On Saturday, November 21st, we invited our
university representative Metlem and our close colleague-friend, Asli, for
dinner. This davat (invitation) was
long overdue, since we are so grateful for everything they have done for us
since day one. Alex and I started our day by buying fresh vegetables form our
local market. We often do grocery shopping once a month, since it is cheaper
(and often healthier) to eat at home than at restaurants. However, because of
our busy schedule, it is sometimes easier to eat out. In any case, we blasted
some music and prepared a fancy meal for our esteemed guests.
The menu included curried chicken, roasted chicken pieces,
roasted cherry tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms with roasted cashews (made my me)
and pasta and homemade pasta sauce (made by Alex). We also served bread with
goat cheese and better, ice tea and diet cola, and salad. Now let me remind you
that we do not have an oven or a microwave, so the timing of preparing these
meals was essential to ensuring that the food stayed warm until the arrival of
our guests, which was at 6:30pm. We also lit candles to give it an romantic appeal.
When our guests arrived, we chatted a bit before serving
dinner. Meltem and Asli were coming from the mall, and the boys were full from
lunch so they didn’t eat much dinner. Demir, the younger and the more
mischievous of the two, made videos with his iPad and converted the video
snippets into funny action trailers using an app. In of the snippets, for
example, as he danced in our living room, a comet flew through and killed him.
In another video, he transformed into a monster and roared in our living room.
Otay, the older brother, has a calmer demeanor than Demir but is equally witty.
Upon arriving, Otay told his mother “why do the Americans have antique
furniture?”
 |
| Playing with mischievous Demir. |
After dinner, we cut a bee-shaped cake which our guests had
kindly brought for us as dessert. We also enjoyed ice-cream for dessert while
sipping on çay. Demir continued to entertain us with us relentless energy,
transforming into all sorts of animals such as money, rat, even a chicken. I
love playing with me. His energy reminds of my own mischievous childhood,
thriving on the attention of anyone who would give it to me. I have since
matured, of course, but I always admire the naïve and carefree attitude of
little kids.
Later that evening, Meltem and her kids left to do their
homework. Asli accompanied us to Kaleiçi
where we experienced the night life for the second time. We enjoyed a live band
at one of the pubs and then rented motor-engine scooters for 30 minutes. In an
odd way, this was a liberating experience. We powered through the cobble-stone sidewalks
of Kaleiçi, screamed as we passed strangers, and raced on as if we were competing
in Olympic games. Around 1am, we returned home and quickly fell asleep,
realizing that we had a big day tomorrow: Pamukkale.
