A bride in a new land..my first day experience

10th September 1999 was the day i became a man's wife. Halil's wife. A man i had gotten to know from the internet chat.We chatted. We talked about marriage. We met once. We tied the bond as husband and wife. And on the 15th September,I took a flight..a flight that will take me to another land...another culture..another life...a life i am living in..a life in istanbul...a life definitely not the life i am used to in Malaysia...

Was i crazy to do so? Love is blind, people said.I followed my heart instead of my head and i am really glad i did it.And here is my story....

The plane touched down on the 16th at the Ataturk International Airport. We, as in my hubby and my parents in law were greeted by selim,kerim (my brother in law) and mehves (my sister in law). The airport is located in the european side of istanbul.Therefore, we all journeyed by car to go to my parents' in law's house in Asia. My first impression was...*oh my god..buildings..too many of them...apartments left and right.Where are the greens??* After we crossed the bridge, i was a bit optimistic..there were/are still buildings everywhere but this side of the continent looks more pleasant to live in.


I was scared. I was confused. I didn't know what to expect. I knew not any of the people here... Will they be able to accept me?? Will i be able to accept the life here? Language differences. Culture differences. Even my husband is still an alien to me...too many things to learn..to cope..i was really really really SCARED...On top of everything, i am not good in socializing.Will i survive this???

When we entered my parents' in law's apartment (let me just refer to my mom in law as anne n my dad in law as baba), at the entrance i was given a maroon slipper to wear. They told me the slipper is mine-my* in the house slipper*... so everytime i come to anne n baba's house,i am free to use the slipper. hmm...my beloved slipper.. i use it still..The house was quite crowded at that time.I think teyze (anne's sisters) ,Safa and Merve (halil's nephew n niece), Mehves (halil's sister), ozlem (my sister in law) were there. I can't remember exactly who were there...i was scared remember?

Safa and Merve were both trying to use their skills to talk to me. I still remember how they, especially merve tried to teach me the name of months in turkish..and if i am not mistaken..the numerals in turkish as well..i cowed in fear inside but i braved myself to what is to come. Fearing that i would not be able to eat turkish food, halil,Safa and Merve brought me to Fenerbahce (a garden of some sort) to walk around and eat Mac Donald's. İt was september. the weather was not cold for turkish standard..around 16-18 degree celcius..but i was FREEEEEEEEEZİNG!!! can u imagine a girl coming from a country of at least 30 degree celcius..and not feel cold at that temperature???..it wassssssssssss freeezinggggggggggggggggggg... Lunch done.They brought me back to anne and baba's house to get some rest. . I was so exhausted physically and mentally.Naturally i slept.

That night the whole family members (all brothers n sister,cousins,aunties) got together.Everyone was so sweet,polite and gracious. I am lucky because most of the family members do speak or at least know english. We ate dinner. The menu missed my mind. I cannot remember my impression of the food either. That i have to ask them if they do remember still....But i remember distinctively for dessert, baklava was served. All types of baklava...baklava with pistachio,baklava with walnut.. They warned me that it will be sweet. Yet, out of politeness i put each type of baklava onto my plate for tasting.

OUCHhhhhhhhhhhh...SWEET it is!!! EXtra Extra SWEET!!! The sweetness is indescribable!!..i could only eat one. I let halil do the justice to rest of the poor baklava. Even after all these years, two is the only number of baklava i can brave myself to eat...

Dinner done. Socializing done. It was time to go back to our own apartment.I didn't know what the rest of the family think of me that night. But i think for a very scared and confused girl, i didn't do too bad.

Yes, my home sweet home. I fell in love with it the first moment i laid my eyes on it. Deep Green coloured living room..pink bedroom...Kerim (my brother in law) did a very good job in renovating the house...Cok Cok tesekkur ederim Kerim..my own home...and fully furnished too!!! plates,pans,dish washer, washing machine, fridge, everything complete!! I never thought such a thing will happen to me... i was and am indeed a lucky person...MasyaAllah...
To be able to live in my own home...to sleep in my own bed..what more can i ask?

....To be continued....