Yadi loves "international" movies - he doesn't love the typical Hollywood Blockbusters, rather, he enjoys independent films, the kind shown in film festivals like Cannes. I wouldn't typically seek out these kinds of movies, but since meeting him, I have come to enjoy these independent films. Last night we watched one which was very moving. "Before the Rain" is set in Macedonia, during the civil war in Bosnia. The violence has spread over in to Macedonia, everyone is carrying guns and there are hints that a civil war is on the brink. There are three parts, or stories, in this movie which are connected together. The movie's theme (as far as I can understand) is the idea of the circularity of violence and how it affects everyone. The characters in the movie all come from different backgrounds (Albanian Muslim, Macedonian award winning photographer, and London photography editor) but they are all linked together through shared experiences of violence. I don't want to say too much about the movie for fear of ruining it, but it is a story about love, war, the effects of war, and the idea of taking sides.
My only critique of the movie are that there are some inconsistencies in the story which leave the viewer (or at least me) confused about the time line of events (i.e. when the woman in London is looking at pictures of something that hasn't happened yet). Yadi and I actually had to turn off the movie and hash out the sequence of events.
Keep your tissues out because this movie is a tear jerker.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
December in Ankara
It's December. B
ack home people are listening to Christmas carols, buying Christmas presents and getting together with relatives. Christmas is all around! Surprisingly, I miss the build up to Christmas. I miss turning on the radio and hearing Christmas carols, I miss Christmas parties, I miss Christmas shopping and I miss Christmas food!
December in Turkey is another story. Yes, some shops are decorated with tinsel and other sparkly things, the malls are decked out in lights and trees, and there are strange, scrawny Santas prancing about. (Did you know that Santa was born in Turkey? Well now you do. A little trivia for you). The decorations and Santas are because Turks celebrate New Years and they believe that Christmas and New Years are the same thing. So they have taken the tradition of decorating and trees but moved it to January 1st.
My work gives us some time off for Christmas: the 24th and the 25th. The students keep asking me "Teacher, why do we have a vacation?" and I keep explaining that it is "my" Christmas and that they should just consider themselves lucky to be able to relax for a few days. The response is "But teacher, isn't Christmas on January 1st?" For some reason this makes me want to strangle them. I don't know why, maybe it is my misguided belief that everyone should know when Christmas is, after all, it is pretty well publicized in movies, books and TV shows, all of which my students have access to. Of course if you asked me I wouldn't know when Ramadan is... but I can argue that I don't know because it changes every year.
This year the lead up to Christmas has been particularly hard. I'm no longer enjoying my job and I want to be free. I do still love Turkey but this job has surpassed it's expiration date. It was a mistake to stay at "A" for one more year. I don't regret Turkey, but I regret my decision to continue being an English teacher to a bunch of *********** . Not only is the job bringing me down, but it's hard to be away from everyone for yet another year. And then my grandma died. Ugh. The trips with Yadi to Germany and Barcelona have come and gone and I feel that there won't be much excitement for a long time. So, December 2009 in Turkey has not been a great one.
*** a few days later ***
Christmas happened. It was nice, low key, relaxing. Brunch with friends followed by a pot luck dinner at another friend's: turkey, stuffing, egg nog and yorkshire pudding. It was Yadi's first Christmas so we exchanged small gifts and he participated in the Christmas dinner. It was funny because he claimed that he could not tell his parents that he was at a Christmas dinner! Heathen!
I promise that next year I will be home for Christmas.
What's next? New Years!! It looks like we will be spending that at Ankara's very own Country and Western bar. Dinner and unlimited drinks all night long. Sounds like fun. I'll update you on an Ankara New Years in a few days!
ack home people are listening to Christmas carols, buying Christmas presents and getting together with relatives. Christmas is all around! Surprisingly, I miss the build up to Christmas. I miss turning on the radio and hearing Christmas carols, I miss Christmas parties, I miss Christmas shopping and I miss Christmas food!December in Turkey is another story. Yes, some shops are decorated with tinsel and other sparkly things, the malls are decked out in lights and trees, and there are strange, scrawny Santas prancing about. (Did you know that Santa was born in Turkey? Well now you do. A little trivia for you). The decorations and Santas are because Turks celebrate New Years and they believe that Christmas and New Years are the same thing. So they have taken the tradition of decorating and trees but moved it to January 1st.
