Geologic kitty guards the rocks!

Merhaba!

Today we were invited to have lunch at the home of an old lady in Yeniceseyhler. We ate flat bread with walnuts, rice rolled up in grape leaves, watermelon, tea, and some strange warm clear gelatin... we weren't really sure what that was. Three of us sat on a couch covered in rice bags; the rest of us sat on the grass in the front yard on rice bags - they're pretty much the same material as plastic tarps. Here's a picture of us eating:


This is a picture of the cute little glasses of tea we drink from and the pretty saucers the tea is served on:



It was really nice; the old lady's son, a man in his 30's, kept bopping around taking pictures of us between serving tea and passing plates of food. Our bus driver was also enjoying himself and walking around taking pictures between grabbing bites of food.

After lunch several mapping groups were walking along one side of a certain hill when we were encountered by a cute little kitty. Bill, one of the guys from UT on the trip, picked the cat up in his arms. The cat had probably never been loved on before, but she loved it when Bill held her and the rest of us came over to pet her head. Bill put the cat down so that we could work, and the cat walked around on the rocks we were looking at, probably in hopes of getting picked up again! Here's a picture of the kitty sittiing at the top of the rocks, watching us work:



This just in: I just drank garlic milk - a Polish remedy for sore throats. Not because I have one, but one of the guys has bad allergies, so Anna, a Polish-Canadian, made a big vat of it. It tastes like the liquid that the escargot are cooked in. I'm not sure if the escargot liquid is what I want to drink on a regular basis though...

Mom also wanted to know what the dogs are like here, so here's a picture of a particularly cute puppy in town. All the dogs are sweet, but sadly a lot of them have some sort of medical problem it seems. A lot of them limp, and of course none are neutered or spayed, so there are tons of strays running around town. It makes me want to work for the SPCA doing spay/neuter drives or bringing free veterinary care to rural areas.


Ok, time to shower while the water's still hot!

Salaam alaikum,
Sarah