Hello everyone,
It's been a busy week with the family in town. We've done a lot of sightseeing and spent fun times together reading, eating and playing games. This weekend is the New Year. We've heard that it gets pretty crazy around here, so we'll probably just stay in tomorrow night. Hopefully there will be a fireworks show somewhere that we can watch though.
The new roommate is moving in tomorrow sometime so Maria is moving back into my room again. Not sure how that will go after the rest of the family leaves. I haven't decided whether to have her sleep in the living room, taking up two thirds of the house, or keep her in my room and get less sleep. The roommate is also allergic to cat. Hopefully she will be OK here with us.
This week we went to the islands again. The kids especially liked the ferry ride and kept begging to feed the expensive snacks to the seagulls. Alex also really loved the 'haunted house'--the old wooden orphanage at the top of the hill.
My old Turkish teacher is in town with a group of students from his university. I'm hoping to catch up with them for a short time tomorrow.
I miss all the special people in my life. Thanks for keeping up with me!
That's all for now...Back to bed, if I can sleep after all the coffee I drank today.
This is me, signing off...
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Multi-Language Luau!
For all the multi-language fans, I just ran across this nifty video of the Timon and Pumba luau scene from Lion King. It's in several different languages. I thought it was funny that they changed Pumba's 'Yep, yep, yep' line in only a couple languages and left it the same in all the rest.
Here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO94nUP6keI&feature=endscreen
Enjoy!
This is me, signing off...
Here's the link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO94nUP6keI&feature=endscreen
Enjoy!
This is me, signing off...
Friday, December 7, 2012
Cat-on-Shoulder, Tea-in-Hand
Hello wonderful readers!
Here I am, typing away again, trying to keep up with a blog which has sort of gone by the wayside...As I type, Maria's kitty, Carmalitta, is perched on my shoulder, providing a tiny bit of warmth. Forget Istanbul in the fall, it's winter now, and getting colder. It has been raining most days for a couple weeks now, and the creeping damp has found its way into every pair of socks I own. Yesterday, after trudging through a puddle and collecting dampness up to my knees, I was forced to buy a new pair of socks--which also immediately got soaked. I'm wondering if it will snow anytime soon. Probably not. My fellow Istanbulites are scurrying about with winter parkas, boots, thick scarves and hats, indicating that they don't know what real cold is. When the fish-mongers start wearing mittens, I'll get worried.
Today I picked up my Little Blue Book, meaning I am officially a guidebook-toting, money-spending, sight-seeing tourist for the next several months. Maybe now I will have time to see everything I want to see before I go home! I hope!
I enrolled Maria in school on Monday, and she completed her first week today. Her uniform will require some care. The shirt is yellow, which means after 31 years of never having to remove stains from a yellow shirt, I have discovered a new skill I need to master, unless I want to pay for a new uniform shirt every week.
Maria is happily learning cursive in the other room, and the Friday noise from the neighborhood clubs and nargile houses has started. I think there might be a football match tonight, too. I heard something about Galatasary team and some sort of championship...I'm sure I'll hear the crowds if Galatasaray wins. I've been thinking it might be fun to attend a game at the stadium down the road, but I'm not sure, considering how wild the fans get.
Kitty has moved from my shoulder to inside my sweater. Might it be time to turn on the heater? No, it mightn't--not with the price of natural gas. Yikes! I guess that's what they get for importing all their oil products from another country. I'm starting to be more and more in favor of that decades-long dam project Turkey is working on.
Interesting factoid about Turkey, which I find rather interesting, yet slightly disturbing: All the bills--water, gas, electric, etc.--are delivered in a pile to the main entrance of the apartment building, and the tenants are left to sort through the stack and find their own. I'm not to keen to have everyone in the unit know how much I spend on gas per month, especially since ours was the most expensive bill in the whole apartment building (yes, I invaded all my neighbors' privacy. Does that make me a bad person?). The apartment manager also displays everyone's rent bill in a prominent place in the entry way, so we all know who has and hasn't paid, and who is horribly behind on their rent. It's kind of embarrassing, but great fodder for the gossip chain.
Maria has a new favorite candy. A couple weeks ago I discovered these little chocolate eggs with a surprise inside. Each egg has a little toy or plastic figure in a small egg inside the larger chocolate egg. I have been buying one for her every few days, and she is always thrilled. Her favorite so far has been a Smurf doll. I thought I had escaped from the Smurfs when we exited the 1980's, but they appear to be (back) in full force here in Turkey. I can only hope Gargamel finally gets his grubby hands on them and manages to eat all of them in a gruesome, blue-blood stained night.
That's all for now, thanks for reading.
This is me, signing off...
Here I am, typing away again, trying to keep up with a blog which has sort of gone by the wayside...As I type, Maria's kitty, Carmalitta, is perched on my shoulder, providing a tiny bit of warmth. Forget Istanbul in the fall, it's winter now, and getting colder. It has been raining most days for a couple weeks now, and the creeping damp has found its way into every pair of socks I own. Yesterday, after trudging through a puddle and collecting dampness up to my knees, I was forced to buy a new pair of socks--which also immediately got soaked. I'm wondering if it will snow anytime soon. Probably not. My fellow Istanbulites are scurrying about with winter parkas, boots, thick scarves and hats, indicating that they don't know what real cold is. When the fish-mongers start wearing mittens, I'll get worried.
Today I picked up my Little Blue Book, meaning I am officially a guidebook-toting, money-spending, sight-seeing tourist for the next several months. Maybe now I will have time to see everything I want to see before I go home! I hope!
I enrolled Maria in school on Monday, and she completed her first week today. Her uniform will require some care. The shirt is yellow, which means after 31 years of never having to remove stains from a yellow shirt, I have discovered a new skill I need to master, unless I want to pay for a new uniform shirt every week.
Maria is happily learning cursive in the other room, and the Friday noise from the neighborhood clubs and nargile houses has started. I think there might be a football match tonight, too. I heard something about Galatasary team and some sort of championship...I'm sure I'll hear the crowds if Galatasaray wins. I've been thinking it might be fun to attend a game at the stadium down the road, but I'm not sure, considering how wild the fans get.
Kitty has moved from my shoulder to inside my sweater. Might it be time to turn on the heater? No, it mightn't--not with the price of natural gas. Yikes! I guess that's what they get for importing all their oil products from another country. I'm starting to be more and more in favor of that decades-long dam project Turkey is working on.
Interesting factoid about Turkey, which I find rather interesting, yet slightly disturbing: All the bills--water, gas, electric, etc.--are delivered in a pile to the main entrance of the apartment building, and the tenants are left to sort through the stack and find their own. I'm not to keen to have everyone in the unit know how much I spend on gas per month, especially since ours was the most expensive bill in the whole apartment building (yes, I invaded all my neighbors' privacy. Does that make me a bad person?). The apartment manager also displays everyone's rent bill in a prominent place in the entry way, so we all know who has and hasn't paid, and who is horribly behind on their rent. It's kind of embarrassing, but great fodder for the gossip chain.
Maria has a new favorite candy. A couple weeks ago I discovered these little chocolate eggs with a surprise inside. Each egg has a little toy or plastic figure in a small egg inside the larger chocolate egg. I have been buying one for her every few days, and she is always thrilled. Her favorite so far has been a Smurf doll. I thought I had escaped from the Smurfs when we exited the 1980's, but they appear to be (back) in full force here in Turkey. I can only hope Gargamel finally gets his grubby hands on them and manages to eat all of them in a gruesome, blue-blood stained night.
That's all for now, thanks for reading.
This is me, signing off...
Friday, November 30, 2012
The Islands Again
Hello Everyone,
Earlier this week our roommate moved out, leaving us once again with the house to ourselves. We have enjoyed the extra space, especially considering Jon and Alex will be here in less than three weeks!
I've been super-busy. Maria has a new friend, a little boy who is 5. They have had a blast chasing each other around the coffee table, singing 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.' Maria sings, and the little boy tries to copy her. His pronunciation is pretty good, even though he has no idea what he's singing.
Last weekend we went to the islands again. This time, we went to the smaller, less populated, less touristed islands. The first island was almost completely deserted except for the many, many stray dogs and cats. First we went looking for food, and stopped at a half-closed grocery store where we got some bread, cheese, tangerines, dried fruit and nuts, and plenty of chocolate bars. We hiked up the hill to a little bench with a good view of the water and had our snack. The houses on this island seemed old and tired, most had cracks in the walls or peeling paint on at least one side. We found one house with an interesting mosaic on the wall, made from sea shells and rocks. It had a dinosaur shape and we got a picture of it for Alex.
Avoiding the dogs was rather difficult on this island, and we had to turn back several times. At the top of the hill we found an old, possibly abandoned playground, and Maria enjoyed trying not to fall through the gigantic hole in the walkway as she crossed from one slide-tower to the next. A little exploration revealed a high cliff just a few feet from the playground, behind some shrubs. From there we got a good view of the sea, some sail boats and the other islands.
We went back to the docks and took the ferry to the next island, which was a little bigger, less dog-infested and with prettier houses. This island seemed really well-cared for, although also nearly deserted. We tried to eat at a restaurant which had been recommended, only to discover that they weren't actually serving any food, even though the door was open and they had seated us. The only thing on the menu was fish and chips. We went on to another, also closed restaurant, before sliding down the muddy slope to the beach and consuming the remainder of our snack items. The beach was long and empty, with broken red roofing tiles and trash mixed into the black sand. There was a small cave near the water line, but since we were already cold and it had started to drizzle and was getting dark, we didn't try to explore. We walked back to the main part of town where we finally found an open restaurant. We drank some lukewarm soup, then went across the street for dessert, coffee and tea at the pastry shop. A man in the pastry shop was carrying on a Skype conversation in English, in a loud voice, and we were entertained by his little anecdotes about his experiences on the islands. Our ferry finally came, and we made our way back home for a hot cup of tea and some warm blankets.
Thanks to all our faithful readers! Pictures will be added as soon as I can find my camera again.
This is me, signing off...
Earlier this week our roommate moved out, leaving us once again with the house to ourselves. We have enjoyed the extra space, especially considering Jon and Alex will be here in less than three weeks!
I've been super-busy. Maria has a new friend, a little boy who is 5. They have had a blast chasing each other around the coffee table, singing 'Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.' Maria sings, and the little boy tries to copy her. His pronunciation is pretty good, even though he has no idea what he's singing.
Last weekend we went to the islands again. This time, we went to the smaller, less populated, less touristed islands. The first island was almost completely deserted except for the many, many stray dogs and cats. First we went looking for food, and stopped at a half-closed grocery store where we got some bread, cheese, tangerines, dried fruit and nuts, and plenty of chocolate bars. We hiked up the hill to a little bench with a good view of the water and had our snack. The houses on this island seemed old and tired, most had cracks in the walls or peeling paint on at least one side. We found one house with an interesting mosaic on the wall, made from sea shells and rocks. It had a dinosaur shape and we got a picture of it for Alex.
