{İstanbul. Asia. Diana.}

"Salty cookies"

2011-11-10T11:14:00.001+02:00

The first time I heard my husband use the words "salty cookie" I just about died from laughter. I told him there was no way a cookie could be salty.

"Salty cookie" is a direct translation from Turkish (tuzlu kurabiye). In English it sounds absolutely ridiculous to us because we don't have salty cookies. All of our cookies are sweet. I told my husband that surely they're crackers. But no, they're not really crackers either. Honestly, they really are salty cookies. That's when I decided to call up Mami on Skype.

She laughed her butt off too. "Salty cookies? Aahahahaha. Cookies can't be salty, goof!"

So I asked her, "Well, if we can't call them salty cookies, then what do we call them?"

She pondered on this for a moment and came up with the same answer that I had... crackers! I explained that they're definitely not crackers either. Then she said biscuits. Nope, not biscuits either. Finally we just gave up.

Some time later my mom came to visit. She was immediately addicted to salty cookies. Just like me though, she still wasn't quite sure that "salty cookies" was the right term for them. Again we started up the debate over what we'd call them in English. That was no use though. We just ended up back at square one, calling them salty cookies.

At a cafe by the Bosphorus one day, my mom leaned over to Mehmet Ali and said in agreement, "I think you're right. These are definitely salty cookies." And so they were!

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Ghosts of my past

2011-11-07T16:08:00.001+02:00

Well, I've decided to start publishing my true, honest-to-God, real-life Ghost stories!! My middle school students, family and friends get a kick out of them, as I hope you will! Honestly though, retelling them helps me get rid of my fear of ghosts... at least to some extent!

I published this on on Squidoo, but I'm thinking about retracting it and writing a book about my experiences. Until then, you can read it here!

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How about expanding your knowledge of Turkey a bit?

2011-11-07T13:29:00.004+02:00

I found a new link that I thought might give y'all a more in-depth idea of what the culture and people are like in Türkiye. :)

For all things on Turkish culture, click here! You may be surprised by what you learn!

By the way... Türks seem to be a little offended that in English we call them "Turkey" (a type of poultry)! But did you know that the Turkish word for "turkey" is HINDI? hahaha. I wonder what the Indians have to say about that!

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Making a case for Eid al-Adha, Islam's Festival of Sacrifice

2011-11-04T14:10:00.004+02:00

I've published yet another article from a Unitarian Universalist point of view! I think you'll find it quite interesting, after all, it's about why I, a vegetarian, think you should sacrifice animals once a year. Curious much?

You can check it out by clicking here:
"Making a case for Eid al-Adha, Islam's Festival of Sacrifice" by Diana Dussan

Enjoy! Please feel free to "Like" it, "Tweet" it or "Share" it. That would actually be quite helpful to me! :)

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A Lesson in Turkish Culture: NEVER eat before you visit a Turkish person's home

2011-10-27T15:45:00.002+03:00

Lesson #1: NEVER eat before you visit a Turkish person's home

I learned that the hard way.

My husband (boyfriend at the time) said, "Okay, we're gonna go see my family at 4pm". So I did what any other American would do, I ate a big snack before we left, knowing that it could be hours before we ate again. I stuffed my face with whatever I could find before leaving the house that afternoon. My husband asked why I was eating so much. I replied with, "I don't want to get hungry there".

BIG mistake.

If you haven't already heard, Turks are notorious for being the best hosts. They'll always offer you tea (even in the hot summer), but they'll hardly ever offer you food. Heck, most of the time they don't offer you tea either. Instead, they'll just give it to you. They do it out of the kindness of their hearts, without asking, because if they asked, you decline. And if you decline, then you can't take pleasure in enjoying their food, letting the host take care of you and having a good time.

The tea is halfway ready when you get there. Moments after arriving you're greeted by a big tray full of tea and snacks for everyone. A typical tea-time snack would be börek of some sort, cookies, and salty cookies (-Which my mother agrees there is no better translation for. Basically they are cookies that aren't sweet, but they aren't crackers either). Sometimes they get crazy elaborate on variety. They serve you up a big plate of all kinds of yummy treats, sweet and salty. I can't complain! Who would?? I LOVE eating and I LOVE Turkish food!!

So why all the food? Why all the care? They do it because they love taking care of their guests. Even if you were to decline any refreshment or food, they'd give it to you anyway. Then, when you finally eat what they gave you, they'll insist that you eat more. When you decline for the obvious reason that you're full, they say, "Oh nonsense, here, eat some more", as they serve you up another whopping amount of food. They love taking care of their guests.

Their goal is to fatten you up and make you good and happy. And what's more, they LOVE it when you eat and drink what they share with you. They love that you enjoy it and they love that you're being nourished. They even have sayings and folk stories about the best guests being the ones that eat the most. I'll tell you some of those in my next post!

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Culture is a funny thing.

2011-10-27T14:55:00.001+03:00

Culture is a funny thing. It'll make you laugh, make you scream, make you want to rip your hair out, leave you totally bewildered and it'll teach you a lot about yourself. I could go on, because honestly culture is one big sticky mess, but I'll save you the drama and get right to some helpful tips on how culture will affect your life in Turkey.

