An interesting offer and a curious development...

Well! I am now officially working the longest and easiest hours in human history. My day is comprised of getting up, walking 7 minutes to work (I time it with songs on my ipod, so give or take 30 seconds either way), serving breakfast by 8:00, getting people on their respective tours between 8:30-10:00, and then...reading, listening to music, drinking coffee...sometimes napping...

Granted, there is no real money in this sort of work, though I did get my first tip yesterday. Apparently, I am supposed to put it in the "tip box." I said, uh, I am the only one that works here, other than my boss's mom & brother, and I'll share if they help me. But otherwise...no! It is for service, and that's how you make money! Yar. Anyway.

So, I have made buddies with two local police chiefs. Police chief #1 is my best buddy of the two, as the other one has renamed me "Asya (pronounced "awsh-ya")" after his first love which seems a little suspicious to me...regardless, he's quite funny and gives me a bit of a crack-up. They apparently are powerful fellas, and everyone tells me I'm very lucky to have them as my new buddies. The point here? Chief #2 has asked if I would be willing to teach an English program 3 nights a week to the police department. He told me I would be famous, at least in Selcuk. I am pretty ok with not being famous. There is enough fame already (hey, you're the American!) for my taste, so my only real concern was...is it a paying gig? Chief #2 is going to consult with Chief #1 to see what, if anything, would be possible. They told me I could consider a public service, and then I wouldn't have to get paid. What kind of a girl do they take me for? Flighty, I suspect. And then I thought...hardly anyone in America can understand my English, I talk so ridiculously fast. What's going to happen when I get nervous in front of a bunch of Turks? People would come to Selcuk and need an English speaking police officer, and instead, they'd get officers speaking KirSpanol. Oi. Maybe not such a good idea after all...

The other news: my name has officially been Turked into Kris. I get introduced to everyone as such, so I no longer tell anyone my name. It's fairly depressing, on one hand, but on the other hand, it's sort of fun to have a secret identity. Dutch Martin and Denise could say my name (they worked at my hotel), but they said it would just be easier to go with it, don't worry. No one, they said, would get it right. It's true. So, Kirsten, plain American, has transformed into Kris, glamorous expat. Well, if you can call a faux-mullet glamorous. Ha!