TGIF

Hello blog readers!

I'm settling into a nice routine here, which has been particularly nice this week due to some class cancellations. As I result I've had a bit more free time than I anticipated, especially after last week's series of 13-hour days. What have I done in my spare time, you ask? Well, I've taken some long walks, I've watched some episodes of Studio 60 (I'm so glad I put off watching that show till I got here), and I've taken some much-needed naps. I feel like I'm still trying to catch up on sleep from last week.

Istanbul is doing well. After a week of frigid weather, the temperature is back up to mid 40s-50s (F), making it extremely pleasant for walking and exploring. I've done quite a bit of both with Suzie. It's nice to have someone my age around. Also, speaking of weather, I went to my local cinema to see "An Inconvenient Truth" on Valentine's Day (alone, thank you) after lying around in pain after a mildly unfortunate lunch. I knew what I was in for, so I was prepared to be shocked and awed, but I was also pleased to see Al Gore doing something he clearly loves to do. Certainly this must suit him better than being president. Later, I talked about the film with my CNN weather reporter student, who is now the person I come to with any questions I have about Turkey (truly anything, except Armenia). He confirmed everything Al Gore had to say, and even provided me with extra information.

The same student took me to see the CNN Turkey headquarters on Sunday afternoon, a massive building in the middle of nowhere with impressive security. I got to see all the sets and broadcasting equipment, which made me as excited as a seventh grader. I forgot my camera, of course, but actually there wasn't much to photograph. Radio and TV stations always seem so exciting to me, maybe because they are so obviously participating in our lives in real time with immediate results. On that particular Sunday only the techies and minions were working, so the average age in the cafeteria was probably about 30. In fact, I don't think I saw anyone over 40. It was amazing, more like being back at McGill's cafeteria than the Turkish headquarters of a multinational corporation.

CNN weather guy is only one example of how great all my students are. No matter how deadly my schedule is, or how frustrating living here can be, my actual students make every day hilarious and unique, and I'm grateful for that.

I've been getting some complaints that I don't write often enough so I'll try to work on that. Until next time!

tourist again

Today I went back to Sultanahmet with another teacher, Suzie, who is British and also the only teacher younger than I am. After a lonnnnng week of working really hard it was nice to be a tourist again, and remind ourselves why we're here.

It's not hard to remember once you see places like these:

The Aya Sofia...






...the Cistern...


...and nice cafes in the Grand Bazaar (where I bought the bathrobe to end all bathrobes).


Life is pretty good!

tunes!

I just bought $10 computer speakers and improved my quality of life by about 800%.

I also went to Asia today and took photos, but I also have a headache so you'll just have to wait.

Instead, watch this awesome video of Cem Karaca:

fun

Hello, gentle readers. Sean was here this week so I was busy being a hostess (and teaching of course). There's nothing like having an old friend around in a new place - it helps maintain sanity. You need that person there to say, no, you're not crazy, it is weird that they seat you in the cinema, it is difficult to know where the bus is going, and so on. I also learned that in spite of its hefty price, my apartment is great because my living room can convert into a very nice guest room.

My new American friend Anil (of purse-snatching-witness fame) also joined us on some of our jaunts, which hopefully eased Sean's burden of keeping me company. Strength in numbers!

Anyway, on to the photos.
PS - if you can help me edit the html of this blog so the text part is wider (and the photos look normal), let me know!

Anil at Markiz, a lovely patisserie:


Sean at Markiz:


Sean on the Bosphorus, during a freezing hike:


The travelers:


Drama:


Birds on the Bosphorus:


Dolmabaçe Sarayı, which was closing right as we arrived (of course!):


Why stand in the cold if you can have a profiterole?


more later!

börek

The Kramers had me over for dinner last night. I didn't know what was going on until I actually went into their kitchen and saw the food being prepared. This is basically what my life is like here - someone tells me something in Turkish and I don't understand until ages later. They taught me how to make börek, a sinful combination of cheese, lamb pastrami (delicious!) and tomatoes, all wrapped up in a thin pastry and deep fried. The ingredients vary but the result is always amazing. I was the deep fryer, so of course we're all lucky I didn't set the place on fire. We also ate more cheese, fresh spinach with just lemon juice squirted on top (soooooo wonderful), olives, pickles, and afterwards bread with honey and cream (a popular simple dessert) and tea. Türkiye seviyorum! Another discovery I've made is fresh squeezed orange & pomegranate juice (both fruits are in season right now), which I can get at school. It tastes like sunshine.

One of my fellow teachers is married to a Turkish woman and today he was describing some of the colorful swear words/phrases that are common here. Many of them involved donkeys, midwives and cement. I'll leave this to your imagination until I get a list of the exact phrases and their translations (stay tuned). I wish I'd had these at my disposal for the would-be purse snatcher.

Sean will be here tomorrow and I can't wait. I bought another set of sheets today, in the typically Turkish combination of bright orange and lime green. Excellent! I also can't wait to explain 800 more times that in North America it is not so scandalous to have men and women live together during university. This subject has earned a lot of raised eyebrows around these parts.

