If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I LOVE talking about expat living. Not a traveling digital nomad, but a ‘we found a county and stayed put’ type of digital expat. Before I moved, I had this jumble mix of what I loved writing about and I had a hard time narrowing it down to one specific area. But over the last 8 months of living in Turkey, my 2nd time to move abroad, and writing this article about culture shock, I think I have found my niche!
Even more than chatting about expat living, I love sharing the ways I have documented our expat adventures. *Spoiler* The most interesting way is through our FunkTravels Podcast! I recently wrote an article for Expat Magazine at Expat.com titled “5 Ways to Document Your Expat Adventures.” In the midst of moving, traveling, and adjusting to another culture, documenting our memories can be the one thing that is thrown to the way side. It also becomes one of the biggest regrets by those when they journey onward to the next phase of life.
Here is the start of the article:
You know how a deep, sound sleep can disorient you? I woke up one morning and asked myself: Where am I? Something in the room made me think I was living in Turkey on a chilly fall morning — maybe it was the sunlight streaming in through the windows just so, or the smell of the crisp morning air coming in through the open window. Reality quickly set in — I was no longer living in Turkey, but instead I was in my bed in the States. It’s funny to remember that now because my husband and I now live in Turkey once again. The smells and sounds of the neighborhoods are ingrained into my memory, and I know this is our lovely Turkey.
I’ve spent five of the past ten years as an expat — both single and married — and I love to keep hold of the memories of the journey and adventures that come with every expat experience. I know that when my husband and I are back to the States, I will enjoy retrieving the different ways I used to document our time abroad and reminiscing and sharing the stories.
In a non-travel related post, Jason and I just finished our 4th, yes FOURTH, Whole 30. (Ok, we were a few days short due to travel, but shhhh don’t tell!)
For 30 days, your diet is limited to unprocessed, ‘whole’ foods (mostly meat, fish, veggies and fruits) – no legumes, grains, dairy, sugar, or alcohol. You can read more about it here and if time, read the book that explains the logic behind it! Since our first round, more helpful resources and recipes have come out, and a few more foods have been added to the ‘acceptable’ list (like kombucha and white potatoes as well as sweet potatoes… which is really helpful for us here in Turkey because sweet potatoes are at fancy store and cost you your first child…)
My sister is actually the one that started us on this journey, thanks sis…. Then, Jason read the book while we were dating, and decided to try it. I said, “Heck, well if you are going to eat this way then why not try this food thing together for 30 days…” And so it started the journey of learning more about food. Even more so, I learned about the relationship certain foods had with my body.
Here are 4 things I learned/habits it broke:
1. Dairy- I learned dairy is not very kind to my system and it makes me feel bloated. I realized this when I moved to Turkey the first time, but thought it was just milk. Not having any dairy produces for 30 days (which was REALLY hard by the way) taught me that I need to be more picky about what dairy I eat. It broke my habit of ‘having’ to have cheese on everything, and now I mostly go without it.
2. Coffee – I can drink coffee without yummy delicious coffee creamers. In fact, now I prefer it! I still like a little creaminess but I use other options like bulletproof coffee, coconut oil, and heavy whipping cream (non-box cream is really hard to find here in Turkey)
3. Sugar – This was the MOST frustrating part of Whole30. I did not realize how MUCH sugar I was consuming daily from grabbing a piece of candy here and there. Also, sooo much processed (boxed, prepared, powder, frozen) food has sugar hidden in it as well. I learned to check everything before I bought it even when I am not on the Whole30 for the rest of the 11 months of the year. If I can enjoy it without sugar then why buy something with extra sugar in it?
4. Cooking – I can cook, and it’s get easier the more you try. In fact, the more we cook with veggies, the more I can change up spices, oil, and combinations to create unique flavors. Messing up and creating messes when cooking is part of the deal!
For those who are just starting off with Whole30, here are my tips for you!
To be clear, we were not strict on organic/grass-fed products. At the time (and even now to be honest) it just isn’t always an option and it can be expensive depending on where you live and what is accessible to you.
Have on hand:
1. EGGS – This is your easy go-to lifesaver when you are feeling tired of cooking or just don’t have time! We always bought a large batch of eggs and boiled about half of them. This is a great quick protein option for pre or post workouts as well. The first round I was training for a half marathon and the extra protein servings were really important to me! Also, egg salad is a great lunch option!
2. MAYO – Spend the time to make your own mayo. If you take time on the weekend to do this, it will be a great help you during the week when you need a little ‘extra somethin’ for your food. Great for egg salad, chicken salad, lettuce wraps, burgers, dressings, etc.
3. SALAD DRESSING – Make a salad dressing on the weekend for your week. If you love ranch, use the homemade mayo and try mixing up the Whole30 Dump Ranch dressing (I like this one). If you don’t know much about oil based dressings, experiment! The usually ratio is 2/3(oil) to 1/3(vinegar) and add spices – THAT’S IT. Each week you can change it up a bit, and it will be helpful for a quick salad!
