Easter parties at preschool and Oasis. The Oasis one included a telling of the Eater story. Maren let me know when she got home that she thought it was creepy and didn't want to talk about it anymore. I guess her version of it was more graphic than I would have expected. She informed me that she learned the weakest part of the hands from the story though... Ugh.
The girls and I went to the U.S. Embassy for an Easter Egg Hunt and barbecue dinner. What a rough bunch of kids were there! A little boy fell off the play structure (previously known as Big Toy, but the kids don't even know that term anymore!) and broke his arm before the hunt even began...and during the hunt another little boy got his finger twisted when someone else snatched an egg from him. Luckily we made it out of the event without any injuries and with some candy even!
We all enjoyed the barbecue fare quite a bit. Real hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, mini bags of chips, complete with Hefty paper plates, Heinz ketchup, Hunt's mustard, and (drum-roll) A & W root beer. I was so nervous the root beer would run out before I got some, but it worked out OK. There was chicken doner sandwiches also, but the chicken was visibly uncooked, so I wasn't about to forego a nice thick hamburger for food poisoning in an effort to eat the local food. Besides, everyone there said doner like "donor" instead of like "donair" and it felt a little off. It was strange to be able to eavesdrop on conversations again though, since everyone was speaking English. It was like a backyard barbecue from home transported to the middle of the embassy district in Ankara. Weird. I guess they do it every Friday night during the summer--I can see why people would attend to visit with friends and let their kids run wild...there's no way they can get out of the compound and no way for extra unwanted visitors to get in, that's for sure.
I guess I'll register my complaints later...like the fact that I had to have an escort (another teacher from my school) to go to the event even though I'm a US citizen and here on a US State Department program. Oh well.
Maren especially liked the hot dogs and kept asking for more. She ate 3! She was busy telling a group of adults about how much she liked them and how she ate "3 whole hotdogs!" when an older man in a suit inquired about which condiments she likes on her hot dogs. "These ones were just plain," she said. He commented that she was missing out on the best part by leaving off the ketchup, mustard, and onions (which I have to agree!), but that it was probably better anyway since you could double the calories of the hot dog if you use enough condiments. After he left the group I asked who it was that Maren was chatting with...it was the US Ambassador. OK, now I've looked up his name: James Jeffrey. He just started here in the last few months, as Brian met the outgoing ambassador last fall shortly after we arrived. He must be crazy busy getting ready for Obama's visit, but he put in his appearance at the Easter Egg Hunt!
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