Return from Bodrum

The reason that I had to return early with the younger two children on Friday is because Aylena went to camp today (and will remain there for the next two weeks) and Goki insisted on going to ProKart racing today. I hadn’t realized that this was going to be his first time being allowed to race his own car. The car that I am referring to is a glorified go-kart. The combination of his nerves and excitement truly was a delight to watch. Accompanying us on the trip to the race track was his older cousin Barat who has been racing for 4 years now. He was offered a spot in the summer program today because the instructors were so impressed with his driving ability. Though Goki was not offered a spot, he was more than thrilled when Barat told him maybe he could find a way for Goki to be part of his pit spot team. Apparently Formula One is quite a big deal for boys Goki’s age. I made the mistake of bringing up NASCAR, for which I was immediately shunned, because NASCAR is not real racing.

Also, I was able to spend some one-on-one time with the father today as he brought me to the race track. I am not able to speak with the father as he knows as much English as I know Turkish and without props or animated expressions, neither conducive to the car, it’s difficult to communicate. I continually hear the kids talking about how strict and serious their father is, so I never really took it personal that he never seemed excited that I was there living with them. However, today seemed to change that. When we arrived at the race track and we saw Goki zipping around the track, I would struggle to find a parent more proud of his son. Tomar (the father) wishes that he had more sons—that has been made clear by everyone. So having a son being his youngest child must be rather difficult in a society that really does put quite a bit of emphasis on men being leaders. Therefore, when Goki is able to prove that he can succeed if motivated, really seemed to make Tomar proud.

An unfortunate event happened in Bodrum while the kids and I were returning to Istanbul: Miray broke her leg. She tripped down one of the winding hills and will be in a cast for the next four weeks. As I was in Istanbul when this occurred, I did not go to the hospital with her. I really would have enjoyed comparing it to my other experience in Turkish hospitals. Miray’s cast looks as most casts would in America, but her crutches as cane-like (as I have found is common in most of Europe). I tried them out this morning, just to see how different they were, and I am convinced that I would break my other leg if I had to use them. I asked her if she had the option of using the crutches that rest under your arms, and she laughed and explained that they were old-fashion and didn’t know why Hollywood still used them in the movies (i.e. She figured that Americans used cane-like crutches as well). Interesting the little differences I am finding.