Avoiding the dogs was rather difficult on this island, and we had to turn back several times. At the top of the hill we found an old, possibly abandoned playground, and Maria enjoyed trying not to fall through the gigantic hole in the walkway as she crossed from one slide-tower to the next. A little exploration revealed a high cliff just a few feet from the playground, behind some shrubs. From there we got a good view of the sea, some sail boats and the other islands.
We went back to the docks and took the ferry to the next island, which was a little bigger, less dog-infested and with prettier houses. This island seemed really well-cared for, although also nearly deserted. We tried to eat at a restaurant which had been recommended, only to discover that they weren't actually serving any food, even though the door was open and they had seated us. The only thing on the menu was fish and chips. We went on to another, also closed restaurant, before sliding down the muddy slope to the beach and consuming the remainder of our snack items. The beach was long and empty, with broken red roofing tiles and trash mixed into the black sand. There was a small cave near the water line, but since we were already cold and it had started to drizzle and was getting dark, we didn't try to explore. We walked back to the main part of town where we finally found an open restaurant. We drank some lukewarm soup, then went across the street for dessert, coffee and tea at the pastry shop. A man in the pastry shop was carrying on a Skype conversation in English, in a loud voice, and we were entertained by his little anecdotes about his experiences on the islands. Our ferry finally came, and we made our way back home for a hot cup of tea and some warm blankets.
Thanks to all our faithful readers! Pictures will be added as soon as I can find my camera again.
This is me, signing off...
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Rain
Istanbul is getting rainier and rainier as we get closer to winter. Today we went to Taksim, and by the time we got back, there was hardly an inch of dryness on our clothing, even though we had an umbrella. Inflation is at work once again, as the price of chestnuts seems to have risen by a Lira. They are eager to make a sale, though, and will still give you the old price if you complain.
In Taksim, I wanted to get out of the damp, and so we stopped in at a little hole in the wall for dinner, Taksim Durum Evi. I ordered lentil soup for me, and macaroni for Maria and was surprised and suspicious when they started bringing other food items to our table. First a salad, which I decided to accept since I haven't eaten anything green in several days, then rice and beans, which I declined. I later asked about the salad, and the cook said it was a gift. I thanked him, and he immediately brought back the rice and beans. I thanked him, and mentioned that the soup was delicious, then he brought out a spinach dip for the bread. Since we were pretty hungry, I decided to just eat it and pay whatever outrageous price he was going to charge us for the food we hadn't ordered, and just not eat there again. When we finished eating, I got up, but he told us to go sit down again for tea, which he brought. Both the food and the tea were very good, and all the waiters were very nice and respectful. When I went to pay, he only charged me for the food we had ordered, and insisted the rest was on the house. I only paid 6.50 TL for the whole meal, including tea and water! Although I don't expect he normally gives free food, I plan to go there again whenever I have the chance.
This evening I got Maria to bed on time for one, and have had a bit of time to myself to relax before getting to work on my writing.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
This is me, signing off...
In Taksim, I wanted to get out of the damp, and so we stopped in at a little hole in the wall for dinner, Taksim Durum Evi. I ordered lentil soup for me, and macaroni for Maria and was surprised and suspicious when they started bringing other food items to our table. First a salad, which I decided to accept since I haven't eaten anything green in several days, then rice and beans, which I declined. I later asked about the salad, and the cook said it was a gift. I thanked him, and he immediately brought back the rice and beans. I thanked him, and mentioned that the soup was delicious, then he brought out a spinach dip for the bread. Since we were pretty hungry, I decided to just eat it and pay whatever outrageous price he was going to charge us for the food we hadn't ordered, and just not eat there again. When we finished eating, I got up, but he told us to go sit down again for tea, which he brought. Both the food and the tea were very good, and all the waiters were very nice and respectful. When I went to pay, he only charged me for the food we had ordered, and insisted the rest was on the house. I only paid 6.50 TL for the whole meal, including tea and water! Although I don't expect he normally gives free food, I plan to go there again whenever I have the chance.
This evening I got Maria to bed on time for one, and have had a bit of time to myself to relax before getting to work on my writing.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
This is me, signing off...
Monday, November 19, 2012
New--everything
Hello, faithful readers who are still checking, despite receiving no updates for weeks on end...
We've spent weeks in transition, and are finally settled in our new apartment in Besitas. It's in a great location, near Dolmabahce Palace, the waterfront, bus lines, cheap restaurants, stores, and -best of all- NO HILLS! no more carrying groceries and backpacks up and down hills that were never meant to be walked on by anything less limber than a mountain goat...
The new place was filthy when we moved in, and I have spent many, many hours trying to sort through the stuff that was left here and clean under it. The lady that used to live here was American, and loved clothes. There were four huge garbage bags of nearly-new clothing, most in perfect condition. It took me four hours to try on everything, and now there are three and a half huge garbage bags of clothing for me to donate on National Donate to the Poor People Bazaar Day, and I have enough nice-looking clothing to supplement the three outfits I brought to Turkey for as long as I stay, and longer. Actually, if I were in the States, I would consider I had done my clothes shopping for the next six months...So I guess that offsets the annoyance of having to clean.
Maria and Carmalitta are settling in nicely, too. Maria has been enjoying coloring her new 'Doggy Fashion' coloring book, where dogs wear cute and outrageous little outfits while looking stylishly unconcerned about any discomfort. We also hooked up the TV yesterday, so she'll be able to watch all her favorite cartoons in Turkish again. She's also being helpful with the cleaning, and has organized her room without being told at least once a day since we moved in.
Carmalitta (the cat) has worn out all her energy tearing around the whole house, investigating everything from the drippy hot water heater to the dust bunnies behind the fridge and the built-in cabinets all over the house. She has also decided it is her duty to chew off each individual leaf of the mini-palm tree, one each day--ridding the world of nasty plants, one leaf at a time!
A couple nights ago we went out for a little walk in the neighborhood. The chestnut salesman charges half again what the stands in Taksim charge, but the nuts are fresher and less wormy, so possibly worth the extra. Maria doesn't like the fish market, but we both got a kick out of the sock stand, which is located in the wall of another store. All the socks are hanging in a one-foot deep recess along the length of another store. Turks are so resourceful and interesting.
Today I'm going to try to finish cleaning today so Maria and I can enjoy the rest of our week. Maria wants to go to the islands again this Friday. I'm thinking we might be able to see the other island that we missed last time, which is less populated and touristic. We'll see.
Pictures to come, sometime, maybe, I hope...
Thanks again for reading!
This is me, signing off...
We've spent weeks in transition, and are finally settled in our new apartment in Besitas. It's in a great location, near Dolmabahce Palace, the waterfront, bus lines, cheap restaurants, stores, and -best of all- NO HILLS! no more carrying groceries and backpacks up and down hills that were never meant to be walked on by anything less limber than a mountain goat...
The new place was filthy when we moved in, and I have spent many, many hours trying to sort through the stuff that was left here and clean under it. The lady that used to live here was American, and loved clothes. There were four huge garbage bags of nearly-new clothing, most in perfect condition. It took me four hours to try on everything, and now there are three and a half huge garbage bags of clothing for me to donate on National Donate to the Poor People Bazaar Day, and I have enough nice-looking clothing to supplement the three outfits I brought to Turkey for as long as I stay, and longer. Actually, if I were in the States, I would consider I had done my clothes shopping for the next six months...So I guess that offsets the annoyance of having to clean.
Maria and Carmalitta are settling in nicely, too. Maria has been enjoying coloring her new 'Doggy Fashion' coloring book, where dogs wear cute and outrageous little outfits while looking stylishly unconcerned about any discomfort. We also hooked up the TV yesterday, so she'll be able to watch all her favorite cartoons in Turkish again. She's also being helpful with the cleaning, and has organized her room without being told at least once a day since we moved in.
Carmalitta (the cat) has worn out all her energy tearing around the whole house, investigating everything from the drippy hot water heater to the dust bunnies behind the fridge and the built-in cabinets all over the house. She has also decided it is her duty to chew off each individual leaf of the mini-palm tree, one each day--ridding the world of nasty plants, one leaf at a time!
A couple nights ago we went out for a little walk in the neighborhood. The chestnut salesman charges half again what the stands in Taksim charge, but the nuts are fresher and less wormy, so possibly worth the extra. Maria doesn't like the fish market, but we both got a kick out of the sock stand, which is located in the wall of another store. All the socks are hanging in a one-foot deep recess along the length of another store. Turks are so resourceful and interesting.
Today I'm going to try to finish cleaning today so Maria and I can enjoy the rest of our week. Maria wants to go to the islands again this Friday. I'm thinking we might be able to see the other island that we missed last time, which is less populated and touristic. We'll see.
Pictures to come, sometime, maybe, I hope...
Thanks again for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Sunday, October 28, 2012
How is it the Grand Bazaar is Never Open?
Yesterday morning I somehow invited a wasp into my pants and got stung repeatedly on the ankle. That was not fun. It swelled up and made it difficult to walk the rest of the day, which, as anyone living in Istanbul knows, is inconvenient. Later on, we went to the Grand Bazaar again because it was Saturday, and it is "open" that day. It has always been closed before, because we somehow always try to go on Sunday, when it is closed. It was closed this time, too because of the holiday, but a few shops were open.
In the evening I had death-by-flu/stomach flu. Still feel feverish and yucky today, but most of the stomach bug seems to be gone. I still have some nasty head cold thing though. If I got it from the roommate, I'm looking at three weeks of misery as I hack, cough, sneeze and sniffle my way to healthier days.
Today is partly cloudy. We may go out to the kids' park later and let Maria play on the toys. I don't know if I'm up to much more than that.
Lazy cat is practicing sleeping in the sunny spot on the couch while Maria does leg exercises on the other couch and sings little songs about people riding bikes. She is happy again today =)
Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and a Happy Republic Day (tomorrow).
This is me, signing off...
In the evening I had death-by-flu/stomach flu. Still feel feverish and yucky today, but most of the stomach bug seems to be gone. I still have some nasty head cold thing though. If I got it from the roommate, I'm looking at three weeks of misery as I hack, cough, sneeze and sniffle my way to healthier days.
Today is partly cloudy. We may go out to the kids' park later and let Maria play on the toys. I don't know if I'm up to much more than that.
Lazy cat is practicing sleeping in the sunny spot on the couch while Maria does leg exercises on the other couch and sings little songs about people riding bikes. She is happy again today =)
Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday and a Happy Republic Day (tomorrow).
