A Week in the Life Episode 6

Since my classes are on a break, I jumped on an opportunity to visit some friends in a nearby city. The city had a new cable car system up the mountain. There was snow at the top and we spent the day sledding. I giggled my way down the hill every.single.time. It was a nice getaway.

Riding up the mountain

My sledding buddy

Gorgeous view

I recently learned a new phrase, “Bekarlık Sultanlık,” which means “A bachelor’s life is a king’s life.” That very day I was able to use it as I was asked for the 437th time if I want to get married. 

One day I decided to make a lemon cake and take it to my neighbors. I tried two neighbors before finding Grandma F at home alone. She invited me in but I was a little hesitant. I have only sat with Grandma F once or twice and had a very hard time understanding her. She is from the village and speaks a dialect that is hard for me to understand. Usually her house helper is there and can translate between my foreign accent and Grandma’s village accent. 

Nonetheless she invited me in and we chatted for almost two hours. I learned that she has 5 kids that have established themselves in the professional world. One is a doctor, one a lawyer, one a bank director. Grandma F didn’t grow up in a world of affluence though. She and her husband actually lived in Germany for a while. She worked every day, 10 hours a day, as a janitor, first in a pharmaceutical company and then in a hospital. Her husband also worked. I imagine they worked so many hours in Germany to provide a good life for their kids. 

I asked how long she had been married. Sixty-four years. She was married when she was 14. She met her husband on her wedding day, an arranged marriage. She said she rode a horse to the wedding and relatives approached her on the horse, pinning gold jewelry on her. The wedding lasted for 4 days. She told me I need to go to a village wedding at some point to enjoy a different kind of wedding. 

She sneezed while I was there. I said the normal response of “Long life.” She said instead I should say, “May you have health.” She said it’s hard to live when you’re old if you have bad health. It would be better to have health than long years. I thought she made a good point. 

One day I came home exhausted and immediately had a good cry. I was grieving and processing friends leaving, changed relationships, culture, stress, etc. In the midst of the cry fest, I heard my doorbell. I ignored it at first but when it rang a second time, I decided to open the door, snot-faced and all. It was my downstairs neighbor’s teenage daughter. She was returning my plate filled with goodies from her mom. She asked how I was and since I was snot-faced, I told her I was sad about friends leaving. She told me not to be sad. I agreed because I was making new friends, like her family. The short exchange was sweet to my soul. 

A few days later, I was waiting on the sidewalk for my friend. A car drove by and it was some folks I had recently met. They were heading towards the city center and were going to offer me a ride. I was so glad they took time to say hey and show me love. Another day, I walked by a pharmacy I frequent. The owner waved at me and told me to come have tea with them. I declined since I was late to meet a friend. The hospitality here is off the charts. 

On hard days, comfort food is the best. There are very few stick-in-the-microwave meals. There are very few ready made meals. Most things must be made from scratch. I wanted some comfort food one day so I made corndogs. It was my first time making them myself. They were comfort to both my belly and heart.