Abundance

My mailing address in Turkey delivers packages to my office, so when I returned to work on Monday, my desk was piled high with packages and letters from friends and family: pictures of Preeti's beautiful children; sweaters from Jori; Simpsons and House episodes on DVD, chocolate, coffee from Kirk; candle holders and chocolate from Kirk's parents; various Christmas gifts from my mom; a warm blanket, chocolate, household items from Kelly; a season of South Park, New Yorker magazines, my favorite "hippy" pancake mix, a horoscope from Jay (ok, choclate too) . . . You'd think I'd have a lot of chocolate by this time, but somehow it is conspicuously absent from my house. I'll need to do a thorough search later today. :)

I am noting which things are particularly wonderful (you wouldn't expect that a cloth that soaks up like a sponge but wipes like a cloth could bring so much joy), so I can put together a winning care package for my cousin Sarah who will be spending two years in Central Africa with the Peace Corps starting sometime soon. I have a feeling that her experience there will make my time in Turkey look like EuroDisney.

Lisa's visit was wonderful. We explored downtown Izmir's Kemeralti, endless winding streets of vendors hawking everything from key copies, to Turkish symbols to ward off the evil eye, to fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. We took the bus to the "bad" part of town to visit Kadifekale, a fort build by Alexander the Great. On the coldest day of the year, we explored Pergamon, a series of ruins from the 4th-1st century BC, finally giving up and drinking chai and listening to our friends play Turkish music in the vendor's hut at the entrance of the ruins. When, on the way home my friend, Okan, saw some kids playing marbles on the side of the road, he brought the car to an abrupt stop, turned on the hazards, and joined them (and schooled them on the "real" way to play marbles).

I took it as a personal challenge to make sure Lisa had some excellent baklava before her departure. Needless to say, this took extensive and concentrated research.