Social Outings

                By the time M and D left, it was quite early so I crashed on the couch for a few hours before Joe and I had to head in to the police station to pick up our visas (which are only valid until the end of April so I don’t know what good that is supposed to do or why we had to pick them up in the first place) and then we came back home and did absolutely nothing.  We needed some down time, so he read in the living room and I watched TV and dozed for hours.  We only moved because we had promised to meet Eser at the pub that night, and since we bailed on him the week before, we figured it would be bad form to do it two weeks in a row.  Knowing it would be an enjoyable evening- but still moaning about moving- we made our way into town on an uncomfortably crowded bus (the buses are always crowded here) and he joined us not long after.  We laughed and talked and drank- typical things one does at a pub- and then he drove us home, fairly early-ish as both Joe and I work full days on the weekend. 

               

           By the time I got home from work on Saturday, I had to begin editing a paper that my boss had given me (an academic paper on reading skills) that his friend had wrote.  I had eagerly agreed to it, but as I started my task, I quickly realized that this was not going to be an enjoyable way to pass the time; especially as I wasn’t being compensated.  I didn’t even edit my own papers in university (much to my occasional detriment) and here I was editing a non-native speaker who was arguing that reading is the most important part of language learning- a premise I whole-heartedly disagree with, combined with severe grammar mistakes.  It took me a good four hours spread out over three days before I finished it.  When my boss asked me how it was, I had to bite my tongue, instead using the adjective, “Ok” as opposed to “abysmal”- the word I honestly had in mind.

               

One of the 14 pages I had to edit.

            The man for whom I edited was quite lovely; buying me a giant box of chocolates for my trouble- I shared it with my classes that evening much to their surprise.  On Wednesday we arranged to have lunch with Habib and Dogan upstairs (they were a little miffed that it hadn’t worked out to have had lunch with M and D were here) and then met Mustafa for coffee.  Mustafa is one of the most intense people I have ever met, and this discussion focused around conspiracy theories (The US government was responsible for 9/11; this recent Luftansa plane came down due to technical errors and they are just blaming the pilot; and I can’t remember the others) and politics as both the UK and Turkey have upcoming elections.  Both fascinating conversations, but by the time we left to go to class, it was time for something lighthearted.

                

My chocolate reward.

            The next day I awoke early to do some house cleaning (Joe had kindly rolled the carpets up for me the night before) as this house collects dust at a rate I did not know was possible.  Even dry season in Jakarta did not have this much dust, and I am at a loss as to where it is coming from.  Anyways, I managed to coerce Joe into helping me with the floors (he had planned to do them the next day) by saying then we could both relax on Friday, and then he headed to work and I went for coffee with Elif in a rare occasion of her not bailing on me.  She was late, as I knew she would be but as I am used to her tardiness it didn’t bother me.  We went to a new café and drank tea and played backgammon (I trounced her) and I realized that backgammon is the beer of non-drinkers- it allows you to spend time with someone you like but don’t have much in common with: in other words, it breaks the ice.  I headed to Buglem’s that afternoon, and as Kubra and Ali are still away (they are attending a course of some sort) it is just me, Buglem and the grandparents.  Buglem is getting better with her English, asking me questions without me prompting her, and we are working on “5 Little Monkeys” (which M and D graciously brought out for me) and “Rock-A-Bye-Baby” (she likes the actions).  The one problem is that Grandma is now bringing me food- and she brings much bigger portions that Kubra (and to be fair, she is a much better cook that Kubra) but still.  Then she sits beside me and says “Ye” (Eat), pointing to her breasts and girth (which are considerable) and essentially saying I need to have breasts that sag to my knees.  I want to say that she can fatten up her own daughter (who is a stick) but when I politely try and decline finishing, she sternly says, “Ye” again, and I hide a grimace and finish it.  In a way it is very sweet, as is the grandfather who insists upon walking me to the bus stop (even though it is light outside now) and waits with me until it arrives.  Neither of us say a word during these strolls but it is pleasant none the less.

Not quite sure what this one was, but it tasted pretty good.

The end of the week finished off typically, running errands for our upcoming holiday (we leave Monday), going to the gym, finishing my cleaning, packing and of course the weekends at Bil-Cag.  As an added bonus my first class on Sunday was cancelled (although I barely found out about it) and so here I sit on a beautiful crisp sunny Easter morning (ah yes, a very Happy Easter to all those who actually get to enjoy it) drinking my coffee and looking forward to a holiday.