This is the post where I say, "that just happened. I've figured out why the Turkish Fulbright Commission put me in Bolu."

I thought I had a pretty good idea before today: Bolu is a beautiful area, very agricultural, very much a university town and just the right size-- I don't get lost in town much anymore, but there's still something new to learn every time I step outside my door. In short, it's a lot like Walla Walla.

But one thing that I'd been missing here was a community group or center-- like the Gleaners, or the YWCA, or a soup kitchen. As I've mentioned before, I love my work and I'm happy to make it the center of my life right now, but I definitely need to spend time off-campus, too, and see what this town's about.

I had written in my ETA grant proposal that I loved to work with my hands and to work with food-- few things give me such joy. A number of people in the States let me know that it might be challenging for me to find a way to work with food in the community, as I would be a foreigner here and that might create difficulties. But I still mentioned to Sinan Olguner (back in August, I tell you) how much I enjoyed cooking and how I looked forward to learning Turkish cuisine.

And he remembered.

And he put us in contact with the instructor of a cooking class at a local community center.

And it turns out this community center is actually a St. Vincent de Paul, a Goodwill, a food distribution center, a work-training center, a YWCA (with a women's shelter-- see Esra Erol Umut Evi), a soup kitchen, and a place of learning all rolled into one.

So, every Thursday evening (for I don't know how long), I am permitted to hang out with sixteen or so other women and cook Turkish food in an industrial kitchen.

It was perfect before we learned that we got to eat what we cooked at the end.

Next time, I'll try to get pictures.