This is me, signing off...
Friday, October 26, 2012
Holidays, etc.
Over the weekend and into the first part of the week, we worked on settling into our apartment. I had been looking for beds, but even the second-hand store was so expensive that I eventually decided to buy a matching set of really bright red futons that were on sale because they for some inexplicable reason hadn't sold. We had them delivered, and they actually don't look half bad in our room. I wanted a rug because the floor is cold and collects dust bunnies after mere minutes, but our housemate assures me that he will wash his used Turkish-style rug and we can use that, so I'm waiting. Meanwhile, we got some other essentials, such as two wooden shoe-racks which stack precariously into a tall bookshelf-looking thingy, some plastic boxes to protect our undies from dust bunnies, fuzzy blankets and sheets. I also got Maria a little tub to take a bath in, since she doesn't like showers.
On Monday, the same day I got brand new furniture and woolly blankets, the flatmate asked if Maria would like to have a kitten. I reluctantly agreed, assuming that the kitten would be from a litter of house cats. To my dismay, when they got home, the kitten was dirty, skinny, and crawling with fleas. It was a street cat! They gave it a bath, but I was still concerned about getting fleas on my new bedding, so put the thing out on the porch for the night. The next day all the fleas were dead, and I let it into our room. We are fattening it up on milk, eggs and small portions of other people-food. Maria is learning to clean the litter and entertain the kitty whenever we are inside. She complained a little at first, but is getting used to the responsibilities of caring for an animal.
On Wednesday or Thursday I sent out a huge pile of job applications, answered some preliminary questions from one, and am still waiting.
Friday was a major Islamic holiday, (Eid Ul Adha) Kurban Bayrami--AKA Feast of the Sacrifice. Most people left to go to their hometowns to perform the sacrifices and Istanbul has been silent. The neighbors slaughtered a cow in the space between the apartment buildings, and I listened to their chatter for several hours as they skinned the animal and portioned out the meat to each family. In the afternoon, when the last of the meat was gone, they washed the area with water.
Monday is a national holiday, Republic Day, the day the modern state of Turkey was founded back in 1923. We'll probably go down to Taksim and see if we can buy a flag and participate in the festivities.
We have stayed inside for the past two days, only going out last night to buy some pide and stock up on some essential groceries. Today we'll get out and enjoy the sunny weather.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading.
This is me, signing off...
On Monday, the same day I got brand new furniture and woolly blankets, the flatmate asked if Maria would like to have a kitten. I reluctantly agreed, assuming that the kitten would be from a litter of house cats. To my dismay, when they got home, the kitten was dirty, skinny, and crawling with fleas. It was a street cat! They gave it a bath, but I was still concerned about getting fleas on my new bedding, so put the thing out on the porch for the night. The next day all the fleas were dead, and I let it into our room. We are fattening it up on milk, eggs and small portions of other people-food. Maria is learning to clean the litter and entertain the kitty whenever we are inside. She complained a little at first, but is getting used to the responsibilities of caring for an animal.
Maria and her Kitty
Our room at bedtime
Friday was a major Islamic holiday, (Eid Ul Adha) Kurban Bayrami--AKA Feast of the Sacrifice. Most people left to go to their hometowns to perform the sacrifices and Istanbul has been silent. The neighbors slaughtered a cow in the space between the apartment buildings, and I listened to their chatter for several hours as they skinned the animal and portioned out the meat to each family. In the afternoon, when the last of the meat was gone, they washed the area with water.
Monday is a national holiday, Republic Day, the day the modern state of Turkey was founded back in 1923. We'll probably go down to Taksim and see if we can buy a flag and participate in the festivities.
We have stayed inside for the past two days, only going out last night to buy some pide and stock up on some essential groceries. Today we'll get out and enjoy the sunny weather.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading.
This is me, signing off...
Where Have I Been for the Past Eight Days, You Ask?
So, it's been a long week and a half since I last posted. Much of my time has been spent moving and settling into our new apartment and then working on a family emergency.
Despite everything, we have had some very nice excursions, and I am posting pictures from those little trips. Enjoy!
Despite everything, we have had some very nice excursions, and I am posting pictures from those little trips. Enjoy!
========= @ =========
Shortly after my last post we boarded a taxi and tried to find our apartment, but after what should have been a five-minute ride turned into an hour and the taxi driver got angry after asking about 15 people for the location of the street and not finding it, we had him drive us to my old school where I piled my suitcases and waited for one of our new roommates to show up and lead us to our house. At the same time, we were supposed to be meeting a friend who was planning to take us to Eyup for some sightseeing. We met at the school, then took our huge pile of junk to the apartment and set off.
At Eyup we explored an old fez-factory-turned-expo/conference center. Next, we strolled along the streets past booths selling religious articles and books, to a nice fountain. Maria enjoyed feeding the pigeons.
Rose and Maria by the fountain in Eyup
We looked in the mosque where there are some relics, then had pide, pizza and dessert before riding the cable car (teleferik) up the steep hill, over the old cemetery to the Pierre Lotti Cafe with an excellent view. We had tea and Nescafe but soon got cold anyway and had to go back.
At Pierre Lotti Cafe
The next day was a sunny Friday. We got up early and walked down to Kabatas pier where we caught a ferry to Prince's Island (Buyukada). On the way we passed the Blue Mosque, Ayasofya and Topkapi Palace. The ferry ride took about an hour and a half.
Rose in front of Ayasofya (r) and the Blue Mosque (l)
Along the way we entertained ourselves watching the seagulls following, taking lots of pictures of each other all over the boat, looking out to sea, chatting with other passengers and drinking tea and eating cookies. We saw a dolphin in the distance, but weren't quick enough with the camera. We also saw a fishing boat being trailed by a huge swarm of seagulls.
Maria on the ferry to Buyukada
When we got to the island, we met our friend and spent the rest of the day exploring, enjoying the calm atmosphere of this tourist haven during off-season, looking at the scenery, and eating at various locales. First, we had to pose in front of the Founding Father.
Maria and Rose in front of Ataturk
As we went up some stairs, we had an unexpected "Peanuts" moment. The quality of graffiti seems better here than in Chicago.
Maria and Lucy
Maria insisted on carrying the backpack for most of the day.
Maria and Rose in front of "Rose" apartment. This place has my name on it!
Maria found a litter of kittens.
Abandoned orphanage: The largest wooden building in Europe, second-largest in the world.
This orphanage was inhabited during the wars, and on until 1964.
We continued walking up the hill past the orphanage and through a nice little pine forest. It was pretty amazing how quiet and peaceful it was up there, considering Istanbul is so close.
We decided to go ahead and trek up the even steeper trail another few hundred feet toward a small Greek Orthodox church at the summit.
It is a place for pilgrimage, and people say that if you go on pilgrimage up to that church you have accomplished half of the Haj...Sometimes I wonder where they get these sayings.
Rose at the top of Buyukada
Rose and Maria on Buyukada overlooking Istanbul
Maria waits for her dinner at the restaurant on top of Buyukada.
Maria and Rose on the way back down Buyukada
We had a wonderful day.
Thanks to all who keep reading!
This is me, signing off...
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Relaxing Day and Moving Day
Good Morning,
Maria decided she wanted to stay in today and we need to get ready to move anyway, so we're sitting around the house being lazy. We had a late breakfast then sat on the balcony drinking our tea and watching the seagull feathers swirling in the breeze. Next, we put together Maria's Sponge Bob puzzle and listened to music.
This afternoon I'm going to attempt to pack all our stuff back into the two tiny suitcases we brought with us. We still haven't settled on a place, but I'm going to ask a classmate who offered a room a couple weeks ago. Either way, we have to move out of here by noon tomorrow. Wish us luck!
.....................
Today is moving day. I packed most everything yesterday, but still had to wash the sheets and towels before we can leave, and it's taking a while. We'll be moving farther up the hill from where we are now, but still on the metro line at least.
I'm supposed to go sightseeing in Eyyup with a friend today but not sure how that's going to work with moving and buying beds for my unfurnished room. We'll see. Fortunately Turks aren't as picky about time as Americans are.
Maria is being forced to eat all the leftover ice cream for breakfast so it doesn't melt when we move. Meanwhile, I'm eating leftover soup for the fifth meal in a row. Anyway, I'm not terribly hungry this morning. Something didn't agree with me last night and I'm still recovering.
There has been a truck driving around the neighborhood these past few days playing a creepy little tune on a loudspeaker. They are selling gas, but it sounds like one of those horror movies where the antique dolls come to life and eat people.
I hope you all are well. Thank you for reading...
Maria decided she wanted to stay in today and we need to get ready to move anyway, so we're sitting around the house being lazy. We had a late breakfast then sat on the balcony drinking our tea and watching the seagull feathers swirling in the breeze. Next, we put together Maria's Sponge Bob puzzle and listened to music.
This afternoon I'm going to attempt to pack all our stuff back into the two tiny suitcases we brought with us. We still haven't settled on a place, but I'm going to ask a classmate who offered a room a couple weeks ago. Either way, we have to move out of here by noon tomorrow. Wish us luck!
.....................
Today is moving day. I packed most everything yesterday, but still had to wash the sheets and towels before we can leave, and it's taking a while. We'll be moving farther up the hill from where we are now, but still on the metro line at least.
I'm supposed to go sightseeing in Eyyup with a friend today but not sure how that's going to work with moving and buying beds for my unfurnished room. We'll see. Fortunately Turks aren't as picky about time as Americans are.
Maria is being forced to eat all the leftover ice cream for breakfast so it doesn't melt when we move. Meanwhile, I'm eating leftover soup for the fifth meal in a row. Anyway, I'm not terribly hungry this morning. Something didn't agree with me last night and I'm still recovering.
There has been a truck driving around the neighborhood these past few days playing a creepy little tune on a loudspeaker. They are selling gas, but it sounds like one of those horror movies where the antique dolls come to life and eat people.
I hope you all are well. Thank you for reading...
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Monday and Tuesday
Hellllooooo Everybody!
Yesterday after we finally got out of the house, we had a pretty good time sightseeing. We went to the Sultanahmet area again and walked around looking for the other cisterns. I thought there were two, and the second one was on the map, right--there--but there wasn't anything actually--there--so we had a questionable cheese and egg sandwich, some simit and Special for Tourist water (oh, and some chestnuts too), and then walked to the other cisterns. Maria loved it as much as I did. She spent quite a while admiring the fish swimming around under the walkways, and was excited at the opportunity to wear her new coat and be my twin. She was delighted with the Medusa heads, although she admitted they weren't quite what she had expected.
