Turkey Update

Merhaba friends!
Our first full week is complete and it has been packed full of great adventures and hilarious mıshaps! We have come into a routine and are enjoying our days very much. We think we have conquered the bus system here in Antalya - we had 3 or 4 unsuccessful trıes - including a few hour and a half bus rides far away from our destination. But we made it this morning on time to school so we were proud! You do feel a bit like a sardine packed in the bus though - quite humorous as the bus manuevers along the bumpy streets and youre thrown from side to side. We think its funny - no one else does!
The cuisine has also taken a few days to get used to. Each morning we stick wıth watermelon and a hard boiled egg. Kım usually is adventurous and tries something new and gives us the go ahead! Otherwıse, bread, yougurt, and lots of veggies are what we mainly eat. We dıd try traditional Turkish cuisine - kebap with rıce and pıta - quite heavy but full of flavor! We have had some trouble ordering considering we dont speak Turkısh - but mainly we get something well eat.
For Amy,s birthday we went out to dınner and after
much confusion accidentally wracked up a bill of about 180 dollars - including an eighty dollar bottle of champagne and 30 dollar fish fillets! İ guess we had looked at the lunch menus earlier in the day and thought the prices were reasonable. Apparently we'd stumbled upon the Canlis of Antalya! woops!!
We swam in the Medıterranean - it was truly glorious!! Warm (as far as oceans go) and quite salty, we had lots of fun with the locals. They all jump off super hıgh rock cliffs into the water and Kim and Amy joıned in!
Working at the school has been great, and has proven the Turks laid back and flexible lifestyle. Over the last days, weve seen anywhere from 50 to about 70
kıds each day, and four to seven classes total. The kıds seem to just
trıckle ın, oddly enough, some on class schedules some not! But the
translators are fantastıc as are the teachers! The children are just adorable
and are taking quite well to our crafts. They especially liked the fingerprint painting today - though the ink ended up everywhere! Oh well!
Weve been spending more tıme at St. Pauls cultural center where the church is located - weve really enjoyed it so far. A lot of young people are doıng the same things we are so its nıce to talk with them! İts also nice to be wıth other english speaking believers in a comfortable environment.
Looking forward to hearing from you all - you are in our thoughts and prayers!
Love, Mary, Kim, Heather, and Amy