Nothing Special

1. Similar to a post several months back, I was on a bus to school this week where the bus driver was smoking (just under the no smoking sign) and talking on his cell phone while driving the bus.

2. I've seen at least 10 different shouting matches in the last couple weeks. One was in the grocery store over a shopping cart. Most of them, however, were between bus drivers and riders. Maybe it's because the bus drivers smoke and talk on cell phones....

3. Turkish women feel very comfortable "advising" me on child related issues. Examples: A woman on the bus last week told me I shouldn't be sitting near the window with Eli. Yesterday, when I walked into the pharmacy the clerk told me that I needed to put lotion on Eli's cheeks. Finally, if any part of Eli's skin is showing while he's sitting, standing, playing, etc. (like an ankle) they will figure out a way to get it covered.

4. The eggs here have orange yolks. Like deep, orange yolks. They also don't need to be refridgerated and are often just stacked outside bazaars and markets.

5. The toilets here have a button for flushing the toilet, and a button for stopping the flush (even though it automatically stops after a short bit like a U.S. toilet). I haven't quite figured out the purpose of the stop button yet.

6. At most clothing stores here they have a "credit card" price and a "cash" price. There is usually a 5-10% discount if you pay in cash.

7. Turks write dates like most of the rest of the world. I just booked some plane tickets for when my parents are here. We're traveling on July 10th, 2009...but they write it 10/07/2009. That's very confusing to me at first glance.

8. Public/outdoor garbage cans are few and far between here. They eliminated them due to explosives being dropped in them. People would rather live with the litter than the explosives.

9. Cars are parked everywhere here...on sidewalks, in non-spots, and often times right behind other cars blocking them in. I've been blocked in with a friend before. We sat honking for about 15 minutes until the owner of the other car came out and moved so we could leave. Very common.

10. We went to a Turkish restaurant for Valentine's Day. We had the best hummus we've ever tasted. Seriously, good stuff.