Yesterday after we finally got out of the house, we had a pretty good time sightseeing. We went to the Sultanahmet area again and walked around looking for the other cisterns. I thought there were two, and the second one was on the map, right--there--but there wasn't anything actually--there--so we had a questionable cheese and egg sandwich, some simit and Special for Tourist water (oh, and some chestnuts too), and then walked to the other cisterns. Maria loved it as much as I did. She spent quite a while admiring the fish swimming around under the walkways, and was excited at the opportunity to wear her new coat and be my twin. She was delighted with the Medusa heads, although she admitted they weren't quite what she had expected.
Maria at the Basilica Cisterns
Medusa head, leftovers from the Greeks, used by the Romans...Those guys knew how to recycle!
Rose and Medusa
Maria and Medusa, BFFs (forever)
Maria at the Column of Tears
Rose at the column of tears
After the cisterns we headed back to Taksim where we met up with some CELTA classmates for a final group potluck. We enjoyed some delicious Indian food and homemade pasta courtesy of Shiv and James. We decided to leave before it got too late, but due to a suicide at the metro, it was closed and we had to take two buses home. James threw us off the bus at Besiktas and told us to quick, hop on that bus--a bus line I had never seen before--and since it was leaving right then, I didn't question him until after we boarded. Since it was nearly 11:00, I hoped I would recognize something and not end up taking a taxi halfway across town. As it turned out, we got out at a stop I didn't recognize, but as soon as I was off the bus, I realized we were a couple blocks from home, and we got back without further incident.
Today I woke up early, looked at a map and decided to go to Rumeli Hasari http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumeli_Hisar%C4%B1 instead of the Archaeology Museum because I was tired of going through Taksim every single day. There is a nice walking path that goes along the Bosphorus, so we strolled down the hill from our house and along that for a few miles. We stopped at a beautiful little park where Maria played for a while, then continued on. We walked under one of Istanbul's two main bridges (which cross the Bosphorus). We really enjoyed the view along the water line, with trees across the way and beautiful old houses lining the streets, and the cool breeze. Interesting sights of note today included a garbage can advertising "Barf" brand cat food and a gentleman wearing no pants.
Rose on the Bosphorus
Maria on the Bosphorus
As we walked along, I unexpectedly saw the sign for the Rumeli thingy, so we trekked up the very incredibly unbelievably steep hill past a lovely cemetery, some lovely houses with lovely security fences, a lovely bus...sweating all the time and wondering how long my knees would hold out and how in the world one can be expected to actually climb that thing without gravity sucking one back to the foot of the hill. When we reached the top, surrounded by security fencing obstructing the lovely view of the Bosphorus and bridge, we encountered a nice, polite little sign informing visitors that the museum is currently closed for renovations. We trudged back down the hill and caught a bus to Besiktas and home, arriving before dark for once.
I skillfully cooked a delicious soup, which Maria condescended to eat for her dinner along with some bread. And now, for a nice, relaxing evening in which no trudging up hills happens.
Thanks for reading.
This is me, signing off...
Monday, October 15, 2012
Pictures of Istanbul--in Two Languages!
OK, the pictures aren't in two languages, but the writing is...enjoy! (English is located halfway down the page).
Sayın Okuyucularım,
Bu hafta sonu sonunda evden dersten çıkıp gezebildik. Maria ilk önce Yerebatan'a gitmek istemişti fakat Cumartesi günü çok geç kalkıp yavaş yavaş hareket ettiğimiz için maalesef oraya kadar ulaşamadık. Metrodan Taksime inip İstiklal Caddesinden yaya gittik. Gerçekten çok eğlenceliydi. Amerika'dan ceketlerimizi getirmediğimiz hava serinlediği için yenileri almak istiyordum. İkimize birbirlerine çok benzeyen zeytin yeşili trençkot aldım. Sonra da CELTA'yı okuduğum yere gidip güzel öğle yemeği yedikten sonra Galata Kulesine kadar yürüdük.
CELTA yerinden İstiklal Caddesine manzarası
Istiklal Street from my CELTA school
Yürürken bu güzel kiliseyi görünce foto çektik.
Maria
Maria
Rose
Galata Kulesindeyken hava çok güzel, manzarayı çok net gözüküyordu.
Maria Galata Kulesinde
Maria at Galata Tower
Galata Kulesinden Boğaz manzarası
View of the Bosphorus from Galata Tower
Galata Kulesinden Topkapı Sarayına manzarası
View of Topkapi Palace from Galata Tower
Galata Kulesi
Galata Tower
Çok yürüdükten sonra acıktık. Peynirli pideyle ayranla beslendikten sonra ders arkadaşla buluşup, yeni daireye baktık. Güneş battıktan sonra arkadaşlarla Creamery'den çok lezzetli dondurma yedik. Harika bir gündü ve ikimiz çok eğlenip rahatlandık.
The next day...
We got up late again, but not nearly as late as on Saturday. Maria was determined to go to the cisterns, so we got on the metro, funincular, tram to Sultanahmet square. We were supposed to be meeting some friends, but they hadn't shown up yet, so we wandered around, ostensibly admiring the scenery, but actually because I was lost and couldn't figure out where the cisterns were located, even though I had a really awesome map...I need to stop being too embarrassed to ask for directions--but I don't want to look like a dumb tourist, even though I actually am. Pride killed the cat...wait. Huh? And now, back to your regularly scheduled program...
So we wandered around, bought a bag of chestnuts, wandered around some more. Finally found the cisterns, stood in line for a while, then got a call from our friends saying they were on their way. Maria decided she would rather go see our friends than stand in line anymore, so I promised her we would go back later, and we headed across the square to the Blue Mosque, AKA Sultanahmet. I have noticed that they have two names for everything here: one for locals and one for tourists. That way, if someone uses the tourist name, the locals feel justified in charging triple the price for whatever the poor tourist is buying. Fortunately, the Blue Mosque is free, and triple free is still free.
We saw some of our group waiting on the steps and waited with them for the rest of the group, which finally showed up, but not until it was prayer time. We went to a restaurant where I ordered some delicious Mexican food (to split, because it was triple the price). We had a nice visit with my classmates, then some of them took off to go to a jazz concert which was also offering free wine. We stayed, then did a quick tour of the Blue Mosque. I was annoyed at being made to move to the 'tourist' line in the back instead of being able to go in the front door, like I did last time I was in Turkey. It was pretty crowded, but still as beautiful as ever with thousands of blue and white tiles lining the inside walls. For some reason I didn't get any pictures this time, but we'll go back again before we leave Turkey. That's the neat thing about free stuff, you can keep going back.
Courtyard of the Blue Mosque
After this, someone in our group mentioned a little cafe on the hill near the Grand Bazaar, and suggested we go there to drink some tea and admire the view. We strolled through the completely deserted bazaar (closed on Sundays) to the cafe, whose view was just as dramatic as he had promised. We sipped triple-priced beverages as slowly as we could while Maria dashed around taking pictures of everything, from the beautiful view to the slightly muddy speakers from which drifted high-class music at precisely the right volume. The view of the Bosphorus and city skyline, already impressive enough, was improved by the evening light which had taken on an odd honey-like quality.
After this, we dragged our tired feet to the bus station at Eminonu and, trying not to get run over, found the bus that would take us all the way back up the hill to our doorstep. I didn't take into account the Istanbul traffic, and we sat on the bus for a solid hour, maybe more, before we finally made it home. Next time I'll get out at Taksim and take the metro from there...Live and learn, I guess.
Last night I spent a while doing three loads of laundry--I can start wearing clothes again today (yay!), washed a week's worth of dishes, and wiped a thick layer of Istanbul dust off the table so we could eat again.
Having planned to go sightseeing again today, I first slept in, then made a leisurely breakfast, then worked on this blog. Maybe by dinner time I will have gotten my shower and be ready to go sight seeing. For now, I'm enjoying the change of pace and just relaxing. Maria has been racing around the house with her usual energy all morning, singing at the top of her lungs, making up songs about anything and everything. When I laugh at her cuteness, she gets angry at me.
Thanks for being so patient with my sporadic and short blog entries these last few weeks. Now that I'm done with the program and doing a lot more sightseeing, my blogging should pick up again, and there should be more pictures too.
Happy Monday, everyone!
This is me, signing off...
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Cats
Has anyone ever noticed the cats in Istanbul? I guess they are like cats everywhere, but there are so many of them, so it's easy to catch them in especially cat-defining moments. The other day I was leaving the metro station and I saw one sitting on the edge of a manhole, staring intently into the little slot, not blinking or moving at all as hundreds of people streamed past. The next day I saw one staring at the sky in the same way...What do these cats know that we don't? They are trying to send us subliminal messages, but we're too blind to understand that they are talking to us in a secret language. This morning I saw one sitting in the middle of the Istiklal Street in Taksim, just watching people walk by. Everyone is hurrying, but these cats know how to chill.
It's possible I'm starting to lose my mind...only one more day of CELTA.
Cambridge has this weird thing about not wanting people to know what grade they are getting. Everything is hush-hush until the end of the course. And only one or two people can get an 'A,' I guess. They are still living under the old bell-curve ideas of grading--as though all the students were somehow dependent on each other for their individual performance.
Ah, this is the life...Sitting in the cafe in Istanbul, listening to the radio blasting in English...um.?
After this course, my Turkish is going to get a workout.
I'm thinking of moving. There is an apartment closer to downtown, significantly cheaper than my current place. Haven't decided yet though. I think it depends on how lazy I feel after the course.
OK, enough random thought-dumping for today. I'm off to write the most awesome lesson plan ever.
Thanks for reading.
This is me, signing off...
It's possible I'm starting to lose my mind...only one more day of CELTA.
Cambridge has this weird thing about not wanting people to know what grade they are getting. Everything is hush-hush until the end of the course. And only one or two people can get an 'A,' I guess. They are still living under the old bell-curve ideas of grading--as though all the students were somehow dependent on each other for their individual performance.
Ah, this is the life...Sitting in the cafe in Istanbul, listening to the radio blasting in English...um.?
After this course, my Turkish is going to get a workout.
I'm thinking of moving. There is an apartment closer to downtown, significantly cheaper than my current place. Haven't decided yet though. I think it depends on how lazy I feel after the course.
OK, enough random thought-dumping for today. I'm off to write the most awesome lesson plan ever.
Thanks for reading.
This is me, signing off...
In Class, Chillin'
Hello Faithful Readers,
Here I am, sitting in class again. Two more days to the end of my CELTA. It's been a long month of homework-filled nights and stress-filled teaching with colleagues observing every lesson and tutors picking it all apart...and it has somehow flown by. In two days I'll be free to move about the country and explore. Maria is excited about finally getting to see the sights I promised her were here...I think she has been thinking I made all that stuff up to lure her to this strange country. This weekend we'll get out to the cisterns and maybe the Blue Mosque. I hope the weather is nice so we can stroll through the streets and enjoy the views...and I won't have to carry a backpack!