I have friends who have taught all over the world in countries like Argentina, Laos, Vietnam, American Samoa, etc. They all enjoyed their time abroad but say that far eastern countries such as China and Japan are hard to make home. They say you always feel like an outsider, that the natives don't let you in. Well, that can definitely not be said of the Turks!

Turks welcome you into their homes, into their culture and even into their familes without a second thought. Turks are some of the most hospitable people I've ever met. I suppose that's why it's relatively easy to live here for a long period of time. Most of the people I know have been here between 2.5 to 8 years, though I've got a few friends who have been here longer and a few who just came off the boat! People just don't want to leave. This is an amazing city and an amazing country with a quirky culture that will have you begging for more.

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ISLAM: Why are you so scared of it? I know why. Ignorance. - My response to anti-Islamic propaganda and common ignorance.

2010-08-16T15:34:00.002+03:00

Well, here I go again... off on yet another tangent! lol.

I've just written a lengthy in-depth article in response to the following absurd video I was emailed yesterday.

I have a high respect for Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and any other faith. I also have a low tolerance for intolerance, propaganda and slander.

This video is completely ridiculous. I'm here to set some things straight. Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. :) I'm always open to other ideas and happy to be proven wrong... after all, it's all about learning, not about being right!

This is the video. So sad. So not true. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib9rofXQl6w
You can find my response to every single one of these false accusations, plus, I'll show you how Christianity's Bible is no different, and sometimes much more violent.

Here is my article: Religion 101: Three Things About Islam

Note: This article has three parts that coincide with the three parts of the video. This is the link to Part 1. At the end of the article you can click another link to follow on to Part 2 and so on.

Lost in Translation :)

2010-08-11T11:05:00.000+03:00

How come ministers/priests needn't fully understand the Bible in its original state to preach about it?

*Rabbis must know Hebrew.

*Bodhisattvas must know Sanskrit.

*Imams must know Arabic.

*Gurus must know Sanskrit.

Translations of any kind are extremely biased -if you speak another language I'm sure you concur. For an example, the Turkish word "güzel" can translate into more than 10 words in English. But for English speakers those 10 words are very different from each other. Not to mention, there are also so many words in Turkish that we don't even have translations for in English or Spanish -and vice versa. :)The same goes for translating between any language. The translator must apply bias. If one word can have 10 meanings in another language, then they must choose. Take for example the English version of the Qur'an which uses the pronoun "He"or "Him" when talking about God. The pronoun for God in both Arabic and Turkish has no gender. It is neither male nor female.

So now imagine that if even with the tiny word "he" there is bias, how many other words have been given biased translations?

I think there should be a prerequisite for clergymen/women to know Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. How can one teach something in which they don't fully understand?

Anybody have any thoughts on this?

Religion and Politics: My two favorite subjects! ☺

2010-06-09T19:47:00.002+03:00

Why is it that in our society it’s not acceptable to talk about religion and politics? I mean, it’s not like this in all societies though it holds true in many. It’s so unfortunate, too! If we all had better communication about these subjects we’d all be better informed and maybe more understanding of each other.

It seems like every time somebody brings up religion or politics (I should know), somebody always walks away offended or hurt (obviously not me). I’m always left there wondering what the hell happened? What went wrong? And then I feel a little sad because I had so much fun talking about my ideas and hearing about somebody else’s ideas and POOF! In a flash that fun was over… :-P

When these subjects are brought up people just take them wayyyyy too personally. What happened to really debating with people -that fun back and forth exchanging of ideas?

I absolutely love learning. It’s one of the greatest pleasures of life, right after loving, eating and sleeping. I also like teaching! I’m a teacher... what do you expect? So as you can imagine, I love to learn, learn, learn and then turn around and teach, teach, teach!! ☺ Haha.

In the beginning grew up with a Methodist mother and a Catholic father. Throughout the years they dabbled in many spiritual paths and ended up with a very beautiful eclectic mix of beliefs. They were always very honest with my brother and I and never held back anything about religions or about God or anything. When we asked questions, they gave us the tools to search and find the answers on our own. I’m very grateful that they gave us freedom to decide for ourselves what the best path is. There are so many paths and not every path works for every person. However, in the end, we all end up in basically the same place with very similar beliefs. In my youth I was a gung-ho Christian, going to church twice a week and in addition to that, I had my very own bible study with a group of friends that I led. It was so much fun. I studied the ins and outs of Christianity and I was very close with God. After living as a foreign exchange student abroad for a year, I was told that because I didn’t believe that Jesus was the son of God who opened heaven for us, and rather just a prophet of God, they told me I would go to hell because I’m not really a Christian. Think of the shock on my face when I heard this... how could I, a person who loved God so much, was very spiritual and put God at the center of my life, NOT go to heaven? I was astounded. Others in my life went further to tell me that only Christians go to heaven. “But how could this be?” I thought to myself. With only 2 billion Christians in the world, that meant 67% OF PEOPLE WOULD GO TO HELL. I just can’t accept that God is so black and white. That he would discriminate in this way just doesn’t make any sense to me. God is pure LOVE and love doesn’t discriminate. That remark sent me on a whirlwind and on a long and deeply engaging quest to learn about all the religions in the world. I wanted to know what separated them and more importantly, what they had in common with each other. I’ve studied and practiced Islam, Judaism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sufism, Buddhism, Kabbalah, Unitarian, and many Christian denominations (Church of Christ, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic, etc.) I’ve been to temples, churches, mosques, synagogues, ashrams, etc. I have a deep respect for each of these religions and I enjoy teaching others what I’ve learned, especially the things that unify us. I even moved to a Muslim majority country, partially to prove a point: Islam is not a big dangerous scary religion, its beautiful. It’s just as beautiful as Christianity or Buddhism. Each has their own beauty and their own questionable verses. Islam unfortunately is very very misunderstood in the world right now. Unfortunately some radical people and loads of propaganda have led many to think this way, but hopefully in the future more people will learn about Islam on their own and gather their own opinion on it, rather than follow the judgments of others.

