The Very Much Awaited Meeting

Oh Yeah... recognise us? Yup! that's my beloved and myself...our faces at 8.10am in the morning at the bus stop near our place.... it may not show but i was excited as hell...

We decided to go by bus today since my bro in law needed to use the car....it was soon after when the double decker bus came.... we took our seats andguess what my beloved do?

Oh yeah.....he SLEPT!!! all the wayyyyyyy till Taksim!! He is sooo just like his son!! I on the other hand, am just like hatice.... the moment i took my seat.... i started to sweat... my headache started to pound....i felt like vomitting.... i felt claustrophobic....*sigh*.. me and a bus trip... i cant really take busses....

That is why i always have my emadur, my dramamine and my minoset (medicine) with me at all times. And guess what happenned? The zip of my handbag where i put the medicine wouldnt open! hahahahah *simah..think of the suprises waiting for u in taksim*...i consoled myself... luckily in the part of my handbag which can open... i found some chewing gums...that helped.. and to distract my mind, i started sms-ing this kind lady who had spent a lot of money and energy so that i could have a taste of home...

When we reached the hotel, Rudi... the cute messenger of the kind auntie was already waiting at the lobby. He quickly showed me the suprises... i was soooooo happy inside....wanting to cry... but hey! i have to keep my reputation intact, eh? No crying in front of Rudi! hahahah...and so i laughed happily...Halil suggested that Rudi put the package we brought for him n the auntie (n Doc Adah of course)...at his room... of course, with Rudi missing, i quickly excitedly..smilingly showed and explained to halil what was actually inside the suprise package sent to me... Rudi came back.. and i again... controlled my *macho-ness* hahahahaha Sorry Kak Elle..!! No teary show in front of Rudi! hahaha what happened after i got home... THAT is a Different MATTER! hahahah tears r for when i am in private...Pandai tak i control macho? hahahah sebenarnya i nak melompat masa tengokall the kuih raya-s.. tapi kang halil ketuk kepala i kang ... kan dia ni jenis sopan hahahaha

We had sort of brunch at Taksim Square... Rudi n Halil had doner while i ate like a pig ( pls dont ask how much i weigh today! hahaha...today is a holiday...who can go on diet when u have wonderful stuffs around??)...I think Rudi had lost weight... he looked chubbier the last time i saw him...we chatted and chatted and after a while.... we all part ways... Rudi would go sight seeing...

I couldnt entertain a thought of going on a bus again... Luckily Halil understood my plight and agreed to take a Dolmuş (see the pic below)...it is some sort of a van with only 8 seats for the passengers....it is more expensive than a normal bus fare of course but the way is cut short..it is as if u r driving in a car..very comfortable...yeah...i know..i know... i am such a spoilt brat...but it is not my fault... i was independent..but my life in turkey... halil spoilt me rotten :0)

KAK ELLE (www.kakelle.blogspot.com) ThAnK You for EVERYthing... i hope u will like the ole ole i sent u thru Rudi... they r not much...but they r from the heart...Since u cant remember what u sent me.. here r the pictures of the things that reached my arms (and my mouth) today :0) Mintak dihalalkan yea akak?

The Double decker we took

The view on the way to the hotel where rudi was staying...
The hotel is behind the trees.. can u see the building?

Rudi n my beloved...after finishing their food...

2 cute guys i had a date with today...

The Dolmuş...

All the things were stuffed in here...

Fried chrispy shallots... u cant find this anywhere else...

and if u try frying shallots at home, it wont turn out as nice as thing...trust me..

Ready made malay food sauces

some more spices

jelly moulds..

some more spices

more spices :0)

Spices r good! hehehe

My beloved asam mo far ko...satu botol sudah habissss..

fridge magnet...the kids love them

ketupat...a malay dish esp eaten during eid, eaten with either kuah kacang or rendang...

instant noodles

Wallets for hatice n baddin..

Just Perfect to put their money for their canteen day...

a bracelet for hatice and a key chain for baddin..

u can guess which belongs to who, right??

