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What's Cookin' ? Relay will honor
cancer survivors
Meltem trades00 in Manhattan life
By REBECCA WELLS
Nobody would confuse Mason
County with Manhattan. And in
the opinion of one local doctor, this
is to Mason County's benefit.
"I'm telling people that I'm from
Shelton now; I'm not a New Yorker
anymore," says Meltem Karatepe,
a pediatrician at Oakland Bay Pe-
diatrics. Originally from Istanbul,
capital of Turkey, Meltem has
worked in Shelton since Novem-
ber.
After graduating from medi-
cal school in Istanbul, she spent
three years doing her residency
at Manhattan Metropolitan Hos-
pital through New York Medical
College. She first visited Mason
County in the summer and was
so struck by the beautiful scenery
and friendly people that she de-
cided to move straight here right
after finishing her residency.
"Here is the best thing, you
know? People, they know you. It's
such a nice feeling," Meltem ex-
plains. She lives in Shelton, and
this is her first time living in a
small town. Her parents recently
came to visit her from Turkey and
were also amazed at the warm, in-
viting, helpful community.
"THEY JUST loved it!" she
recalls, noting that her father re-
marked: "They are such a nice
people; they don't even know us!
Everybody says 'Hi,' 'Good morn-
ing.'"
This was quite the contrast
from the aloof, standoffish man-
ners of people in New York. "Peo-
ple in New York are not friendly,"
Meltem reiterates. "Nobody says
'Hi' or anything."
With the vast international
population in New York, one more
Turkish resident is nothing new,
she considers. Foreigners are
much more of a novelty in Shelton,
she's noticed. She has yet to hear
of another person from Turkey liv-
ing in Mason County.
"In New York, everybody's like
this," she says.
But since her brother and sister
still live back in New York, she pre-
scribes herself visits with them on
the weekends, to keep from feeling
homesick and to enjoy her sister's
traditional Turkish cooking.
MELTEM KNEW she wanted
to become a pediatrician during
her first year in medical school af-
ter the daughter of a friend of hers
became very sick and had to spend
two months in the hospital. Wit-
nessing how hard the pediatricians
worked to treat the girl, as well as
the appreciation parents generally
expressed to their health-care pro-
riders as their children recovered,
improved and grew, helped her
make her career choice. Besides,
she says, she loves babies.
"It makes me feel like this is the
place I need to work, and I'm crazy
about the kids," she says.
While she would be disturbed if
an adult patient were to throw up
on her face during a visit, a child
DISPLAYING THE modern
able for her to use working
Meltem Karatepe, originally
doing the same is a whole differ-
ent story and doesn't bother her at
all.
Having spent two years as a gen-
eral practitioner, treating patients
ranging in ages from 90 years old
to newborns, she knows what she's
talking about. She worked in gen-
eral practice as the mandatory
community service Turkish people
perform. This was right after she
graduated from medical school,
and involved an assignment work-
ingjn the eastern part of her coun-
try. Over there, she noticed a clear
cultural distinction between her
metropolitan hometown of Istan-
bul and the more conservative, re-
ligious areas in the eastern areas
of Turkey.
WITH 99 PERCENT of the na-
tion belonging to the Muslim faith,
she describes herself as cultural
Muslim and notes that Turkey is
the only officially secular country
in the Muslim world. That means
people who wear particular head-
coverings as a public statement of
their Islamic beliefs cannot attend
public schools.
"We are trying to be secular,"
she says. Still, she sees mosques
in virtually every street. The 1
percent of the Turkish population
that is not Muslim mostly com-
prises of people of the Jewish and
Christian faiths.
Meltem says Turkey's climate is
similar to that of New York, with
all four seasons, including snow in
the winter. Turkey doesn't have a
desert and Meltem enjoys skiing
in her free time during the winter
season.
She initially came to the United
States on vacation, while visiting
her oldest brother, who was also
doing a medical residency in New
York. She came away from this
experience impressed by how the
American medical system seemed
so advanced and high-tech com-
pared to what she was used to in
Turkey• That's when she decided
computer technology avail-
at Oakland Bay Pediatrics is
of Turkey.
to do her residency in New York,
too, going through a barrage of
tests to qualify.
"IT WAS A great experience,
actually, because at the hospital
where I was working, you could
see all kinds of diseases," she re-
members. Working long, intense
shifts in a hospital with exams and
presentations due on a regular ba-
sis, Meltem became familiar with
a full spectrum of medical special-
izations, including neonatology,
pediatric and intensive care.
Residency, she says, is the
hardest part of learning to become
a physician.
"It is so stressful, because you
are the one who is responsible,
doing everything and then it is
tough," she explains. In the end, it
paid off to be exposed to so many
challenges she might encounter as
a professional pediatrician and she
came out tbeling completely ready
to face her full-time career.
