Just Turkish

[Melinda&Necmi 0]

Couple of thoughts..

Last night I went to a meeting at our local Turkish-American Cultural Association. We have been given a grant by ATAA to encourage Turkish-Americans to become more active in grassroots politics. A very good point was brought up by a member. When it is time for the census, there is a section related to ethnicity or national origin….He said to mark other and write in Turkish. This will send a message to our congressmen that there is a growing number of Turks here and they will be a little more receptive to issues close to the heart of many Turks.

Also, I am in a Turkish class plugging along as the sole student without a Turkish partner at home to help me. Necmi tries really hard to help, but I want our time together spent talking about other stuff Is there anyone who would be willing to talk to me on MSN once in awhile to help me with this?

Sagol:)

[Ctrl+alt+delete 0]

Your welcome Melinda,

We both have some wonderful stories to tell ;-( ....awaterlilily and mine are very different but still can cause many many tears. We are here to support you ;-) Feel free to shoot me a pm if you need to.

Have a wonderful day,

Debbie

Debbie and awaterlily, thank you so very much for sharing this. I can't imagine how hard it is going to be for all of us. With the enviornment that my kids have grown up in (NO respect for their abusive dad) I don't see them giving Necmi any respect right away. I have told him to be prepared for the "Your not my dad..you can't tell me what to do..." We are just now learning how to behave becuase it is the right thing to do..not because Dad will be mad. I have told him my two oldest are sexually acitve. He is trying to get use to the idea. He asked if this is normal for America..I gave him the latest stats on virgins graduating form HS. He was speechless. I have told him my kids are naughty naughty naughty. He thinks my 9 year old is cute in her naughtyness:) Ohhh, when that misconception is found out:) My husband is of nooo help here. He calls Necmi racial slurs in front of the kids:( I am comforted by the fact that I am not the first to go through this and that all of you are here to act as a sounding board and for adivce. Sagol!!

Pray..Pray...Pray for us!! Luften!!

[Jenn and Fuat 2]

Thanks! More great news: It snowed in Istanbul all day yesterday. Hubster and I went out to throw snowballs at each other. This morning the snow is still covering the sidewalks, roofs and cars. The weather forecast says it should snow today and tomorrow too. Also, the father in law promises to come visit as soon as we get back from Ankara so he can see his son off to America. Just wish hubby could see his brother and sister again but his brother is still fulfilling his military service and so can not leave the country and his sister is studying in Paris. Hopefully, it won't take us long to find jobs in the states so we can start saving for a trip to visit his sister in Paris and cousin in the south of France. I don't think he's been able to see his sister in 2 years. I'd love for us to be able to go to Iran too to meet the rest of his extended family that hasn't had a chance to visit us in Turkey but unfortunately it is too dangerous right now with all that is going on there.

Wondering how the second interview went? Did the weather keep you from going? Have been looking, daily, to see your news.. hope no news is not bad news.

And thank you to everyone about their suggestions for our documentation. I am going to take all of it.. even if they don't look at it. I would rather be safe, and I have put a huge amount of work into it.. Just hope they will let me into the Embassy with a backpack full of stuff. I think I read that you can't take your bags in, so I may need to reorganize so we can actually carry everything.

[Der Bücherwurm 1]

Oh, hi Jenn. My computer died so I have to hop on my husband's when I can. UPS delivered the visa packet yesterday.

They didn't really interview us this second time around. We just went in, got a number and went to the window when our number came up. The lady we got didn't say a word. She just motioned for me to hand her the blue slip and my husband's passport that I was holding. She took it, wrote my husband's name and the number 1 on a little card and then she finally spoke and told us to take this card to the UPS desk and pay the fee. So I asked if we were really getting the visa this time and she said it should take 5 working days for it to be sent. So we hopped, skipped and giggled over to the UPS desk to pay the fee. There was an Iranian guy in line ahead of us that asked if he could borrow 2 lira since the shipping cost is 12 lira so I gave it to him without realizing that that left me without exact change. So the UPS worker just told me to pay cash on delivery and handed me the receipt. We tracked the package on the UPS site and were pleasantly surprised to see that it would arrive earlier than expected so we made sure to have our 15 lira and his Turkish residency ID on hand for the UPS man. Since we got the visa I've just been packing, buying souvenirs for my family and checking flights online. The father in law is supposed to come next week to spend a few days and see us off. Now all that is left to do is get the deposit on our flat back from the landlord. We're so excited. It will be a huge relief once we make it through the POE.

[Jenn and Fuat 2]

Oh, hi Jenn. My computer died so I have to hop on my husband's when I can. UPS delivered the visa packet yesterday.

