Waxing and Homonyms

On Wednesday I did something I have been wanting to do for a while, yet at the same time dreading it. 

For weeks I have not been shaving so I could participate in the Turkish practice of waxing. 

Turkish women wax their body hair as culturally body hair on women is considered unclean.   They wax *everything*.  I asked my friend about the practice, she said that she waxed everything in the past, even her arms.  She gave me a recommendation for a waxer.  Then she demonstrated the depth of her friendship.  She called, made my appointment (I did not have the necessary Turkish vocabulary,) and then told me she would meet me there to translate what I wanted to the esthetician.  She did say I was on my own for the waxing--which is best for our friendship considering the positions I had to assume.

While it was not butterflies and kittens the waxing was not nearly as painful as I thought it would be.  Actually, it was not really painful at all, though that may be due to the skill of the esthetician.  It was an interesting process, and also interesting to think that a majority of Turkish women do this on a regular basis.  While I was assimilating culturally I also found my first Turkish homonyms

Aci—means spicy.  Aci—also means hurt.  So at first  was confused when she said, “This will be a little bit spicy.” (in Turkish.)  However the word confusion was quickly cleared up when a large chunk of hair was removed. 

Bir az aci= This will hurt a little 

The second homonym is “paket.”  In Turkish “Alo Paket,” means take out.  In a restaurant if you ask for “paket,” it means take home package otherwise known as a “Doggie Bag.”  As it turns out “paket” also means the nether regions.   So when an esthetician asks you if you want a “paket” wax that means both front and back and everything in between.

Both words are good to know.  Beware yabancis, if you ask for paket in the wrong context you may end up getting something you were not expecting. 

I have survived.

I have had a ridiculous amount of exams to grade and a scary timeline in which to do so. 

I am finished with grading and recording. 

Life will resume.

Which means blogging will as well. 

Tomorrow. 

Kapadokya

We went to Kapadokya a few weekends ago, taking advantage of the long weekend. It was children’s day, a day to emphasize that children are the future of the nation. I had Friday off, so we hit the road Thursday after work. Bulent, his mom and dad and I all went down to Kapadokya, and it was amazing.

The view from out hotel’s restaurant terrace.

Kapadokya is a region where rock formations formed by volcanic activity have been carved and shaped by erosion and people for millennium. All throughout the area are amazing rock formations into which churches and monasteries and villages have been carved into the soft rock. There are even underground cities 9 stories deep where villages would go underground with their animals to resist invaders who who trying to conquer the fertile land.

We stayed at a lovely and inexpensive hotel called the Arch Palace, it was wonderful. Mustafa Bey and his wife run the place. They are wonderfully warm and welcoming, and their children are adorable. Mustafa Bey was wonderfully knowledgeable about the sights to see, not only in Göreme, but the entire region. We were able to visit the best parts of the Kapadokya region, thanks to his guidance, and I can honestly say—We lucked out. We stayed in the most adorable, friendly and geologically jaw-dropping village, with an awesome host. The other towns and villages were lovely but they were overrun with buses of tourists who crowd up all the sights and clog the roads. We refer to them as…“The Buffalo.”

We also tasted some superb local wine and tried some of the local foods, which varied from the food in Ankara. It was a lovely trip. There will be some more posts coming up from my recent travels, including food from Göreme and this weekends visit to Eskisehir.