The first two weeks in Istanbul were solely dedicated to completing the reams of paperwork necessary to get married in Turkey - at least three business days required for you to physically go to widely geographically dispersed areas of the city. On Sunday afternoon August 10, I arrived in Istanbul. On Monday August 11, the adventure of Turkey's own form of Marriage Preparation began. The first step to get the process going was picking up the Affidavit of Marriageability from the American Consulate in Instanbul. The document basically stated that I had never been married before, nor was I widowed or divorced within the last 300 days - my guess about the 300 days is paternity of any potential conceptions. The American Consulate is located in Bebek, Istanbul, which is about 1 hours drive without traffic ... read more

Grandma set sail for her final cruise on Friday, February 8, 2008. She died peacefully while still in her bed with her rosary beads nearby. Grandma prayed every night before going to sleep for her entire family and loved ones. Luckily, she didn't suffer any ailments or sickness. For a woman of 88 years, she was in good health, maintaining her independence til her last day. Kay Zonenberg was born with the last name Gallovich in Vandergrift, PA on July 15, 1919. Grandma would sometimes say she couldn't believe all the technological changes which she witnessed throughout her life. Her mother, my greatgrandmother was a midwife, responsible for delivering most of the babies in Vandergrift. Kay would sometimes go with her mom to help out with the deliveries. Grandma told us the story many times about ... read more

Tuesday afternoon Cenker's mom and I ventured to Tuzla coast, a good 35-40 minute walk, those with longer legs could probably do it in 20 minutes. Attempting to use the little Turkish, I have garnished since the beginning of my visit, we talked about the cars going fast and slow, hızlı and yavaş. Baby talk in a foreign language is so humbling. Listening to conversations, I often hear what sounds like "Jackson," making me think of Michael - it was a "thriller" to find out this week that the "-ecek" ending is the future tense, when added to the base of verb is often "-caksın-". The "c" in Turkish is pronounced like the "j" in joke. Oh the little wonders when learning a foreign language. Luckily for me, in Turkish, I can often communicate without using ... read more

On Thursday, I accompanied Cenker on his ride to work in his company car. Leaving his home around 6:30am we made it to his office by 7:15am - we flew over the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Brigde, aka the Second Bosphorous Bridge, in Turkish Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü. Cenker used his lunch card, loaded each month with a stipend for his mid-day meal, at the Starbucks in the Sun Plaza lobby. My mochino-latte-ya was 6 YTL - rent we paid to let me sit, sleep, and study Turkish in the restaurant for three hours, while hanging out, waiting for Cenker's cousin to arrive for my tour of the Bosphorous. Dilek arrived around 10:30. We headed to her dormitory to drop off her bag and for a brief tour of the campus. A new library was constructed with ... read more

What better way to celebrate New Year's Eve than with a delicious meal at home?! To prepare for our New Year's feast Cenker's parents and I went to Pendik - a bustling seaside area with shops and restaurants. A thick throng of people gathered around a guy doing or selling something not legal, could've been a card game, because when some official looking men in uniforms carrying clipboards circled around the area on foot, the crowd quickly dispersed. Only to spring up again in about 15 minutes on the other side of the pedestrian area! The first stop was the money exchange, where Cenker's parents got some New Turkish Lyras for Cenker's dollars. Our next stop was a little shop down a quiet side street. An older guy was sitting in the storefront of the sewing ... read more