Finally, unfortunately I did not get a chance to see the funeral procession or protest for Hrant Dink. I live far away from where that was happening and the city literally shut down that day. I haven't brought it up with any Turks, either, because it is a very contentious issue. The fact that Armenia is blacked out with a marker on one of the maps at school tells me all I really need to know. Everything you've read in the newspapers or seen on TV is as much as I know, too.

Oh yeah, also, the cat is out of the bag about a certain person being on the Ali G Show.

more later!

thieves/internet

I have one piece of fantastic news - my neighbors and I jerry-rigged an ethernet cable from their apartment to mine (through the window - it's awesome), so now I have internet at home. I don't have the Turkish to be able to express to them how much this means to me. Now you can bother me at any hour, day or night!

My other news is more sobering, perhaps. First, the backstory - my first week here, I met two nice Americans: Anil and Emily. They were stopping in Istanbul before touring more of Turkey. We had some drinks, and talked a lot. Anil wrote me this week saying he was back in Istanbul (though Emily had to go home, unfortunately). We met this evening for dinner and more drinks. We went to a cozy little bar in Beyoglu that was full of normal looking young people (all Turks). I put my purse and jacket on the seat next to me, as I always do, but at some point I think my purse fell on the floor (in a corner) and I was straining to hear Anil over the music so perhaps I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. At one point, Anil said, "are you missing anything? I think that girl just walked by and took something." I looked, and lo and behold, no purse.

Without thinking, and with adrenaline surging through me like a mother protecting her children, I stormed out of the bar onto the street, which was filled with people sitting outside having beer and cigarettes. They were all watching. I looked for my purse and saw it in the hands of this girl who was walking with her friends. I guess she saw me, because she walked over to the corner, dropped the purse, and continued along as if nothing had happened! I ran to my bag, checked it to make sure my wallet was there (it was, nothing taken) and then ran up to her and pulled on her shoulder, yelling HEY! (the only thing I could come up with to say - I need to learn some swear words in Turkish). I've never fought anyone before, but believe me I was ready to, pardon my French, kick the living shit out of that bitch. I was ready to pull her hair and punch her, if necessary. I could have, too - she was probably half my size, and her stupid friends looked pretty tame. They were definitely not professionals. Plus the whole street was watching at this point, and I had a feeling Anil had followed me outside (he had). The group of girls looked at me with their stupid pouty expressions like I was the one who'd done something bad, and I huffed at them in disgust and walked back to the bar, shaking.

So that was my adventure. I was lucky. I am always careful, but clearly tonight I wasn't careful enough. I'm so glad I had an extra pair of eyes there. When I got home, Kramer opened the door as soon as I walked in the building (as always) and helped me get the cable through the window. What a place!

femininity

Plane ticket - $400
Salary - not much
Eyebrows - 6YTL (fouuuurrrrr dollars US)
Sitting around in a Turkish salon gossiping - priceless.

So, yeah, I got my eyebrows done yesterday. I went with my fellow teacher Kezi, who is from Cyprus/the UK and speaks Turkish, and we had a great time. Ladies here really know how to do things like eyebrows. My camera is suddenly out of batteries (not sure how, definitely not from overuse, unfortunately) or I would post a photo. Maybe next time.

I'm also learning how to be a hostess - making the tea/coffee, bringing out the tray, etc., except for the ashtray part. I'm still appalled at the prospect of buying an ashtray. I'm putting it off for now, and saucers will have to do.

One of the perks of having business English one-to-ones is that your students are often too busy for class, and have to cancel. I got the call this morning while I was still eating breakfast (and I was waiting for it, too - we haven't had a lesson together in a week) and now I'm free for the rest of the day, and tomorrow as well. I think I'll do some more sightseeing. My meteorologist student tells me it's going to FINALLY get cold this weekend, which will be nice. It's too mild right now.

My first real multi-student class was thrust on me this week with a cheerful,
"oh, they're learning past modals, you'll be fine," but despite all that it's going well. I think I've won them over, especially after I brought chocolate last night. Bribery is a good thing.

Mostly I'm looking forward to a visit by my highly-esteemed fellow blogger and former flatmate Sean, of Said the Gramophone fame. We'll paint Bakırköy red, and then post about it!

love to all.

house and home

I met my upstairs neighbors. My first contact with them was when, like a moron, I was having trouble opening both the front door and my own door. I imagine I made a lot of noise, and eventually the husband (Murat) came to help me open my apartment door (I'd at least made it into the building by then). He introduced me to his wife, whose name I cannot figure out, said a long string of things to me in rapid Turkish, and quickly realized that I had no idea what he was saying (was it perhaps my blank expression that gave me away?). Later on he came back and expressed his dismay at my water damage (it's not the Ritz, I'll admit, but it works for me). The next time he came over, Gökhan (not my friend from the bar but a guy who works at the school by helping us teachers cope with Turkish life) was there helping me fix the kombi. They had a long conversation which I was left out of, as usual, but I knew it wasn't the last I'd see of the neighbors.