My hope is that in the future I can continue learning about the beliefs of others while at the same time teaching what I’ve learned. I just wish people would put down their walls and judgments and learn about each other, rather than be caught up in their own stuff and their own misconceptions and assumptions. I think they’d be surprised to find that we’re all not so different after all. Religion, of all things, should not separate us, but join us together. And just because we’ve all got different religions or spiritual beliefs doesn’t mean we can’t come together, pray together, respect each other and love each other.

I think I’ve been babbling on long enough... I’ll get to the Politics part of this later. ☺

God bless you ALL. ☺
I love you!

Flotilla Attack.... :(

2010-06-08T13:27:00.005+03:00

The Israeli-Palestinian issue is a hot topic here in Turkey lately in light of the recent attack on an international aid flotilla that was attacked by Israel last week killing 9 Turkish aid workers. These men were unarmed civilians, not military.

I've received a lot of opposition because of my stance on the subject. From the get-go I opposed Israel's boarding of that ship and subsequent massacre on innocent civilians. The ship was 70 miles away from Israeli waters -it was in international waters, giving the Israelis no legal authority to board that boat. Many people have argued with me that the Israelis were defending themselves, but had they not illegally boarded that boat, they wouldn't have had to defend themselves. Furthermore, a recent news report from CNN has stated that the Israelis shot at the flotilla from the helicopter 5 minutes before they descended and were met with resistance. Well OBVIOUSLY there would be some resistance! This information came from Hanin Zoabi, a witness and member of Israeli parliament who was on board the Mavi Marmara aid flotilla.

You can read that article on CNN here: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/06/01/gaza.raid.eyewitnesses/index.html

There's really not much else to say after hearing that... well except for the fact that 5 of the 9 men were killed by gunshot wounds to the HEAD, meaning that these obviously weren't shots of self-defense. One young kid, only 19 years old, a Turkish American, was shot 4 times in the head!! There has to be justice for this. Countries, America especially, need to wake up and stop supporting Israel. The fact that the US and Turkey are allies of Israel is beyond my comprehension. America hypocritically objects to immigrants entering our country illegally, yet support Israel, a country of European immigrants who took over a land that wasn’t theirs, a land that belonged to Palestine. Would Americans honestly support, let's say, Mexicans coming into the US by lethal force and claiming this is their country, killing our people and igniting a war that would last a 62+ years? I highly doubt that.

Unfortunately though, so much time has passed, that Israelis have built lives in their stolen land. The only option now is to split up the boundaries fairly and try for peace in the area. However, if we keep allowing Israel to do whatever the hell they want, with no respect for international law or much of anything for that matter, then that peace cannot be achieved.

I’d like to make it very clear that my stance on Israel has nothing to do with Judaism or Jewish people -it is based on my moral and political beliefs. Pro-Palestine does NOT equal to Antisemitism. In fact, there have been Jews around the world protesting against Israel and the flotilla attack, as the photo above demonstrates. :)

The BEAST MASTER!!

2010-06-07T21:21:00.001+03:00

Otherwise known as Nadya, Precious or Princess. Nadya, her birth name, is our crazy funny sweet skitzo Siamese Cat!! She's hilarious. Words will really do her no justice. In one moment she can go from the sweetest precious beast ever, to the most psycho killer, though its not a cause for concern -we actually love it! ...well, not always.

She enjoys stalking seagulls and crows from the window sill, catching moths -spitting them out- then chewing on them again, hunting anything and everything that moves and being completely surprised every time she hunts a sneaky finger teasing her. She opens the door, not just 4 inches, but 2 feed wide, as if she's a human and needs that much space to walk through the door. She doesn't like hands above her head lingering there in an "evil" manner... in such a case she will attack to kill. lol. Honestly, words aren't enough... here are some photos.. :)

Oh and she's also a model for MAE's stock photos on various stock photography sites such as istockphoto.com or shutterstock.com!! :)

The past... umm... YEAR! lol :)

2010-06-07T20:41:00.005+03:00

Wow! Has it really been a year since I've written anything? Time has flown by so fast. I'm still in Istanbul, living with my wonderful fiancée, the love of my life, a true angel!! :) We've actually got a new addition to the family (well not so new, we got her about a year a go in fact...). Her name is Nadya, a crazy but sweet Siamese cat. I'll talk about her in my next post!

