A week and then some...

I have learned so much in the last week. New language, new schedule, new campus, new apartment, new people, new city, new laundry instructions (I swear, it took over an hour and a half to do one load of laundry! But, I found the "Hizli 14" cycle. Laundry was done in 14 minutes! Hizli means fast, and I won't be moving the dial) I still do not know how to turn on my oven, but honestly, it's been too hot and humid to even think about cooking.

While it has only been a week, I have been impressed with the helpfulness of people. It doesn't feel like they are trying to impress you; they truly want you to be happy, to have a good experience, to like what you are doing, to enjoy your time here in Tarsus and in Turkey.

For example, one of the returning foreign staff members, Emily, remembered the crazy orientation schedule and suggested we (the new foreign staff) get a beach day instead of another day of shopping for our apartments. Mr. Hanna, the headmaster, asked our opinion and conceeded to the request. The school provided transportation - a bus that sat over 30- for anyone who wanted to go to Kizkalesi. Emily organized our group (14 attended) and even lent me a beach towel. Other members of our group were eager to point out attractions, lunch spots, and help secure lounge chairs -- with cushions.


A day of relaxing on the beach was greatly needed after the whirlwind of scheduled events. I spent the day swimming in the warm Mediterranean Sea with soft sand beneath my toes. I was able to swim out to the castle and spend some time trying to grasp the idea that I'm actually living in Turkey. Still so surreal to me. I asked the returning staff when it finally started to feel like home; they said it takes awhile. :)

You may be wondering why I was at the beach or shopping on a Thursday... 30 August is Victory Day when Turkey celebrates the victory over the Greeks in the Battle of Dumlupinar, a battle in the Turkish War of Independence in 1922. Yes, I hear firecrackers in the street near my apartment. What is is about independence and blowing things up?

*This is the same post on Facbook, so I apologiz if you've already read it. I promise my future posts won't be duplicates...

 

Hello, Friends! This has been one crazy week! Where to begin....Merhaba! That's hello in Turkish. I've learned some basic words, but I have not figured out how to navigate this keyboard wih all these extra symbols! Which means I can't log in to my email either! Oh my, what a steep learning curve!

I apologize for the longer post, but I have not had internet connection to post to Facebook or my blog.......in due time, in due time.

I left Denver on Sunday at 4:30pm and arrived in Tarsus via Denver to Chicago, Chicago to Istanbul, Istanbul to Adana, and a bus to my apartment .... yeah the one without internet...on Monday around midnight. Meeting on Tuesday at 9:00am...the driver arrived to pick up the four of us who live of campus. We were met with welcomes, smiles, and food. Tons of food...cheeses, breads...ekmet...simit, watermelon, tomatoes, cucumbers, coffee, tea. This is a typical European breakfast. So much food for our group! The good news is I won't starve! ;0

I'm sure you are all wanting pictures, but I have misplaced my camera and a few other technology items. Soon, I promise.

The week has been full of meetings, unpacking, setting up my apartment, Turkish lessons, training in Istanbul...that would make five flights in six days in case you were counting....more meetings, shopping for a bicycle and normal necessities, meeting new people, navigating a ridiculously crazy locking system on my front door...there are three locks which must be precisely turned three times and then I do the hokey pokey to unlock it...this does not include the locked door to the building which visitors are required to be buzzed into and the gate to the building. I'm safe. Repeat...I'm safe!

Just another example of my safety, Mira, my neighbor and fellow high school teacher, decided to walk home from school one day. We were fairly certain how to get home, but only by landarks as we don't know any street names yet. We got about five minutes from home, and we paused to discuss the final leg of our route. Our driver, Ramazan, pulled up along beside us. He had been secretly following us to insure our safe arrival home. I'm safe.

Again, I apologize for the length, the lack of pictures, and my rambling. Hope you all are doing well.

The last few weeks...

...have been more stressful than I imagined possible. I knew I was going to have to tackle a project every day this summer if I was going to feel prepared to move. But honestly, I'm starting to question how much longer my shoulders can reside in my ears!

I can't remember anything if I don't write it down -- although that isn't completely new! ;0 Sometimes I go to write something down, and before I even get to my never ending to-do list, I've forgotten what I was going to write down. I've also noticed I've been clenching my jaw...probably a bit of teeth grinding too.

Yesterday, I had some strawberry sorbet after lunch. Seems like a nice dessert, right? It was, but later that afternoon, I went to get something out of the fridge, and I had put the rest of the sorbet in the fridge.  Not such a good place for sorbet, but at least I caught it before it was a mess.

Just a few days ago, I thought I'd make some nachos. Nothing fancy - melted cheddar cheese on some tortilla chips. I put the pan in the oven on broil and then I went to write something down (see first paragraph as to why). I swear it wasn't a minute, but I actually had flames in my oven! I have *never* caught anything on fire in all my years of cooking. Oy vey! (Smoke alarms were averted, and no animals or people were harmed in the making of said nachos.)

I could continue with examples of my brain being too full of things to do, things I'm wondering about, things I'm looking forward to, and people I'm going to miss. But, I must get going on my to-do lists as this adventure is going to begin one week from today.

However, I will leave you with this stunning picture my friend Jill sent me. It's things (and people) like this that make me take a deep breath and know that everything will be fine... even if the sorbet melts. <breathe>