Quick Showers and Fresh Bread

Hmmm... yesterday was eventful! And by eventful I mean... I left the house :)

It was an easy day really...they decided to stay home and be lazy AND even better, sleep later! Saturday night I stayed up a liiiiiittle too late talking to Chase so while I was praying I kindly asked God that, though it was worth it, could you still make the kids sleep just a little later? Lo and behold, E didn't get me up until after 9:00. It really was a miracle! So we got up and watched some TV and D got up and said he'd order some bread and whatnot and we'd have breakfast.

The breakfast was delicious! So much bread and cheese! And Korcut was over and is always kind enough to show me what everything is. And when is food is set down, he always makes sure I get it first. I really appreciate that. So then after we ate everyone just kind of layed around. I felt comfortable enough this time to disappear occasionally so I finished reading Phantom of the Opera while E played with his cars then I practiced the online Turkish while Df practiced piano. By the way, my new favorite word is Selamlasma which means "Greetings!". Too bad I can't use it more, huh? Anyway, I also got some sticky tac from upstairs and hung things up in my room! I'm so excited, it finally feels like MY room! I put up pictures Debrah had given me, I hung up my picture that Chase made me, and then some other ones I had with my by accident! My parents, my nephew, etc. and I hung up some of the paintings the kids had done for me. When A found out they did that for me she said, "Ah they really like you!" I just smiled...I didn't tell her that I had kind of made them do it. Nonetheless, when Df came in she was very pleased they were hanging and pointed out the places we still need more. I still have a LOT of wall left, so feel free to send doodles :) When I get my camera cord from dad, I'll post some pictures on facebook.

Anyway, after lunch E came and told me they were going for a walk before they went to the futbol game (he's been excited for days...they were going to see F'Bahce, Istanbul's home team and their favorite.) I assumed I wasn't part of that so I got them ready until as they were leaving A called up to me to inform me I needed to get dressed too because I was going to both the walk and the game! So we drove over to Bebek and walked around and A showed me where I could take a boat to get to where we are and come to the park, showed me the Starbucks, etc. I still have no idea how to go about doing it, but the possibility itself is exciting. We grabbed some drinks (it was A, Eren, D, Df, E, the dog, and Korkut) and Korkut walked with me the whole time...telling me about how he had met Sira. He's told me the story twice already but I still love hearing the ending..."and we have 55 years of a very happy life together" and I also think it's good for him to talk about it. He misses her so much. So we're walking and I hang back to take a picture and Korkut stops. Eren looks back and laughs while Korkut talks.
"What's funny?" I asked.
"He's saying 'someone will take her'" Eren said. "He's very protective of you. It's funny."
"It's sweet. I appreciate it." SOMEONE should be...jerk.

So I walked some more while he told me about his allergies to coffee and where Sira grew up down the street and how he played in this park when he was a baby, etc. Then Eren says, "If you take the boat, you will need to learn some emergency words."
"That would be great, can you tell me some?"
"Well like, 'How do I get to...', 'where is...'"
"Obviously, I need to know how to say them in TURKISH."
"Oh, well...I'm just saying you will need to know more than just 'good morning'"
Useless.

Then we split up and I went with D and the kids to the futbol came. It was apparently a very big deal. The two teams were playing for the number 2 ranking...it's like the...Well, for our family it's like the FSU UF game but I don't know enough about football to compare it to anything else. So it takes us forever to get there and we finally pull into the parking garage (they have a spot there under the stadium to avoid traffic) and then go up some stairs, in a door, and BAM we're in this fancy room with a tv, couch, bar, etc and a sliding door out to the padded, heated chairs in the dead center of the field. It was ridiculous. So the kids went outside with D and I watched it from inside with the waitress lady. It was lots of fun I'm glad it's soccer they're into because it's the only sport I'm interested in/understand. Unfortunately, it wasn't a very good game- the refs didn't call HALF the fouls and no one ever scored. I don't know why we didn't go into overtime.

We left immediately and were in the car in a couple minutes. It was 9:10. I asked D what they would do for dinner as I was sure they were starving.
"Well E had some french fries and they ate pasta didn't they?"
"Yes, they ate pasta..for lunch. That was about six hours ago."
"Oh..."
Nice man, clearly is only the head of the family in the sense that A is the neck that turns it.
So once we get home, we don't eat until about 10 then everyone is in bed by close to 11. I tried to go to bed as early as possible because I was so tired but it's too hard to pass up talking to friends and family when it's my only chance.

Today was...not so great. E woke me up but only to ask if I had lost my ponytail which I thought was funny so I got up and went out with them while Sirin was taking their breakfast orders. They wanted Mosaic cake (It's like this chocolatey thing) and I said that was fine if she wanted this to be the once a week she had it. But Sirin only bought up two slices of it and they have to have it with fruit, I tried to ask for apples but Df freaked out, and since she's the only one who could translate for me and wouldn't...I was out of luck...losing yet another battle to someone under 5 feet.

Df has been so moody...like pre-teen girl moody...which is the worst if you didn't know. While E drives me nuts, I can excuse more because he's so young, but Df is almost 10 years old and there is no excuse for her actions sometimes. It made me feel better the other day though when A got on to her then turned to me and said, "I don't know what has gotten into her these past two days. She's so rude and indifferent and acts like she's royalty people should serve."
"I'm glad you said something, I've noticed it too."
So today..she wouldn't get ready for tennis. She was watching TV so I picked up the remote and said, "Df, I'm going to turn this off now, ok?" Nothing. Stares ahead.
I repeat myself twice. Nothing. So I just turn it off. She yells, "No! You can't do that! You have to ask me first!"
"I did! You didn't answer. You never do." So I sat down and looked her in the eyes. "If you would start listening and responding like someone your age, we wouldn't have these problems. Do you understand?"
"Yes." and she stomped off.

Later, after tennis, she was watching TV and I noticed someone has moved my charger. A was talking to E on my cell phone and it died so she called the house asking me what had happened.
"The phone died"
"What do you mean it died?"
..."Like it stopped working, it's charging now."
"Why did you let that happen?"
"Well the battery that is supposed to indicate the charge doesn't display anything except an empty picture no matter how charged it is. I didn't know."
"You need to charge it every night."
"Ok will do, it's charging now."
Then she told me to be ready by 12:45 with the kids to leave for lunch. Ok.
So anyway...I notice the charger is gone. I ask Df to call down on the phone and ask Sirin where they put it. "I can't. I'm watching TV now"
"It won't take long, and you know I can't do it."
"Oh well. I'm busy."
"Remember what you mom was talking about acting like people are just here to serve you and that it isn't unacceptable? Well, that's still true today so sit up and call please."
She picks up the phone starts asking them and it cuts off.
"Oh well...it cut off."
"Can you call again please?"
"No it doesn't work."
E, God bless him, says, "I will do it for you."
And tries but the phone keeps cutting off so Sirin comes upstairs and apparently doesn't know where it is. This really pisses me off. I mean, I know they are required to clean things up...but you can't just put other people's things somewhere without telling them and then FORGET where you put it. But what else could I do?

