Matchmaker

I have a lot of unmarried friends, both male and female, here in Malatya. And it seems like the men are looking for the women and vice verse but neither frequents the same spots or pursues the same activities, and they are all bound by the extremely strict social structure which reminds me of Victorian England and the requirements for chaperons and no talking to members of the opposite sex unless in a group. So this brings me to my new role as matchmaker which is a role I was informed that supposedly ALL women of my age and stature play in Turkey.

For the past couple of weeks I have had two people in mind in my role as matchmaker, one man in my conversation club who is nice, intelligent, funny, interesting, and wanting a girl friend. And one woman who is nice, intelligent, funny, and cheerful looking for "sparks." They are both from the same education and social strata so that's a big plus. Well, the topic of dating came up at the conversation group on Monday so it seemed the appropriate time to mention that "I have a nice female friend, blah, blah,blah..."His eyes lit up and he immediately replied, "Well, I'm feeling confident right now. Call her and see if she'll come to the cafe."

So...I did...And....she came.....I was a little nervous (but I didn't admit it) but he admitted that he was really nervous, and he was afraid he would say silly things...(Oh God!) but she arrived in her cheerful, upbeat self (in really cute jeans I might add.) The conversation was pleasant and especially lively when we talked about our favorite movies..(I can't believe how much they like Pulp Fiction over here) but it was getting way past my bedtime and it already takes too much effort to be nice to the second graders even when I've had a good night's sleep. So I suggested I walk her home (she's a really cute 27 ish and doesn't like to be alone at night) and ride my bike from her house. Well, the man accompanied us (I was wondering how she felt about that because then he would know where she lived) but they chatted along the way and, as we approached her door, he asked if he could get her phone number and she said "yes" and he was so happy he was almost skipping as we left her apartment door.

Now he wants to know if we can go to a pub one night this week (it would be my first pub in Malatya so that's kind of cool) and invite her along...I didn't know my role as chaperon would continue past the first coffee but we'll see where this takes us...