Obviously I'm not in that "3rd month rut" anymore, thank God! :) Learning Turkish has a lot to do with that. One of the biggest factors in my homesickeness was not being able to speak to people. Sure, people know English here, but you never know who does.. It's weird being in a city of 22 million and feeling alone, but alas... I don't feel like that at all anymore. It's great to know the language. It's so cool too, its such a fascinating language. It's the most logical and illogical language I've encountered thus far.. but that's what makes it fun! Learning the language, MAE supporting me, taking care of me and loving me, his family supporting me, having great friends, good students and a good job have all worked to make me feel at home here, and little by little that homesickness dwindled away and one day in January I woke up and it was completely GONE! :) I don't miss the US at all anymore. On occasion I do miss the great mix of international food, and of course I miss my family sometimes, but I'm really very happy here!! :) <3

Since I last wrote I went from teaching part time to full time, which was tiring but so worth it! I love teaching and I've got a great rapport with my students. They enjoy my classes, learn well and request me as their teacher again after they've passed their level. In my classes, my students do most of the talking. I figure out ways for them to use the language as much as possible. I've got files and files of activities, role plays, games, etc. that I use to get them to use the language in real life situations. I teach completely in English, though I must admit I throw in some Turkish here and there when absolutely necessary. :) It's a really fun job, I'm very happy with it!

My dad came to visit in October for my birthday and we had an amazing time. My finacée asked him for my hand in marriage, which was quite exciting!! :) And OF COURSE he said YES YES YES!! :) It was so nice to hang out with my favorite people!! They got along great and actually, M.A.E. (my fiancée's initials) talks to my dad more than I do! Haha. They're really close now, it seems! :) It's nice that the two most important people in my lives get along so great, it's really a blessing.

I found 2 very good friends, Jeff and Işıl!! I haven't seen Işıl much lately because our schedules always cross. She's going to Germany in the fall for her Master's, unfortunately for me! She's a really beautiful girl, inside and out. We get a long really great. :-P Jeff is also leaving. He's been here for 2 years but decided it was time to move on to the next place. He just accepted a job offer in the Kurdish region of Iraq at a university there. I'll be sad to see him go. We meet about 2-3 times a week to devour baklava and drink Turkish coffee or Turkish tea. Yummmm :)He's also my art gallery buddy.

Since I last wrote I decided to go for yet ANOTHER degree.. lol. I'm studying Psychology, one of my many passions!! It's AMAZING. I can read my psych text books for hours and not even get the slightest bit bored.

I've also started doing art again. My new-found medium is OIL PASTELS!!! :) They are amazing to work with, so beautiful. I mostly use Senneliers, the ones Picasso used! haha. I'm no Picasso, but I do enjoy drawing with these! I'll post some of my work later.

My brother also came to visit, actually he just left two weeks ago. We had an amazing time. He's considering moving here for his Master's in Cinematography. We'll see how that unfolds!! He got along great with MAE, they're like best buddies now. In fact, MAE also talks to him more than I do! haha. Go figure! :-P It's great to see all the men in my family bonding!! Now if only we all lived closer... :)

Time to bid you adieu... Görüşürüz!! (See you later)

3rd Month Syndrome a.k.a. The Things I Miss... :)

2009-04-14T11:34:00.004+03:00

You'd be surprised to know that I really don't miss my country all that much. What really miss is my friends and family, some foods, and being able to do things 100% on my own. So yes.. I'm FINALLY feeling a little homesick..... I call this feeling the "3rd Month Syndrome". It seems that every time I move away, half way through the second month and through to the third month... I get really sad and start missing home (a.k.a. homesickness). It happened when I moved to Australia and Miami. Surprisingly it didn't happen when I moved to NYC, but I think that has something to do with my life being so busy and fast that I didn't have time to think about other things. Plus, I had my dog with me, and you know animals give unconditional love and support 24/7.

"THE FAM"
My family is the most important for me, and although I've been away from them on and off throughout the years, now it's different because I'm sooooo far. Now I know I won't get to see them often, because I'm on the other side of the world. Another thing that adds to this far feeling is the time difference. I can't talk to my family when I wake up and during the first several hours of the day. In fact, if I call them at noon, its the crack of dawn there! :-P I am happy that my mother is coming to visit me in July. I hope that my father will come in September or October. And I'm really hoping my parents chip in for my brother's ticket and that he'll be able to come in July. :)

"FRIENDS"
I move around a lot, and I've made some very good friends in Texas, Brisbane (Australia), Miami, and NYC. It's always difficult leaving them behind and going off to some other place to continue my adventures, but it's always worth it. Soon I'll have friends all around the world. :) Haha. But.. it gets to be sad during months 2-3 away from home. I miss them, I miss my close girlfriends, people I can really talk to about things. I miss going over to their houses or out for coffee and gabbin' about whatever. Of course I have friends here, but its just not the same. At least, not yet..... but I know with time, things will get back to "normal" and I'll get that good-home friend feeling again. It takes time. Sure, you can make friends fast, but it takes time to acquire close friends.

