Catie, Author at following the funks

IZMIR: Zoo Time

November 23, 2016July 11, 2021EVERYDAY LIFE, FAMILY, LOCAL, PLACES, TRAVELS, TURKEY, WEEKENDS Catie 2 Comments

It has literally been years since I have been to a zoo. Shockingly enough, in the four years that I lived in Iowa, I never made it to the Des Moines zoo (and they even have a Zoo Brew for adults in the summer!). Even more shameful, Jason and I went to San Diego and did not go to the zoo … which apparently is one of the main attractions.

So, either we are not zoo people or we don’t have kids… it seems that both are true right now!

BUT, we recently went to the zoo… in Izmir. And we really enjoyed it!

I know you are thinking…how can you make it to the zoo in your first 2 months living in Turkey and never make it to one in your own state OR even San Diego in the last 4 years? Last summer, Jason and I spent 10 days exploring Izmir making dreams and visions for possibly moving to this location. One of the ‘things to see’ in Izmir on almost every website was the zoo. Unfortunately for us, July weather is extremely hot and humid. That and public transportation from our location to the zoo was going to be 2.5 hours… one way. Being the wise ones we are, we decided (very quickly I may add) to stayed put in our air conditioned rental and planned to visit it another time.

With it being fall time, the weather was perfect and the bus ride was pleasant. The neighbourhood we decided on is a little closer, and we are able to catch only one bus that took us all the way there. Being a Saturday morning when most Turks are just starting to eat breakfast, the bus was found to be empty and relaxing.

The zoo exceeded our expectations by 100%. For only ~~3.50 lira ($1.25 USD)~~ 10 Turkish Lira and 5 for kids 7 and older ($1.15 and $0.58), zoo goers are able to access the whole zoo and the petting area. A little cafe with simple cheese toast, muffins, snacks, and drinks was the perfect place to wait for some friends of ours.

The zoo was opened on 18 acres of land for the International and Cultural Fair in 1937. In 2008 moved to the Sasalı area in NW Izmir gaining a whopping 425 acres area that now makes up Turkey’s first zoo and wildlife park. This park now hosts over 1600 animals, 138 species and 250 species of plants.

Jason snapped this shot of me…

I kinda of like him… and this hat.

And he kinda likes me wearing a hat, which I do for him…

Our relationship works out well for us.

Can I pause here and tell you about one of my favorite purchases this past year? Overalls.

If you know me, then you would know that I have become an avid dress wearer. One piece of clothing makes a whole outfit – casual or dressy. And now that jumpsuits and overalls have made their debut again, I am one happy girl! I found the perfect pair of overalls at the Gap Factory Outlet this past summer. They are the perfect casual day wear. Especially for a day at the zoo, correct? (Similar black pair can be found here.)

I will also tell you that we completely overdressed for this day. Being more familiar with a colder November, we have been a little caught off guard with how warm it has gotten throughout the day. So a sweater under my overalls and a wool cap was not the best idea!

A couple of my favorite animals were the rhino and camels, but the cutes animal award goes to the patagonian mara! Other animals such as deer and squirrels can be found at the Izmir zoo. Those are quite common in America but not so common. I was able to see the deer, but did not see any squirrels!

So that’s it. We went, and we love it.

Maybe we are zoo people after all! (Because we still have no kids to blame it on.)

Address:

Izmir Zoo or Izmir Doğal Yaşam Parkı is located in Sasalı, Cigli, Izmir, Turkey. (Telephone : (0090) 232 327 30 16)

More info via the website of Izmir Zoo and Wildlife Park and Trip Advisor.

What about you?

Do you love the zoo?

What is the best zoo out there?

Would you go to a zoo without kids?

EVENTS: Mavibahçe Organic Market

November 12, 2016November 10, 2016EVENTS, FOOD, WEEKENDS Catie

In my opinion, Mavibahçe, also know as Blue(Mavi) Garden(Bahçe), is one of the nicest malls in Izmir. This shopping mall looks massive from the outside, but once you enter, you will see a beautiful open garden in the middle with all the stores line the perimeter. But we can chat more about that another time.

November has been a gorgeous month so far. Fall time has slowly crept into our days bringing the cold air with it. But the warmer days are still found every so often. This made for the perfect day to have a little organic market in the center garden of this mall.

During my previous time living in Turkey, I was still learning how to chop up veggies and cook much less did I care what I was actually eating. Eight years later (and some quirky food habits like kombucha and homemade cashew butter), I have been a lot more curious as to what foods I can find here in Izmir and how I can continue some homemade/healthy options. So far, I have been greatly impressed by what options are available here.

I am not a huge organic guru, but I have slowly been learning more about where my food comes from and what I am putting in my body. In the process, I have come to a new appreciation for those who work to keep their products chemical free via their convictions about pesticides and toxic residues.

