to be but I am in 11th grade, the same as my sister. I will write more on it after I have had a full week.