Keep reading, more pictures to come at some future point...
This is me, signing off...
Here I am, sitting in class again. Two more days to the end of my CELTA. It's been a long month of homework-filled nights and stress-filled teaching with colleagues observing every lesson and tutors picking it all apart...and it has somehow flown by. In two days I'll be free to move about the country and explore. Maria is excited about finally getting to see the sights I promised her were here...I think she has been thinking I made all that stuff up to lure her to this strange country. This weekend we'll get out to the cisterns and maybe the Blue Mosque. I hope the weather is nice so we can stroll through the streets and enjoy the views...and I won't have to carry a backpack!
Keep reading, more pictures to come at some future point...
This is me, signing off...
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Another Sunny Weekend with Homework
Hello World!
I had an awesome eight hours of sleep for the first time in three weeks, and I feel really rested. The sun is shining, the birds are singing--OK, OK, cawing and cackling--the traffic is humming along in the street with only the occasional angry beep...Life is good. Oh. I have homework. Again.
This is the last weekend of my course. It has been going really well, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it, except for a few of the late nights, and not being able to get out on the weekends much. Neyse...
I have learned a lot and am really glad I finally took the plunge. Today I'll be ignoring the nice weather again and working on a major project that is due Monday, as well as tweaking my Monday lesson plan. I'll be teaching Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week, which is good. This week will be a bit more creative too, because I'll be designing my own lessons from scratch. That means I can include more interactive stuff like games, and more visuals because I won't be tied to the book like I have been.
Next weekend I'll be done, and I plan to take advantage of every day from here on out to see everything of interest in Istanbul and spend some serious time on my poor, neglected Turkish. I'll have to make some more non-English-speaking friends to practice with. I'm still thinking about whether to stay in Istanbul or travel south a ways to the beaches. I like Istanbul a lot and haven't really had a chance to explore yet, so I'll be staying here at least a bit longer. Then there is the question of housing...I don't want to keep paying an arm and a leg for a single room, but I'm in a nice area which I finally know well enough to only get lost sometimes...Hmm.
OK...Time to get out of bed and do some work.
Thanks for reading!
This is me, signing off...
I had an awesome eight hours of sleep for the first time in three weeks, and I feel really rested. The sun is shining, the birds are singing--OK, OK, cawing and cackling--the traffic is humming along in the street with only the occasional angry beep...Life is good. Oh. I have homework. Again.
This is the last weekend of my course. It has been going really well, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it, except for a few of the late nights, and not being able to get out on the weekends much. Neyse...
I have learned a lot and am really glad I finally took the plunge. Today I'll be ignoring the nice weather again and working on a major project that is due Monday, as well as tweaking my Monday lesson plan. I'll be teaching Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week, which is good. This week will be a bit more creative too, because I'll be designing my own lessons from scratch. That means I can include more interactive stuff like games, and more visuals because I won't be tied to the book like I have been.
Next weekend I'll be done, and I plan to take advantage of every day from here on out to see everything of interest in Istanbul and spend some serious time on my poor, neglected Turkish. I'll have to make some more non-English-speaking friends to practice with. I'm still thinking about whether to stay in Istanbul or travel south a ways to the beaches. I like Istanbul a lot and haven't really had a chance to explore yet, so I'll be staying here at least a bit longer. Then there is the question of housing...I don't want to keep paying an arm and a leg for a single room, but I'm in a nice area which I finally know well enough to only get lost sometimes...Hmm.
OK...Time to get out of bed and do some work.
Thanks for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Derslerim
Merhabalar,
Bu yoğun dersimin üçüncü haftsı ve gerçekten çok yoğun. Aslında böyle olduğuna çok sevindim çünkü zaman harcadığım gibi hissetmiyorum, çok öğreniyorum ve arkadaş buluyorum. Neredeyse bütün ders arkadaşlarım kursdan sonra burada kalmayı düşünüyolar. Ben de kalmak çok isterim ama bundan sonra normal hayatıma dönmeliyim. Belki ileride buraya gelip biraz çalışırım da hayatımda macaradan keyif alırım.
Bu derse katılınca neredeyse hiç Türkçe pratik yapamıyorum. Her gün ödev, ödev ve daha çok ödev çıkıyor. Kızımı götürüp getiriyorum, yemeklerimiz hazırlıyorum arada. Sürekli çok geç yattığım için zombi gibiyim ama şikayet etmiyorum. Gerçekten kurs çok hoşuma gidiyor.
İstanbul hayatına da alışmaya başladım. Her gün gidip gelince aynı insanları görüyorum. Taksimde gazete satan adam, dilenci görmez ağabey, simitci-her gün aynı. Ara sıra da protestucuların seslerini duyuyabiliyorum ve çok ilginç geliyor.
Kurstan sonraki planlarımı çözemedim çünkü her zaman meşgul ve yorugun oluyorum.
Şimdi saat geç oldu. Çamaşırı asıp uyuyacağım. Yarın yine ders anlatacağım için biraz dinlenmek isterim.
Okuduğunuz için teşekkür ediyorum!
İmzalayıp çıkıyorum.....
Bu yoğun dersimin üçüncü haftsı ve gerçekten çok yoğun. Aslında böyle olduğuna çok sevindim çünkü zaman harcadığım gibi hissetmiyorum, çok öğreniyorum ve arkadaş buluyorum. Neredeyse bütün ders arkadaşlarım kursdan sonra burada kalmayı düşünüyolar. Ben de kalmak çok isterim ama bundan sonra normal hayatıma dönmeliyim. Belki ileride buraya gelip biraz çalışırım da hayatımda macaradan keyif alırım.
Bu derse katılınca neredeyse hiç Türkçe pratik yapamıyorum. Her gün ödev, ödev ve daha çok ödev çıkıyor. Kızımı götürüp getiriyorum, yemeklerimiz hazırlıyorum arada. Sürekli çok geç yattığım için zombi gibiyim ama şikayet etmiyorum. Gerçekten kurs çok hoşuma gidiyor.
İstanbul hayatına da alışmaya başladım. Her gün gidip gelince aynı insanları görüyorum. Taksimde gazete satan adam, dilenci görmez ağabey, simitci-her gün aynı. Ara sıra da protestucuların seslerini duyuyabiliyorum ve çok ilginç geliyor.
Kurstan sonraki planlarımı çözemedim çünkü her zaman meşgul ve yorugun oluyorum.
Şimdi saat geç oldu. Çamaşırı asıp uyuyacağım. Yarın yine ders anlatacağım için biraz dinlenmek isterim.
Okuduğunuz için teşekkür ediyorum!
İmzalayıp çıkıyorum.....
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Just Another Weekend in Istanbul
Hello Faithful Readers,
With my course being so ...Turkish word... intense, we haven't had much time for sightseeing. Today we decided to go to Miniaturk and see the miniature (go figure!) models of famous architecture that is around Turkey. http://www.miniaturk.com.tr/en/index.php
Unfortunately, we went to the bazaar first, which meant we spent hours wandering around, shoving through crowds, gawking at everything from fancy, no-longer-in-style replicas of Ottoman clothing, to leeches which are supposed to cure some illness or other. Maria spent two weeks of allowance in a single five minute period, then immediately started planning her next shopping adventure. Honestly, what is it with girls and shopping?
Then Maria had a stomach ache, so we stepped into the mosque so she could lay on the clean carpet. After getting run out by a woman who wouldn't stop begging, we met a friend and hopped a ferry. Spent a nice couple hours wandering around the scenic walkway at Kadikoy. Had another protein-less meal, but made up for it by eating an entire bag of chestnuts by myself. I guess there had to have been some protein in there somewhere because I felt better after eating them.
My goal for the weekend was to finish my two big assignments and my lesson plan. As it was, I got through one assignment and had a serious think about my lesson plan. I guess I'll have a little chance to work on it tomorrow sometime, hopefully during the day.
Today was the landlord's son's wedding. We were invited, but I decided it would be too late in the evening, yet here I am, still up. Guess that means it's bedtime for me. I should be trying to get more sleep because my cough is still with me. It's been a week now.
Off to bed.
Thanks for reading!
This is me, signing off...
With my course being so ...Turkish word... intense, we haven't had much time for sightseeing. Today we decided to go to Miniaturk and see the miniature (go figure!) models of famous architecture that is around Turkey. http://www.miniaturk.com.tr/en/index.php
Unfortunately, we went to the bazaar first, which meant we spent hours wandering around, shoving through crowds, gawking at everything from fancy, no-longer-in-style replicas of Ottoman clothing, to leeches which are supposed to cure some illness or other. Maria spent two weeks of allowance in a single five minute period, then immediately started planning her next shopping adventure. Honestly, what is it with girls and shopping?
Then Maria had a stomach ache, so we stepped into the mosque so she could lay on the clean carpet. After getting run out by a woman who wouldn't stop begging, we met a friend and hopped a ferry. Spent a nice couple hours wandering around the scenic walkway at Kadikoy. Had another protein-less meal, but made up for it by eating an entire bag of chestnuts by myself. I guess there had to have been some protein in there somewhere because I felt better after eating them.
My goal for the weekend was to finish my two big assignments and my lesson plan. As it was, I got through one assignment and had a serious think about my lesson plan. I guess I'll have a little chance to work on it tomorrow sometime, hopefully during the day.
Today was the landlord's son's wedding. We were invited, but I decided it would be too late in the evening, yet here I am, still up. Guess that means it's bedtime for me. I should be trying to get more sleep because my cough is still with me. It's been a week now.
Off to bed.
Thanks for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
More Adventures in Turkey
Hello, All!
I am still residing in Turkey, although it is hard to tell sometimes, since I spend all my time inside an English-only building, interacting with American, Canadian, British, and other English-speakers. My lessons are going along swimmingly, and I am thoroughly enjoying the course. After the initial agony of the dismal failure of my first lesson passed and I was again able to look the world in the eye, things got a lot better. The success of my second lesson gave me some impetus and propelled me forcefully into the thick of the program.
Amid frantic morning copy-machine craziness and dashing off to find Maria in the evening, I learn a lot from my tutors, my fellow classmates, and my own failures and successes. My students like me, my classmates respect me, and my tutors are confident that I can succeed.
Today was the last class period teaching upper-intermediates. After today, we will be moving on to the next level, which is actually the next level back. I'll be teaching grammar for the first time on Friday. So far, everyone in the group has gone horribly astray in one way or another while attempting to teach a grammar lesson. I hope that I have learned from all of their mistakes and will therefore come off looking brilliantly super-human. Failing that, I hope to at least pass.