Oh and another thing, when Yilmus came home he said we'd leave at 1 (or so I assumed because he held up one finger) and I said, "No, 12:45" he held up a one again so I assumed A had told him otherwise. So we were ready by one and getting on our coats when he rang the doorbell. On the way to whereever we were going, A called and then Yilmus handed me the phone, "Caitlin, why are you late?"
"Yilmus said we were leaving at one."
"But I told you 12:45"
"I know. I tried to tell him but he kept saying one so I thought you must have changed it."
"No, that's why I called you. Why would I have changed it and not told you?" (Because you've done it before...) "Because how would you two communicate?"
"We can't..."
"Exactly. So do what I say."
"Okay."
"I just don't understand why you were late."
I repeated everything.
"But he said he was waiting for you."
"Then we missed each other. He must have been waiting outside and we were waiting inside."
"Then why didn't you go outside?"
I didn't even answer. So she gave me instructions for once we got to where she was and I took them. E waited in the car with Yilmus while I took Df into for some doctor's thing and I waited until they finished. As we left I didn't really say anything friendly. I was so over this day and it was only 1:15. "I like your hair" A said.
"Oh thanks."
So we rode down the elevator in silence until A started talking about it again. "Yilmus said he had to ring the doorbell twice before anyone answered so that would mean you were not ready."
I turned to Df. "Did you hear it ring more than once?"
"No, and we were downstairs putting on our jackets when he came in."
"Hmmm, that is strange." Apparently everyone's stories didn't line up but it's a stupid thing to be stuck on so I just didn't bite. I answered her questions but didn't say much else.
She told me that Yilmus had been trying to say ALMOST one and she told him "well if you hold up a one that's all she'll think"
"I'm glad you said so because that is exactly true."
"So next time, maybe get a piece of paper and write down the numbers so they understand."
"Great idea."
"I mean, since I know Turkish I don't know the tactics for coping but off of the top of my head I knew you could have done that."
Yes, you're right. I am such an idiot. Why didn't I think to stop everything that was going on in that moment, run up two flights of stairs and find a pen and paper, run back down with 12:45 written on it and wave it in the man's face?
"You're going to have start finding ways to communicate."
I just nodded. Like I said, it wasn't worth it to me in that moment.
So we went to lunch at a shopping mall where Df got some present for doing well on her report card, we ate lunch, then headed to the second mall to get E his present...new soccer shoes. She was telling me about how these are the kinds of places I could come to during the day..granted, I couldn't afford to buy anything there but I guess it would be nice to people watch with a cup of tea. So I walked behind them as I usually do and she'd occasionally turn to tell me something until she finally said, "Why do you walk behind us and not beside us?" but she said it more angrily because she didn't want to keep turning then considerate and wanting me to feel included. I didn't say anything...just walked up beside her.

We went to the nike store and found E some shoes. She was looking at the clothes and asked me, "Does he have enough sweat pants?"
All I could think was, How in the hell should I know? (Excuse my language)
"I don't know, how often does he need them?"
This was followed by, "Don't you think Df needs more sweatshirts?"
"Sure."

So we did that...went to buy some choclates where I discovered the scrap of my boot had fallen below my show and was now ruined...so that was disapointing. Then we dropped A and Df off at a friend's house and E and I came back. He wanted to try on his new shoes immediately so Cavit and I put them on him and he went out with Eren. I hope they're here all night...Eren is supposed to be leaving tomorrow so I'm hoping he'll feel obligated to spend time with them. Korkut, A's dad (who I can't ever remember the name of), and Eren were visiting with E in the living room when I asked him if I wanted a snack....to which they all informed me of what they would like as well. So after I gutted, peeled, and sliced three apples, a mandarin, and fixed a glass of water, I delivered it and immediately escaped to my room. Where I've been blogging ever since...until A's mother came up calling for Df.
"She isn't here."
She poked her head in, "Where is she?"
"She and A are on a play date."
"Ah, so where is she?"
"She's on a playdate."
"Ah, and E?"
"He's playing playstation downstairs with Eren."
"Ah" and walked away...only for me to hear her calling, "A! A!"
Are you kidding me?

I went to the kitchen, grabbed my Peter Pan Peanut Butter and a spoon and sat down at the table...becaue that is what this warranted. Then I asked Vala about my charger and she led me to it.

Another thing! At lunch E told A we couldn't find my charger and I explained it to her.
"You probably should just leave all your things in your room."
"I agree, but I had to have it with me while I was out there with them since you had been calling. Usually, I charge it in my room."
"Well, where is it?"
"Sirin said she didn't know."
"Make them show you."
Unbelievable.
"You know Df can translate for you, there's ways around this."
Yes, she COULD. But we need to take into account the times where she doesn't feel like it or can't be bothered or really, just isn't in the mood to be selfless.
"Make them show you when you get home."

Anyway, I have it now and am hiding out here until dinner which should be any minute now. I fantasize more and more about telling her off because I tell myself I'd rather get angry then let her see me cry from frustration. So I try to call her names in my head but then I feel badly for cursing so I'm just back to the drawing board of feeling helpless.

Tomorrow will be better.