Recent Travels and Adventures

Last week I took a language test for my 3rd level class. It was actually my last class until September. I was a bit stressed over the test since I had taken and failed a personal language assessment the previous week. The grammar part on the assessment was where I went wrong. I have no idea (Captain) why I’m so weak (Captain) in grammar (Captain.) Needless to say, I spent a few days trying to go through my language book as much as possible. The test was neither easy nor hard but I think I did ok. I still haven’t made it out to the university to check my score, mainly because I’m not convinced they will have the test scores out by now. 

The day after my test, my friends and took myself and my guests to a touristy area a couple hours away. The name of the place literally translates as “Cotton Castle.” It is so named because of the white travertine formations that have been formed through the years by the mineral water. We hiked up the Cotton Castle stopping along the way to lounge in the medicinal thermal waters and smear the fancy mud mud all over our bodies. 

After a cool break, we explored the ancient ruins of Heirapolis. As we traipsed around dusty paths and past old, broken Corinthian column capitals, we saw a church dedicated to the apostle Philip. Historians believe that he was actually martyred in that location and the church is dedicated to his death. It was a neat to walk the same paths that one who walked with Jesus walked, to be comforted by the fact that he lived far away from home as I do, to remember that he didn’t count his life even to death, and knowing that because he shared, I had a chance to hear the Good News of Jesus. 

The ruins of the church dedicated to Philip

On another day we went to a nearby village for a picnic. We stopped by a friend’s house first. It was there that I had my first experience of picking cherries off a tree. Of course I had to pop a few of the lovelies in my mouth. I also saw a turkey hanging out there awaiting the day it’s owner decides it is to become dinner. We left my friend’s house and went to a nearby lake for the actual picnic. As the guys were getting the fire going, the temperature dropped and it looked like rain was heading our way. We came up with a backup plan to move all of our things to a covered shelter. When we asked about how to move the fire as well, our friend said he’d shovel the coals into a metal bucket and carry them to the shelter in his hands. He is a manly man if ever I met one. He then told us that based on the direction of the wind, the rain would miss us and there was no need to move. He was right. I guess when you grow up farming in a village, you know these things.

The cherry tree

Picnic background

After the picnic, one of the girls and I made some “cigarette rolls” and took them to my neighbor, who had taught me to make them. We chatted for over an hour about life, love, and the Word. After leaving her house at 11pm, we decided to drop off a few of the rolls with my security guard. He invited us to sit with him and offered us some coffee. Since I had just drank a coffee with my neighbor and since I am already having difficulty sleeping, I politely declined saying that it would prevent me from sleeping. A few minutes alter he asked if we like cola. We both nodded in assent. He jumped up from his seat and started marching towards the market down the hill like he was on a mission. I tried calling after him to dissuade him from getting us coke but he said we were his guests and he must give us something to drink. I don’t think he gets the concept of caffeine. We thought we were merely dropping off a snack but ended up sitting with him for an hour sipping on our cokes. 

My security guard

After the girls said their goodbyes, we left for vacation. We took a bus from my city to a larger city. In the larger city, we boarded a connecting bus to our vacation city. Once we had arrived at the vacation city, we hopped in a taxi to our hotel. At the hotel gate, the security guard asked for my name before allowing us to enter. When I gave my name, he asked if I was a foreigner and I said yes. Our taxi driver looked at me grinning and said, “You’re not a foreigner, you can speak the language here. You’re a local.” It made my day.

After getting settled in the hotel and having some lunch, we caught a minibus to the city center. At the city center we caught another minibus that would take us to a historical site nearby. I explored the ancient ruins with my friends. It was my third time to this particular place and yet it still fascinates me. After touring, we did some souvenir shopping. In a couple of shops, I used some common phrases in the local language. Most of the shop owners spoke pretty good English but after I used a phrase, they all switched to speaking in the local language. It felt like a victory for me that I could communicate well enough that they found it easier to use their mother tongue rather than mine. I did have one encounter where I intended to ask, “Where can we find souvenir T-shirts” but actually asked, “Where can we use T-shirts?” The shop owner graciously overlooked my mistake. After shopping we hopped on 2 separate minibuses before making it back to our hotel. I think navigating the 2 buses, 4 minibuses, and a taxi successfully was another big language victory for me. 

We spent a couple of days afterward relaxing by the sea. Napping, eating, reading, and blogging is my kind of vacation. Doing these things with sea breezes and a beautiful view is just icing on the cake.