Pictures and Cultural Things

Let's play a game.  How many potential hazards can you spot in this picture?

A free, "unplugged" concert for his brother

Turks seem to have a different sense of "personal space" and "privacy" than I, as an American, have. It's taken me some time to get used to this cultural difference, and there are still days when I'm challenged by this difference.

Example #1: On Tuesday of this week we went to the police station to register Noah as a resident of Turkey. After he got a little fussy, I took him out of his stroller and bounced him around a little bit to calm him down. Just as he was calming down a woman (complete stranger) came over to me, and without saying a word, took him out of my hands. She then cuddled him close and began with a whole slew of blessings and compliments for him (i.e. "May God protect him," "He's so sweet," etc.). This isn't totally strange to me as people used to do the same with Eli when he was a bit smaller, however, I was definately on "high alert" as she had my 3-week old baby.   

Example #2: Yesterday we took the boys out to a park. There was only one other family there since the temperature was upward of 100 degrees. The woman of the family sat down next to me and immediately began to ask me questions that, again, as an American, were a bit awkward for me to answer to a complete stranger. She asked: "Have your 40 days passed? (remember, most women stay in 40 days after giving birth)" When I answered,"no" she gave me a sincere, "Well, then you need to be careful with him." She then asked, "Are you breastfeeding?" "Do you have enough milk?" "Is your baby really gassy?" "Did you have a natural birth?" 

Strange, I know, but all part of life in a foreign land.