A few short weeks ago, we were graced with our first (and possibly only) visitor of the year: Reuben Haggar. We were looking forward to hosting Reuben for months prior. I will try to abstain from blindly flinging gross exaggeration and hyperbole across the screen, but enough good things can not be stated regarding his visit.
A brief history:
Reuben is one of my best friends from my years at Bethel University. We lived together several years and most of my strangest, most disturbing, absurd and hysterical collegiate experiences somehow involve that man. For four brief but formative years our paths were greatly interwoven.
Since graduation, Reuben ran away from myself and the rest of the western world to teach in South Korea for three years and China for the past two years. Although he's visited the States a few times, we hadn't spent significant extended time together in about five years.
When Reuben told us he was going to visit us in Turkey we were ecstatic. When he told us he was staying for a week we were equally filled with anxiety. To host someone in our tiny apartment in a relatively quiet city (no offense, Adana) for an entire week had the potential to turn problematic. Add to that the facts that we had to work all week and that we have all possibly changed over the past five years, we were quite nervous about what to expect.
From our standpoint the week with Reuben exceeded all expectations. It was one of the best experiences of our time in Turkey. Spending time with such a close friend from home on the other side of the world created a unique and quite surreal air to the whole adventure.
Hilary and I took him to our school (where he got to see me bumble through a lesson), traveled to Gaziantep for the first time, introduced him to some of our friends, showed him Mersin and the Mediterranean, ate every Turkish thing in sight, and experienced the hamam (Turkish bath) among other things. We even sent him out by himself on one of the castle excursions we tried in the fall.
Reuben's visit really gave Hilary and me a chance to realize all the things we've learned over the course of our time here in Turkey. We saw how far we have come and re-experienced Turkey in a surprising way. This new found comfort and competence in daily life here not just as visitors, but as hosts in a place we've made our home was a pleasant side effect of the visit.
The most important and unforgettable aspect, however, was simply spending with Reuben. Our friendship picked up where it left off and it was so refreshing to spend time with someone who we had so much history with. We laughed a ton, recalled many great memories, spoke about our lives and hearts, and added more incredible pages to our stories.
Saying our goodbyes the last morning as our bus arrived was one of our hardest days abroad. Not wanting the great fellowship to end and not knowing when our paths will cross again filled all our eyes with tears.
Reuben, thank you again.
Mersin's shore
We're on a boat
Peek-a-boo
The (inexplicably closed) Castle in Gaziantep
Deliciously toasty Sahlep
Everyone else is welcome to visit us also, of course. Expect similarly glowing reviews and well wishes.
We love and miss everyone and hope you all are well wherever you are,
Mike and Hil
