What I've learned in a year overseas

(In no particular order)
1. How to bake an apple pie from scratch
2. How to live without a car
3. Belly-dancing
4. How to say "I don't understand" 50 times in one day
5. How to be rude to strange men
6. How to jaywalk on a 4-lane road during rush hour
7. How to have a friendship in another language
8. The care and feeding of cats
9. How to find a business without a phone book
10. How to use a laundry line
11. How to not assume the worst when it looks like people are talking about you
12. How to stand out (and be okay with it)
13. Sterilization procedures for micro-propagation
14. How to teach English as a Foreign Language
15. How to invite myself over to a friend's house or show up uninvited
16. That I don't need as much as I think I do
17. How to record and edit sound
18. More than I thought I ever needed to know about Jackson, MS
19. How to save money wisely
20. How to make a really good cafe mocha without an espresso maker

The original shish kebap

Last weekend I got to go on a picnic, Turkish-style. We loaded up in cars and drove to a big picnic ground by the lake. After 15 minutes of driving around and looking for the perfect spot, complete with a view and water spicket, we finally settled down. We used the concrete picnic tables for prep, and spread out blankets for our eating area. I was ecstatic to escape the concrete jungle enough to listen to frogs and count turtles. The men set up small charcoal grills while we assembled the kebaps. Now, at home I grew up with "Uncle Howie's shish kebap," a family recipe that involved marinating the beef chunks in some combination of oil, vinegar, garlic, and other spices. However, I now get to experience kebap in one of the countries where it originated. So they covered all the meat in a combination of thyme, mint, and I think cayenne pepper. And then I got the joy of learning how to "properly" put the meat on the skewers (I did it once, and they said I did it wrong, so I had to take it all off and start over. mmm....raw meat....). Our meat and chicken were accompanied by pita bread, arugula salad, shepherd's salad (tomato, cucumber, and onion), pasta salad, and muffins (courtesy of the foreigners). And don't worry, they did bring the tea pot so we could drink tea after our meal. After all, no Turkish meal is complete without tea. The rest of the entertainment was just relaxing, but our neighbors on the picnic ground amused themselves with dancing and okey (a game like rummikub). We did get live music, though, at one point from two men passing through hoping to earn some money. Enjoy the video!