Counting her, the staff at Oak-
land Bay Pediatrics is three pe-
diatricians and one family nurse
practitioner strong, plus support
staff.
Food is another way in which
distinct regions of Turkey are set
apart from one another. Vegeta-
bles and meat - with the excep-
tion of pork, for religious reasons
- are prevalent in many parts of
the country, though Turks living
in the east tend to enjoy spicier
cuisine while those in the north,
where she's from, prefer food with
a milder flavor.
Meltem doesn't use many spices
in her cooking. She shared a reci-
pe for a salad calling for bulgur, a
parched wheat product which is a
staple food in Turkey.
Bulgur, Pomegranate and
WalnuLSalad
Ingredients:
a/4 C., or 2]/2 oz. walnut halves
1/3 C. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 C., or 6 oz. medium bulgur
1 C. canned chickpeas, rinsed
]/2 tsp. Aleppo pepper flakes
13/4 C. boiling water
1 lb. grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 C. pomegranate seeds
1/3 C. coarsely chopped dill
1/3 C. coarsely chopped mint
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses dis-
solved in 2 tsp. cold water.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Fahrenheit. Toast the walnuts on
a pie plate for 8 to 10 minutes,
then chop coarsely.
Heat the olive oil in a large
saucepan. Add the tomatoes and
cook over moderately high heat for
1 minute. Add the bulgur and stir
to coat with the oil. Add the chick-
peas and Aleppo pepper to boiling
water. Bring the mixture to a sim-
mer.
Reduce the heat to low, cover
and cook without stirring for 20
minutes. Remove from the heat
and let stand covered until cooled
slightly, about 30 minutes.
Using two forks, fluff the bul-
gur, add the grape tomatoes,
pomegranate seeds, dill, mint and
lemon juice and season with salt
and pepper.
Transfer to a platter. Drizzle
the diluted pomegranate molasses
over the salad and scatter the wal-
nuts on top. Serve warm.
F i i i i i i I i m I I I i i l i m i I1
'l00,li,i Ii! If'
, i Ib a '
! !
' '
,,foL00 ,mall c ,'
,' I n :00*_00oTournal ,'
I
I An in-county subscription
I brings you the news for
I only 59 cents per week. I
| I'd like a one year subscription mailed to the following address: |
I Name:_ __ I
I Address: I
| City: State: Zip: |
I I
O $31 in County
| O $45 in Washington State
II Mail with check to: The Journal
PO Box 430
| Shelton, W298584
Page 14 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 31,2007
O $45 Elma or Bremerton address
O $55 out of state
Questions? Call 360.426.4412
mm mi Ima aim aim real mm
I
I
I
.I
The Shelton Relay For Life
committee is sponsoring a"fe
ebration of Survivorship" r,r
tion to honor and celebrate MaSU,
County's cancer survivors.
The event is a benefit for th.,e,
American Cancer Society and.U
take place from 5 to 7 p.m. ine"
ton on Friday, June 8, at lg"
climber Stadium, located on .the
campus of Shelton High School a
3737 Shelton Springs Road.
Afterwards, "the opening c:r
emony for the Relay For Liie ev.
will begin at 7 p.m. with the sur"
vors walking the
Anyone who has
nosed with cancer and
are invited to attend the
Cancer survivors will
shirts and other gifts at that 1
The Relay For Life is
ture fund-raiser for the Am
Cancer Society and is cona.
in over 4,200 communities]0n
United States as well as u
of other countries. The event 1
overnight to symbolize that
never sleeps .... t" is
The American Cancer 8°c];€1
the nationwide community'ti.
voluntary health organizatiol.u.
cated to eliminating cancer as .
- reVe t
jor health problem by P . .nisb"
cancer, saving lives and di ^.,oh
ing suffering from cancer v
research, education, advoCaC{£y
service Money raised at the. _
• ¢ I- a tU( ;"
hel s fund cancer researcm ,t
P w'"
tion, advocacy and patient suI .,...
For more information, cI. V.
ie Gonzales at 1-800 426-1ou
tension 3142.
Let Alpine Way's assisted living
retirement center help your family,
also. Our registered and licensed
nurses work with the details of cl
d!abetes management on a daily (a
mghtly) basis. Staffed 24 hours a day k
by health care professionals, we wor
with our residents, their families
and physicians, and our consulting.
pharmacy to provide compreherlSlW
and high-quality services.
Put your minds at ease, and enjoy
the fun times with Mom once agaiO'
Our nursing and dietary staff cao
oversee the rest of your mother's
needs.
Visit Alpine Way and you'll soOO
find solutions to your concerns.