My work gives us some time off for Christmas: the 24th and the 25th. The students keep asking me "Teacher, why do we have a vacation?" and I keep explaining that it is "my" Christmas and that they should just consider themselves lucky to be able to relax for a few days. The response is "But teacher, isn't Christmas on January 1st?" For some reason this makes me want to strangle them. I don't know why, maybe it is my misguided belief that everyone should know when Christmas is, after all, it is pretty well publicized in movies, books and TV shows, all of which my students have access to. Of course if you asked me I wouldn't know when Ramadan is... but I can argue that I don't know because it changes every year.
This year the lead up to Christmas has been particularly hard. I'm no longer enjoying my job and I want to be free. I do still love Turkey but this job has surpassed it's expiration date. It was a mistake to stay at "A" for one more year. I don't regret Turkey, but I regret my decision to continue being an English teacher to a bunch of *********** . Not only is the job bringing me down, but it's hard to be away from everyone for yet another year. And then my grandma died. Ugh. The trips with Yadi to Germany and Barcelona have come and gone and I feel that there won't be much excitement for a long time. So, December 2009 in Turkey has not been a great one.
*** a few days later ***
Christmas happened. It was nice, low key, relaxing. Brunch with friends followed by a pot luck dinner at another friend's: turkey, stuffing, egg nog and yorkshire pudding. It was Yadi's first Christmas so we exchanged small gifts and he participated in the Christmas dinner. It was funny because he claimed that he could not tell his parents that he was at a Christmas dinner! Heathen!
I promise that next year I will be home for Christmas.
What's next? New Years!! It looks like we will be spending that at Ankara's very own Country and Western bar. Dinner and unlimited drinks all night long. Sounds like fun. I'll update you on an Ankara New Years in a few days!
The Angel's Game - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
This book is the follow up to "Shadow of the Wind" but it actually is set just before "Shadow". You will see many of the same places (The cemetery of forgotten books) and people (The Semperes), and, like Shadow of the Wind, it is set in Barcelona. The Angel's Game was an entertaining and fast read. It was gripping from the beginning and made me want to continue until the end to find out what exactly was happening. I finished it in two days. My only problem with the book is that you never really understand what happens - the ending was quite twisted and confusing and left me feeling unfulfilled. In fact, I don't understand the last few pages at all! What happened?!? Who or what is Corelli? Who was killing everyone?
I won't go in to much detail about the The Angel's Game because I feel that more than a little information may ruin the book for you. In brief, this book is about a writer, David, who is trying to find his way and eventually gets offered a lucrative, yet suspicious, offer from a mysterious French book publisher. As David begins to write the book he notices that something strange is happening, that there is a connection between himself, his book, and the home in which he lives.
Read the book and enjoy it, but it does not have a nice, clean ending like Shadow of the Wind did. Maybe there will be a sequel to this book which answers all the questions... one can only hope!
I won't go in to much detail about the The Angel's Game because I feel that more than a little information may ruin the book for you. In brief, this book is about a writer, David, who is trying to find his way and eventually gets offered a lucrative, yet suspicious, offer from a mysterious French book publisher. As David begins to write the book he notices that something strange is happening, that there is a connection between himself, his book, and the home in which he lives.
Read the book and enjoy it, but it does not have a nice, clean ending like Shadow of the Wind did. Maybe there will be a sequel to this book which answers all the questions... one can only hope!
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Gaze- Elif Shafak
This is the third book by Elif Shafak that I have read and I have enjoyed each book. Shafak is one of Turkey's most famous authors and one who has suffered for some of the things she has written.
The Gaze contains four stories: One about a freak show featuring hideous/beautiful creatures, one about a woman seduced by a "jinn", one about a Siberian explorer in search of fur, and the main story about an obese woman and her dwarf lover. In the main story we follow the woman's daily emotional traumas, her insecurities and her fear of being seen and eventually we learn the truth about her obesity and her realtionship with the dwarf. The book revolves around the idea of the different perceptions of beauty, desirability and ugliness, and the emotions involved with seeing and being seen. The Gaze is a well written book which starts in one place, tells the story, and ends up back were it started. There were a few things that were lost on me in this book, in particular some of the imagery, but it was a good read and I would recommend it.
If you've read it I would love to hear some of your comments.
