WISCONSIN REPORT: 

For this year's Cumhurriyet Bayram dinner, Russ (T-9/8) and Liz Whitesel decided to host the event at their home in Madison. Eph Frankel (T-9) was co-host, coming in from Milwaukee. The idea was to have more relaxed, personal time to be together and not get shushed out of a restaurant.

Russ & Liz invited two Turkish families involved in study and work at the UW-Madison. Metem, a surgeon, his wife Isthar, a micro-biology prof, and their 15-year-old daughter Bocu were there along with Leyla, an international tax law school professor, with her 5- year-old daughter Idil. Also with Rus & Liz, Eph Frankel and wife Marian Vieux were there: daughter Alexander bussed in from Minneapolis for the event; and  Dave (T-15) and Ann Wilson came too.

Russ and Liz had reached out to both these families as they were confronting all the unanticipated difficulties and stresses of integrating into a different culture. Special bonds were formed.

Along with the home-hosting idea, this event was brilliantly, pot-luck oriented, with everyone contributing ethnic food for a delicious dinner. There was lots to eat and to talk about. The interaction, and the event, had again that special quality we all associate with that moment we experienced in Turkey.

In the morning, it was heart-warming to reflect that our friendship, and our connection with Turks and Turkey, would not be were it not for the Peace Corps. Forty-four years after leaving our assignments in Turkey, the Peace Corps experience and vision were alive and well!

 (PS: We were all so engrossed in the moment that we forgot to take pictures; but, Russ is aiming at collecting some photos of everyone for the Madison Cumhurriyet Bayram Collage  --  Stay Tuned, but no promises ).

Report by Eph Frankel, Co-host

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©Arkadaslar
11/05/09