ASSISTED LIVING AND
900 West Alpine Way, Shelton, WA
(360) 426-2600
What's Cookin' ? Relay will honor
cancer survivors
Meltem trades00 in Manhattan life
By REBECCA WELLS
Nobody would confuse Mason
County with Manhattan. And in
the opinion of one local doctor, this
is to Mason County's benefit.
"I'm telling people that I'm from
Shelton now; I'm not a New Yorker
anymore," says Meltem Karatepe,
a pediatrician at Oakland Bay Pe-
diatrics. Originally from Istanbul,
capital of Turkey, Meltem has
worked in Shelton since Novem-
ber.
After graduating from medi-
cal school in Istanbul, she spent
three years doing her residency
at Manhattan Metropolitan Hos-
pital through New York Medical
College. She first visited Mason
County in the summer and was
so struck by the beautiful scenery
and friendly people that she de-
cided to move straight here right
after finishing her residency.
"Here is the best thing, you
know? People, they know you. It's
such a nice feeling," Meltem ex-
plains. She lives in Shelton, and
this is her first time living in a
small town. Her parents recently
came to visit her from Turkey and
were also amazed at the warm, in-
viting, helpful community.
"THEY JUST loved it!" she
recalls, noting that her father re-
marked: "They are such a nice
people; they don't even know us!
Everybody says 'Hi,' 'Good morn-
ing.'"
This was quite the contrast
from the aloof, standoffish man-
ners of people in New York. "Peo-
ple in New York are not friendly,"
Meltem reiterates. "Nobody says
'Hi' or anything."
With the vast international
population in New York, one more
Turkish resident is nothing new,
she considers. Foreigners are
much more of a novelty in Shelton,
she's noticed. She has yet to hear
of another person from Turkey liv-
ing in Mason County.
"In New York, everybody's like
this," she says.
But since her brother and sister
still live back in New York, she pre-
scribes herself visits with them on
the weekends, to keep from feeling
homesick and to enjoy her sister's
traditional Turkish cooking.
MELTEM KNEW she wanted
to become a pediatrician during
her first year in medical school af-
ter the daughter of a friend of hers
became very sick and had to spend
two months in the hospital. Wit-
nessing how hard the pediatricians
worked to treat the girl, as well as
the appreciation parents generally
expressed to their health-care pro-
riders as their children recovered,
improved and grew, helped her
make her career choice. Besides,
she says, she loves babies.
"It makes me feel like this is the
place I need to work, and I'm crazy
about the kids," she says.
While she would be disturbed if
an adult patient were to throw up
on her face during a visit, a child
DISPLAYING THE modern
able for her to use working
Meltem Karatepe, originally
doing the same is a whole differ-
ent story and doesn't bother her at
all.
Having spent two years as a gen-
eral practitioner, treating patients
ranging in ages from 90 years old
to newborns, she knows what she's
talking about. She worked in gen-
eral practice as the mandatory
community service Turkish people
perform. This was right after she
graduated from medical school,
and involved an assignment work-
ingjn the eastern part of her coun-
try. Over there, she noticed a clear
cultural distinction between her
metropolitan hometown of Istan-
bul and the more conservative, re-
ligious areas in the eastern areas
of Turkey.
WITH 99 PERCENT of the na-
tion belonging to the Muslim faith,
she describes herself as cultural
Muslim and notes that Turkey is
the only officially secular country
in the Muslim world. That means
people who wear particular head-
coverings as a public statement of
their Islamic beliefs cannot attend
public schools.
"We are trying to be secular,"
she says. Still, she sees mosques
in virtually every street. The 1
percent of the Turkish population
that is not Muslim mostly com-
prises of people of the Jewish and
Christian faiths.
Meltem says Turkey's climate is
similar to that of New York, with
all four seasons, including snow in
the winter. Turkey doesn't have a
desert and Meltem enjoys skiing
in her free time during the winter
season.
She initially came to the United
States on vacation, while visiting
her oldest brother, who was also
doing a medical residency in New
York. She came away from this
experience impressed by how the
American medical system seemed
so advanced and high-tech com-
pared to what she was used to in
Turkey• That's when she decided
computer technology avail-
at Oakland Bay Pediatrics is
of Turkey.
to do her residency in New York,
too, going through a barrage of
tests to qualify.
"IT WAS A great experience,
actually, because at the hospital
where I was working, you could
see all kinds of diseases," she re-
members. Working long, intense
shifts in a hospital with exams and
presentations due on a regular ba-
sis, Meltem became familiar with
a full spectrum of medical special-
izations, including neonatology,
pediatric and intensive care.
Residency, she says, is the
hardest part of learning to become
a physician.
"It is so stressful, because you
are the one who is responsible,
doing everything and then it is
tough," she explains. In the end, it
paid off to be exposed to so many
challenges she might encounter as
a professional pediatrician and she
came out tbeling completely ready
to face her full-time career.
