Bodrum

Story One: Though I know that punctuality is something that is not practiced in all cultures, I was becoming increasingly worried when we were still at the house an hour before our plane for our holiday was to take off. Since we left so late, our driver was trying his best to have us arrive at our destination both on-time and in one piece. I mention the latter part because we were traveling at about 180kph (translation to over 100mph on back roads). Granted for those of you who have been in the car with me know that I don’t mind traveling at fast speeds—so long as I am doing the driving. I was shaking by the time we arrived at the airport. I knew that the driver was on the phone most of the ride, and since I don’t understand Turkish, I hadn’t a clue of what he was saying. I found this out once we arrived at the airport. He had called them, asked security to save us a spot in-line and we were checked in and on the plane 3 minutes before take-off. Needless to say I was relieved. Our luck however ran out on the way back. I took the younger two kids on Friday and we missed our 11:00pm plane. Unlike most international airports that I have been in, the receptionists did not speak English well—which meant that I had to have the 10-year-old translate everything for me. Quite the humbling experience. We ended up flying out that evening on the 2:00am flight.

Now a bit about Bodrum…The father did not join us for the holiday, which meant that there was no one capable of captaining their yatch. Thus, we stayed in a hotel. Bodrum is a small peninsula in the south of Turkey on the Mediterranean Sea designed for upscale tourists—both local and international. Despite the hotel not being all-inclusive, you wouldn’t be able to tell that based on their clienteles ordering habits (if the ice melted in their drink, they would order a new one instead of asking for more ice). Goki is quite the picky eater, and yes, that comment is coming from me. He refuses to eat breakfast unless there is Nutella. One of the mornings when we went out for breakfast he declined eating because he couldn’t have Nutella. I mentioned to Nurdan that right next door there was a market, and I remembered seeing Nutella when we passed it. She immediately thanked me, took 100 liras (about 75$) out of her purse and told the waiter to get Nutella and keep the change. She later additionally tipped him. Now I understand that this is not common practice in Turkey, but in Bodrum, it appeared to be that way.

Something else about Bodrum is that it is notorious for its nightlife. This is the reason why Miray enjoys Bodrum. She had 6 friends spending their holidays in Bodrum, and we were allowed to go out with them at nighttime. It was quite nice for me to spend time with people my own age, because as much as I enjoy the family that I am living with, I’ve found that people of Miray’s age tend to have the best English (though one of her friends only brought her exchange student from Argentina who didn’t speak English or Turkish, so he would talk to me, and I would translate into English to tell everyone else. It was quite enjoyable.) All of the nightclubs are open-air and most are docks (or ships) on the sea. As the weather at night is still in the 70s, it was perfect for going out. Here you reserve a table, which includes a bottle of your choice of liquor, and all of the appetizers that you want. The people varied in ages ranging from teenagers to early 60s. It was quite entertaining witnessing the mingling of both ages and cultures on the sideways and in the clubs.

As I eat 95% of my meals in the house, it was certainly different to be eating out every day. I was able to see not just the Turkish food that my family enjoys, but all of the things that Turks tend to eat in general. I really have to thank my brother Steve here, because if he had not forewarned me about Ayran I wouldn’t have fully been prepared. Ayran is a famous Turkish drink that is salty liquid yogurt. Ayran, like tea, is refilled as soon as the person drinking it finishes their glass. Therefore, I timed it perfectly so that I only had one glass. The drink is literally more salty that the sea that I had been swimming in all day. That mixed with its creamy thick texture does not suit my taste buds well. I did of the fortune of trying stuffed vine leaves which were actually quite tasty. Also between courses at one of the restaurants we were given Bodrum’s infamous cherry juice to enjoy before the next portion of the meal arrived. Trying new foods is becoming quite exhausting, simply because they are so proud of their food here—not liking it is not an option. I can politely decline a few things (such as seafood) but as a whole, I must try and finish everything offered to me. I know this sounds strange to many of you as for most people trying new foods is the highlight of traveling, but as for me, it’s the most cumbersome aspect of being abroad.