4. COFFEE lovers – You have a couple of options if you are a ‘milk and sugar with a little coffee’ person. First off, sorry, no sugar subs, but you CAN do this! But for milk – Canned coconut milk, ghee, heavy whipping cream and coconut oil. I personally prefer the fresh organic heavy whipping cream(I told you I am picky about my dairy products now!) or coconut oil (blend really well!). For the coconut oil, I use an ice cube tray and make little single serving coconut oil cubes (keep in the fridge). This makes it an easy go to for my morning coffee ‘creamer’.
5. COCONUT MILK – This is one of my most used items during Whole30. A lot of indian/thai meals use dairy and canned coconut milk is a great substitute. It is perfect for making soup creamier. Only use the canned milked as there are no additives.
6. GHEE – Just spend the money and buy it – or make your own. Yes, it is not exactly like butter so you have to get use to it. Perfect for the bulletproof coffee, roasting veggies, and topping a baked sweet potato.
Hobo meal when we were out camping! Whole30 compliant while out and about!
– Trader Joes or Aldi Nuts are great to have on hand for snacks(which technically is not encouraged)- the Whole30 list tells you which ones are preferred. Nuts are just expensive, but really good options to have on hand!
– Aldi Salsa – There are some that do not have sugar!
– Aldi Sweet Potato Chips – While this is technically not Whole30 ideals, the ingredients are only sweet potatoes, oil, and salt. And it was a heck of alot easier to buy these then make sweet potato chips (which we did our first round).
– Aldi has Grass-fed beef and chicken now
– Aldi avocados, avocados, avocccaaaaddddoooossss – So versatile! Breakfast, lunch or dinner!
Actually most of our produce came from Aldi or TJ.
Cooking – My advice for first-timers… KEEP IT SIMPLE! While it would be great to recreate your favorite Chinese meal Whole30 style, it is not always easy. Don’t frustrate yourself, but instead learn how to make the simple items great! Also, PLAN AHEAD. Food just takes more time in general when you cook from scratch. I am a planner when it comes to meals and Jason is not. So the last few times we have done Whole30, Jason just does it. He is better at last minute game-plans. However, if you are a planner and take your lunch to work, it easier to have a list of options to cook so that I wasn’t frustrated! Something like, Breakfast – Eggs and Avocados, Lunch – Salad with Tuna, Dinner – Chicken with roasted veggies. Nothing hard!
Eating out – This one is just hard, and we just gave ourselves some grace. There are lots of eating out guide out on the web – like this one. Whole30 also covers how eat out in a little question guide.
Lastly, if you mess up, IT IS OKAY. Just continue on with the program! Your life is NOT ruined. Actually, Jason and I got engaged around day 2o something during our first Whole30 (couple that eat together, stay together 😉 ). So we celebrated by going to eat Mexican Food which is exactly the opposite of the goal of Whole30… let’s just say that after 20 days of no grains, dairy or alcohol, that was NOT a good idea to have the margarita! But the next day, we were back on track and finished out the rest of the program!
The more I write on this, the more I have to say! Maybe I’ll write another post about it in the future!
Questions:
What would you like to know more about? Meal prep? Whole30 Instagram accounts?
While it is safe to say that we are happy to see the new year, 2016 will always be one to remember for our family!
Several words come to mind as we think back to our year: Anticipation, preparation, happiness, sadness(Both the sadness of mourning and the joyful kind that comes with change), transition, struggle, identity, finishing, loneliness, longing, dreaming, adventurous.
As I was considering how to write about 2016, it truly centers around one major event….
BEST AND MOST CHALLENGING THING THAT HAPPENED IN 2016:
Jason and I (plus our 8 bags) moved to Turkey.
WHICH ALSO MEANT THAT:
Before moving we made the most of traveling to the states (mostly via my work conferences) and spending time with family. These little side trips took us to Minneapolis, Manhattan(Kansas), Chicago, Washington D.C. and Denver. Somewhere in there we celebrated our 2nd Anniversary! (Click on the links to take you to the podcast episode.)
I ran a half marathon in Chicago with my sister and mom.
Over the course of 6 months, we sold/gave away most of our household and then stored the rest of it. (episode 11)
(photo cred to libbyasaystudio.com)(photo cred to libbyasaystudio.com)
Jason found his first client that hired him KNOWING we were going to be living internationally (and it has worked so well!).
After 3 years as a study abroad program assistant Iowa State, I moved on so that, together, we could pursue this move.
In July, we moved out of our first home together.(Episode 14)
In August, we left our 6 (now 7) nieces and nephews behind. Oh and the rest of our family. (jk, we love ya’ll too!) Which also meant that we missed meeting our new niece born 3 weeks after we left the states.
