Double Serving of Turkey

A week with Turkey, the country, and turkey, the bird, is a very good week indeed, at least in my book. My vacation wound down with 5 days in the nation of Turkey, primarily in the Cappadocia region near Goreme. I first visited Turkey three years ago, but coming now from Macedonia I was struck by similarities between the two nations, both formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. Many words and food dishes are the same in both countries, so I must confess that Turkey felt decidedly unexotic compared with the other places I visited on vacation. Nevertheless, I enjoyed hiking around Cappadocia's unusual rock formations that were used for centuries for everything from churches to pigeon coops to residences. At the end of the trip, I had a few hours in Istanbul for souvenir shopping at the Grand Bazaar and my semi-annual Starbucks chai latte.


The edible turkey made an appearance on Thursday at the Peace Corps Thanksgiving celebration / swearing-in. After successfully completing their training, the newest 37 volunteers were sworn in by the U.S. Ambassador with their proud host families looking on. Shortly after the ceremony, I started staking out the pumpkin pie until given the all clear to dive in and claim it, as well as the turkey that is flown in especially for Thanksgiving.


One volunteer even had a can of cranberry sauce, which we passed around the table so everyone could have a spoonful. I'm thankful to have made it through my first year in the Peace Corps and thankful that there is a year left to accomplish more and for additional exploration of Macedonia.

Now official, the freshly minted volunteers departed Friday for their new homes and Bitola welcomed two new ladies, Helene and Lauren. Helene is my new upstairs neighbor and will work at an NGO called LifeStart. Lauren will teach at a primary school and lives 15 minutes from us. My sitemate Phil extended for a third year and Ashley from my group lives just outside the city, so there is no shortage of Americans in the greater Bitola area.

Tomorrow I officially begin my usual hodge-podge of projects again, not to mention I'll resume my workouts to counteract the holiday treats I recently consumed. If you check out my photos on Picasa, I would be thankful if you would imagine me 10 pounds lighter.