Two nights ago, Murat came over again (they are a bit like Kramer, I'm realizing) and said something about the internet in his house, and gestured for me to follow him upstairs. I was there for about an hour speaking haltingly to him and his wife, and downloading some antivirus programs for them. Often I got the gist of what they were saying but couldn't respond, so there was lots of scribbling and gesturing, which is what most of my conversations are like here anyway. I thought that was the end of things for a while, but last night around 11 I was settled on my couch watching Rushmore by myself when, bing-bong, the doorbell rang and it was Murat's wife with a plate of steaming grape leaves stuffed with delicious things, as well as salad and yogurt. I was so excited! I spoke to Turks at my school and they said this is normal, but still I was thrilled. Then this evening before I left to use the internet, I heard another bing-bong and this time it was Murat with a plate of banana bread for me. What the hell will I do for these kind people? I need to figure out how to say, "my mother will be happy that you are keeping me fed." Maybe I will get them some flowers. It is good to have people's pity while in a foreign land.

In other news, my newest student in the weather guy for CNN Turkey. He's pretty funny. I will try to find video of him online.

In other apartment news, I finally have the heat working and am sleeping in a bed. Hooray! Tomorrow (my day off) I am going to clear all the rubble (like I said, not the Ritz, not totally squalid either) out of my back "patio" so it can be a nice sitting area.

There are zillions of cats here, for whatever reason. They yowl all night. My coworker, who used to be a vet nurse, (haha, sounds like "wet nurse" with a German accent) said that the cats are "in season" and this is why they're making such a racket. It needs to end.

hope you're all well!

I'm back!

Merhaba!

I know it's been a while. I've had a busy week. I started work, got an apartment, learned how to work a kombi (hot water/heating system), and met some new friends. Today I had my first hot shower in four days - that in itself is an accomplishment.

After a lot of thought, I decided to live in Bakırköy, where my school is located, even though it's a bit on the boring side and a bus ride away from the places I'd come to enjoy in Beyoğlu/Taksim. I looked at some unfurnished places but decided that it was better to get a furnished place and pay a little more. I found a basement apartment with a sliver of a view of the Sea of Marmara. When I look out my back window I can see cargo ships going by. Not bad! I'm still working on getting the heat to work, so for now I'm sleeping in the living room, but that's alright. At first I felt lonely living by myself, but as work gets busier I'm beginning to enjoy having a place nearby where I can escape.

While I was still living in the hotel in Beyoğlu, I went to the same bar every night because it had wireless internet and also the people there were kind and welcoming. After several nights I met a couple Turkish guys, Aslan and Gökhan, doing their PhDs (one at Istanbul University, the other at a university in Sweden) who were looking for someone to edit their papers before they submitted them to journals. We quickly became friends and though now I won't let them pay me for editing, they have colleagues who need help with writing academic English (who doesn't, really), so I might have some extra work lined up. More importantly, I have some new friends who care about me, speak great English, and will teach me how to cook. Yesterday I had an appointment with Pelin's (my Turkish teacher's) sister in a neighborhood very far from my own, and Gökhan and his girlfriend invited me to stay at their house, which was much closer. We sat up late into the night talking and listing to music and I realized that I'm going to have a great time here.

Work is going pretty well. I was nervous about starting in a new school but I've been impressed with my students so far. I only have one-to-ones at the moment, a few of which take place at a company about 30 minutes from the school. The company, Vodaphone, has a deal with my school where a car comes to get us and whisks us away to their high-security office building. As a novice at international teaching, I was surprised at all this hoopla, but apparently it's quite common. I hope my schedule doesn't change much - at the moment it's light and that's the way I want it until I really settle in.

That's the news so far...I miss everyone and promise to take more photos.
Also, I have a cell phone (cep telefonu!) - email me if you want the number.

some photos

Today I went back to Sultanahmet, but it seemed like all the carpet sellers and tourist hustlers were out to get me and it just wasn't quite as much fun. I need a big burly gay male bodyguard.

I went to the Blue Mosque but didn't take any photos because I was so distracted by trying not to offend anyone. Also I just felt awkward having a camera inside. I didn't go back inside the Basilica or palace, but I took some photos outside:



Then I took a photo of the Palace Gates:


Perhaps the work of one of my future students? (click to see the whole thing, it's worth it)


I walked part of the way home - this is a view of the Galata bridge, and my neighborhood is buried in there somewhere. I guess it's not SO bad living here:


Fishermen on the bridge:


Touristy shot of the Suleymanye Mosque (I think......)


The main drag of Beyoğlu, Istiklal Caddesi:


Finally, the face I had to wear all day - my No-I-Don't-Want-To-Buy-A-Carpet-Or-Be-Your-Girlfriend Face: