Phillip and Rebecca Mefford

Şükran Thanksgiving This has to be one of the most exciting last two months of any year in our life to date. There is the annual holiday season, of course, that always lends a sense of cheer—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. Plus sacrifice holiday known in Turkish as Kurban Bayramı (and in other parts of the world as Eid) fell mid-November this year. And then there is a birthday we can’t wait to celebrate. In the midst of families coming together, feasts being prepared, and presents handed out, we’d like to list just a few things that we are thankful for: 1. Grandmas —we have three living Grandmas, each of whom have enriched our lives with their models of strength, joy, and unrelenting ability to love. Now our moms get to be “grandma” to our son! 2. Books —whether it is a novel or an information books to learn about things handling culture stress or baby-care, books provide a relaxing moment, help pass the time on the bus, or prepare us for new transitions. 3. Meat —although

Asya’dan Avrupa’ya From Asia to Europe There are several things that Turks notably love to do: eat sunflower seeds, grill out, spontaneous public folk dancing to the tune of the Black Sea bagpipe and drum, smoke cigarettes, and just go for a stroll. About a month ago we witnessed masses of İstanbulites doing these very things and more on one of the İstanbul skyline’s most prominent features, the Bosporus Bridge. One day every October, all vehicles are blocked from the bridge (normally closed to pedestrians) to make way for the Annual Intercontinental Marathon. As you can imagine, we weren’t quite up for the marathon, but along with thousands of other sane people, we tailed behind in a nice stroll from the Asian continent to the European continent. The weather was beautiful, the atmosphere exciting, and it was just fun to see how much everyone was truly enjoying themselves, sunflower seeds, spontaneous folk dancing and all.

Yirmiyedi Twenty-seven Rebecca turns 27 today, and our lives are at a juncture. We are finishing formal language classes this fall, and feel like we are no where close to fluency. We are getting ready to plunge into full time parenthood. And we are still trying to figure out what our non-Turkish-learning and non-parental roles are. There is much to ponder… 1. How do we navigate these inevitable junctures in life? 2. How can we reach fluency, now that the formal studying is done, especially with our new little “distraction” on the way? 3. How can we best devote our lives to being the best parents ever (thank God we have good role models!)?

Terlik Slippers The downside to living in a foreign country is not having our families next door to share every experience with, particularly now that we are having a child. Although it can’t be compared to the real deal, of some compensation is that our little one already has at least three Turkish grandma’s and a menagerie of aunts and uncles that are enthusiastic about sharing pregnancy and parenting advice, most prominently, “wear your slippers!” There is a common belief in Central Eurasia that cold feet are fatal. Neglecting to wear socks (and/or sitting on the ground) is enough to make a woman’s ovaries shrivel up. But we shouldn’t smirk; in Turkey you won’t “catch your death’s cold” if you go out in the rain. We suppose that anywhere you are in the world you have to take advice with a grain of salt. The bottom line is we know that people care. Much thanks again to the American "aunts" that threw me a baby shower!

Bebek nasıl? How is the baby? There is a beautiful phrase our Turkish friends use to congratulate expecting or new parents, Allah analı babalı büyütsün-- M ay God allow this child to be raised under his parent’s care . It really is amazing to see how God is growing our little one, even before he is born. From the size of a poppy seed working his way to a watermelon, we have thoroughly enjoyed tracking in utero our baby’s progress and development. Thankfully we live close to one of the best hospitals in the region and eagerly attend our monthly check-ups. At only 6 weeks along, the baby being the size of an apple seed, we could already see and hear a heartbeat. Around week 12 we found out that we are having a son. During the fifth month ultrasound we got to see our baby practice one of his most adorable skills—yawning. By month seven he had become a practiced kick-boxer. So far mom and baby are healthy and right on schedule. Only two months until the due date of January 2nd! Along wi