Milestone: My First Turkish Pomegranate!

When I was just a wee little yabancı, oh so many moons ago, I was given a copy of D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths. I can't remember who gave it to me or for what occasion I received it, but let me tell you, readers, I ate that stuff up. I couldn't put that book down for what seems like years. Of course, twelve years later, I realize how the D'Aulaires really took all of the good, bloody violence and rampant incest out of the myths to make them suitable for children, but to this day, I find Greek mythology absolutely fascinating. One of the myths I remember most vividly is that of Persephone and both her inevitable kidnapping by/forced marriage to Hades and her perennial imprisonment in the Underworld. All of this misfortune befalls Persephone because she is tricked by Hades into eating six pomegranate seeds while he holds her captive. This, according to the ancient Greek, results in the change in seasons on Earth. 


Twelve-year-old Mary loved this rationale, probably because it was packed with so much more creativity than any other scientific explanation could offer. And I remember being in the supermarket with my mom a few years after I had finally put down my copy of D'Aulaire's and seeing a sign for pomegranates in the produce aisle. So we bought one and figured out how to open it and how you eat it (it was a process, let me tell you, readers). 


And while pomegranate trees are not found in an overwhelming abundance in Balıkesir, you do stumble upon them from time to time. Typically, the fruit grows out of my short little arm's reach, but luckily, our local produce man had some for sale yesterday. Let me stress this to you: it's these little things that I have come to appreciate in nearly a month's time in Turkey-- figuring out how to negotiate in Turkish for my biweekly produce shopping trip, getting my first Turkish pomegranate. This one piece of fruit turned my entire week around so much that I took pictures of the whole process.

 As I was slicing this bad boy up for breakfast, I realized that it's these sorts of things that are going to get me through the next couple months in Turkey. And when I realized that, I realized that the pomegranate is a fitting analogy for my next eight months in Turkey, not to mention life in general.

Like life, a pomegranate is compromise of hundreds of experiences and pieces. None of them are perfect.

In fact, there are parts (both in life and in a pomegranate) that are not pretty. Sometimes, it's downright rotten and we can't seem to look past those nasty little blemishes on our good time.

I am very sure that these next eight months of my life are not going to be the prettiest, between living in a culture of which I don't know the language and missing the snot out of my friends and family. 

But, those moments of misery and misfortune are not going to color my entire experience here in Turkey. In fact, the setbacks and instances of stress that I would otherwise let rain on my parade are events that I am going to try and embrace. I will try my darnedest to take the good with the bad and let the good completely wash away the bad.

I don't want to remember only the bad. I want to appreciate the good. I want this experience to be one that is life-changing in a way that is only positive. I'm looking past the spots, past the blemishes and the setbacks. That way, I'll have a much better experience for the next eight months here in Turkey...

... and eating pomegranates.