Last night I realized with some chagrin that I had somehow miscalculated the number of days left until my assignment, and that it was due today. At the same time, our landlord, who has been planning to take Maria to the mall to ride the roller coasters, decided that it would be a good day for him to do that. So we all went to the mall instead of me doing my assignment like a good student. When we got home, I worked like mad on my lesson plan, which was due this morning, since I was teaching first. I finished that, but decided that a good night's sleep would be more useful that trying to stay up until 2 again to work on the other assignment. I estimated that it would only take about three or four hours, and that I could therefore finish it in time tonight. Fortunately, we got out of class early today, and I was able to work for about an hour before going to get Maria. After wasting three hours getting home, shopping for breakfast food, eating dinner and getting Maria into bed, I finally sat down at 9 and started my assignment. With three hours until midnight, I was lucky that my estimate had been fairly accurate. I finished the assignment and squeaked it in just at the deadline. Even though it was a rush job, it wasn't that big of a paper, and I think I did well on it.
I just realized I have spent a long paragraph talking about my assignment, which is probably not that interesting to most of you. Hmm. Next assignment, think about relevancy to audience...
Thank you all for reading, even though I haven't been so faithful in writing since I started this course. I appreciate your readership.
This is me, signing off...
I am still residing in Turkey, although it is hard to tell sometimes, since I spend all my time inside an English-only building, interacting with American, Canadian, British, and other English-speakers. My lessons are going along swimmingly, and I am thoroughly enjoying the course. After the initial agony of the dismal failure of my first lesson passed and I was again able to look the world in the eye, things got a lot better. The success of my second lesson gave me some impetus and propelled me forcefully into the thick of the program.
Amid frantic morning copy-machine craziness and dashing off to find Maria in the evening, I learn a lot from my tutors, my fellow classmates, and my own failures and successes. My students like me, my classmates respect me, and my tutors are confident that I can succeed.
Today was the last class period teaching upper-intermediates. After today, we will be moving on to the next level, which is actually the next level back. I'll be teaching grammar for the first time on Friday. So far, everyone in the group has gone horribly astray in one way or another while attempting to teach a grammar lesson. I hope that I have learned from all of their mistakes and will therefore come off looking brilliantly super-human. Failing that, I hope to at least pass.
Last night I realized with some chagrin that I had somehow miscalculated the number of days left until my assignment, and that it was due today. At the same time, our landlord, who has been planning to take Maria to the mall to ride the roller coasters, decided that it would be a good day for him to do that. So we all went to the mall instead of me doing my assignment like a good student. When we got home, I worked like mad on my lesson plan, which was due this morning, since I was teaching first. I finished that, but decided that a good night's sleep would be more useful that trying to stay up until 2 again to work on the other assignment. I estimated that it would only take about three or four hours, and that I could therefore finish it in time tonight. Fortunately, we got out of class early today, and I was able to work for about an hour before going to get Maria. After wasting three hours getting home, shopping for breakfast food, eating dinner and getting Maria into bed, I finally sat down at 9 and started my assignment. With three hours until midnight, I was lucky that my estimate had been fairly accurate. I finished the assignment and squeaked it in just at the deadline. Even though it was a rush job, it wasn't that big of a paper, and I think I did well on it.
I just realized I have spent a long paragraph talking about my assignment, which is probably not that interesting to most of you. Hmm. Next assignment, think about relevancy to audience...
Thank you all for reading, even though I haven't been so faithful in writing since I started this course. I appreciate your readership.
This is me, signing off...
Friday, September 21, 2012
Success!
Hello everyone,
I taught my second lesson today. I wasn't nervous for some reason and was able to focus on some of my personal goals. The lesson was almost perfect, but I messed something up on the last exercise and so lost my perfect score. This weekend I have two big projects and another lesson to plan. Week one is finished now. Three more to go, then vacation. I'm enjoying the course and learning a lot from it.
It's 1 am again somehow, so I'm going to bed. Hope to sleep in in the morning. Maria needs more sleep too.
This is me, signing off!
I taught my second lesson today. I wasn't nervous for some reason and was able to focus on some of my personal goals. The lesson was almost perfect, but I messed something up on the last exercise and so lost my perfect score. This weekend I have two big projects and another lesson to plan. Week one is finished now. Three more to go, then vacation. I'm enjoying the course and learning a lot from it.
It's 1 am again somehow, so I'm going to bed. Hope to sleep in in the morning. Maria needs more sleep too.
This is me, signing off!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Verdiğim Ders
Merhabalar,
Çok fazla ödevlerim olduğu için bugünkü yazma kısa olacak.
Dün gece saat 2:30'a kadar ödev çalıştım. Kahvaltı yapmadan bugün ilk dersimi verdim. O kadar korktum ki panik olup ders verdikten sonra ağlamaya başladım, duramadım ve çok utandım. Neyse, hocam çok kötü olmadığını söyledi, ve en azından derste kalmadım daha.
Cuma günü yine ders vereceğim. İnşallah hazırlamak için daha çok zaman ayırabilirim de bugün kadar stres olmayayım.
Okuduğunuz için teşekkür ediyorum!
İmzalayıp çıkıyorum...
Hello All!
I have too much homework today, so this will be short.
I spent all evening working on homework and didn't get to bed until 2:30. I didn't get a chance to have breakfast this morning, and so I taught my fist class on empty. I was so nervous and scared that I panicked and started crying during feedback. I was really embarrassed and couldn't stop crying. Anyway, the teacher said it wasn't bad, and I passed at least.
I'll be teaching again on Friday. Hopefully I'll have more time to study and won't be as nervous.
Thanks for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Çok fazla ödevlerim olduğu için bugünkü yazma kısa olacak.
Dün gece saat 2:30'a kadar ödev çalıştım. Kahvaltı yapmadan bugün ilk dersimi verdim. O kadar korktum ki panik olup ders verdikten sonra ağlamaya başladım, duramadım ve çok utandım. Neyse, hocam çok kötü olmadığını söyledi, ve en azından derste kalmadım daha.
Cuma günü yine ders vereceğim. İnşallah hazırlamak için daha çok zaman ayırabilirim de bugün kadar stres olmayayım.
Okuduğunuz için teşekkür ediyorum!
İmzalayıp çıkıyorum...
Hello All!
I have too much homework today, so this will be short.
I spent all evening working on homework and didn't get to bed until 2:30. I didn't get a chance to have breakfast this morning, and so I taught my fist class on empty. I was so nervous and scared that I panicked and started crying during feedback. I was really embarrassed and couldn't stop crying. Anyway, the teacher said it wasn't bad, and I passed at least.
I'll be teaching again on Friday. Hopefully I'll have more time to study and won't be as nervous.
Thanks for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Monday, September 17, 2012
First Day of Class!
Dear Readers,
Today was an exciting first day of school!
Slept badly last night, then lost track of time in the morning and Maria almost missed her school bus, then I almost got to school late. Didn't have my money because I didn't want to waste any more time finding an ATM after already being late.
This is going to be an intensive class. They say if you have a social life, family, kids, dogs, etc. that they will be lonely for a month because all you are going to do is study. I guess it can't be as bad as my last semester of my Master's when I was taking several classes. Anyway, it's only for a month. Our group of 18 students was split into three groups of six, and we will be working in the same group for the rest of the month. I like the people in my group and am determined to put aside my shyness and make some friends before this is over! I had lunch with most of the group today, putting me on the way to achieving my goal.
We had and hour and a half of introductions and lessons about different kinds of ice breakers and a summary of what the semester is going to look like, then an hour and a half of observing some professional teachers teaching, then lunch. We went to a little restaurant on Istiklal Caddesi (street) and I had lentil soup and gozleme (tortilla with stuff inside, grilled). After lunch, back to class, where we discussed the different parts of the lesson that had just been taught, how each piece was useful, and the outline for what our lessons should look like. I discovered that I haven't finished signing in to the Moodle, which means I have more homework tonight than anyone else in the group. At least I am not teaching in the morning, like three of the people in my group. I'll be teaching a 40 minute class on Wednesday.
We got out of school at 5:30 or so, then I ran back to the metro, which I took all the way north to Maria's daycare center on the other side of town. Then I failed to cross the street at the right place and ended up walking a half mile out of my way to the walking bridge. I have discovered the secret to crossing the streets here: Find a Turk who looks confident, get right behind him, and follow his stride. A car may run over one stupid pedestrian, but not three.
I got Maria, went to the ATM, withdrew the daily limit, paid the school, then walked down to the bakery where we ate the other day. We had a nice little snack, then took the metrobus to our neighborhood. It took a bit of asking around, since I hadn't taken the metrobus before.
By the time we got home it was 8:00. I checked my e-mail and typed Maria's blog while she ate and dictated, and then got her to bed. Now it's time for me to do my homework. I expect I'll be up late trying to get it all together. Hopefully tomorrow morning I will be a little more organized, and hopefully I'll have a chance throughout the day to do a bit of typing on my projects as well.
Thank you all for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Today was an exciting first day of school!
Slept badly last night, then lost track of time in the morning and Maria almost missed her school bus, then I almost got to school late. Didn't have my money because I didn't want to waste any more time finding an ATM after already being late.
This is going to be an intensive class. They say if you have a social life, family, kids, dogs, etc. that they will be lonely for a month because all you are going to do is study. I guess it can't be as bad as my last semester of my Master's when I was taking several classes. Anyway, it's only for a month. Our group of 18 students was split into three groups of six, and we will be working in the same group for the rest of the month. I like the people in my group and am determined to put aside my shyness and make some friends before this is over! I had lunch with most of the group today, putting me on the way to achieving my goal.
We had and hour and a half of introductions and lessons about different kinds of ice breakers and a summary of what the semester is going to look like, then an hour and a half of observing some professional teachers teaching, then lunch. We went to a little restaurant on Istiklal Caddesi (street) and I had lentil soup and gozleme (tortilla with stuff inside, grilled). After lunch, back to class, where we discussed the different parts of the lesson that had just been taught, how each piece was useful, and the outline for what our lessons should look like. I discovered that I haven't finished signing in to the Moodle, which means I have more homework tonight than anyone else in the group. At least I am not teaching in the morning, like three of the people in my group. I'll be teaching a 40 minute class on Wednesday.
We got out of school at 5:30 or so, then I ran back to the metro, which I took all the way north to Maria's daycare center on the other side of town. Then I failed to cross the street at the right place and ended up walking a half mile out of my way to the walking bridge. I have discovered the secret to crossing the streets here: Find a Turk who looks confident, get right behind him, and follow his stride. A car may run over one stupid pedestrian, but not three.