"FOODS"
Normally I don't miss foods all that much. It just happens when I'm trying to cook. Things like cilantro, limes, coconut milk, lemongrass, thai basil, mango, vanilla extract, cream of tartar, sour cream, etc. are a little difficult to find. I finally found coconut milk at Carrefour (a French supermarket, similar to a Walmart supercenter). I also found limes, but they are 19 YTL per kilo, which is RIDICULOUS. (that's $12 dollars for every 2.2 pounds). I don't even worry about it... at least they have lemons, and although the flavor isn't exactly the same, at least it's close enough. Hey, I can't complain about that really. I did find basil, ONCE.. lol. So I'm sure I'll find it again some day. :) I didn't find Thai Basil though... but hey.. I guess I can't be picky. :) Mango... forget about it, even when they do have mangoes (which I haven't seen, just heard about it) I don't think I'd buy them because apparently when there are mangoes.. the price is crazy high. :) But, I'm not all that concerned with mangoes. It only concerned me because I wanted to make Thai Mango Chicken.. :) Vanilla, however, is a little aggravating. There is no vanilla extract or that imitation vanilla.... there is, thank GOD... vanilla sugar.. which is vanilla flavored sugar, which they use to substitute real vanilla. I'm thinking maybe at the Grand Bazaar I can find dried vanilla beans... I'll keep my fingers crossed and keep you posted! :) Cream of tartar is only necessary in baking.. I really don't need it.. usually recipes call for cream of tartar AND baking soda, because it gives off a chemical reaction when combined. But, lucky for me, lemon and baking soda has the same effect... it bubbles up really cool!!! :) Sour cream isn't really that important, unless of course, you're making a cheesecake that calls for it.. in which case, you're royally screwed! lol. I attempted to substitute yogurt & butter (butter was supposed to make up for the fat that yogurt doesn't have, but that sour cream has). Anyways, it wasn't all that great. I think that next time I'll just leave out the sour cream layer of my cheesecake... and double the cream cheese layer. :) Other than these few things... I don't really miss other foods. OH WAIT!!! Mrs. Butterworth's SYRUP!!!! OMG. They don't have maple syrup here. Yet they still eat crepes and french toast.. so what do they put on them? JAM! :) lol. And actually, Turkish jams are amazinggggg, omg. They are soooo delicious. But, I would still like my mom to bring a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth's when she comes to visit me! :)

"ON MY OWN"
Last, but not least, doing things on my own. Without knowing the language fully, I can't do much of anything by myself. This requires me to depend a lot on my boyfriend. He's amazing and I love spending time with him, I absolutely LOVE it. :) But I also need to venture out on my own. Especially on days when he's sick or not feeling well or working.. But I'd really like to go to the pharmacy for him and ask for medicine, but I don't know enough Turkish to understand everything that they say... lol I want to be able to go out and buy stuff on my own, ya know? Actually, I've been to the grocery store a few times by myself.. always hoping that nobody says anything too confusing to me at the register. Haha. I seem to always have a good time when I go... as the girls that work there love talking to me and one of them loves practicing her English. :) But its hard.. not to just be able to go and do everything on my own. I can sorta do things on my own but its so complicated without knowing the language 100%. I'd like to be able to go to the pet store and the MAC store while my boyfriend is at work... but how do I even get there? It's too complicated. It's much easier just to go with him.. which I love, what about when he can't go, or when he's sick? either way... I'm still not being independent. I'm trying to learn the language as fast as I can so I can be more independent, but this language is so complex, its going to take some more time. Hmmmm.... Anyways.. with time.. I'll learn the language and independence will follow. :)

"BUT I LOVE IT HERE"
haha. Yes, though its been tough these past couple of weeks due to my "3rd Month Syndrome", as I like to call it, I really do love Turkey and Istanbul A LOT. :) I love it here. The food is SO GOOD, its beautiful, the language is awesome, and this place is so cool. I'm having a wonderful time, and I've met some wonderful people. But most importantly, I have a WONDERFUL boyfriend who I love very veryyyy much! :) I'm sooo SOOOO GRATEFUL for him, he's truly and Angel. :)

I've just gotta take a couple of deep breaths and get through this month.. and I know I'll be fine at the other end! :)

Now I better get back to studying Turkish!! <3 :)

Love you all!!!!
<3 Diana

Kabak Tatlısı

2009-04-10T10:47:00.004+03:00

So I've decided to delve into Turkish cooking... :) It's been fun, but a little intimidating because this culture is so traditional, and so is it's food. (Wouldn't wanna massacre their traditional cooking by doing what most Americans do... "Americanizing" (Improvising) things. :) Hehe. I'm trying to put my creativity at bay an just focus on following the recipes, which for those of you who know me, is quite difficult for me to do, as I never follow recipes and kinda just cook depending on my emotions and feelings. :)

Anyway, I've made a few Turkish classics, here and there. I made Un Helvası twice now. And the other day I decided to experiment with Kabak Tatlısı, both of which are very simple to make. And they are some of my boyfriend's favorite desserts, so I lucked out! :)

I googled several recipes and kinda combined techniques from all of them... so here goes.. <3 :)

KABAK TATLISI:

Ingredients:

2 lbs. (or however much you plan on eating) of BUTTERNUT SQUASH
1-2 cups white granulated (castor) sugar

1. Remove peal from the squash.
2. Cut butternut squash in pieces 3/4 inch -1 inch X 2 inches.
3. In a large pot, arrange the squash on the bottom of the pot. When one layer is put down, pour sugar over the top until the surface of each piece is covered in thick sugar.
4. Keep adding layers of squash on top of this. With each layer, repeat covering the surface with sugar.
5. Cover. Let stand for 4 hours. (The squash will have release lots of liquid, maybe 1-2 cups of liquid.)
6. Drain liquid.
7. Cook on stove over Medium to Med-High heat for at least 30 minuntes, until squash is a darker orange color.
8. Remove from heat. Cool.
9. Place in dish and put in the refrigerator. (should be served cold)
10. When ready to serve, sprinkle with crushed walnuts.

Regarding Tampons...

2009-04-09T14:53:00.003+03:00

I went to the store the other day looking for tampons and I was surprised to find out that there weren't any!! Okay.. there was one box of "O.B." tampons... you know, the kind with no applicator that results in sticky fingers. Anyways, as I was standing there in the aisle, a woman in her mid-twenties walked up and grabbed a box of pads. I turned over to Mehmet Ali and said, "Okay, how is this possible that that woman bought pads? It's like wearing a diaper...grossssss!" lol. And he proceeded to tell me that virginity is very important in Turkey and women are conscious about breaking their hymen. Quite interesting and so different from the Colombian and American cultures I come from. However, now it's completely understandable why they don't sell them... nobody would by them. lol. Thank god for you, little O.B. box. :) Thanks for being there for us foreign women. :)

Türkçe! (Turkish!)

2009-04-01T23:00:00.004+03:00

Click here... you may be surprised to find out that you know these Turkish words!! <3 :) Have fun!

www.tureng.com is a good Turkish-English dictionary, in case you wanna check your answers! :)

Bağdat Caddesi

2009-04-01T15:19:00.007+03:00

Bağdat Caddesi (Bağdat Avenue) is an up-scale shopping strip on the Anatolian(Asian) side of Istanbul in the neighborhood of Kadıköy. It's only a few minutes from where we live, so we go there lots. It's a very nice street with all the shops you could hope for. It's a long street (a few miles long) and it's lined with trees(plane trees and palm trees, which are surrounded by gorgeous tulips!) and these cute little lights. The street full of retail shops, department stores, luxury stores, electronic shops, cafes, restaurants, bookstores.. I think I should probably name a few shops that my friends and family back in the US may recognize.... Bağdat Cad. has got a huge 4-story Zara (trendy Spanish brand), an enormous Burberry, Rolex, Dior, MNG (Mango), Starbuks (I think there are 5!! ..just like the USA haha), Gloria Jean's Coffee, Caffe Nero (Italian coffee shop), Claire's (accessories shop from the US. I'm only mentioning this one because I think its funny they have all these US stores here. hehe), Swatch, Tommy Hilfiger, Polo, Nike, Adidas, Nine West, MAC (cosmetics).. and I just ate so much food that I can't think anymore... nevermind. lol. I think you get my point though! :)

It's always super crowded, even on cold, windy days. It kinda reminds me of Lincoln Rd. in South Beach(Miami). You see all kinds of people here, even gypsies who sell the most wonderful smelling flowers. There are lots of really beautiful women who look like models (Turkish women are known for their beauty.. but wow, they weren't kidding!! :-P Um... You also see lots of fancy cars here like Land Rovers (lots of these..), BMWs (just saw and M3 yesterday), Audis, Mercedes.. etc. etc. etc. Personally I like the the new Alfa Romeros. Actually, all of the Alfa Romeos are cool. I wish we had those cars in the US.. they are so awesome-looking. The designs are really unique and super cool! :) They're Italian cars. I suggest "googling" them! :)

Anyway, my boyfriend (Mehmet Ali) and I, go to Bağdat Cad. all the time! We went today, yesterday, the day before. haha. Mado is a place with really yummy place, where we go for coffee and desserts a lot. (http://www.mado.com.tr/default.aspx) <- You can click around and see their website.. I'm not sure how many of you know Turkish.. haha. But you can click around and maybe you'll learn some..? If anything, just look at the pictures.

OMG, speaking of Mado, I'm definitely gonna have to write a blog about Turkish food very soon! :)

Anyways.. thats it for now.. :) <3

Love, Diana

Istanbul: March '09 Update: More in-depth...

2009-03-20T15:38:00.001+02:00

Hi All!! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuXDnlfV2bs

My boyfriend showed me this awesome stop motion video of Istanbul and I'd like to share it with you. Stop motion is when a hundreds or thousands of photos are taken in a sequence and then put together to create something that resembles a video. This video is made up of over 150,000 photos, and it took over 5 years to compile these and make this 5 minute video. Istanbul, as you will see, is a beautiful, alluring city. A city that I now call HOME. :) hehe. :)

Everything is going well here, I'm really enjoying Istanbul a lot. :) This city is beautiful, super modern (the malls are nicer and more creatively designed than most malls in the US), they have all the shops, brands, that the US has, and more. :)

The language has been challenging for me but I understand a lot now. The language is a mix of Ottoman, Arabic, Chinese, French, etc... I even find a lot of similarities to Spanish (which has helped me out a lot with remembering vocabulary). I love the language, it's really cool.

