Language Barriers

Today I realized how much Turkish I don't know.

Today I realized how much English Hatice doesn't know.

Hatice came to the door today, entering, as she often does, the throngs of chaos. Isaac was naked from the waist down because I realized, in the middle of changing him, that I needed diaper cream. It was in the diaper bag in the kitchen which meant removing him from the changing table I have set up in the laundry room (I love having a sink next to my changing table by the way). So I had to set him down while I went to retrieve it.

Isaac is half naked. Elijah is playing with his cars on the bathroom counter. Scrubs is going bananas sniffing Hatice. I'm trying to say hello while preventing Isaac from peeing on the floor.

Elijah handed Hatice the picture the boys drew for her. We put a picture of the three boys (Scrubs included) and wrote Mutlu bayramlar! (Happy Festivals!) on it. Then they stuck stickers all over it and colored it for Nine (Grandma Hatice.) Thursday is a huge Muslim holiday as the end of Ramadan is celebrated. It is basically equivalent to our Christmas in scope.

Hatice got her normal hugs and kisses from the boys, but I could tell something was on her mind. We attempted to sit on the couch to discuss what was troubling her, but the boys were quite needy at the time. Elijah wanted to go outside. I put on his shoes and let him out in the backyard. By the time I put on Isaac's shoes, I found Elijah about to go down the pool slide and splash into a pool full of water (that I thought had been drained)! Ugh! He was completely dressed for our day out. That would have been a disaster.

So we moved our conversation to the front porch. It took us nearly an hour to get to the bottom of her distress. Hatice comes on Sali (Tuesday). Hatice has a bad foot. The doctor needs to see her every Tuesday for six weeks to work on her foot. It is the only day he can see her. But she doesn't want to lose me. And goodness knows I don't wan to lose her. She offered to come on Cumartesi (Saturday) for the next six weeks. She is booked every other day of the week.

But I didn't follow her train of thought. I thought she wanted her friend Nilgun to fill in for her on Fridays until she could return. She was actually only offering Nilgun if Saturdays were not acceptable for me.

We sat there with a calendar in front of us and my little handy dandy Turkish handbook. By the time I finally figured out that she wanted to work Saturday, she started crying she was so happy. Her daughter is getting married at the beginning of October (we are invited but may be out of town) and she really needs the money. She told me that my boys are like her boys and that she doesn't want to lose us but that she has to take care of her foot. She said she spent all weekend stressing about this. Unfortunately, conversing over the phone is nearly impossible since you don't have facial expressions and hand gestures to aide your conversation. So she was forced to wait until today to discuss.

In the end, we decided that Hatice will come on Saturdays. After JB got home from work, I went over to the Bazaar on Base to talk to the company she works for. Unfortunately, it may not be as easy as that. Her gate pass only allows her access to Base during the work week. It could take 2-6 weeks to get those dates changed. We are going to get the ball rolling in hopes we can work it out but Babar, whom I spoke with at the Bazaar, told me it could take one week or it could take six weeks. Sheesh. I am going to do everything I can to get this worked out. I am also contemplating allowing her to come in 1-2 hours each day (after the conclusion of her work day at her other houses) to try to help keep her getting paid from me.

As usual, when Hatice is here, we try not to be in the house for too much of the day. We went to the playgroup at the youth center where toddlers from all over Base take over the gymnasium. We went to the post office. We stopped at the library. And then we went to the Clinic so we could have lunch with JB. I love my little bike trailer. It's fantastic. The boys love it too although sometimes they start fighting midway through a ride.

We went to a little Turkish Cafe' on Base with Linda, the pediatrician JB works with. It was a fabulous little lunch. We ended up trying six different little dishes since we really didn't know what anything was. We also got a dessert. Oh and three waters. All for $12TL (about $9USD). Not too shabby. Linda is wonderful! She is such a beautiful Christian gal, and I look forward to spending more time with her over the next two years.

Hatice informed me when I got home that Scrubs got out. She put him in the backyard while she was mopping and Halil was mowing and had the gate unlatched and he ran out. She went to let him back in and realized he wasn't outside. He wasn't inside. She said she got a bunch of treats. Good thing Scrubby isn't a dog that will run away. He was so hot and so relieved to be back inside he came running right in.

We are busy getting ready for Bible Study tomorrow evening. We (well mostly JB) are cooking the dinner for the Bible Study. We are doing a fajita bar for about 90 people! Woah! JB is pretty courageous to take this on. They provide some of the funding and we provide the cooking. We'll see how it goes.

Güle güle! (Good bye.)