american pleasures

Tomris, Mina, and Teoman out with Emily

My American neighbor had offered several times to take my kids during these first few weeks to give us a break.  They love playing together, and when Emily was over earlier this week - she had promised to come back another day and take just them.  Teoman was pretty impressed with the idea of going on an outing with Mina and no Mama.  He told me I could stay home, but I should come and pick him up later.  We had made chocolate chip cookies the night before in preparation for this outing.  I have a supply of chocolate chips in our cupboard from America, and occasionally we will make the cookies together -  the kids help mix the ingredients and then I roll up the dough into little balls on the oven tray as fast as I can while they try to eat the dough and the chocolate chips even faster.  This morning, Teoman had already found the cookie jar before breakfast and was eating one.  He was quite innocent actually - he saw nothing wrong with a cookie for breakfast.  When I told him he couldn't have cookies for breakfast he explained that he was going to eat them with Mina.
"Okay," I said, "but why are you eating it now?  You need to eat breakfast first."  Teoman was close to a meltdown at this, but then changed his mind, or got distracted - and seemed to forget about it.  However, when I came back a few minutes later, he had chocolate around his mouth.
"Teoman, did you finish that cookie?"
"No, we're going to eat it later, it's here," he said showing me the cookie in his hand.
"What about the other half-eaten one I put in the cookie jar - where is it?"
"Oh.  I ate it."
"I told you no more cookies until after breakfast."
"Oh. Sorry."

He is either very innocent or the master of manipulation - I'm not sure which one, but he won me over with his casual acknowledgement of his mistake.

The kids left, Tolga headed out with his dad and brother, and another American friend stopped by to visit me and the baby.  Kristin is 45, has two teenage kids, and has been living here for four years with her American husband.  We worked together one year at my school - it was a terrible year for her inspire of her training and experience as an elementary school teacher.  She couldn't adjust to the Turkish system and the lack of discipline or consistency in the school.  She now works part time on the American army base for the chaplain - which means she has commissary access.  The commissary is the military's grocery store that is not only stocked with American products - the products are discounted from the regular American prices.  Turkish tradition is to bring gold for the new baby.  Emily had brought an outfit for Tuana, Kristin brought food from the base:

The kids examining the contents of "Christmas's" gift

bacon
syrup
frozen blueberries
nachos
cheddar cheese
parmesan cheese
a Hershey's candy bar, a Reesus Peanut Butter cup, and M&Ms
and two small containers of bubble bath.


Teoman and Tomris call her "Christmas" instead of Kristen - and its kind of fitting.