Phillip and Rebecca Mefford

Amerikan Konsolosu The American Consulate At a mere 8 days old we took Lincoln on his first wandering—to the U.S. Consulate. Being born to American parents, he was a U.S. citizen automatically, even though born abroad. However, within 31 days we were required to take him to the consulate to prove his existence, swear that he was our child, and fill out a report for U.S. Citizens Born Abroad—an application for his social security number, birth certificate, and first passport. (Whether Lincoln could one day become President of the United States, it seems, is a complex matter of jurisprudence dependent on the definition of “natural born citizen.”) At a week old babies pretty much just sleep and eat all the time, neither activity of which is acceptable for a passport photo. No, Lincoln needed to be face forward and eyes open, with no one else in the background, which turned out to be quite a comical feat. Here was the final result: Won’t it be interesting to see how much he has changed i

Başınıza Sağ Olsun Our Condolences Of all cultural experiences one we would not have wished to attend is a funeral. Sadly in early winter our friend’s sister passed away after a long battle with cancer. It was heart wrenching to see the family mourning. The simple, expected condolences, başınıza sağ olsun , just didn’t seem like enough. We ask ourselves these questions... 1. What are the beliefs about afterlife and how do they influence the experience of living through a loved one’s death in our culture? In other cultures? 2. What rituals help people process their grief? How do family and friends partake in those rituals? 3. As outsiders to the prevalent culture and religion here, what can we do or say to console, to bring a sense of hope and peace to those who are mourning?

“Fishy Morality” Once a renowned philosopher and moralist was traveling through Nasrettin Hoca’s village and asked Nasrettin where there was a good place to eat. Nasrettin suggested a place and the scholar, hungry for conversation, invited Nasrettin Hoca to join him. Much obliged, Nasrettin Hoca accompanied the scholar to a nearby restaurant, where they asked the waiter about the special of the day. "Fish! Fresh Fish!" replied the waiter. "Bring us two," they requested. A few minutes later, the waiter brought out a large platter with two cooked fish on it, one of which was quite a bit smaller than the other. Without hesitating, Nasrettin Hoca took the larger of the fish and put in on his plate. The scholar, giving Nasrettin Hoca a look of intense disbelief, proceed to tell him that what he did was not only flagrantly selfish, but that it violated the principles of almost every known moral, religious, and ethical system. Nasrettin Hoca listened to the philosopher