Today was a long but again an enjoyable day. I have trouble winding down at night...there's so much excitement that I can't bear to miss a moment! I spent time socializing and talking to family last night...eventually heading to bed at 3am! Oops...my biological clock woke me at 8:35am...the bus was supposed to be leaving at 8:30. :) Knowing that I could be "fashionably late" and still be on time, I did my condensed morning routine and was to the bus by 8:45! I think that could have actually impressed my husband. Although groggy, I was not the last one to board the bus!
We spent time at Firat today working through initial plans for our project. Although the textile project that we have been assigned looks to be extremely difficult, I'm so excited to get to participate in it. Malatya has a number of clothing manufacturers...some common ones are Polo and Timberland. I'm intrigued and excited to see the whole end to end process...spinning of the yarns, weaving, dying, texturing, cutting, stitching, branding, packaging and distribution. I'm also hoping to get in on some great deals!!!
Tonight we went to a beautiful shopping mall and ate in the food court. This was an adventure as we clearly again saw that the common people may not konw English. Merhaba and Tesekkurler are not going to get me very far...I'm going to have to start integrating more words into my vocabulary! If I were home sick, I could always find comfort in McDonalds, Burger King, Popeyes or Sbarro. I opted for a chicken flatbread rollup that was excellent followed with baklava and gelato. :) The clothing styles are in abundance but at the mall, the prices were quite comparable to the US prices. Knowing that is too high, I will be patient as I've been told to do by Midhat from Firat...he will find us the premire location! :)
To set the record straight, I had my hopes set too high! The Firat Turks confirmed that hair dye probably wasn't going to make me Turkish! I had told them of the incident yesterday when our bus was stopped on the street and children on the sidewalk were staring at us and laughing. We laughed back and them and the chatter within the bus and outside the bus continued...clearly each talking about the other. The Firat men stated that yes, of course they were laughing, "You look funny to them"! One of my Indian team members asked if she looked funny and he said "No, but she looks funny", pointing to me! Ah wonderful, I've always felt I've been a little different...I'd like to think being unique is an asset but.....?
