Anyway, I only have this class on weekend mornings, which is quite a shame because I enjoy it very much and it always puts me in a positive and sunny mood, something much needed after the past week. Yes, if only the rest of my classes were that much fun.....well, anyway.
Last weekend, my oldest student declared that the next Sunday after class he would cook kebaps for everyone and we would all drink rakı (something like ouzo which when mixed with water becomes milky-looking) at his house, İnşallah (God willing). This particular student's name is Müslüm, and since he is the oldest in the class, I call him ''Müslüm Baba'', Father Muslim, after a famous singer here that is popular among hoplessly romantic and emotionally disillusioned young people. He was indeed a man of his word. The weather held - ''Hava güzel eh!!?'' (Nice weather, eh!?!) he declared as he walked into class - and after class I giddily grabbed my things and hurried out of the building. Most of the students didn't go, so it was only a few of us that piled into his car and tore away down the highway to go shopping for our barbecue: Müslüm Baba, myself, Yunus, a spirited university student, and Enes, who has inadvertently become the class clown by talking before he thinks about it.
''I crazy driver!!'' Müslüm Baba said weaving in and out of lanes on the highway. True, but all Turks are crazy drivers. Lunatics. I still can't figure out why you don't see more accidents with the way people drive and everybody walking in the streets and highways.
We peeled into the shopping center parking lot, parked the car and went into Carrefour, after security thoroughly searched our vehicle and person of course. Once Müslüm Baba got a cart he was like a kid in a candy store, riding the cart like a go-kart and grabbing everything that took his fancy - lamb, chicken, vegetables, cheeses, sodas, water, salads, pickles, peppers, everything. We bought charcoal and of course, rakı as well.
Müslüm Baba
Izgara Usta
Back at his house, he carefully fired up the grill while we chatted in Turkish and English. He poured a heavy amount of rakı into two glasses, and then added water, and the mixture instantly turned a milky white color. ''Şerefe!'' he toasted, and I took a sip; I wouldn't say it is my favorite drink, as it is very sweet and tastes like strong black licorice, and the heavy aroma deeply permeates your sinuses when you take a sip of it. It is a bit of an acquired taste I would say. Nonetheless, I got used to it after a few sips, and I began to see why it was so popular with the Turks: in an odd way, the robust, cool sweetness of the liquour nicely complimented the salty and spicy taste of the savory grilled meats and blackened vegetables. I ate and ate, and Müslüm Baba kept filling out plates with grilled meat and vegetables whenever we managed to clear our dishes. ''More, more!'' he kept saying. Of course, rakı is strong stuff, and once you've had a couple glasses, you become ravenously hungry and begin filling your gullet quickly, like a hungry animal, and soon you are so stuffed so much you can't eat anymore. After we had our fill, there was plenty of food left over. Müslüm Baba brought a plate of food into his house for his wife and children, and returned with his daughter, who, despite being terrified of the strange foreigner, still managed to have a fun time playing with sticks and chasing the stray cats that had gathered 'round the smell of cooked meat. After we sat stuffed and graoning for a while, we cleaned everything up and piled back into the car to go to the tram station (''You think it's too much rakı to drive?'' asked Müslüm Baba. ''Does it matter?'' I said. ''They all drive like they're drunk anyway.'').
Of course, the barbecue solidified our friendship. They took my phone number and declared that we were arkadaş, friends, and we kissed cheeks farewell as is the custom between family and friends here. By the time I got home it was dark and late, and, sated and heavy-eyed, I fell asleep on my couch, contented. I could get used to Sundays like this.
Keep the fire going
Yunus & I
My ''kanka'' Enes & I
Everyone is happy!
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