The Gaze contains four stories: One about a freak show featuring hideous/beautiful creatures, one about a woman seduced by a "jinn", one about a Siberian explorer in search of fur, and the main story about an obese woman and her dwarf lover. In the main story we follow the woman's daily emotional traumas, her insecurities and her fear of being seen and eventually we learn the truth about her obesity and her realtionship with the dwarf. The book revolves around the idea of the different perceptions of beauty, desirability and ugliness, and the emotions involved with seeing and being seen. The Gaze is a well written book which starts in one place, tells the story, and ends up back were it started. There were a few things that were lost on me in this book, in particular some of the imagery, but it was a good read and I would recommend it.
If you've read it I would love to hear some of your comments.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Books of 2009
I love reading so here is the list of books I read in 2009 (57 books so far). From now on I'll be writing reviews of the books I read because I am always being asked for recommendations.
1. The In Between World of Vikram Lall - MG Vassanji. This was a really great book about an Indian guy living in Tanzania. He is not African and not white, he is in between!
2. The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai This was a really sad book but really well written and and an easy read. It won the Booker Prize.
3. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer. Terrible book, don't read.
4. Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs. Do you want an easy read about murder and intrigue? Do you want it set in Montreal? Well... this is it!
5. Roots - Alex Haley. One of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down, I read it in 5 days and it's over 900 pages!
6. The White Tiger- Aravind Adiga Another Man Booker Prize winner The story of one man's journey from poverty to success... written in the form of a letter... filled with deceit!
7. The Way the Crow Flies - Anne Marie MacDonald This book was an enjoyable read but nothing special sticks in my mind about it. It's about a rape and murder in small town Canada army base and the after effects of it on the people involved.
8. Slam - Nick Hornby
9. The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman. I love this author and if you enjoy historical fiction you will also love her.
10. Animal's People - Indra Sinha Fictionalized story relating to a real life chemical explosion in a plant in India which left many people dead or injured.
11. Dexter in the Dark - Jeff Lindsay - GAG. Worst book ever.
12. Small Island - Andrea Levy Very interesting story about Jamaicans in England during World War two. A subject I didn't know much about but which was very interesting to learn about.
13. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi - Story about the civil war in Nigeria. Shame on me, I didn't even know there was a civil war in Nigeria so it was a very eye opening book.
14. The Sinner - Tess Gerritsen - Easy to read crime fiction. Gripping page turner.
15. Helen of Troy- Margaret George - I have enjoyed her books in the past but was a little disappointed in this one.
16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson - Translated from Swedish, this is a page turner about international crime, murder, and relationships. All good things combined in to one.
17. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger -Kind of a weird story about a man who travels through time and visits his future/current wife as she grows up. It's weird because she is quite young and he shows up naked.
18. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris - True Blood the TV show is based off of this, but the show is better.
19. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Apparently this book is a bestseller but I barely remember it. It wasn't bad but it just didn't have an impact.
20. Past Mortem - Patricia Cornwell - crime thriller, good beach read.
21. Deadly Decisions - Kathy Reichs. Another crime thriller, beach read.
22. Fatal Voyage - Kathy Reichs
23. The Russian Concubine - Kate Furnivall - A fun read about Russians in China, focussing on a young girl who falls in love with a Communist Chinese man. This book was good but the sequel was terrible.
24. Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The autobiography about a muslim Sudanese woman who escaped her arranged marriage and got in to politics - she was actually an advisor for the Bush administration. I really recommend this book.
25. Harelquin - Bernard Cornwell. Good, easy to read historical fiction.
26. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Steig Larsson - Sequel to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
27. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy. I had heard a lot about this book and it didn't disappoint. Not a happy book and a very strange ending!
28. Friends like These - Danny Wallace - Laugh out loud HILLARIOUS!! Novel about a man's quest to find his old high school friends.
29. Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith - Read the opening chapter and you will be hooked - shocking introduction. A thriller about Stalinist Russia and the spies who worked there.
30. Harem - Barbara Nadel - Murder in Istanbul!
31. The Cellist of Sarajevo - I didn't know much about Sarajevo before reading this book and I found it intriguing.
32. Coal Run - Tawni O'Dell. I don't remember this book at all. Sorry.
33. The Black Sun - James Twinning - Some kind of thriller.
34. The Turkish Diplomat's Daughter - So un-Turkish!! A book about a scandalous Turkish woman with lots of lovers!
35. Gomorrah - Roberto Saviano - A true account of the mafia in Naples... you'll learn a lot if you are interested in that topic.
