May 26th

I started the day by going to a ladies study. We discussed Esther and did other things you do at these studies :-). After the study Mrs. Eldred suggested that Tressa and I go hang out. We decided to go to the swimming hole. It took us about two hours to walk to both our places and get swimming suits. But it was worth it! The Mediterranean is beautiful. There must be a lot of salt in the water because we were quite buoyant.

The swimming hole is on the back side of a big resort and on the way back we took their outside elevator instead of walking up all the stairs. I started to drop my towel, went to adjust it, and the house keys that were around my finger fell off. As I mentioned a few posts ago there is no inner door in these elevators. You can drag your finger along the wall, so there is an inch gap between the elevator and the wall. The keys fell through this gap.

We went back to the bottom and discovered a way to get under the elevator. I tried asking a gentleman that worked there to help get the keys, but he did not understand my English and I don’t speak Turkish. A gentleman that was a guest at the resort interpreted for me, he asked if I was from Europe. When I said, "America," he said, “that explains the funny accent, he (Turkish man) could not understand your accent.”

Tressa headed back to my place to meet Talya when she got home from school and let her know what was going on, she does not keep house keys on her. While I waited, I think the first Turkish gentleman was hoping I would leave. Eventually he telephoned for help and told me to come with him. I followed and through signs showed him the problem. I had to explain it was not a room key to the resort but a house key.

When we went to go up in the elevator it locked us in and would not go up. After about a minute he got it to let us out, we tried again with the same results. After another couple of attempts we got it to work and made it to the top. He indicated I was to wait with another Turkish gentleman for the technician. When the technician arrived we all got back in the elevator and eventually made it to the ground floor again. He was able to get my keys back, but the elevator was still not working. After many thank you’s I left and took the stairs…

Something else that made these whole scenario even more interesting is you are not suppose to make eye contact or smile at people here. It would be like saying you're available. Tressa and I had been trying really hard all day not to smile and make eye contact. It was rather difficult not to smile at the irony of being locked in the elevator while trying to get my keys that were stuck at the bottom. Also have you every tried not to make eye contact while stuck in a small place and trying to communicate through gestures? Then I was in a bathing suit and towel! Mom our bathing suit plan works great and I was glad for the extra modesty.

The rest of the evening was less eventful.

I have been reading about Solomon and it has been making me wonder how a man that was so wise could be so foolish. I am thinking he must have thought it was okay he could control that one sin and not let it turn his heart. But he was wrong.