They didn't really interview us this second time around. We just went in, got a number and went to the window when our number came up. The lady we got didn't say a word. She just motioned for me to hand her the blue slip and my husband's passport that I was holding. She took it, wrote my husband's name and the number 1 on a little card and then she finally spoke and told us to take this card to the UPS desk and pay the fee. So I asked if we were really getting the visa this time and she said it should take 5 working days for it to be sent. So we hopped, skipped and giggled over to the UPS desk to pay the fee. There was an Iranian guy in line ahead of us that asked if he could borrow 2 lira since the shipping cost is 12 lira so I gave it to him without realizing that that left me without exact change. So the UPS worker just told me to pay cash on delivery and handed me the receipt. We tracked the package on the UPS site and were pleasantly surprised to see that it would arrive earlier than expected so we made sure to have our 15 lira and his Turkish residency ID on hand for the UPS man. Since we got the visa I've just been packing, buying souvenirs for my family and checking flights online. The father in law is supposed to come next week to spend a few days and see us off. Now all that is left to do is get the deposit on our flat back from the landlord. We're so excited. It will be a huge relief once we make it through the POE.

So glad to hear it! When you didn't post anything I was afraid there was going to be bad news. Carol and Jacob had their interview today, so hoping for good news from them too!!

25 more days for us.. and I leave for Istanbul in 20 days..

[nicole&efe 0]

Congratulations/good luck on everyone's current/future interviews!

I just sent out my I-129F this week (finally!) and even though I know it's going to be stressful and a long wait, reading about everyones stories leaves me optimistic about this whole journey:) I can't be completely positive that Efe will enjoy living in the US as much as Turkey, but at least we are taking the right legal steps to be together more than a few month increments at a time. I think I'm most looking forward to having a normal 9-5 schedule together, and a place that we can call our own. A girl can dream...

[Der Bücherwurm 1]

So glad to hear it! When you didn't post anything I was afraid there was going to be bad news. Carol and Jacob had their interview today, so hoping for good news from them too!!

25 more days for us.. and I leave for Istanbul in 20 days..

Good luck to you and everyone else with an upcoming interview. My father in law said he should be here by Monday if not the weekend and then we will have one more week here in Istanbul to visit with him before flying home. My mom still has all the decorations up inside the house and we will open gifts and have turkey, asparagus casserole, sweet potato casserole and dressing with cranberry sauce once we've recovered from the jet-lag. It looks like we will be flying with Delta since they are the cheapest right now. I'm just wondering if my husband will need a transit visa if we have to stop over somewhere in Europe...

[Der Bücherwurm 1]

How long a layover should I allow for at our POE before the connecting flight? Our POE will probably be NY. With the flights I'm looking at there is a 1 hr. 50 min. layover in NY before the next connecting flight. Otherwise, I'd have to choose a 12 hr. layover in NY which is a bit much sense we'll still need to make 2 more stops to arrive home. Should that be enough time for my husband to make it through customs?

[tanyakaraman 0]

How long a layover should I allow for at our POE before the connecting flight? Our POE will probably be NY. With the flights I'm looking at there is a 1 hr. 50 min. layover in NY before the next connecting flight. Otherwise, I'd have to choose a 12 hr. layover in NY which is a bit much sense we'll still need to make 2 more stops to arrive home. Should that be enough time for my husband to make it through customs?

You never know with New York. I'm assuming you're coming into JFK airport? Sometimes you can get right thru customs, sometimes it can take hours. It all depends on how many others are trying to get thru at the same time...and they don't care if you have another plane to catch. I'd personally be very uncomfortable with 1 hour 50 minutes. It would probably be fine if you were just changing planes, but your husband might not make it thru immigration in that time frame. I'd go for the 12 hour layover...maybe get a room at one of the airport hotels...catch a little sleep between planes...

[Gil + Pel 2]

Congratulations/good luck on everyone's current/future interviews!

I just sent out my I-129F this week (finally!) and even though I know it's going to be stressful and a long wait, reading about everyones stories leaves me optimistic about this whole journey:) I can't be completely positive that Efe will enjoy living in the US as much as Turkey, but at least we are taking the right legal steps to be together more than a few month increments at a time. I think I'm most looking forward to having a normal 9-5 schedule together, and a place that we can call our own. A girl can dream...

Good luck!!!

[Gil + Pel 2]

Oh, hi Jenn. My computer died so I have to hop on my husband's when I can. UPS delivered the visa packet yesterday.

They didn't really interview us this second time around. We just went in, got a number and went to the window when our number came up. The lady we got didn't say a word. She just motioned for me to hand her the blue slip and my husband's passport that I was holding. She took it, wrote my husband's name and the number 1 on a little card and then she finally spoke and told us to take this card to the UPS desk and pay the fee. So I asked if we were really getting the visa this time and she said it should take 5 working days for it to be sent. So we hopped, skipped and giggled over to the UPS desk to pay the fee. There was an Iranian guy in line ahead of us that asked if he could borrow 2 lira since the shipping cost is 12 lira so I gave it to him without realizing that that left me without exact change. So the UPS worker just told me to pay cash on delivery and handed me the receipt. We tracked the package on the UPS site and were pleasantly surprised to see that it would arrive earlier than expected so we made sure to have our 15 lira and his Turkish residency ID on hand for the UPS man. Since we got the visa I've just been packing, buying souvenirs for my family and checking flights online. The father in law is supposed to come next week to spend a few days and see us off. Now all that is left to do is get the deposit on our flat back from the landlord. We're so excited. It will be a huge relief once we make it through the POE.