In August, we also left an amazing church and community of people.
Due to the coup in Turkey, we delayed our entry into Turkey and had the unexpected joy of spending a month with Jason’s cousins in Spain. While in Spain, we took a road trip through the Andalucia Region and spent the night in Morocco. (episode 15 and episode 16)
From the end of July to October 5, we lived in someone else’s home, hotel, Airbnb, apartment, or tent (yes, we count those 2 nights!).
In October, we signed a year long contract on a newly renovated apartment (episode 18) in Izmir, Turkey. You can listen into our podcast episodes to hear more about the long saga of acquiring gas for hot water, dropping a 10 foot pipe down 6 stories, and the leaky roof… (episode 19, episode 20, episode 21, episode 22)
In the Fall, we took a course about language learning and then implemented our plans towards slowly learning Turkish (and figuring out how that will work for us).(episode 19 and episode 20)
We somehow managed to be right on budget with our moving fund which has allowed us to rent an apartment, set up accounts, get our visas, buy furniture, and take some language. Now we are back to our monthly budget!
Crazily enough, that international move means we spent about a 3rd of our year living outside of the U.S.A.!
HARDEST THINGS THAT HAPPENED:
Leaving my job. I will say that my job at the beginning wasn’t all roses, but over time it grew into a job I really loved. I enjoyed my co-workers and miss that community dearly.
The failed coup in Turkey (episode 12 and episode013). While we did make the most of this, the events that have been happening in Turkey made the 2 months leading up to our move MUCH harder for people to celebrate with us about.
Being the better of our 2 vehicles, my car’s transmission went out 1 week before our move overseas. And with that, so did about $4,000 of moving money we hoped to have as a little extra backup. However, we are thankful that our car at least made it to the end! (episode 14)
BEST DECISIONS WE MADE:
In January, I convinced Jason that we should have a shared project of podcasting our way through our move(episode 1). One year later, our little side hobby of podcasting about our life changes and international move is still going strong. The first four episodes talk about our past travels to San Francisco, Boston, Italy, and Dubai. Our most listened too, Episode 9 announces our move and explains our decision to move overseas. Episode 13 premiers our first guest speaker!
In March we had a crawfish boil… in IOWA. Our long time friend, Mandy ‘B’ and her husband hosted a group of friends at their home, and we somehow managed to store a massive box of overnighted crawfish into our refrigerator (which then leaked into the rest of our fridge… but #WORTHIT).
In April, I took a day photography workshop with Alex+Val Education, and it was SO helpful. It has really given me more confidence in how to use my DSL camera on manual settings. I also purchased a new 50mm lens which I LOVE.
We both agreed that spending our first week in Turkey sailing was one of the best decisions yet. It is definitely NOT something we EVER thought we would do. Ok, maybe I thought I would, but Jason had no plans too. This experience was even better because Jason celebrated his 30th birthday on a catamaran on the coast of Turkey. Our sailing buddies, the Rowells and the Parrots, helped us share the experience via epsiode 17.
Favourite TV Show: We went through a quite a few tv shows, beginning with Grimm and finishing the year with The Blacklist. But by far, I would say that Broadchurch is a MUST watch.
Catie’s Jam: Can’t Stop the Feeling! by Justin Timberlake
It is the new Happy by Pharrell Williams song of 2016, and song is better to watch with the video while you listen, at least the first time!
HOW ARE YOU DOING NOW?
I will be the first to admit that our year could look pretty and perfect to outsiders, but as you can see above there was some really hard moment. I found myself more than once crying. Some times it was from the deep loss of identity and community. Other times it was over my nieces’ invitations to come play, but having to say no because we are choosing to live 3 plane rides and multiple time zones away.
While it has been extremely hard to leave family and friends back home, this change has also been so growing for our marriage. While it is exciting to fulfill our dreams of living internationally together, there were a lot of hard conversations due to missed expectations and frustrations which thankfully followed with many more opportunities for grace and forgiveness. God is faithful to continually supply grace and love towards us, and we too much extend it towards one another. He has also given us new friendships, a new home, strength and support every step along the way.
SO WHAT NOW?
I am busy making our home cozy and studying language as well. Now that we have hot water and a dry roof, it seems like 2017 is starting off wayyy too smoothly. Jason continues to work with his U.S. clients via his software consulting business, Tough Space. So far it has been working well, but it is also a balancing act as we try to set up our home and learn Turkish as well.
The podcast will continue into 2017 on the same schedule! Other thank that, we have been looking into some other online entrepreneurial projects. Maybe you will see some of that down the road!
But for now, THANK YOU for being part of our 2016 move and following along on our adventure. We are excited to see what 2017 will hold!
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.
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)
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:
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.