So when a new turkish friend as if we wanted to meet up, we were totally up for his suggestion to meet at the Organik Pazaar (Organic Market) at Mavibahçe. This activity was organised by the Association of Ecological Agriculture Organization with the support of the Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock Ministry officials and the participation of the European Union. While it was small, the 12 vendors provided a wide option of products such as fruits, veggies, honey, bread, beauty product line and even organic cotton clothes for adults and children. All vendors have a certification paper that shows their products meet the standard to be classified as organic.

The goal? To help bring awareness of organic products to the people of Izmir.

Our loot you ask?

Celery root with baby celery stalk. I have found that it is still really hard to find celery here! Celery stalks are part of our Louisiana ‘Holy Trinity‘ of foods, but here they mostly just use the root for meze(little sauce appetizers) and soups. But we found some at this market!

Cute little mandarine oranges with the sweetest taste from the cutest old turkish man at the market.

Free box of testers from a local beauty product line, Iva Natura, made locally in Izmir in the Bornova neighborhood. I am actually really excited to learn more about this company. In the last year, I have slowly change most of my products over to a more natural non-toxic beauty routine for a few reasons I can tell you about in a future post. Since living in Turkey will make it hard on shipping, I have been hoping to find either something more local or european products to replace them in the future.

Other vendors:

Simurg Tasarim – Organic Clothing

Yerlim – Organic Food

365 Organics – Organic Food and Home/Beauty Products

Macrocenter – Grocery store with organic products

More info about the event here and here.

What do you think of organic products?

Is this a market you would attend?

Until next time…

FOOD: Aşure – Noah’s Ark Pudding

November 3, 2016October 10, 20182016, EVERYDAY LIFE, FOOD, IZMIR, LOCAL, TURKEY Catie

Cheers to the first post about FOOD. Cheers to not just any food, but TURKISH food!

And yes, you read that right! We are here to chat about Aşure. So how do you say it properly? The ‘a’ is an ‘aah’ sound while the ‘new-to-you’ letter ‘ş’ is pronounced like the English ‘sh’ sound. The ş with the ‘ur’ is similar to ‘shur’. Finish it off by saying the ‘e’ like the letter ‘A’ and you basically speak Turkish now.

Ok, not really. But you at least learned a new Turkish word: ‘Aah-shOOr-EY’

First off, aşure is not just a Turkish dish. Other cultures throughout central Asia and the middle east share a similar type of dish. This dish is special to Turkey because the actual site of the historical Noah’s ark is said to be in eastern Turkey. Hence, aşure is also known as Noah’s Ark pudding. Originally a Jewish celebration, this dessert also marks the rescue of Moses from Pharaoh during which the Hebrews fasted. Sunni Muslims also connect this period during the year with the deliverance of Moses. Aşure is traditionally served on the 10th day of the Muslim month Muharrem, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

But before Moses and the deliverance of the Jews, the dessert come from the story of Noah and the great flood. When the waters receded after the great flood, Noah took whatever he had left from their food storage and toss it into one pot. As you will see below, there are quite the diversity of ingredients (some I would not normally put together!). This large pot of food kept everyone well and alive until the waters finished receding. For this reason, aşure is usually made in large quantities and is shared with neighbors and friends standing as a symbol of friendship, diversity, and unity.

What’s in it? Quite the assortment of grains, nuts, fruits, and sugar. It may contain but isn’t limited to: walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, apricots, raisins, currants, figs, chickpeas and navy beans. Depending on the family and region, ingredients like chestnuts, lima beans, bulgur wheat and pieces of fresh coconut will also be added. Spices like cinnamon, cloves, and another lesser known spice to westerners, cardamon, can be a main contributor to the sweet taste. So basically, anything goes.

The great plus about living in Turkey full-time is getting a home-cooked, traditional dish of aşure hand delivered by a neighbor. Just this last week, our 3rd-floor neighbors shared this sweet gift with us. While I enjoyed it warm and cold, Jason wasn’t a big of a fan of it either way. The taste is a little … unique, but well worth the trying!

For recipes on how to make it yourself at home, click on some of the links below:

Ozlem’s Turkish Table Recipe

Turkish Food Recipe

All About Turkey Recipe

Video of the recipe

Questions for you:

Have you tried this before? Did you like it?

What do you think? Would you try this recipe at home?

If you do, let me know how it went and what you thought about it. You can always follow us through our move from the USA to Turkey via our 50 episodes of the FunkTravels Podcast.

See you next time!

YEAR REVIEW: Reflection of 2015

January 31, 2016January 6, 2022FAMILY, TRAVELS, YEAR GOALS Catie

We figured since we are just getting started then it’s totally okay to wrap up our 2015 year on the last day of January 2015. We posted our 2015 Christmas Letter here but we wanted to give a more in-depth look into our year.