Counting her, the staff at Oak-
land Bay Pediatrics is three pe-
diatricians and one family nurse
practitioner strong, plus support
staff.
Food is another way in which
distinct regions of Turkey are set
apart from one another. Vegeta-
bles and meat - with the excep-
tion of pork, for religious reasons
- are prevalent in many parts of
the country, though Turks living
in the east tend to enjoy spicier
cuisine while those in the north,
where she's from, prefer food with
a milder flavor.
Meltem doesn't use many spices
in her cooking. She shared a reci-
pe for a salad calling for bulgur, a
parched wheat product which is a
staple food in Turkey.
Bulgur, Pomegranate and
WalnuLSalad
Ingredients:
a/4 C., or 2]/2 oz. walnut halves
1/3 C. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 C., or 6 oz. medium bulgur
1 C. canned chickpeas, rinsed
]/2 tsp. Aleppo pepper flakes
13/4 C. boiling water
1 lb. grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 C. pomegranate seeds
1/3 C. coarsely chopped dill
1/3 C. coarsely chopped mint
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses dis-
solved in 2 tsp. cold water.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Fahrenheit. Toast the walnuts on
a pie plate for 8 to 10 minutes,
then chop coarsely.
Heat the olive oil in a large
saucepan. Add the tomatoes and
cook over moderately high heat for
1 minute. Add the bulgur and stir
to coat with the oil. Add the chick-
peas and Aleppo pepper to boiling
water. Bring the mixture to a sim-
mer.
Reduce the heat to low, cover
and cook without stirring for 20
minutes. Remove from the heat
and let stand covered until cooled
slightly, about 30 minutes.
Using two forks, fluff the bul-
gur, add the grape tomatoes,
pomegranate seeds, dill, mint and
lemon juice and season with salt
and pepper.
Transfer to a platter. Drizzle
the diluted pomegranate molasses
over the salad and scatter the wal-
nuts on top. Serve warm.
F i i i i i i I i m I I I i i l i m i I1
'l00,li,i Ii! If'
, i Ib a '
! !
' '
,,foL00 ,mall c ,'
,' I n :00*_00oTournal ,'
I
I An in-county subscription
I brings you the news for
I only 59 cents per week. I
| I'd like a one year subscription mailed to the following address: |
I Name:_ __ I
I Address: I
| City: State: Zip: |
I I
O $31 in County
| O $45 in Washington State
II Mail with check to: The Journal
PO Box 430
| Shelton, W298584
Page 14 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 31,2007
O $45 Elma or Bremerton address
O $55 out of state
Questions? Call 360.426.4412
mm mi Ima aim aim real mm
I
I
I
.I
The Shelton Relay For Life
committee is sponsoring a"fe
ebration of Survivorship" r,r
tion to honor and celebrate MaSU,
County's cancer survivors.
The event is a benefit for th.,e,
American Cancer Society and.U
take place from 5 to 7 p.m. ine"
ton on Friday, June 8, at lg"
climber Stadium, located on .the
campus of Shelton High School a
3737 Shelton Springs Road.
Afterwards, "the opening c:r
emony for the Relay For Liie ev.
will begin at 7 p.m. with the sur"
vors walking the
Anyone who has
nosed with cancer and
are invited to attend the
Cancer survivors will
shirts and other gifts at that 1
The Relay For Life is
ture fund-raiser for the Am
Cancer Society and is cona.
in over 4,200 communities]0n
United States as well as u
of other countries. The event 1
overnight to symbolize that
never sleeps .... t" is
The American Cancer 8°c];€1
the nationwide community'ti.
voluntary health organizatiol.u.
cated to eliminating cancer as .
- reVe t
jor health problem by P . .nisb"
cancer, saving lives and di ^.,oh
ing suffering from cancer v
research, education, advoCaC{£y
service Money raised at the. _
• ¢ I- a tU( ;"
hel s fund cancer researcm ,t
P w'"
tion, advocacy and patient suI .,...
For more information, cI. V.
ie Gonzales at 1-800 426-1ou
tension 3142.
Let Alpine Way's assisted living
retirement center help your family,
also. Our registered and licensed
nurses work with the details of cl
d!abetes management on a daily (a
mghtly) basis. Staffed 24 hours a day k
by health care professionals, we wor
with our residents, their families
and physicians, and our consulting.
pharmacy to provide compreherlSlW
and high-quality services.
Put your minds at ease, and enjoy
the fun times with Mom once agaiO'
Our nursing and dietary staff cao
oversee the rest of your mother's
needs.
Visit Alpine Way and you'll soOO
find solutions to your concerns.
ASSISTED LIVING AND
900 West Alpine Way, Shelton, WA
(360) 426-2600