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109
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FIRST DAY IN IZMIR
Our first day in Izmir was devoted to finding a place to live. I was the only member of FOA staff that was not located in Ankara, and the U.S. Consulate in Izmir was to be my official station. We would receive our mail thru the Consulate, and the State Department would also be of assistance in helping us locate an apartment. Before leaving Washington we had met Donald Eddy and his family who were on their way to Izmir. He was assigned as the U.S. Consul. The Eddy family were stationed in Izmir the five years we were there, and we became good friends.
Our driver, Ishan Candas picked us up at 8:30 a.m., and we went first to the Girls School that was under the sponsorship of the Congregational mission, hoping they might be of assistance in locating an apartment, close to the school. We had friends in Longmont who were acquainted with the directors of the school, and suggested that we should make contact with the Blakes who ran the school. The trip to the school that morning turned out to be a very important contact for us.
The American Kiz College: (The American Girls School) was under the Congregational Church Board. The Turkey Mission operated 2 Hospitals, 4 Schools and 2 Clinics. Jack and Linda Blake were full time missionaries, and had lived in Turkey more that 20 years. There were both Turkish and American teachers. Our contact with the school staff and visiting personnel from U. S. colleges was to greatly enrich our 5 year tour in Turkey. Verna was to become a member of the staff for over 4 years, teaching Turkish girls.
We located an apartment just three blocks from the school. Our air freight, which was one of Verna's packing lists, arrived in good time and it took us only a few days to get settled enough, that I felt like going to work with Naki, and meet the Directors of the Experiment Stations and the Province Governors.
We must first visit the Mayor of Izmir, and the Governor of the Izmir Province. This took several hours, where we drank tea and coffee, at every stop. We met 2 experiment station directors and 3 governors of provinces. After five days of endless cups of coffee and tea, I thought it must be time to go to work, but it was to be another 2 weeks with more coffee and tea, before I had the nerve to ask Naki when we would begin our work on the plans that we made in Ankara.
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Metzger Memories
