Today I took a bus to Ankara, the political capital of Turkey. The buses in Turkey are much nicer than those in the States - They are more like airplane rides. There is a "bus attendant" who serves you drinks and snacks throughout the ride, each seat comes with a pillow - that has a drawing of an awkward cow on it for some cheese advertisement, and the seats are very comfortable with more foot room. It was raining today, so it was a good day to travel, but during the ride, as we went through the mountains, the rain turned to snow. I don't think I've ever been less happy to see snow... Ha. Thankfully, as we descended from the mountains, the snow turned back into rain, and when we got to Ankara, the temperature was above freezing. =) When we arrived, we were the last off the bus... And my bag had been accidentally (I hoped) taken. We spent about an hour trying to communicate to the Varan Bus people in stunted language, and eventually my bag was returned to me by a very grumpy old lady. All bags accounted for, we headed for my mom's friend's house.
A woman in her 60's, she was very sweet and cute. She also had a cute young cat named Cingöz (pronounced "Ginguz", meaning clever.) He was very cute, but had incredibly sharp claws, which I did not realize until I tried to play with him. =] I quickly learned how to play while dodging his sharp paws. Turkish people take great pride in having guests, and my mom's friend said I was too skinny (ha) so she kept a constant flow of food coming my way. Literally. Fish, bread with butter, tea, salad, more bread, more tea, cherry juice (hand made), chocolate pudding for dessert, then more tea, water, and then 8 oranges all ready and peeled for me to eat single-handedly - oh, and a huge apple. The size of a melon, no exaggeration. Pre-sliced so I could not turn it down. By the end of the night, I actually wondered if my stomach would explode. At one point my diaphragm rebelled, and I started hiccuping. When I tried to go to bed, I couldn't. Laid there for 2 hours hiccuping and getting up to pee. Thankfully, it was more amusing than unpleasant. She also gave me hilarious little purple pajamas that greatly amused my mother. =)
No comments:
Post a Comment