CONGRATULATIONS Der Bücherwurm!!!!! great news!! I am sooo happy for you guys!

[Der Bücherwurm 1]

Hi all. B) My father in law arrives today. We can't wait. He's such a fun guy. He's in his 60s but acts more like a hippy teenager. He will stay for a full week and then we will all leave next Monday.

I still haven't decided if I want to brave a 1hr.50 min. layover in NY or book a longer layover. The flight would arrive at 5pm which is the start of the busy time at JFK. Even though there is a better schedule if we make a connecting flight in Amsterdam we're booking the direct flight from IST to JFK because we're worried about the transit visa issue. If I chicken out on the 110 min. layover then I think we will book one of the 20 hour NY layover flights and get a hotel room and see some more of NY than the 12 hour layover would allow.

[Jenn and Fuat 2]

Hi all. B) My father in law arrives today. We can't wait. He's such a fun guy. He's in his 60s but acts more like a hippy teenager. He will stay for a full week and then we will all leave next Monday.

I still haven't decided if I want to brave a 1hr.50 min. layover in NY or book a longer layover. The flight would arrive at 5pm which is the start of the busy time at JFK. Even though there is a better schedule if we make a connecting flight in Amsterdam we're booking the direct flight from IST to JFK because we're worried about the transit visa issue. If I chicken out on the 110 min. layover then I think we will book one of the 20 hour NY layover flights and get a hotel room and see some more of NY than the 12 hour layover would allow.

I would go for the 20 hour layover and see some of NYC. Just got my ticket to go over for our interview and I have the same 2 hours in between flights when I come back. It will be my first time coming in through JFK and I wonder if it would be enough time for me! I know it's easy enough in D.C. , but I am guessing JFK is going to be a lot busier. If Fuat were coming back with me I don't think I would risk it.

Has anyone heard from Carol? Jacob had his interview 5 days ago and she hasn't posted anything yet. I hope that's not a sign of bad news.

[Der Bücherwurm 1]

I would go for the 20 hour layover and see some of NYC. Just got my ticket to go over for our interview and I have the same 2 hours in between flights when I come back. It will be my first time coming in through JFK and I wonder if it would be enough time for me! I know it's easy enough in D.C. , but I am guessing JFK is going to be a lot busier. If Fuat were coming back with me I don't think I would risk it.

Has anyone heard from Carol? Jacob had his interview 5 days ago and she hasn't posted anything yet. I hope that's not a sign of bad news.

Thanks, Jenn. Good luck on your interview. I think I will book a flight with a 22 hour layover in NY, book a hotel and do some sight-seeing. I want my hubby to see the statue of liberty, the city skyline and maybe central park too.

Anyone here ever been to NY? Is anybody familiar with how safe the area around JFK is? I'll probably book a hotel near to the airport to make it easier. Would it be easy/affordable to get around NY from there using public transport? Thanks.

[nicole&efe 0]

Anyone here ever been to NY? Is anybody familiar with how safe the area around JFK is? I'll probably book a hotel near to the airport to make it easier. Would it be easy/affordable to get around NY from there using public transport? Thanks.

I've been to NYC a bunch of times (it's a pretty short bus ride from Philly). I'm not sure about the hotels/area around JFK, but it's definitely easy to get around NYC and a great idea to take your husband sightseeing. From the airport (assuming that you have a hotel booked around the airport and you can drop your bags off before sightseeing), you can take the AirTrain (subway airport shuttle) and then hop on to the normal subway at some point (the AirTrain and normal subway are connected at certain points). I'm pretty sure the AirTrain is only $5/person one-way, and then you both could buy an all day subway pass for getting around during the day.

I actually took Efe to NYC the last time he was in the US (October) and he was like a giddy little boy while in NYC, he had the best time. We decided only to go for one day, but we still were able to see and do much, through buying an unlimited subway pass and taking the subway to most of our destinations. It was really cool to take him to the top of the Rockefeller Center, see the Statue of Liberty, walk down Wall St. (he's an Economics graduate), have pizza in Little Italy, walk around Grand Central Station, and of course go to Times Square. Istanbul is the biggest city in Turkey, and it's overwhelming for me, but they don't have all of the flashing lights that Efe was so taken aback by in New York. It was really cool to take him to see the US that the rest of the world envisions through watching movies. So, I hope you get the chance to take him to NYC for the day, you both will have so much fun!