Quotes from a 3 Year Old and a Pharmacist

1. Eli: "I have a dreamy bed. My bed has lots of dreams in it so I think I need to sleep in your bed."


2. Me: "Eli, what did you have for lunch at school today?"
Eli: "Well, um...I had noodles because my çorba (soup) had worms in it."

3. (In my room at 6am, holding up a little cross that he found on my nightstand)
Eli: "God said it's time for you to play with me."


4. (During story time each night)
Eli: “Mom you have to read the book like a teacher.”
Meaning: I have to hold the book up and show him as though I’m reading it to a class.
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Sometime back I did a post about how the Turkish people think that giving too many compliments to a person (particularly babies) may actually make "evil spirits" jealous of that person (baby) and cause the "evil spirits" to bring harm on that person (baby).

Well a week or so ago Noah and I accompanied a friend to the pharmacy. This particular pharmacy is in our old neighborhood and we continue to go to it because we've built a nice little relationship with the pharmacist, Buket (pronounced "Boo Ket"), and her husband. They love Eli, they love Noah, and the husband is always excited to speak English with Zach and I, as he used to live and work in an English speaking country. On this particular night, Buket swooned over Noah; pinching his cheeks, making faces at him, and kissing his hands. Having just returned from a two-month hiatus in the States, I was not prepared for what she did next: She pinched his little cheeks, made that goofy I'm-talking to-a-baby smile that so many people do, and said in cute baby voice, "Oh, you're ugly. You're just so ugly. Yes you are. You're ugly." It took a moment to register in my American brain that she really meant the opposite. She didn't want to call him "cute" and therefore send "evil spirits" to harm him.

I got to thinking, that I could really have some fun with this Turkish belief. In the U.S., I feel pressured to say a baby is cute even if I really think the opposite. Here, I could say what I really think and no one would be the wiser. :)