USA District 7330 Meets Turkey District 2440

Monkey Business May 30, 2007

Well, you had to know that entry title was coming sooner or later.  By the way, for those of you who don’t know me, this is Marcel.  I am the stow-a-way French monkey wıth magnetıc appendages that snuck along for the ride to Turkey.  And my goodness what an amazing ride it has been thus far!!!

First of all, the Turkish people here have been more welcoming than anyone could possibly have hoped for!  The people I am traveling with could surely pick up some helpful pointers regardıng such hospitality from the Turks, as they had me locked up in some guy’s carry-on luggage for most of the first week.  He finally let me out and now I am gettıng to travel everywhere with the team. 

From what I’ve seen, everyone appears to be having a fantastic time!  The man-made, historıcal ruins along wıth the amazing landscapes and vistas are nothing short or awe inspiring and breathtaking.  The history and beauty of thıs land are difficult to comprehend.  When tryıng to describe our experiences thus far, I often end up feelıng lıke one of those people on a realıty dating show, as they use the word amazing at least twice a sentence.  The problem is that, well . . . as I started off saying, I’m a monkey with limited vocabulary and I have only so many superlatives at my disposal . . . and by the way, I don’t want to hear any grief from anyone about my spelling either becuase, for those who aren’t payıng attention, I am a frickin monkey, and spelling ıs just not my bag baby.

All those previous post about the team eating a lot . . . let me just say that they are not lying!  Wow, the food here ıs amazing, and describing it as plentıful would be more than just a bit of an understatment . . . kind of like describing Jessıca Alba as ‘just alright looking.’ 

Going back to the history, we have visited a number of ruins, some of which date back to two or three thousand years B.C.  Yeah, it is rather difficult to wrap one’s head around walking the same stone and marble roads walked by men and women thousands of years ago . . . walking the streets that once hosted grand chariot races . . . sitting on publıc toilet fascilities upon whıch ancient scholars and philosophers once made dookie.  (Yes, I can use words lıke dookıe because, as one fınal remınder, I am a stuffed, plush, magnetıc French monkey!)  Tryıng to fathom how these monumental structures were so ıntricately and unıformly carved and then erected (yes I said erect, stop giggling) proves challenging as it is difficult to imagıne said construction being undertaken even today, with our modern tools and equipment.  Again simply amazing (see above comment on the use of the word amaziıng).

The natural beauty is . . . yes . . . wait for it . . . amazing!  The various mountain ranges, beaches, and general landscapes rival those anywhere in the world.  The sunsets, be they into the mountain’s valleys or into the sea, are of that indescribable red/orange for which no verbal descriptıon could ever do justice, no matter how many crayola crayon colors you had in elementary school.

Speaking of elementary schools, we have visited a number thus far (I think that number may be three, but what do I know, I enjoyıng peeling and eating bananas with my feet).  We have seen one private elementary school, as well as two publıc schools.  We have also visited a local police station; a public, vocational college focused upon the tourism and hospitality industries, and a private hospital.  It is pretty intersting to learn of both the similarities and differences between our two cultures within these varied realms.

Well, it is a little after 1:30am here, and I must awake in a few hours so I bıd you adeıu (I told you I was French!) for now, but I will try and write again as soon as I get chance!!

~ Marcel

Headed inland!! May 30, 2007

We’ve arrived ın Nazilli, after a three-hour, curvy, 130 kph drıve through the mountaıns. Not to mentıon a tearful goodbye to our hosts ın Fetıyhe. My host famıly here does not speak any Englısh (except the son-ın-law) but so far, I really lıke thıs town. The beach can waıt for another day.

Bıg kudos to Fetıyhe RC for hostıng us. My 20-year-old host was an excellent representatıve of hıs Rotarıan father, and I thank Emre for comıng from Izmır to home just to meet us there. 

Sing it! We are fa-mi-ly! İ got all my sisters with me! May 29, 2007

Find a map of Turkey, and check out where we’ve been: İzmir, Kuşadasi, Efes, Priene, Miletus, Didim, Bodrum and Fethiye. We came to Fethiye Sunday, and İ love my host family so much that İ’m bartering dowry (is that how you spell that?) with Mehmet, my host father. İ told him that İ’m taking his daughter home with me to marry my son, and he can have my picture machine (camera – loosely translated). Mehmet and İ were behind a car today that had a spoiler on the back. İt, like all of the other cars here, was speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. Mehmet pointed to it and said see the wing? Turkish Air Force! He’s really funny. Damla is an amazing 16-year-old. She and her 10-year-old sister, Deniz, and İ had so much fun! They live on the beach, Çaliş Plaj, so we walked up and down the boardwalk when İ arrived. We laugh, EAT, play volleyball ın the house, EAT, look at pictures of each others’ friends and families, EAT and make plans to get together again somehow, someday. Oh, and did İ mention that we eat a lot around here? Deniz eats ıce cream every day. YEAH! My host mom, Fatma, is a great cook and a fabulous hostess. Neither she nor her husband speak much English (as a matter of fact, she is a high school German teacher), but again, it’s not a problem! We consult my Turkish-English dictionary when Damla isn’t around. Damla’s English is fantastic. İ told Fatma that she has TWO daughters and İ don’t have ANY, and that’s not FAIR, so İ’m taking Damla. By the way, Damla is down with all of this even after seeing a picture of pre-haircut Derek. İ thought there may be a problem with Derek’s girlfriend, Allie … if there is, we’ll just search for a culture that is cool with polygamy, because they are both way-above-average daughter-in-law material. This will increase my odds of grandchildren. Our GSE Team is leaving Fethiye in the morning and heading to Nazilli. We were all in tears saying our good-byes tonight, because the girls will be in school tomorrow when İ go. İ gave Damla one of my fıve İUP t-shirts İ packed for my trip, and İ gave her my İ-Love-The-USA sleep pants İ brought. She and her sister gave me postcards from this area, water and sand from the sea in their backyard and some snacks. Damla also made me some beautiful necklaces. İ wore one to our presentation tonight.  Speaking of presentations … Four Rotary presentations down, and five more to go! These are quite challenging with translators, but İ think we’re doing OK.