In 2015, we talked about making goals. Heck, we even made it a part of our budget – $50 a month to spend on ourselves if the goals were accomplished. The problem was that we never actually wrote our goals down! But regardless, just because I like to see what we accomplished, here are a few that I remember:

Do the Whole30 again – CHECK
Celebrabrate our 1 year of marriage – CHECK (not sure if this can be counted as a goal, but we are pretty happy about it)
Finish filling our emergency fund – CHECK
Continue giving to the NEXT campaign for our church – CHECK
Go to Turkey again in the summer – CHECK
Start a saving account to move overseas one day – CHECK
It wasn’t on the original list but Catie took 2 grad courses – CHECK (and got two As – DOUBLE CHECK)!

We spent the last evening of 2015 enjoying some awesome sushi from Hoshi Sushi in Des Moines while reflecting on our year through these questions by Tsh Oxenreider (free download via her link!). We answered most of the 20 questions; though we tweaked the questions and skipped over a few… Overall, it was a wonderful year!

QUICK STATS:

Moves: 0 (same town, same house)

Countries Traveled: 5 (Together: Italy, Turkey, U.A.E.; Catie: New Zealand and Australia)

States Traveled: 5 (Illinois, Minneapolis, Kansas, California, Massachusetts; Catie made a quick trip to Louisiana too)

Weddings Attended: 1

Babies Born: 2 new nephews! (But a shout out to Jason’s cousins because every married girl, except Catie, either had a baby or announced a pregnancy!)

Transportation Methods: Car, Airplane, Trains, Metros, and Ferry

Favorite Movies: Hunger Games

Favorite TV Show: Grimm

Favorite Country Visited: Italy

20 QUESTIONS:

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?

j – I enjoyed our month of traveling in July.
c – I loved our time in Boston, MA.

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?

j & c – maybe this is ridiculous, but we both hated being apart for 2 weeks while Catie was overseas for work
j – some of his work projects

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?

j – our awesome connection group from our church
c – my gal friends at the university

4. What was an unexpected obstacle?

j – one of his clients had chosen to go a different route, but he has also found many others.
c – basically questions 1-4 can all be answered with the surprising retirement of her supervisor. it brought good and hard things.

5. Pick three words to describe this past year.

ehhhh – we kinda skipped this one…

6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your year—don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you. (If you’re not married, have fun guessing the answers from other friends and family, or just skip this question.)

ehhhh – we kinda skipped this one…

7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their year—again, without asking.

j for c –
- successful, leading, globetrotter
c for j –
- stressful, busy, globetrotter(stole that one)

8. What were the best books you read this year?

j- Lord of the Rings Triology by J.R.R. Tolkien
c- Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider

9. With whom were your most valuable relationships?

j & c- each other (awwww) and God (hands down)

10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?

j- now joined the LOTR books read club (nerdy)
c- freedom in her job but also learning how to handle more responsibilities AND she would say that becoming a reader for enjoyment again has been a HUGE blessing.

11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?

j- feels like he has been less anxious
c- has more of a desire to have children (I hear the hallelujahs from grandmas out there…)

12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?

j- more consistent in his time with God
c- felt like she had grown in her prayer life

13. In what way(s) did you grow physically?

j & c- we both started off the year with Whole30 (for the 3rd) time
c – she has battles a few more ailments since turning 30… and felt like she ended the year a little more ‘fluffier’ than she would like to be

14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?

j & c- we agreed that we have continued to become better friends!

15. What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?

j &c – we tend to rearrange the living room like every over week… ok, maybe not that much, but it is over average for a normal person. We really like it though.
j- professionally, he has a newer client this year that he enjoys getting projects from. at home, he enjoyed making this super cool wood art piece for his lovely wife.
c- professionally and at home, she loved being able to travel… like a lot. at home, she also surprised Jason with an advent calendar with activities for them to do together.

16. What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?

j- he had a particular project he source out to new partners and it was well… not as great as it could have been.
c- the fall semester was very busy and stressful as she took on 2 roles in her office serving as the interim director.

17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?

j & c- TV….. and some social media outlets…

18. What was the best way you used your time this past year?

j & c- date nights, connection groups, reading, snuggling.

19. What was biggest thing you learned this past year?

didn’t answer, but Catie could tell you know that she is a much happier person on Monday when she has prepared for the week!

20. Create a phrase or statement that describes this past year for you.

Can you tell where dinner stopped?

So that was our 2015. There were some hard growing points but most of it was amazing. We have learned more about living together, sharing life together, traveling better together, and just enjoying each other even more that we already did.

We are excited to see what 2016 holds. Read about our 2016 GOALS here. (Yep, we already wrote them down this year!)

To get a special heads up when we post, you can subscribe below. You can also follow us on Bloglovin.