Turkey - The Arrival

Saturday, July 29^th continued. . . Turkey - We had arrived about 6:15 in the evening. The air was very very humid and still warm. It felt a lot like Florida actually. Dr. Nieburg was there to greet us and although it took several trips in his little sedan, he got us and all our things shuttled to our new house. He is the man who Geoffrey will be replacing and has been so helpful in many ways. As we were getting things into the house, our duplex neighbor came over to say hello, as did the base chaplain who lives across the street, and the group commander and his wife who live around the corner. I was glad to meet Susan, who had answered so many of my email questions and had stocked my frig with some basic groceries. She also showed up with a hot meal and a wrapped Turkish cookbook. On the package was a blue glass evil eye ornament which must be given and not purchased for yourself and will protect your home from spirits. We were pleased with the warm welcome.

The house itself is wonderful! Dr. Nieburg had arranged to have the loaner furniture delivered and set up and Susan had made the beds and provided some loaner towels and linens. So its a little like living in a large hotel for a while until our own stuff gets here. But the house is great! Tile everywhere, even up the walls of the bathrooms (this is a great idea when you have little boys). The kitchen is large and has granite countertops and lots of cabinets. I am surprised by all the closets and storage areas this house has. The light switches are different – large buttons which are pushed down to turn on and up to turn off. Each room has its own air conditioning unit and its own digital thermostat to control it, in celsius no less. Our master bedroom is smaller than our last house but will be fine except that I have no idea where Geoffrey will put his office or where I will put my sewing. But I am sure we will work it all out. The walls are all thick concrete and the doors all solid wood. It is a very sturdy house with quality fixtures/lights, etc. The backyard is fairly small but has a nice patio that faces east and a gate that opens onto a little common area/park.

In the two minute ride from the flight line to our house we saw the pool, library, bowling alley, movie theater, chapel, two parks, mini-golf and auto-shop. So everything is very close by. I can't wait until the kids' bikes get here and so glad we just got new ones for the older three as I think they will use them quite a bit. No worries about Brannick not being able to drive the kids to mutual, they can all just ride their bikes!

We tried to stay up to a reasonable hour that first evening. Rory and Evan weren't sleepy at all but I was ready to collapse and only lasted until about 9:30. And then I woke up at 2:30 am. 5 hours of sleep is not enough in any circumstances and especially not when you've only had about 2 hours total in the previous 24 hour period. But wide awake I was in the wee smalls. I wandered downstairs and was joined over the next hour or so by Geoffrey, Brannick, Delaney and then Rory. At one point Geoffrey decided to wander outside in the backyard. I was sitting on the couch typing up our adventures and didn't notice how long he had been out there until he came limping back in, wet and shaking. It was still dark outside and he had tripped in a hole and fell, twisting his ankle badly. I'm not sure if he went into shock or just felt the difference of the colder house but he was shaking pretty badly. We got him on the couch with some ice and covered him with the two quilts I had packed in our luggage (Delaney's and the one from my bed) and got him some pain meds. I hope its not broken as that would not be the most auspicious way to start out his new job!