I got Maria, went to the ATM, withdrew the daily limit, paid the school, then walked down to the bakery where we ate the other day. We had a nice little snack, then took the metrobus to our neighborhood. It took a bit of asking around, since I hadn't taken the metrobus before.
By the time we got home it was 8:00. I checked my e-mail and typed Maria's blog while she ate and dictated, and then got her to bed. Now it's time for me to do my homework. I expect I'll be up late trying to get it all together. Hopefully tomorrow morning I will be a little more organized, and hopefully I'll have a chance throughout the day to do a bit of typing on my projects as well.
Thank you all for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Technology Problem Solved! Maybe...
Hello Patient Readers!
After two days of struggling to keep contact with the world via my slow Kindle browser after my laptop battery died (from not having a working adaptor to plug it into the wall), I remedied the problem (at least temporarily) and am now back in the 21'st Century.
Yesterday Maria and I went to Topkapi Palace with a friend and wandered around there most of the afternoon. I had been there before on my last trip to Turkey, but Maria hadn't. She really liked looking at all the stuff in the treasury, and especially liked the 86 (?) karat diamond. This diamond is huge! The story is that someone found it in a garbage heap. My favorite thing there is the Harem. Last time I went, it was closing time, and I had to literally run through in order to see everything, so getting to stroll through with a good hour before closing was a lot better of an experience. Maria wanted to take pictures of absolutely everything (she has a new camera), so we spent a lot of time posing in front of--everything. If it's possible, I think she actually takes more pictures than I do. Good thing her camera has an 8 gig card!
After Topkapi we wandered down to the pier, eating watermelon and chatting, and enjoying the really nice breeze after the hot day. We took a ferry to Kadikoy, mostly for the breeze, and watched a nice sunset as an extra bonus. Back at the pier, my friend got us some chestnuts. Maria didn't like them, but I did. I had never had them before and thought they tasted a bit like sort of raw sweet potatoes. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be sweet or if they are like that because they put sugar on them...
Our friend treated us in true Turkish style, feeding us every couple hours, and making sure we had everything we needed or wanted during the day. (Thanks!) It was a really great day, and I was so happy to be spending it with someone I know!
Today was a good day too. It started off with hearing a wandering musician playing his accordion in the street. We threw some coins down to him, but they landed in the bush. After his wife spent a while searching the bush, we threw a second packet of money down. Then the host and Maria felt sorry for them and went to retrieve the packet, so they actually got paid twice. After breakfast we took the bus down to Eminonu and wandered around the Spice Bazaar most of the afternoon. I enjoy the Spice Bazaar more than the Grand Bazaar because of all the smells. They sell other stuff too, but the spices, soap, tea, coffee, etc. really rule there. The highlight of my walk was hearing the song "Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım," http://www.timsah.com/Doga-icin-Cal-Uzun-Ince-Bir-Yoldayim/n0PVM6MOULP which I heard, enjoyed, and memorized during my short stay at an intesive Turkish class this summer. Maria likes the song too, and was singing along as we walked down the street, until well after the song had stopped playing. Her pronunciation is pretty amazing!
At lunch time we had pide (sort of like long skinny pizza). I asked for peynirli (with cheese) and got yumurtali (with egg) instead (is my Turkish really that bad?!). The pide was good, and filling, so no complaints. Maria spent all her allowance money at once, then wished she had money to buy everything else she saw for the rest of the day. She got some nice presents for her friends back at school, and is already planning what she is going to buy with her allowance for the next two weeks. She asked me not to take her shopping again for two weeks so she can save her money and buy something bigger next time.
After walking in the sun all day we were pretty hot, so we got on a ferry and rode up the Bosporus and back again, just to feel the breeze. After disembarking, we took the tram the wrong way and ended up back where we were yesterday, near Topkapi Palace. I was going to take Maria into the Blue Mosque, but decided against it, since I figured if we got lost again, we wouldn't be home until after dark. We made the other connections with no trouble, though, and took the metro the right way up the hill to our house instead of across town. One scenario is just as likely as the other, I guess!
Back in our own neighborhood, I felt confident enough to go beg for an adaptor at the mall. I made interesting sign language at the nice attendant, and he finally understood what I meant, then shouted across the whole store, "We want an OUT OF COUNTRY adaptor for this FOREIGNER!" Everyone turned around, of course, because who can resist looking at a humiliated foreigner =). Anyway, they didn't have one, so I went to another store down the hill. I told them what the other guy had said, but they still laughed at me. Anyway, I got what I needed, and hopefully, despite the humming and overheating, it will work enough to stay connected with the world for the next three months.
After my success at finding an adaptor, I decided to go shopping for some food items, then go home and make dinner. Once we got home, I realized I hadn't withdrawn the money for Maria's bus driver, or for my school, both of which I need tomorrow morning. We walked back up the hill, only to find that apparently, in Turkey, one is not allowed to withdraw a sum of money that would actually be useful. I got enough for the bus driver, but I think my school is going to have to let me make payments over several days...Oh, well.
Once we got home, I started preparing to make dinner while Maria worked on her blog for a bit, but I was interrupted by our host, who said that it would be too much work for me to cook, and that we should order pizza instead. He got some pizza, and then I cooked anyway, because it had meat on it. Maria enjoyed it though. I had eggs, which tasted really, really good with actual, non-GMO tomatoes. After dinner Maria and the host spent some time practicing recorders, drums and plastic eggs filled with rice.
Sorry, even though I carried my camera around all day today, I completely forgot to take any pictures. I guess there'll be another chance to take pictures of the bazaar some other day...
Now that Maria is asleep, I guess I'll go to bed too. Long day of classes tomorrow!
Thank you all for reading!
This is me, signing off...
After two days of struggling to keep contact with the world via my slow Kindle browser after my laptop battery died (from not having a working adaptor to plug it into the wall), I remedied the problem (at least temporarily) and am now back in the 21'st Century.
Yesterday Maria and I went to Topkapi Palace with a friend and wandered around there most of the afternoon. I had been there before on my last trip to Turkey, but Maria hadn't. She really liked looking at all the stuff in the treasury, and especially liked the 86 (?) karat diamond. This diamond is huge! The story is that someone found it in a garbage heap. My favorite thing there is the Harem. Last time I went, it was closing time, and I had to literally run through in order to see everything, so getting to stroll through with a good hour before closing was a lot better of an experience. Maria wanted to take pictures of absolutely everything (she has a new camera), so we spent a lot of time posing in front of--everything. If it's possible, I think she actually takes more pictures than I do. Good thing her camera has an 8 gig card!
Zuzu the cat at dawn on our first morning here. Now I know what cats do at dawn!
Maria, waiting for our friend at the pool near the Blue Mosque and Ayasofya.
Rose and Maria near a scenic garbage can at Topkapi Palace Harem.
Inside the Harem, Topkapi Palace.
Maria on the balcony above the swimming pool (Galata Tower in the background) Harem, Topkapi Palace.
A balcony in the Harem at Topkapi Palace.
I wish I could read this!
Sunset on the Bosporus.
Today was a good day too. It started off with hearing a wandering musician playing his accordion in the street. We threw some coins down to him, but they landed in the bush. After his wife spent a while searching the bush, we threw a second packet of money down. Then the host and Maria felt sorry for them and went to retrieve the packet, so they actually got paid twice. After breakfast we took the bus down to Eminonu and wandered around the Spice Bazaar most of the afternoon. I enjoy the Spice Bazaar more than the Grand Bazaar because of all the smells. They sell other stuff too, but the spices, soap, tea, coffee, etc. really rule there. The highlight of my walk was hearing the song "Uzun İnce Bir Yoldayım," http://www.timsah.com/Doga-icin-Cal-Uzun-Ince-Bir-Yoldayim/n0PVM6MOULP which I heard, enjoyed, and memorized during my short stay at an intesive Turkish class this summer. Maria likes the song too, and was singing along as we walked down the street, until well after the song had stopped playing. Her pronunciation is pretty amazing!
At lunch time we had pide (sort of like long skinny pizza). I asked for peynirli (with cheese) and got yumurtali (with egg) instead (is my Turkish really that bad?!). The pide was good, and filling, so no complaints. Maria spent all her allowance money at once, then wished she had money to buy everything else she saw for the rest of the day. She got some nice presents for her friends back at school, and is already planning what she is going to buy with her allowance for the next two weeks. She asked me not to take her shopping again for two weeks so she can save her money and buy something bigger next time.
After walking in the sun all day we were pretty hot, so we got on a ferry and rode up the Bosporus and back again, just to feel the breeze. After disembarking, we took the tram the wrong way and ended up back where we were yesterday, near Topkapi Palace. I was going to take Maria into the Blue Mosque, but decided against it, since I figured if we got lost again, we wouldn't be home until after dark. We made the other connections with no trouble, though, and took the metro the right way up the hill to our house instead of across town. One scenario is just as likely as the other, I guess!
Back in our own neighborhood, I felt confident enough to go beg for an adaptor at the mall. I made interesting sign language at the nice attendant, and he finally understood what I meant, then shouted across the whole store, "We want an OUT OF COUNTRY adaptor for this FOREIGNER!" Everyone turned around, of course, because who can resist looking at a humiliated foreigner =). Anyway, they didn't have one, so I went to another store down the hill. I told them what the other guy had said, but they still laughed at me. Anyway, I got what I needed, and hopefully, despite the humming and overheating, it will work enough to stay connected with the world for the next three months.
After my success at finding an adaptor, I decided to go shopping for some food items, then go home and make dinner. Once we got home, I realized I hadn't withdrawn the money for Maria's bus driver, or for my school, both of which I need tomorrow morning. We walked back up the hill, only to find that apparently, in Turkey, one is not allowed to withdraw a sum of money that would actually be useful. I got enough for the bus driver, but I think my school is going to have to let me make payments over several days...Oh, well.
Once we got home, I started preparing to make dinner while Maria worked on her blog for a bit, but I was interrupted by our host, who said that it would be too much work for me to cook, and that we should order pizza instead. He got some pizza, and then I cooked anyway, because it had meat on it. Maria enjoyed it though. I had eggs, which tasted really, really good with actual, non-GMO tomatoes. After dinner Maria and the host spent some time practicing recorders, drums and plastic eggs filled with rice.
Sorry, even though I carried my camera around all day today, I completely forgot to take any pictures. I guess there'll be another chance to take pictures of the bazaar some other day...
Now that Maria is asleep, I guess I'll go to bed too. Long day of classes tomorrow!
Thank you all for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Friday, September 14, 2012
İstanbul'un Caddelerindeyken...(in two languages!)
Merhabalar!