Kak Elle.. it fits hatice perfectly... baddin had put the keychain to his wallet..

From hatice n baddin.. Teşekkur Ederim!!

From Doc Adah (Kak Elle's friend)..just in case i wanna change my style :0) The BİG SUPRİSE!! kuih raya(eid) biscuits..

Well.. baddin basiccally almost demolish the chocolate ones...hatice love the choc one as well..but her fav is the one wth the peanut butter (i tak tau nama apa)...mine is the keropok inti ikan and the pineapple tart...the sugee according to halil is similar to the *un kurabiye* (flour biscuit in turkey.....i tibai makan semua secara selow selow hahahaha

kak elle.. ni nak sabotaj my weight challenge ker? hehehe

All the stuffs that reached me today...

When i was unpacking the stuffs to see what kak elle had sent me ..Halil said to me....

*i know u r very happy and all.... can u not open the spices here? i cant stand the smell*

hahahaha after being married to me for 8 years, he still cannot stand our food smell...but of course... once i cook the beriani rice using the spice kak elle sent me... he will be the one to grab the rice... he just simply love it! What a funny guy he is...

Kak Elle and Rudi...

THANK U!

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

İbu & Ayah in istanbul n Hatice's school Show

Little did i know that my wish list of the 6 items to *ibu* would be in this big bag...
would end up like this!! hahahahaha terbulau ..terjegil mata i kejap coz...this is like tons n tons of asam (nak order lagi bole? hahah) n maggie.. n my asam jawa (instead of masak..i akan gatah asam jawa tu)..n maggie!!
seeing *ibu*'s excitement when she showed me all these was like.... hahahha..i just dunno what to say... i wanted to jump in joy but i had to keep my cool...iyea la kang mcm budak budak pulak...u r an angel ibu!! i really owe u one on this! tak sangka dengan berblog..i dapat *merasa* hahahaha nanti bila i balik mesia i beli kat u geogmetri tudung yea? *wink*...

*ibu*'s favourite toy in our home seemed to be a snake hehehe

she even tried reading hatice's homework book n learned a few words of turkish..

ibu n i before they left

*ibu* n *ayah* in front of our apartment block..

The picture of all of us in beyazit... somewhere near kapalı çarşı

She woke up this morning and asked...


*Anne... gittilar mı?*(Anne, r they gone?)



When i said they were still in the bedroom, a wonderful smile spead over her face as she said that she would cry if she couldnt say goodby to them...


And the brother who was very shy towards them on Friday was even very happy to see them still here then......

Now...It is almost 10.50am.. a fellow blogger ibu n her sweetheart had left our humble shack about an hour ago...off to Aya Sofia n later to the airport for Malaysia...


Well.... from this blogging world, I had met our Doctor in the House's two beautiful daughters, I had also met our Mr. Idham and last but not least, our Kak Elle's nephew was here too to pass the wonderful goodies his favourite Wak had sent me thru him...... These people, i had met for a few hours only....


Having our fellow blogger *ibu* n *ayah* at our home was a real pleasure. They r such a cute sweet couple... (kurusnya diaorang compared to halil n i hahahaha)..the forever laughing ibu... n the sweet smiling ayah make u wanna be warm towards them...a lovely couple indeed... memang depa pasangan comel ..ehem... kembang kejap akak hahahahahaah..by the way...sorry la.. the scrambled egg masa breakfast tu masin ...bila lagi nak makan telur masin yek? :0)


My kids were happy to have them there.....as usual, as they left the apartment area...hatice asked me in Turkish...

*will they forget us?*


Indeed each of our visitors from the homeland is precious to them....and to me (definitely)... and as for Halil, he is expanding his international ties as well as making new friends...


I still remember when we were in the car... Halil was driving. *Ayah* was sitting at the front seat while *ibu*, the kids n i were at the back seat...