36. White Teeth - Zadie Smith - I loved this book!!! It follows the lives of two wartime friends, one is British and one is Bangladeshi. The book focusses on cultural conflict, assimilation and perservation of culture.
37. The Bone Garden - Tess Gerritsen
38. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid A story about a muslim man who embraced America, worked hard for success but eventually turned against America after the September 11 attacks and the prejudices he saw in people.
39. Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore
40. Valmiki's Daughter - Shani Mootoo. A friend of mine lent this to me and I really liked it. The main theme from what I can remember is about homosexuality. A father hides his homosexual tendencies while his daughter embraces her own homosexuality.
41. The Girl from Junchow- Kate Furnivall. Terrible book. The sequel to The Russian Concubine.
42. Between the Assassinations - Aravind Adiga - This is a collection of short stories about life in India.
43. Lamb - Christopher Moore - A humorous book about Jesus according to his friend, Biff.
44. The Beach - Alex Garland - You know the Leonardo Di Caprio movie? Well, this is the book. Much better than the movie and a good book to read on a plane.
45. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood - a bit slow moving, but very well written
46. DeNiro's Game - Rawi Hage - The story of two friends in Beirut who follow different paths - one towards crime and the other towards escape and a new life.
47. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett. A long book but an easy read. This book tells the story of a priory in England, the building of its cathedral, and the people who live in the town.
48. 1984 - George Orwell - I had never read this book before and am glad I did. It's frightening but unfortunately, I don't think it is too far from the truth.
49. A Song for Arbonne - Guy Gavriel Kay - the story of two lands, one peaceful, the other war loving...
50. The Lazarus Project - Aleksandar Heman
51. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult. The end made me so angry!
52. Snow - Orhan Pamuk. A great read, focussing on religion and the head scarf controversy in Turkey. I really liked this book but you may not enjoy it unless you know something about Turkish politics/society.
53. The Last Light of the Sun- Guy Gavriel Kay. I recently discovered this author. His books are well written and fun to read.
54. Pompeii - Rober Harris. This book is nothing special, but you should read his book "Fatherland" - a murder mystery set in Germany after Hitler WON the war.
55. Dance with Death - Barbara Nadel - Murder mystery set in Cappadoccia, Turkey.
56. The World Without End - Ken Follet. Sequel to The Pillars of the Earth.
57. The Various Flavours of Coffee - Anthony Capella - a story about the history of coffee interwoven with love affairs and the suffragette movement.
58. The Gaze - Elif Shafak - A story about people's insecurities, the way we view others and the way we view ourselves. A novel about body image, men's opinions of beauty and society's views of beauty.
1. The In Between World of Vikram Lall - MG Vassanji. This was a really great book about an Indian guy living in Tanzania. He is not African and not white, he is in between!
2. The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai This was a really sad book but really well written and and an easy read. It won the Booker Prize.
3. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer. Terrible book, don't read.
4. Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs. Do you want an easy read about murder and intrigue? Do you want it set in Montreal? Well... this is it!
5. Roots - Alex Haley. One of the best books I have ever read. I couldn't put it down, I read it in 5 days and it's over 900 pages!
6. The White Tiger- Aravind Adiga Another Man Booker Prize winner The story of one man's journey from poverty to success... written in the form of a letter... filled with deceit!
7. The Way the Crow Flies - Anne Marie MacDonald This book was an enjoyable read but nothing special sticks in my mind about it. It's about a rape and murder in small town Canada army base and the after effects of it on the people involved.
8. Slam - Nick Hornby
9. The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman. I love this author and if you enjoy historical fiction you will also love her.
10. Animal's People - Indra Sinha Fictionalized story relating to a real life chemical explosion in a plant in India which left many people dead or injured.
11. Dexter in the Dark - Jeff Lindsay - GAG. Worst book ever.
12. Small Island - Andrea Levy Very interesting story about Jamaicans in England during World War two. A subject I didn't know much about but which was very interesting to learn about.
13. Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi - Story about the civil war in Nigeria. Shame on me, I didn't even know there was a civil war in Nigeria so it was a very eye opening book.
14. The Sinner - Tess Gerritsen - Easy to read crime fiction. Gripping page turner.
15. Helen of Troy- Margaret George - I have enjoyed her books in the past but was a little disappointed in this one.
16. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Steig Larsson - Translated from Swedish, this is a page turner about international crime, murder, and relationships. All good things combined in to one.
17. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger -Kind of a weird story about a man who travels through time and visits his future/current wife as she grows up. It's weird because she is quite young and he shows up naked.
18. Dead Until Dark - Charlaine Harris - True Blood the TV show is based off of this, but the show is better.
19. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Apparently this book is a bestseller but I barely remember it. It wasn't bad but it just didn't have an impact.
20. Past Mortem - Patricia Cornwell - crime thriller, good beach read.
21. Deadly Decisions - Kathy Reichs. Another crime thriller, beach read.
22. Fatal Voyage - Kathy Reichs
23. The Russian Concubine - Kate Furnivall - A fun read about Russians in China, focussing on a young girl who falls in love with a Communist Chinese man. This book was good but the sequel was terrible.
24. Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The autobiography about a muslim Sudanese woman who escaped her arranged marriage and got in to politics - she was actually an advisor for the Bush administration. I really recommend this book.
25. Harelquin - Bernard Cornwell. Good, easy to read historical fiction.
26. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Steig Larsson - Sequel to Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
27. The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy. I had heard a lot about this book and it didn't disappoint. Not a happy book and a very strange ending!
28. Friends like These - Danny Wallace - Laugh out loud HILLARIOUS!! Novel about a man's quest to find his old high school friends.
29. Child 44 - Tom Rob Smith - Read the opening chapter and you will be hooked - shocking introduction. A thriller about Stalinist Russia and the spies who worked there.
30. Harem - Barbara Nadel - Murder in Istanbul!
31. The Cellist of Sarajevo - I didn't know much about Sarajevo before reading this book and I found it intriguing.
32. Coal Run - Tawni O'Dell. I don't remember this book at all. Sorry.
33. The Black Sun - James Twinning - Some kind of thriller.
34. The Turkish Diplomat's Daughter - So un-Turkish!! A book about a scandalous Turkish woman with lots of lovers!
35. Gomorrah - Roberto Saviano - A true account of the mafia in Naples... you'll learn a lot if you are interested in that topic.
36. White Teeth - Zadie Smith - I loved this book!!! It follows the lives of two wartime friends, one is British and one is Bangladeshi. The book focusses on cultural conflict, assimilation and perservation of culture.
37. The Bone Garden - Tess Gerritsen
38. The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Mohsin Hamid A story about a muslim man who embraced America, worked hard for success but eventually turned against America after the September 11 attacks and the prejudices he saw in people.
39. Bloodsucking Fiends - Christopher Moore
40. Valmiki's Daughter - Shani Mootoo. A friend of mine lent this to me and I really liked it. The main theme from what I can remember is about homosexuality. A father hides his homosexual tendencies while his daughter embraces her own homosexuality.
41. The Girl from Junchow- Kate Furnivall. Terrible book. The sequel to The Russian Concubine.
42. Between the Assassinations - Aravind Adiga - This is a collection of short stories about life in India.
43. Lamb - Christopher Moore - A humorous book about Jesus according to his friend, Biff.
44. The Beach - Alex Garland - You know the Leonardo Di Caprio movie? Well, this is the book. Much better than the movie and a good book to read on a plane.
45. The Blind Assassin - Margaret Atwood - a bit slow moving, but very well written
46. DeNiro's Game - Rawi Hage - The story of two friends in Beirut who follow different paths - one towards crime and the other towards escape and a new life.
47. The Pillars of the Earth - Ken Follett. A long book but an easy read. This book tells the story of a priory in England, the building of its cathedral, and the people who live in the town.
48. 1984 - George Orwell - I had never read this book before and am glad I did. It's frightening but unfortunately, I don't think it is too far from the truth.
49. A Song for Arbonne - Guy Gavriel Kay - the story of two lands, one peaceful, the other war loving...
50. The Lazarus Project - Aleksandar Heman
51. My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult. The end made me so angry!
52. Snow - Orhan Pamuk. A great read, focussing on religion and the head scarf controversy in Turkey. I really liked this book but you may not enjoy it unless you know something about Turkish politics/society.
53. The Last Light of the Sun- Guy Gavriel Kay. I recently discovered this author. His books are well written and fun to read.
54. Pompeii - Rober Harris. This book is nothing special, but you should read his book "Fatherland" - a murder mystery set in Germany after Hitler WON the war.