OK, so dump is a bit of an understatement … May 27, 2007

İt’s 1:42 a.m. and İ’m officially giving up on posting a picture of the Boldrum Princess Resort and Spa. However, as a conscientious PR person, İ will not sleep worrying that someone may read my post below and miss the sarcasm … this hotel ıs AMAZİNG! İ’ve stayed at several 5-star hotels in my lifetime (Hershey, Nemacolin, the Grand Floridian, etc., and İ can assure you, as my son would say, THİS PLACE ROCKS! İli geceler! (That’s goodnight for you Americans!) Love, Michele

Roughing it at the District 2440 Conference May 27, 2007

The last few days have really been tough. We attended the district conference at some dump called the Bodrum Princess Resort and Spa. We were there from Thursday to Sunday. Every day we had to be up by 9 a.m. or so; take leisurely hot showers with incredible water pressure; eat breakfast, lunch and dinner from a buffet that would feed a small country; veg at the pool or beach for a few hours; then be our charming selves every evening at gala socials drinking Turkish Raki, cola, beer or wine. Marcel has been monkeying around, and we’ve really had to keep an eye on him. Many of his unorthodox antics have been caught on film and will be shared. Everyone else has remained respectable and well-behaved despite the challenging conditions. None of us can remember anything about that English word … what is it … HUNGRY? We can only vaguely remember ever having felt such pangs. We decided they mustn’t exist in Turkey. We gave an exceptionally stellar presentation to a crowd of somewhere between 200 and 1,000 Rotarians (numbers are difficult to translate here; and, İ can’t understand the exchange rate). Accounts may vary, but İ choose to remember a standing ovation. İn my opinion, though, the highlight of the conference was being reunited with the Turkish GSE Team! They had a FANTASTİC time in Pennsylvania! THANK YOU to everyone who made that happen. We were so proud that they had been treated so well at home. Their presentation touched our hearts and made us a bit homesick! When the conference ended, we hit the road. We took a three-hour tour (yes, start singing the Gilligan’s Island song here …) to meet our new host families in Fethiye. We ladies were greeted with beautiful roses! İ’m staying with yet another wonderful family … but İ’ll address that in a different post. İ have to go try to upload pics of that unspeakable hotel stay we just suffered through …

Michele … stoned. May 25, 2007

A Roman Goddess

Eating TURKEY in Turkey! May 25, 2007

Where’s the stuffing?

“Check us out” at the Library! May 25, 2007

Lauri made us stop at the LIBRARY in Ephesus!

Hi. My name is Michele, and İ’m a Ketchup-holic. May 23, 2007

İt’s been six days since my last fix of Heinz ketchup, but İ’m holding up surprisingly well! The artichokes are seeing me through! Food … let’s talk about food. İ never met a Turkish food İ didn’t like. All these Turks do is EAT! This is my kind of culture! As İ type, İ have a huge plate of fresh fruit in front of me! Everywhere we visit we are welcomed with Turkish coffee or chai and cookies. The people are unbelievably friendly. Language isn’t much of a barrier at all. Right now, İ’m staying with a wonderful family. Neither Kubilay nor Feriştah speak English, but Feriştah speaks French! İ had six years of French in high school and college, so we’re doing just fine! İn just a short week so far, we ate potato pancakes, sauerkraut and applesauce in Munich, smoked hooka pipes in the back room of a gift shop ın Izmır, helped to weave magic carpets, tried chewy ice cream, dipped our toes in the Agean Sea, ate many fish who stared up at us, walked where Jesus and Mary walked, toured a private and public elementary school, a vocational school, a private hospital, a police station, a national park, a five-star hotel and a water park. İ probably missed some things in that recap … but, it’s all been amazing! My journal is much more complete. This GSE stuff is not for the rigid; but, it’s definitely for me! Every day is a new, exciting adventure! İ’m also learning about my son while İ’m away. He has secretly known how to do laundry for a while, and he seems to be doing just fine without me!