Halil said... *Sabahaddin* (he was referring to my son) and the *ayah* responded ... well.. that is what u get when two people share almost the same name eh? :0)


......and to *ibu* and *ayah*...thank u for coming... Kalau ada terkurang layan tersilap bahasa... tersalah laku... harap dimaafkan...and u r in the record of the first blogger to see the *real Simah n family* up close n personal ... kutuk jangan tak kutuk! hahahhahahah...remember my pic of halil in the kitchen? hahahahahaha shhhhhhhhhhhh...we miss u both already la...


hopefully u will have a safe journey... all the hugs n kisses to all ur 3 heroes...! Pls do come again :0)


Will update this blog again tonight after Hatice's show...i am over excited even right now! heheheh anak punya school show..mak dia pulak yg terexcited....heheh..ala u all pun terexcited kan kan kan? i nak pi tengok baju apa nak pakai ni... iskh..ada ka baju lawa ni?




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HATİCE'S SCHOOL SHOW?

oh yup! it was over n done with... i had a great time! my daughter was wonderful too! I strongly suggest u all see it... it was long definitely but it was worth it!

and for u......i have spent hours n hours to prepare this one entry...

but that entry is not here... i think hatice's blog should have the glory of presenting her own pre school end of the year show...

and i hereby invite u ladies and gentleman to her own very blog....

at..

www.haticeveokul.blogspot.com

I'll see you there!

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..

Rudi Yang Comel

Rudi's favourite Auntie is now also one of my favourite kakaks......Not because she had sent this sweet looking bag thru Rudi yg comel....

or that because she made my daughter happy with the pencil case and cute baby princesses t-shirt...

or that she made my son happy with his spiderman stuffs..

or that she sent me agar agar powder complete with 3 sets of cute moulds
or that she sent me varieties of asam (preserved fruits) in which one of the packets i had demolished within less than 5 minutes..

or that she sent me the priceless sop soto spice complete with a beehun...

of CouRse I am grateful for all these stuffs :0)...

but i love her now coz the thoughts of even sending me anything (a total stranger) whom she has never known or met except for my blog in which i can lie n people wont even know ...right?)...

THAT made her so priceless!!

Thank you KAK ELLE!!

and Thank You Rudi!

Jasamu dikenang

So many things had threatened this meeting with Rudi.It all started when Halil said that he needed to go to the university on wednesday (he said he would be free). Then,his knee was acting up again on tuesday evening, resulting him to limp painfully with the walking stick in one hand...But upon "discussions n persuasions", we decided to meet at the Taksim Square at 5pm coz Rudi's staying hotel was near there. ...Meaning.... Halil would come from the uni (in europe)... and i...... i would have to go to hatice's school,pick her up early and head to taksim with the kids..we live in asia by the way...

And guess what??? I woke up on wednesday morning with the sky all cloudy n the road all wet... an indication that the weather forecast was right... huwaaaaaaaaaaa...when i asked halil thru YM of the weather at the other side of the bridge.. he said... it was raining cats n dogs....

I was actually dreading the journey to hatice's school.... at least 40 minutes on the mini bus.. 10 minutes walk to her school.. picking up hatice....another 10 minutes walk to the mini bus...then change of bus to taksim....and on top of that..it was raining at that time!! We left our home at 130pm...

Alhamdulillah... Allah had sent me an angel under the name of Kerim (my bro in law)... we bumped into him as we were coming out of the apartment block...he offered to send us to Hatice's school.. he was also the one who offered to bring us to the minibus (dolmuş) stop for taksim......u bet i was relieved!!one dreaded journey saved...

The traffic to taksim.... to cross the bridge was horrifying....but we made it there in the end around 4.20pm...still raining...we walked around under the rain..but the kids were hungry... i fed them food at one of the restaurants.... we later walked and walked under the rain....freezing....

And what do u know? Halil got stuck in the traffic jam ...and instead of 5pm...he reached taksim by 6!! huwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ....the kids were getting restless... they were cold...we ran out of shops to go into..i bribed them sundaes at burger king later even...they were getting exhausted n bored...

The kids were full..i was hungry... i told halil to pick rudi up from the hotel while the kids n i waited at a restaurant called *Pehlivan*. And later... one good looking sweet smiling guy came to us.....Yup! Rudi was finally here.....!!!

We didnt bring Rudi to a Kebap shop coz we thought that his stomach may not be able to take turkish food yet.. and so Pehlivan (upon Selim's reccomendation-our first time there too) was the obvious choice coz they have varieties of turkish food for Rudi to choose from which he may be able to stomach...We ate.... chatted and later we parted ways.........rudi will be here today n fly to dubai tomorrow morning. He is lucky today coz the weather is quite sunny....

Halil explaining the turkish food for rudi to choose from..

Rudi n his food... suprise suprise.. he liked Ayran (a turkish drink made from yogurt, water and salt)

Arent they cute together?

Rudi with my kids...

dear Rudi.. hatice is pronounced (hatije) hehehe baddin he could pronounce..

Rudi with halil, hatice and baddin

Rudi with my family..

From the bottom of our hearts.... we thank Rudi for wanting to meet us... kalau ada terkurang layanan tu... harap dimaafkan...i am also grateful to my kids for being able to endure the long hours even though they were exhausted at that time...

I dragged them all that way to see Rudi..not because i wanna show off my kids...my only sincere intention is for them to get acquainted to the people from my roots...and this chance comes sooo rarely

and Kak Elle....words cannot describe my feelings as i munch on my asam hehehehe

THANK YOU

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time.

21.45 (Continuation of Mr Idham's story)

It was 21.45...9.45pm. My handphone rang. The reception was not clear..or was it my fast beating heart was making itself heard? I dunno.. a little bit of both i suppose.... Yes! the awaited person was trying to find his way. I gave the person the instruction. Saw that yellow coloured vehicle..n shouted from our apt window for the person to come to the fourth floor since i couldnt come down as my kids were sleeping...

No.. it was not Mr. Idham...it was a taxi driver...he drove all the way from ortaköy to our place....to hand over this package...

The package with *saray muhallebicisi* ( a prominent dessert selling shop brand)
with these inside...hmmm.. what can they be?
2 packages...hmmm...yup..inside they r..

These giant sized various types of baklava..

My most favourite dessert!! (kazandibi)

The most Prized souvenir of all..Something wrapped in a plastic bag

The Zam Zam water... flown all the way from the holy land...brought here by our Mr. Idham..

First of all....THANK YOU KAK LİL!! (and of course our Mr. Idham heheh)....for the superb packing...the zam zam water did reach us safe n sound...

When our Mr. Idham asked me whether i wanted anything from Saudi Arabia.. i said no... I do not like to ask for things from someone i barely know...tak suka nak menyusahkan orang.. Then, i remembered something... he would be coming from the holy land...there is something special from there that i want my kids to taste...the Zam Zam Water..i hinted to our Mr. Idham...and he complied...Kak Lil bottled up the zam zam water carefully so that it wouldnt spill or the bottle broken...( as u can see above).. n that bottle flew all the way to istanbul...

when we were meeting him on wednesday night... he gave us the hurma.. not the zam zam.. he totally forgot about it.. n i thought the zam zam water was probably broken or spilled or something.. i didnt feel that it was polite to ask...the next day though(thursday) he texted me asking for my addy...he wanted to send the zam zam water... i said no need coz he is at the other side of the bridge n the traffic is...soooo istanbul traffic!!... mungkin bukan rezeki....but then i think Kak Lil sort of said something like *do send* (hantarla)..n there it was.. at 21.45 at night... a taxi driver reached our front door...to hand me over that package!

Alhamdulillah..Teşekkur Ederim...Thank You very Much!! I was feeling quite down yesterday n that sweet action of his had/has really made my day..!! But i really really feel guilty coz.. i dont like to trouble people but by asking him to bring the Zam Zam water from the holy land.. did cause some trouble... i cant imagine how much he had paid for the taxi driver...n asking to pay him the taxi fee may not be the polite thing to do.. Allah Razı Olsun Dear Mr. Id! Halil n İ r eternally grateful for such sweet thoughts..

This meeting with another malaysian thing also made me think..…When people from Malaysia see my kids, they see them as 2 kids with mixed blood….People try to decide who the kids resemble who.. to analyse or search which langage they speak.. why they speak this language n why not the other….bla bla bla..many many thoughts roam around the people’s head….it is only natural..i do that too when i see mixed blood people…

….what about my kids? What do they see when they meet someone in turkey who they can recognise as coming from their mother’s root? What r they thinking? What r their visions of these people.. ?

It is a luxury for my kids to see another Malaysian’s face here.. (The main reason i want my kids to meet as many malaysians here as possible) So far, all these years, we had only my sister yana who stayed with us for 2 months while Halil was doing his military service.. then we had my high school teacher’s family for a week…then we spent a day with another malay singaporean who resides in İstanbul…..after that, we had my friends (dydy n gang)..later we spent a day with DiTH’s 2 daughters.. n last Wednesday night.. we met Mr. Idham(see my previous entry)…..

Their general reactions were usually.. At the beginning, they would look at the visitors with curious eyes….warming towards them slowly…trying to get their attention by making naughty actions n playfully fight with each other….Only then they would slowly physically approach the guests….i sense especially in Hatice this sense of *nak bermesra* .. this sense of wanting to get closer.. be nearer to each of our malaysian guests…..n missing their presence when they were gone..thinking whether once gone..will they forget about her n her brother…and she remembers them very clearly..For example, sofi..Dith’s daughter.. i was reading her blog when Hatice saw her Picture n immediately recognised her as one pf the two *sisters* (abla)…baddin is not so expressive.. but i think like her… he remembers too…

I think the Malaysian blood in her draws her to want to know the people like me…she is curious….

Today, i asked her about this matter…her answer was (translated from turkish)..

*When i see them, i feel happy. Even though i am a turkish citizen, seeing the people from your country reminded me that i am a mixed blood. I start to miss Malaysia especially the cats at atuk dede’s house n along teyze’s house.. I try to remember atok dede, tok wan anna anne, along teyze, pak ngah jo, n others..*

I dont think she remembers Malaysia much or the people in it (except for yana teyze coz she came to stay with us for 2 months)… but i think in her mind… she feels that she wants to belong both to her father’s side of the family n her mother’s side of the family… She does wonder about the life there….the Malaysians whom she has met become a link to her other root she knows very little about..….

My family may be an example of the fact that love has no boundries…regardless the passport one holds.. but Mr. Idham has also taught Halil one thing about us Malaysians….Malaysian hospitality! That is a valuable lesson i think Halil will not forget for a long long time…

As for me.. i miss malaysia all the time… i dream of going back to Malaysia..evkn for a short visit..but when i see another malaysian’s face…the weight of missing my homeland somehow is lessened….rasa terubat kejap rindukan tanahair…

P.s.. Hatice n baddin shrieked when i showed them these 3 kilo of prawns!! Mixed blood they may be.. but these will always be the *deniz böcek*..sea insects to them...hahahahaahahahahaha

I just came back from Mr. Idham's blog

He wrote about our meeting.. but most importantly, i discovered that had to go to a credit card fraud experience here in istanbul.. i was about to cry reading that entry..sad for what had happened..but then as i was typing this.. Mr. Idham called...he explained what happened... i am still sad but now am happier coz everything was settled...

Take care Mr. Id! Have a safe flight..i am sure there is a happy daughter waiting for ur arrival there in dublin right now.. Having u here... exchanging sms.. chatting on the phone with u has been an experience i wont easily forget... Cant wait to meet Kak Lil n Kids...hopefully one day soon... :0)

Have a nice Weekend Everyone! See U all Next week!

Thank You for hopping by...Hope to see u again the next time..