55. Dance with Death - Barbara Nadel - Murder mystery set in Cappadoccia, Turkey.
56. The World Without End - Ken Follet. Sequel to The Pillars of the Earth.
57. The Various Flavours of Coffee - Anthony Capella - a story about the history of coffee interwoven with love affairs and the suffragette movement.
58. The Gaze - Elif Shafak - A story about people's insecurities, the way we view others and the way we view ourselves. A novel about body image, men's opinions of beauty and society's views of beauty.
Post number one - Hello!
Hi all,I've been living in Turkey for the last two years and I realized that I've never actually shared any of my life with you. I'm not an e-mailer- I tried that in the beginning and after two, maybe three, attempts at e-mailing you my life story I gave up. Hence, this blog. I will share with you any interesting adventures, stories and insights from my life and discuss my greatest passion: reading!
Just to catch you up: I've been in Ankara, Turkey teaching English for a university preparatory school that we'll just call "A" for privacy purposes. "A" is an interesting and challenging place to work. In the words of one of my colleagues, the students are a bunch of little "punks", and the administration of the school is... no comment...
I live in a fish bowl aka staff housing. You may ask: "why a fish bowl?" and I shall explain. The fish bowl is a place where everyone knows everyone else's business, where you can hear the other people through the walls, where everyone is their own biggest gossip and where the negativity flows like a raging river. As a result of this, I have decided, in my third year at A, to steer clear. Nevertheless, I have made some good friends during my time here and have had lots of fun.
Life in Turkey has both its ups and downs. I'll start with the ups.
Benefit number one: Travel! "A" has great holidays and I get a week off every couple of months. Year number one saw me head to Egypt, Vienna and Prague and around Turkey: Cappadoccia, Mediterranean Coast, Istanbul and the Black Sea. Year number two sent me to Vienna (again: flights are cheap from Ankara), Budapest, Rome and to various parts of Turkey. Year number three has so far sent me to Frankfurt and Barcelona.
Benefit number two: Delivery services. You can get anything, and I mean ANYTHING, delivered to your door. Case in point: my boyfriend had a car wash service delivered to work.
Benefit number three: Turkish hospitality and food. The food is great although not super varied, and Turks are incredibly welcoming people.
Benefit number four: Turkish buses! Turkey is serviced by a large number of bus companies, ranging from fancy to sketchy. Busses are cheap, safe and comfortable and they will take you anywhere. In addition, they will provide you with cake, pop and a rather strange smelling cologne that they pour on your hands to refresh you. There are more benefits of course but these are the ones that I can think of off the top of my head.
So what about the lows of life here? Of course there is loneliness caused by missing my family, Christmases in a place where Christmas is not understood, near death experiences every time you enter a moving vehicle, and the fish bowl effect but there are a few more things that I want to mention.
Bummer number one: Turkish men. Yes, I am dating one and he's pretty cool but you really have to be careful about who you give your phone number to. An example: Friendly Turkish professional. Well educated - check, own car - check, lives with parents at the age of 33 - check, multiple phone calls every hour - check, multiple text messages when phone calls not returned - check, "I think I'm falling in love with you" on the second date - check. Example two: Friendly Turkish fitness instructor. 40 missed calls and 20 text messages withing two hours of meeting me - check, English proficiency to the level of "You me darling?"-check, want to commit suicide after spending five minutes with him - check.
Bummer number two: Turkish food. Ok, I know I said it was one of the benefits, but seriously, a little variety would be nice. How about some Indian? Vietnamese? A decent burger?
Bummer number three: Shopping. Ever gone shopping and been followed around by someone acting as a shadow jabbering to you in Turkish and pouncing on everything you touch in order to fold it back up and promptly remove your germs? This is common not only in clothing stores, but also in the makeup section of the grocery store. I rest my case.
Bummer four: my students. I won't elaborate further. Spies everywhere!
This is my last year in Turkey (for now) and I feel both excited and sad when i think about leaving. I've had many great experiences, I've grown intellectually, professionally and personally (and probably physically) and I've fallen in love with a really fantastic Turkish man (who I hope and pray will join me in Canada :) )
What's next for me? I've been accepted to Royal Roads University's Master of Professional Communication program. It starts next October. For now I will continue to live in Turkey, develop my relationship with Yadi, and hopefully do some more travelling.
That's all for now.
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