I'm teaching English at an English language school. Most of my students are college students, but I also have a lot of business professionals. It was a little stressful in the beginning but now that my grammar is 100% solid, its really easy and süper fun! :) I go to work by bus, or I drive (yes, I drive in this madness LOL), or my boyfriend drives me. :) I really like my job a lot. My students are really wonderful and I have a lot of fun with them. The teachers I work with are super nice and we have a lot of fun chatting and making jokes between classes. I've been in Istanbul for 2 months now and it's been amazing. :)

The food is great, and OMG the desserts are amazing, the weather is a little cold but usually very nice(keep in mind its still winter here so its like 40-50 degrees lately it seems..), the streets are super nice and super clean, the buildings are interesting and the mosques are super cool looking. The women here are gorgeous, really beautiful! :) 5 times a day you can here the Ezan (call to prayer), which I think sounds very beautiful and peaceful. It reminds me of Indian and Tibetan chanting (Hare Krishna or Om mani padme hum).

Hmmm.. what else? Oh yes, Istanbul is a HUGE city with over 20 million people. The city is divided into neighborhoods. I live in a pretty residential area on the Asian side. It's a very nice area. :) The Asian (Anatolian) is newer. It's cleaner and nicer, the buildings are younger. The European side has super cool areas and some really beautiful architecture. Sultanahmet (The Blue Mosque), Hagia Sofia, and the big Bazaars are on the European side, I can see them from the dock in Kadıköy. I work in Kadıköy,(also on the Asian side) which is about 15 mintues from our house (depending on traffic). Kadıköy is bordered by the Marmara Sea (and a little of the Bosphorus). You can take a ferry from there to the European side. Public transportation here consists of Electric Trams (like those in San Francisco), subways (metro), minibuses, buses, taxis, and shared taxi vans.

The Turkish people are very polite and very welcoming. When you go to a restaurant the workers say "Hoşgeldiniz" (Welcome) and its polite to reply "Hoşbulduk" which basically means that you are honored to be welcomed.. or something like that. "Kolay gelsin" may be said to the painter who is painting your apartment building, a waiter in a restaurant, or any other individual who is working.. basically it means "may it be easy"... they say this to workers to wish that their work may be easy for them. :) It's very polite, I like it. :) hehe. This isn't something rare either, I hear it all day long.. politeness is part of the culture here. People try to be polite and respectful to each other, I've noticed.

When you go to somebody's house you always take your shoes off at the door (even in my own house we take our shoes off) and shake everybody's hand and say "Merhaba" (hello) and "Nasılsın? (How are you?). The reply for that is "Iyiyim, teşekkürler! Sen nasılsın?" (I'm good, thanks! How are you?) If you are very close friends with the people you are greeting, they may kiss you on each cheek, shake your hand, and hug you, all at the same time.

Okay, that's enough for now.. it's time to go make dinner! :) I just wanted to give you guys a quick update on everything! :)

Istanbul: Jan '09: My first impression...

2009-01-20T23:53:00.001+02:00

So... after so much waiting and a 15 1/2 hour trip.. here I am, living in Istanbul, Turkey!! <3 :) I don't think words can describe how beautiful this place is and how happy I am!!

For those of you who thought this was a scary 3rd world city.. wow.. you've been COMPLETELY misled and should probably book your next vacation to this amazing city so you can replace that ignorance with some new thoughts on this wonderful place. This city is absolutely GORGEOUS. The streets are so nice, so clean, and so modern. Sometimes it reminds me of NYC, but like 100 times cleaner, prettier and more relaxed. They've got all the same brands.. Starbucks, Rolex, Zara, Mango, Swatch, yada yada yada... the list goes on and on and on! Everything is so nice!! The people are beautiful, the food is INCREDIBLE beyond all belief. Everything is just amazing. :)

Well.. I'm gonna go back to relaxin' with my Love. <3 Please feel free to post comments to this note if you have any questions. I haven't taken any pics yet because I've been busy living. :) hehehe I'll play the role of the tourist later... :)

I love you all!!! <3 :)

<3 Diana

Some fun facts about Türkiye... :)

