My Turkish Mothers

In my building there are 2 ladies, friends, that "adopted" my roommate and I. One lives on the 7th floor, the other the 2nd floor. They both have teenage daughters, but are happy to adopt 2 more. We always suspected it, but it was confirmed when my roommate's parents came to visit. We all were visiting with the 7th floor neighbors, and she told my roommate's mother, "I have 3 daughters: my daughter, your daughter, and her roommate." Our "mothers" fuss at us if we don't visit them every week. They fuss at us if we aren't wearing socks in the winter. When the cold weather came, they asked if we had warm blankets.

Usually we visit them separately. Sometimes if we come, they'll call and invite the other. Occasionally they'll come together to our house. One night my roommate and I were winding down at 10 pm, and they showed up at our doorstep with a plate of fruit and a plate of pastries. They said "we've come to you," handed me the food, and stepped inside. So I put on the pot of tea while my roommate picked up the living room. They visited with us for an hour or so and went home. They also showed up late one night to see Jess's parents before they left...


They have their differences though. When we go to the 7th floor, she offers us coke, cookies, and candy. The 2nd floor neighbor is more like my mom. She offers us tea and fruit. And she cooks for us. She came by one night and brought us something like a spinach quesadilla without cheese, made with homemade whole wheat tortillas. One night she dropped by to invite us to dinner. I had a bit of a cold, so my roommate told her we couldn't come because I wasn't well. Our neighbor went and returned a few min later with a tray full of food--soup, something like a dumpling stuffed with ground beef (icli kofte), and plenty of extra parsley so I can get the nutrients I need to feel better soon.


So, don't worry, at least there's one mother making sure that I eat a nutritious meal occasionally. And, if we're lucky, she'll teach us how to make some of the great food she serves us! Of course, that isn't to say that 7th floor has never cooked for us. Earlier this month when my roommate came back from out of town (at about 11:30 am), our 7th floor mother from her balcony saw my roommate with bags in tow. So a few min after Jess put her bags down, our neighbor showed up and invited us to breakfast! I love Turkish breakfast--scrambled eggs with tomato and onions, fresh bread with local honey, and a selection of cheeses. And don't forget the tea!

Of course, they were so excited to meet Jess's parents last month, and so I better get prepared for when my mom comes to visit! And my mom better prepare her stomach!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Wow, it really has been a while since I've blogged! I was so busy in December with Christmas preparations, and now it's back to the January calm. In some ways, my Christmas was relatively normal. My roommate's parents came to visit, so at least I spent Christmas with a family, even if it wasn't exactly mine. Christmas eve we went to church like normal, and our living room looked like a disaster area after opening presents, like any other Christmas.


Christmas morning we went to brunch at a friend's house, complete with cinnamon rolls and cheese grits, and then Christmas night my roommate, her mother, and I hosted dinner. Her parents brought a pork roast from America, which her mother cooked up for us. Delicious! I roasted a chicken, and we all made an assortment of traditional sides. We invited 2 Turkish girls who go to church with us, as well, and one of them brought stuffed grape leaves! So it was an interesting feast, but all seemed to enjoy it. We even got to exchange more presents after dinner. Hats and scarves seemed to be the theme.



So what was different this year, you wonder? Well, the immediate difference was that church was both in English and Turkish. We could actually buy any last minute groceries we needed on Christmas day with no trouble, and no one at the stores was wishing us "Merry Christmas." When we went to brunch, the hosting family's neighbors stopped by to see why there were so many foreigners coming to visit, and when brunch was over we broke into some spontaneous Christmas carols, in Turkish, and then read the Christmas story, in Turkish. But you know, I really liked it. It was different, but it was such a warm Christmas. Even when we were fixing dinner, we weren't really stressed out because we knew our guests wouldn't care if we were running a little late. I thought I would be stressed out by visiting with so many people on Christmas day, but I wasn't. It felt so inclusive, so focused on the reason for the season. Maybe I can take some of those traditions home with me.