Bless me

 November 15, 2020

Bless me reader for I have neglected my blog.  It has been two weeks since I last wrote, but I have good reason!

Jim arrived in Istanbul!  I am so glad he’s here.  I love experiencing the new sights, sounds, and tastes again through his eyes.  His flight was flawless.  No delays.  No bumps along the way.  He arrived 30 minutes ahead of schedule. I was waiting for him at Door 9 of Arrivals.  No one is allowed in the airport except passengers and employees.  Everyone wears a mask.  Hear that America!  Everyone.

Jim’s first taste of Turkey was a delicious pastry (sorry I don’t know the name!) a dear fellow English teacher – Ekmel – brought to school especially for me to share with my husband.  Since then, we enjoyed pide, Turkish meatballs, lamb shish, manti, and doner.  And of course we’ve had Turkish breakfast by the Bosphorus!

Unfortunately, this week I left Jim alone to go work.  It was end of term and I had to wrap up all my grading and figure out how Enka students end up with a term grade. (It was a huge learning curve for me and a change of mindset.  This will likely be a blog unto itself. ) Every day  I came home to find Jim happy as a lark.  He quickly found his usual routine here in Istanbul – reading, meditating, watching some Netflix, reading the news, and he found CNN world news on the TV.  He ventured around Mashattan site –  nice grounds, some cafes, a small grocery store.  Once he did leave to go to one of the many Starbucks in walking distance.

Finally, my work was completed and I have a Fall Break week!   Friday night we joined the Hardins – Olivia and Robert and their two children Emi and Robbie – at a nearby burger place, called Fire Room, for dinner.  Olivia teaches English in the primary school and Robert is a counsellor at Enka.  They too are new to Enka, live in Mashattan, and American (Oregon). I have enjoyed a couple of meals with the Hardins – they are wonderful people.  We enjoy sharing stories of Enka, home, and past jobs.  Eveyone’s favorite story is how we came to be in Istanbul working for Enka School!

Yesterday Jim and I had a glorious Istanbul adventure.  My dear friend Emily – who is my daughter Maggie’s age – and her Turkish fiancé, Mert, guided us on our first look at the old city – the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Archeological Museum, and the wondrous Basilica Cistern.  I will have to write an entire blog about this experience.  Emily and Mert are great companions.  Probably our best time of the day was eating lunch overlooking the area which was once the Roman Hippodrome with a view of both the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.  The food was wonderful and our conversation with Mert (now an architect in Istanbul) and Emily (from Zimbabwe) delightful.   Truly a moment to treasure.

Comments

  1. moimoiNovember 15, 2020 at 1:20 AM

    It's autumn and time for manti to begin.
    I'm dyin' here. Love them so.
    Last few visits, I've noshed at Emek Manti right on Yenikoy's wee plaza, a block off the Bosphorus.

    ReplyDelete
  2. moimoiNovember 15, 2020 at 1:22 AM

    Further, Hagia Sofia is one of the most special buildings in the world. It leaves me in awe and tears, every visit.
    Wonder of non-Muslims can now get in.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Precious White Slip of Paper & Angels at the Airport

     Thank you for visiting my blog.  I hope once the start of school settles in and I'm finished getting groceries, bank accounts, Turkish SIM cards, etc.  I will write more often.         September 7, 2020                                                                               4 Days in Turkey  I am here.  Istanbul, Turkey.  And I am teaching.  Boy am I teaching.  Lots of work. But I'm doing whata teachers all over the world are doing.  This on line teaching is tough.  Yet, I'm loving it.  Really.             The plane trip was uneventful.  I flew out of Chicago to I...
Read more

Test, Practice Test, Repeat

 Teaching in Turkey is becoming one of the biggest teaching challenges I've ever experienced.  And I have had my share.  I've had students call me a "bitch."   I had a parent call and complain because I told a student I was "disappointed" in their work. I shifted curriculums.  Learned how to teach in the International Baccalaureate Program. Studied new works of literature, new ways of writing, and learned how to teach these to students.   I have had mountains of grading to do and given up "sick days" to get it done.  I've had misunderstandings with administrators.  I've broken down.   This isn't the challenge I'm speaking to.  I'm in a foreign country.  I wanted to experience another country from the inside out.  And I am.  For the most part, the experience has been exactly as I wanted.  But, this week when I questioned a practice in the school, I was told "welcome to private school in Turkey."  Re...
Read more

Turkish Students and On Line Teaching

 Before I leave the blog for a few days...I'm going to be buried in grading and planning the rest of the week...I want to give a shout out to all my teacher friends and family who are on line teaching.  What a worm hole it is!  A true test of will to accomplish.  So, to all my teacher friends and family, I am now with you. You deserve a mountain of money to compensate for the headaches and learning curves you have had to maneuver. That being said, I am managing on-line learning.    I am in awe of the technical support at Enka .  I have a number of people to call with problems. We "meet" on Google Meet and they show me, through the wonder of split screen and screen sharing, how to go about fixing or doing whatever I need to do.  I'm not doing anything "fancy," but I can show a Powerpoint, a Video, or blank page where students can watch me write as they brainstorm (I like to do on the white/black board in the classroom).  This week I successful...
Read more