2009-01-02T10:42:00.002+02:00

• Turkey is the 17th largest economy in the world according to World Bank. (2007) Norway is the 44th and Poland is the 23rd.
• Turkey and her western soul were on the cover of Newsweek International magazine Feb. 18th, 2008 issue.
• 25% of the population is 14 years old or younger. This rate is 13% for Germany. 65% of the population in Turkey is below 34.
• There are 37 million credit card users in Turkey and this is larger than the population of most European countries.
• There are 22 million broadband internet users in Turkey which ranks 10th in the world. (2007)
• Turkey is the 8th largest ship building country in the world.
• Turkish Airlines is the fastest growing airline company of Europe with 62 million passengers between 2003 and 2007. Turkish airlines have direct flights from Oslo to Istanbul year round.
• The proportion of Turkish women academic staff is higher than any EU 25 country.
• Turkey is the 8th most visited country in the world with 23.3 million tourists as of 2007.
• Turkey is the 13th most foreign direct investment inflow country of the world. 5th among emerging markets.
• Microsoft’s second largest base is in Istanbul administering 79 countries. The largest base is in Seattle, USA where Microsoft headquarters are.
• Turkcell is the 4th largest GSM operator in Europe.
• There are 6 car manufacturing plants in Turkey (Fiat, Renault, Honda, Ford, Hyundai, and Toyota) and 2 bus producers (Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi).
• Europe’s largest shopping mall is in Istanbul. Istanbul alone has 42 operating shopping malls and around that number is under construction.
• Cevahir Shopping Centre has a total gross area of 620,000 square metres on six floors and the cost to build was US$250 million.
• Istanbul Sea Buses and Ferries Corporation which belongs to the Municipality of Istanbul is now the company who carries most seaborne passengers in the world (around 90 million passengers per year and 5 million vehicles). The company was established in 1987 and merged with Istanbul City Lines in 2005 (established 1854). (2008)

Compliments of:
http://www.innovasjonnorge.no/Internasjonale-markeder/Kontorer-i-utlandet/Tyrkia/In-English/Facts-about-Turkey/

***
Perhaps that wasn't enough and you want some more...?

• The famous Trojan Wars took place in Western Turkey, around the site where the Trojan horse rests today.
• The first church built by man (St. Peter’s Church) is in Antioch (Antakya), Turkey.
• The oldest known human settlement is in Catalhoyuk, Turkey (7th Millenium B.C.)
• Ephesus and Halicarnasus (the place for the two of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world) are in Turkey.
• St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was born in Patara and became the bishop of Demre, on Turkey’s Mediterranean Coast.
• Noah’s Ark landed on Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi) in Eastern Turkey.
• The last meal on Noah’s Ark, a pudding of sweet and sour taste (asure), is still served throughout Turkey.
• Turks introduced coffee to Europe.
• Turks gave the Dutch their famous tulips.
• Istanbul is the only city in the world built on two continents.
• Tradition in Turkey says that a stranger at one’s doorstep is considered "God’s guest" for at least three days.
• Turkey is noted for having one of the three most famous and distinctive traditional cuisines in the world.
• The First Ecumenical Council was held in Iznik, Turkey.
• Writing was first used by people in ancient Anatolia. The first clay tablets in the ruins of Assyrian Karum (Merchant Colony) date back to 1950 B.C.
• The oldest tin mine was found in Göltepe, 60 miles south of Tarsus.
• The first Neolithic paintings found on man-made walls are in Catalhöyük, Turkey.
• Anatolia is the birthplace of historic legends, such as Homer (the poet), King Midas, Herodotus (the father of history), and St. Paul the Apostle.
• Julius Caesar proclaimed his celebrated words, "Veni, Vidi, Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered)" in Turkey when he defeated the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.
• Female goddesses like Cybele dominated the Central Anatolian pantheon for thousands of years before these supernatural powers were transformed to male gods.
• The Hittites sold Abraham the cave where he buried his wife Sarah, when the Israelites came to Palestine.
• The first church dedicated to Virgin Mary is in Ephesus.
• Cherries were first introduced to Europe from Giresun (Northern Turkey)
• Turkey has hundreds beaches and marinas which have the "Blue Flag" (A European award for the best clean water) on the Mediterranean and Aegean.
• The first recorded international treaty in the world was the Treaty of Kadesh between the Hittite and Egyptian Empires, Hattusilis III and Ramses II, in c.1275 BC.
• The oldest known shipwreck on Earth was found and excavated in Uluburun near Kas, in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.
In 640 BC, for the first time in history, coins made of electrum were used by the Lydian king Croesus in Sardis, in Aegean region of Turkey.
• King Midas lived in Gordion, capital of Phrigia.
• Alexander the Great cut the Gordian knot near Ankara. The double knotting technique used in Turkish rugs is also called as Gordian Knot.
• The Garden of Eden in the Book of Genesis was said to be watered by a river which separated into four streams as it left the garden; two of them the Tigris (Dicle) and Euphrates (Firat) rise from the mountains of Eastern Turkey.
• Early Christians escaping from Roman persecutions found shelter in Cappadocia.
• The Seven Churches of Apocalypse are all situated in the Aegean region of Anatolia; Ephesus, Smyrna (Izmir), Pergamum, Thyatira (Nazilli), Sardis, Philadelphia (Alasehir) and Laodicea.
• Sultan Beyazit II dispatched the Ottoman Navy to bring the Jewish people who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and they were brought safely to the Ottoman lands.
• Istanbul has the historical building of Sirkeci Train Station. This was the last stop of the Simplon-Orient Express - "kings of trains and train of kings" - between Paris and Constantinople (Istanbul) from 1883 to 1977. Agatha Christie was one of the passengers of this famous train.
• The number of species of flowers in Turkey is approximately 9,000, of which 3,000 are endemic. In Europe for instance there are 11,500 species. This shows the richness of flora and fauna in Anatolia.