The last days of Antalya 2013

Posting date April 20, 2013

First of all I want to apologize for not writing another blog sooner!  We have been busy at the Cafe everyday with one thing or another, but I wasn't taking any pictures because I wasn't really doing anything that exciting, just making food all day and going back to my hotel room at night.

All of that changed last Sunday evening when my friend Cathleen Lawler stepped off the airplane in Antalya in her role as head of development for TEAM and to hang out with ME!  Here's a picture of her hard at work!

Seriously though she does work hard it's just that she does most of it online. 
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At St. Paul's Cultural Center (SPCC) we are hosting a group this week from the AICEME the Association of International churches of Europe and the Middle East, they are all pastors and their spouses.  They are an exuberant group, joyful and engaging with one another and with those of us who are working to make all things run smoothly.  More about that later!

Renata has placed on me a tremendous responsibility to oversee all the food preparation and service.  It has been very stressful and hard work but today Sunday is the last day and we end tonight with a Gala Dinner party.  I have a great team though and we are running like a well oiled machine:  Belgin the cook and 3 short termes, Eunice from Vancouver BC, Janelle from near Seattle and Daniel from Virginia.  

These three are gifted in so many ways and they keep me entertained and laughing.  Eunice shines in the kitchen and has a love for food plus great knife skills, she is my rock, Janelle is a pianist, dancer, singer and actress we can count on her to be goofy, Daniel is here working on his doctorate sings like an angel and also is a dancer and has boundless energy.  And then of course there is Belgin the cook who has treated me SO differently this year.  She smiles at me every morning, we laugh, we joke and we have become a team!  I also have tried not to take myself too seriously and just let her do her thing.  Anyway it's been a lot of hard work but these four people have made it fun for me and very manageable.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Kas to visit my friends Jeri and Curt who live 8 months a year here and 4 months a year in Sequim!  I have more stories and pictures to share then.