Ohhhhh, we're halfway there

This week has been one of accomplishments for me; I am now halfway done with my time here and I finally feel like I’m starting to get the hang of this place. Below you will find some of things I am proud to have finally figured out:
1) I finally mastered correct flushing of the toilet. The toilets here don’t tidily spiral down with one flush…they flood with water and then drain. However, if you flush incorrectly the water will continue to refill until the toilet is flushed correctly. I have been taught and told by more than one patient teacher on how to flush correctly, but after 3 weeks I was still going to Mary Jane and telling her “I can’t make the toilet stop” or would hear Sidika tell Jane when she came home from a night out and the toilet was still running to “show Heather how to do it.” But after losing battle after battle with the white porcelain beast I finally came off conquerer two days ago and discovered the secret technique that works like a charm every time. Hurrah!
2) Sidika taught me how to make Dolma this afternoon. Oh, it’s so scrumptious. And there are so many different varieties. Before coming here, dolma to me was the Greek rice wrapped in grape leaves, and they do have that here. But there is a whole world of dolma that I had no idea existed. My eyes have been opened, and now I see the rice. The make mixtures of rice and meat and onion and tomato and stuff it in miniature bell peppers, hollowed out squash (my personal favorite), and tomatoes. And they eat plain yogurt on top of the finished product. I can’t tell you how good it is. I’m going to make a Turkish feast when I get back and everyone’s invited.
3) At long last I finished learning how to count to 10 in Turkish. Oguzhan had taught me up to 8 before he left, but that was the extent of my numerical knowledge. I took Zeynep over to a neighbor friend’s house the other day to have a play date and they taught me the last two numbers. Bir, eke, ooch, dart, besh, alta, yede, sikis, dokoos, oun. HA! So glad to finally be a 1-year-old speaking level. I can say yes, no, please, thanks, thank you very much, hello, goodbye, numbers 1-10, hot, water (this was a necessity and I learned it very quickly because they drink tea here ALL THE TIME and I very quickly learned how to say that I just wanted water, thank you), come on, tomatoes, half, apple, and book(s), and I just learned how to ask “how are you?” (But I don’t know how to answer so I guess it doesn’t really matter). The way they make things plural here (like adding our s) is adding “lar.” So “book” is “kitap” and “books” is “kitaplar.” I was so proud of myself when I figured this out on my own. Anyway, my 20-word vocabulary is growing slowly, but it’s enough to get by.
4) I watched Gone With the Wind for the first time in my life. Okay, I know this has nothing to do with Turkey, but I felt rather pleased to have finally watched it. It was good…I was really into it…but the end was so incredibly unsatisfying! Agh! I wanted to pull my hair out! Actually, I wanted to pull Scarlet and Rhett’s hair out. I get so into romances (or lacks thereof)!
5) Last but not least, I think my body has adjusted to the heat here…I know what to do now when it’s hot…try not to move. If you can avoid any form of activity when it’s stifling, you won’t sweat. Or you can just hop in the water when you get hot (but I still don’t want to conform to the Turkish habit of changing my swimsuit every time it gets wet).
Well, keep on keeping on, I guess!