Adjusting

There are many things to adjust to in a new country. Here are a few:

-we can't use the tap water for anything-not to drink, brush our teeth, boil pasta in, or wash our vegetables

-driving!!! there are some crazy "rules" like pulling past the line at the stop light and waiting for someone to beep behind you to let you know the light is green; using the horn a lot (but most often in a friendly way-not for road rage purposes); creating "new " lanes of traffic; pulling out into traffic without looking (we don't do that, though); taking a left on red

-the power goes out a good bit

-morning, noon, and night the mosques in the city broadcast a call to prayer through loud speakers; this is done in a singing style (as a musician I would officially say the music is more modal, meaning it doesn't have a pull back to the tonic note, giving it a less Western sound)

-we use things called "contours" for our cell phones; rather than using a phone plan, you buy contours (essentially "minutes") when you need them

-we have a special card that allows us to get gas for our car for a much cheaper rate than without it; without the card, it is 11 or 12 dollars a gallon!

-the currency is the turkish lira; the current exchange rate is about 1.5 lira to the dollar

These are just a few examples of things that are differences from what we are used to, but so far things continue to go smoothly!