Çok dolu ve eğlenceli gün geçtik. Bugün derslerime, Maria'nın okuluna kayıt yaptırmak için son gündü. Genelde derse yürümek istediğim için, bugün de her yere yaya gitmek istedim. Maria 'jet lag' dan çok geç kaldıktan sonra dayreden (Şişli Mh.'sinden) yürüyerek çıkıp hemen kaybolduk. Yarım saat yürüyüş yaptıktan sonra yolu yeniden buldum, ve başka sorun çıkmadan okula (Zincirlikuyu Mh.'sine) vardık. Param olmadığı halde diğer yapmam gerektiklerini yapabildim. Maalesef okuyacağım yer değişmiş. Yeni okulum Taksim'de olacak...Seden Hanım Maria'nın okulu ve servisi halledip oraya yürüyerek gitmeye çalıştık. Yeniden kaybolduk, bu sefer de farkına varmadan Ortaköy'e kadar yürüdük. Sonra da yol o kadar uzun geldi ki taksi'ye binip öyle gittik. Maria'nın okulu çok güzel, bahçeli bir yer ve bütün öğretmenler İngilizce biliyorlar. İkimiz türden çok beğendik ve Maria Pazartesi günü servisle gitmek için hazır olduğunu düşünüyorum.
Ondan sonra tekrar yürüyüşe çıktık. Yoldayken fırından çok güzel ekmekleri alıp yedik. Ondan sonra tekrar kayboldukten, uzun zaman yürüdükten sonra sonunda Taksim'i, yeni okulumu bulduk. Ondan sonra telefonumu çalıştırıp, metro kartı alıp, metroyla dayreye dönmeye planladığıma rağmen, öyle olmadı. Maalesef telefonu çalıştırabileceğim yer Pazartesine kadar kapalıymış, ve metro kartı alablilecek yerde çok uzun kuyruk olduğu için, almadım. Otobüse binmeye çalıştım ama bilet almamıştığım için, o da olmadı. Geçen yıl Ankara'dayken bozuk parayla binebildiğimiz için, burada da öyle olduğunu zanediyordum ama öyle değilmiş. Neyse, yürümeye devam ettik, ve sonunda mahallemize ulaştık...yeniden kaybolduktan sonra manavdan yardım isteyip, birkaç kilo meyve alıp, eve sonunda geldik. İkimiz evden tekrar çıkmak istemediğimiz için, akşam yemeğimizde sadece meyve ve ekmek yedik ama yeterli bence. Maria buradaki armutların dünyada en lezetli armut olduğunu söyledi. Ben de taze incirleri sevdim.
Bugün Türkçem bozuk olduğuna, birkaç kere kaybolduğumuza rağmen, İstanbul'un güzel sokaklarından doya doya tadını çıkabildiğimiz için çok mutluyum. Yarın da çok güzel bir macera bizi bekliyor. Topkapı Sarayı'nda vs. gezeceğiz.
Bugün birkaç resim çektik ama bilgisayar'ın pili bitmek üzere ve adaptörüm yok şu anda...
Türkçe konuşanlara okuduğunuz için teşekkür ederim.
İmzalayıp çıkıyorum...
And now, in English...
We had a really fun and full day. This was the last day to finish signing up for my classes, and to get Maria's school taken care of. Since I will usually want to walk to classes, I decided to walk today, too. Maria had jet lag and slept in quite a bit, but we finally got going. As soon as we left our neighborhood (Şişli), we got lost. After walking a half hour or so, we found our way again, and got the rest of the way to my school in Zincirlikuyu with no trouble. Since I didn't have any money, I wasn't able to finish paying for classes, but I got my books. I also found out that I won't be taking classes from that school, but rather from one down at Taksim Square instead...Seden took care of arranging Maria's daycare center and the school bus she will use, and we set out walking to do a tour of the school. We got lost again, and after walking all the way to Ortaköy without realizing we were on the wrong road, I decided to get a taxi. We had a nice tour of the school, which is a quiet international preschool whose teachers all speak English. It has a nice garden as well, and someone will help Maria do her schoolwork at some time during the day too.
After our tour, we took off again walking, and stopped at a bakery for some delicious bread which we ate for lunch. We got lost again and this time it took quite a while to get re-oriented. Anyone that knows me at all, knows my sense of direction isn't the best...We eventually found my school in Taksim, so now I know where to go on Monday. Yay! I had planned to get a metro card and get my phone registered in Taksim, but the line for the metro card was really, really long, and by the time I found the phone place, I discovered that the place I have to go to register is closed until Monday. I guess I'll have to go there on my lunch break or something. By the time we had walked as far as the phone place, we were pretty tired. In Ankara we paid cash when we got on the bus, so I imagined it was the same here...Wrong! The guy said I needed a ticket. I guess I have to figure out the bus system before we can use it...So we kept walking, found our neighborhood, then got lost again. I stopped and asked a fruit seller for directions, and then bought a bunch of fruit from him. We found our way the rest of the way home, then, since we were both too tired of walking, decided to just eat the fruit and bread for dinner. I think it was enough, and Maria said the pears here are the best in the world. I especially liked the fresh figs.
Even though my Turkish was mostly broken today and we got lost several times, I'm happy that we were able to really enjoy Istanbul's beautiful streets and scenery today. Tomorrow we are going to Topkapı Palace, which will be another great adventure!
We took a few pictures today, but since my laptop battery is about dead and I still don't have an adaptor that works, that will have to wait.
Thank you for reading!
This is me, signing off...
Çok dolu ve eğlenceli gün geçtik. Bugün derslerime, Maria'nın okuluna kayıt yaptırmak için son gündü. Genelde derse yürümek istediğim için, bugün de her yere yaya gitmek istedim. Maria 'jet lag' dan çok geç kaldıktan sonra dayreden (Şişli Mh.'sinden) yürüyerek çıkıp hemen kaybolduk. Yarım saat yürüyüş yaptıktan sonra yolu yeniden buldum, ve başka sorun çıkmadan okula (Zincirlikuyu Mh.'sine) vardık. Param olmadığı halde diğer yapmam gerektiklerini yapabildim. Maalesef okuyacağım yer değişmiş. Yeni okulum Taksim'de olacak...Seden Hanım Maria'nın okulu ve servisi halledip oraya yürüyerek gitmeye çalıştık. Yeniden kaybolduk, bu sefer de farkına varmadan Ortaköy'e kadar yürüdük. Sonra da yol o kadar uzun geldi ki taksi'ye binip öyle gittik. Maria'nın okulu çok güzel, bahçeli bir yer ve bütün öğretmenler İngilizce biliyorlar. İkimiz türden çok beğendik ve Maria Pazartesi günü servisle gitmek için hazır olduğunu düşünüyorum.
Ondan sonra tekrar yürüyüşe çıktık. Yoldayken fırından çok güzel ekmekleri alıp yedik. Ondan sonra tekrar kayboldukten, uzun zaman yürüdükten sonra sonunda Taksim'i, yeni okulumu bulduk. Ondan sonra telefonumu çalıştırıp, metro kartı alıp, metroyla dayreye dönmeye planladığıma rağmen, öyle olmadı. Maalesef telefonu çalıştırabileceğim yer Pazartesine kadar kapalıymış, ve metro kartı alablilecek yerde çok uzun kuyruk olduğu için, almadım. Otobüse binmeye çalıştım ama bilet almamıştığım için, o da olmadı. Geçen yıl Ankara'dayken bozuk parayla binebildiğimiz için, burada da öyle olduğunu zanediyordum ama öyle değilmiş. Neyse, yürümeye devam ettik, ve sonunda mahallemize ulaştık...yeniden kaybolduktan sonra manavdan yardım isteyip, birkaç kilo meyve alıp, eve sonunda geldik. İkimiz evden tekrar çıkmak istemediğimiz için, akşam yemeğimizde sadece meyve ve ekmek yedik ama yeterli bence. Maria buradaki armutların dünyada en lezetli armut olduğunu söyledi. Ben de taze incirleri sevdim.
Bugün Türkçem bozuk olduğuna, birkaç kere kaybolduğumuza rağmen, İstanbul'un güzel sokaklarından doya doya tadını çıkabildiğimiz için çok mutluyum. Yarın da çok güzel bir macera bizi bekliyor. Topkapı Sarayı'nda vs. gezeceğiz.
Bugün birkaç resim çektik ama bilgisayar'ın pili bitmek üzere ve adaptörüm yok şu anda...
Türkçe konuşanlara okuduğunuz için teşekkür ederim.
İmzalayıp çıkıyorum...
And now, in English...
We had a really fun and full day. This was the last day to finish signing up for my classes, and to get Maria's school taken care of. Since I will usually want to walk to classes, I decided to walk today, too. Maria had jet lag and slept in quite a bit, but we finally got going. As soon as we left our neighborhood (Şişli), we got lost. After walking a half hour or so, we found our way again, and got the rest of the way to my school in Zincirlikuyu with no trouble. Since I didn't have any money, I wasn't able to finish paying for classes, but I got my books. I also found out that I won't be taking classes from that school, but rather from one down at Taksim Square instead...Seden took care of arranging Maria's daycare center and the school bus she will use, and we set out walking to do a tour of the school. We got lost again, and after walking all the way to Ortaköy without realizing we were on the wrong road, I decided to get a taxi. We had a nice tour of the school, which is a quiet international preschool whose teachers all speak English. It has a nice garden as well, and someone will help Maria do her schoolwork at some time during the day too.
After our tour, we took off again walking, and stopped at a bakery for some delicious bread which we ate for lunch. We got lost again and this time it took quite a while to get re-oriented. Anyone that knows me at all, knows my sense of direction isn't the best...We eventually found my school in Taksim, so now I know where to go on Monday. Yay! I had planned to get a metro card and get my phone registered in Taksim, but the line for the metro card was really, really long, and by the time I found the phone place, I discovered that the place I have to go to register is closed until Monday. I guess I'll have to go there on my lunch break or something. By the time we had walked as far as the phone place, we were pretty tired. In Ankara we paid cash when we got on the bus, so I imagined it was the same here...Wrong! The guy said I needed a ticket. I guess I have to figure out the bus system before we can use it...So we kept walking, found our neighborhood, then got lost again. I stopped and asked a fruit seller for directions, and then bought a bunch of fruit from him. We found our way the rest of the way home, then, since we were both too tired of walking, decided to just eat the fruit and bread for dinner. I think it was enough, and Maria said the pears here are the best in the world. I especially liked the fresh figs.
Even though my Turkish was mostly broken today and we got lost several times, I'm happy that we were able to really enjoy Istanbul's beautiful streets and scenery today. Tomorrow we are going to Topkapı Palace, which will be another great adventure!
We took a few pictures today, but since my laptop battery is about dead and I still don't have an adaptor that works, that will have to wait.
Thank you for reading!
This is me, signing off...
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