Lots to See, Lots to Do

               Joe ended up cleaning the oven.  It was a pleasant surprise- but as I had to go into town and explain my name predicament to the bosses (more to follow once I have news one way or the other.) he was put on dinner duty.  I spent a pleasant hour chatting with Habib (the guy who makes tea upstairs- although I am sure he has other responsibilities as well) before wishing daddy-o the best birthday in the world and heading home for meatballs.  We have sort of been cooking more the past few days- but the problem with working evenings, is that you leave the house around lunchtime, and don’t come home until past dinner so a late afternoon meal is the seeming compromise to our situation.     

A selection of vegetables from the market

                Weekdays have become a nice routine.  Wake up early, drink a cup of coffee, try and figure out what to do until it’s time to go to work.  I am still having a hard time adjusting to the relaxing mornings with evening classes as I very much got into a rhythm at the Japanese school, but I managed to download some yoga videos onto my computer at work (we still have no home internet- and won't until our visas come through) so I plan to start adding some exercise into my mornings in order to be more productive than reading and playing cards on my computer with the occasional self-taught Turkish lesson thrown in.

               

The main fountain

              Weekends are a little more hectic- early mornings, lots of classes back to back and finish.  A polar opposite to week days.  It isn’t so bad, busy certainly.  The weather is slowly taking a turn into autumn and you can feel the days getting shorter and the chill seeping through the air.  It makes it harder to wake up in the mornings, but it is a very refreshing change from Jakarta.  After work on Saturday, Joe and I went on a hunt for the pub.  We had looked the day before, but settled on a kebab restaurant when we couldn’t find it.  However, a keen eye of mine managed to put two and two together (they aren’t allowed to advertise alcohol openly in Turkey) and with the help of some internet photos we located the pub.  It is pretty typical of a pub: large, open and reeking of old cigarette smoke- but as they don’t serve food, we had a celebratory beer and moved on, thinking to come back and try and make friends some evening.  The thunder kicked in that night and we lost power, but as my Kindle has a light on it, it made for quite a nice ambiance – although we will be investing in candles shortly.

               

Malatya is well-renowed for its apricot harvest

           The school finally had our carpets cleaned.  They picked them up about 9pm (which I thought was an odd time to be on carpet retrieval) and dropped them off three days later.  Or they were supposed to.  They didn’t.  We talked to Yashar- who is quite a chatterbox- and he called and said they would be by after 9pm that night.  (He said that the women used to clean the carpets, but now they don’t.  Now they (women) don’t do anything.  I said they were doing more important things- I watched three women scrubbing carpets outside that day on my way home from work and thought there was something to the sending them away business)  Again, an odd time in my head, but people here do seem to work quite late.  We waited till 11pm, but due to the power outage, they didn’t show.  The next day we were exhausted, and once again told they drop them off around 9pm.  This time I waited until 11pm.  Still nothing.  The next morning, I was confused and decided to check outside in the hall just in case.  Sure enough, when I opened the door, there they were.  All propped up and cleaned.  It was a lovely discovery as our home now has some colour again.

Autumn is approching!  Umbrellas await!

                We embark on our first holiday this coming weekend.  Eid-al-Adha (in Indonesia) but it is called Bayram here.  No matter what you call it, it is the holiday were the sacrifice a lot of goats and cows to remind them of Abraham and Isaac, but it has much more of a family feel to it here.  One of my co-workers told me they are expected to go visit all their relatives and then have their relatives come around their house.  He works seven days a week so I think he would prefer to sleep, but alas.  Joe and I are using the free holiday to go to Istanbul- a trip we are very much looking forward to and that I can’t wait to share with you all, but that will be next weeks news.

Odds and Ends

                The exploration of a new city is one of my favourite things to do.  The sights, the smells, the delicious state of unknown.  Although we haven’t been teaching  a ton of hours, there is nothing boring about not working.  Last Tuesday, Joe and I attended a conference given by Oxford University Press about the books and how to teach.  This turned out to be a sales pitch, so we payed fairly little attention- and even less attention when the second session was given in Turkey.  Instead we passed the notepad back and forth, jaunting down thoughts that passed and conversing that way.  The flashbacks to communicating that way with friends during church sermons came rushing back.  It was given at the Hilton Hotel- new in town- but with a fabulous seating area on the 18^th floor overlooking the entirety of Malatya.  Dinner afterwards was quite tasty, but, despite being in a room full of English teachers, there were precious few people to talk to.  Tea afterwards was served on the 18^th floor, and despite being bombarded by a woman wondering what kind of English books were good to recommend for children (it’s been a long time since I read children’s books) that was a bit odd, it was quite pleasant.  One of our bosses drove us home afterwards and I think it was the first time we were in bed past 9pm since we arrived.

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The main mosque in the center of town.  The third pillar is incomplete becauses the architect died before it was completed.

                 We started actual classes on Saturday, and for the most part it was a lot of fun.  Turkish students are friendly, if a bit shy to start, and their levels are considerably lower than I was expecting, but that’s easy enough to adjust to.  One of my students told me Taylor Swift was her idol: I didn’t know how to respond.  It’s fun getting back into the swing of it, although the system is once again different than I am used to.  The Turkish teachers teach the majority of the books, and we go in to each class for one hour a day (of the three or four) and teach a section of the book, that comprises of vocabulary, speaking and ‘everyday English’- a hard sell when they don’t need to use English every day, but alas.  It means that we have no say in how the grammar is presented, and although there is communication with the teacher, I am still figuring out how best to use my time for the benefit of the students.  It may yet take a few more weeks until I can determine this: for now I will do as I’m told.

              

The second President of Turkey.  From Malatya.

                   Other than last minute lesson planning (I received my schedule for the weekend of Friday for fourteen hours worth of lessons, and my weekly schedule on Monday- if this continues there will be a discussion) I have been spending my time exploring Malatya.  The weather has cooled down a bit (particularly in the evenings) and it has been lots of fun.  I found these old stone things on one of my expeditions (they turned out to be Turkish baths from the Ottoman Empire) and have loved the feel of exploring a city with so much character.  Onder took us on a mini tour today to help us buy tickets for our upcoming trip to Istanbul, and then showed us around the open air markets where the vegetables are aligned in the brightest colours, and the smell of the fish market makes you feel like you have already eaten it.  Goat’s heads hang from wires and everywhere the vendors are yelling at you to come and buy their delicacies.  Joe and I discovered a fantastic kebab restaurant, and we tried ayran (a yogurt drink that has been watered down- I would not recommend it.)  We haven’t been doing too much cooking other than breakfast, as the late lunch we have (of a donair, typically) is the most filling food I have ever experience and will fill you up for more hours than there are in an evening.  I love learning Turkish, although I do find their verbs quite challenging to get the hang of thus far.

One of the many drinking fountains in Malatya.  It is good to drink tap water again.

Teach a Little, Relax a Little More

               This past week has given me a good understanding of Turkish culture and how working in it will be different than I am used to.  We found our way in on Tuesday, and met the owners (well, three of the five of them), two of whom spoke excellent English, the third is a computer teacher and also in charge of our visa process.  After the customary offer of coffee or tea each day, we settled into business.  There was some concern over Joe’s visa as he doesn’t have a degree, but it turns out there are grey areas and with his high school transcripts, it can easily be side swiped.  Ironically, it is my papers that are causing the problems due to a single letter.   I was registered in university as Jordyn, while my passport reads Jordan.  This was not a problem with the Indonesian government nor the Japanese government, so I did not foresee an issue here: but it is indeed an issue.  I have spent a week on shitty internet trying to find ways to resolve it, and although there are a couple of options available, we shall have to wait and see.

                

The main park

                 By Thursday when we went in, we were informed that they needed us to teach on Saturday and Sunday- just a one off weekend.  The previous teacher who was here had to leave suddenly a few months back due to health issues, but they had promised the kids they would have a native teacher an hour a week all summer.  This was, of course, impossible, but the school didn’t want to retract on their promise and so they decided to cram these hours into one miserably long weekend of English fun.  Joe and I understood their position and so on Friday we went in for four hours to plan sixteen hours each of lessons over two days with only two different classes.  No books.  No materials. Vague topics at best.  In the midst of our planning we met the other two owners.  Güngör, who described himself as a “bad Muslim” (he drinks) and also stated that, “People have these funny ideas about what is important in religion.”  He is an interesting man, and although he says the Turkish language is not sexist (no differentiation between he/she) I can’t help but feel that I have stepped into a boys club.  Joe has been invited to play football, go fishing, have a tour of the city and most of the owners address him when speaking to the both of us, although I hope that I am noticing things (I do have an overactive imagination) and will butt in on anything I deem interesting enough.  (It didn’t help when Joe got an extra class during the week- rendering me a week of no classes, and causing the secretary to remark that I could stay home and cook dinner.  There was no malice in her tone, but my gut reaction was to never want to cook again.

                

Old men in the park

              Saturday morning we woke early (not that either of us have yet slept through the night-  jetlag is a bitch) and went to the school to ensure everything was ready for our lessons.  We had been warned that Turkish students are quite shy, afraid to make mistakes, and unchatty, but neither of us noticed that with our students.  My first set were Grade 6 students (about eight) and although there were ample breaks- four hours is a long time for kids to sit in a foreign language class.  By the time they left, I had a group of Grade  7 students (perhaps my least favourite age group of all time) for another four hours, and by the time we got home, there was no supper, no nothing.  We were sound asleep by 8pm in anticipation of repeating the same thing the next day.  Day 2 went smoother, perhaps because I knew what to expect.  By hour three of each group though, lesson plans were more or less out the window and it was survival mode.  Get these kids through without having them hate me, each other, or English.  They all seemed happy when they left, so all around it was successful.  Now, other than going in to work to get some semblance of an internet connection, and a dinner and meeting on Tuesday, I really have nothing going on.  Study Turkish, exercise, explore and of course fight with whatever slight amounts of internet I am able to get- perhaps I will get around to cleaning that oven after all….

The First Week

                    We have been in Malatya exactly one week although in some ways it feels much longer.  After figuring out the basics (how to take the bus, how to say hello and thank you and other basic Turkish phrases that we still aren’t sure we are saying correctly) there have been subtle differences and I can’t help but compare Malatya to other places that I have lived.  One of the main things is the mosque.  In Indonesia, the mosques went off at 4:00am, 12:00pm, 3:00pm, 6pm, and 7pm, although they would occasionally last for a whole hour or sometimes longer depending on the day and prerogative of the emam.  In Malatya, they tend to go off an hour later than the ones in Jakarta (which I am assuming has something to do with the sun, but my knowledge of Islam is still lacking).  Also, due to the colouring of Turks, Joe and I stand out a lot less than we did in Indonesia, which means no one yells at us, no one stares at us, and other than our eye colours and the fact that we don’t speak Turkish, it is hard to differentiate us. 

               

                This has been a bit tricky as we don’t immediately stand out as foreigners, but the store keepers have been very friendly with our lack of language ability, generally laughing or smiling and aiding us in whatever way they can to help us get our point across.  We have braved a couple of cafes, but typically end up ordering donairs or the like because it is the easiest thing to explain to the staff.  The other main difference (for me) is the amount of people that are out and about in the streets.  They are packed with people at all hours of day, walking, shopping and enjoying the fresh air.  It is a marvelous change that allows you to feel more a part of the culture just simply by being in it.  Malatya (like everywhere in Turkey) is an old city, although the city that we are living in has only been around since 1838.  Historically the city was a major producer of opium, although nowadays it is known throughout Turkey for its apricot production.

               

               Stray animals howl at night (reminding me of the dogs in Albania) and the roosters crow not just at dawn, making them considerably more irritating than the mosque and we look out the window at the yards trying to figure out where they are situated and if it would be possible to throttle them without the owners realizing- a feat I doubt we will attempt but is fun to fantasize over nonetheless.  Day to day life moves at a steady yet enjoyable pace thus far, and although the days can be uncomfortably hot, the evenings generate a blustering breeze that makes the temperature very enjoyable.  We have yet to meet the neighbours, but a plethora of children play outside in the evenings, and I am on smile and nod terms with the produce man downstairs and the lovely woman who works the beer and wine section of the grocery store: both important people and I am very pleased with that progress.

               

             In the apartment we still have things to sort out: the lack of internet is becoming a real pain in the rear end, as the internet at the school is too bogged down to successfully Skype or research or merely browse the web, but hopefully our residency permits will be here soon and we will be able to fix that.  Having successfully navigated the Turkish washing machine and gotten a kettle, things are getting easier.  The school is going to have our area rugs washed, and I still have to brave cleaning the oven- baby steps.  I have only really been cooking breakfast anyways so I am in no rush.

               

             Food is delicious and monotonous.  If you don’t like onions, tomatoes or bread you would have big problems in this city.  Fortunately, I enjoy all these things, but my palate is used to a veritable smorgus board of culinary delights, and I do not see that being fulfilled in Turkey.  Naturally I have taken into consideration that my Turkish cuisine vocab is still lacking and that a wider option may be available in a few weeks, but at the moment it is definitely a comparison of the different types of donairs and whether or not there is too much parsley, or the bread is too chewy or the likes.  I will have to do some digging in the spice department and see how creative I can be with onions, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers and eggplant: the total sum of vegetables I have at my disposal in the shops.  It is a simple life that inspires more creativity than the concrete jungle of Jakarta and although I foresee some challenges,  but the lifestyle that comes with a city of half a million people ıs much quıeter, and although I have my misgivings about living so far from the city center, the views of the “outskirts” and the stars and storms allow breath and that is a welcome change.

** I took photos to attach to thıs blog but the lack of workable internet ıs doıng my head ın and the photos wont copy and for the sake of my sanıty you wıll have to waıt.  my apologıes.

Arrival in Malatya

Our third flight was just as timely as the previous one.  Again, Turkish  Airlines outdid themselves by providing a meal on the two hour flight to Malatya.  Our luggage came through no problem, Yasar (pronounced Yashar) picked us up from the airport and drove us into town.  He was not the most organized of people, forgetting which apartment we were in and slightly shocking us with the news that we were to be the only native teachers for the year.  Minor panic ensued as I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into.  The apartment itself is lovely- located on the 11^th (and top) floor with four bedrooms, a kitchen and two living spaces as well as two bathrooms, a separate shower room, an entryway and a cleaning closet.  More space than we know what to do with really.  The major downside is that it is about a 40min bus journey outside the city, but there are three grocery stores within walking distance so we will see what happens.

the view from our bedroom

                After we dropped off our bags and looked around, we discovered that the previous teacher had left quite a few of his things behind when he left, and no one has bothered to clean it up.  Yasar assured us that the place had been cleaned after he left, and in our exhausted state we believed him.  He drove us into the city center and bought us a most delightful breakfast of ten cheeses, egg and salami, yogurt, tomatoes, cucumber and pita bread.  After two years of no cheese, this was a fabulous change of pace.  So far the food is fantastic.  After breakfast we went to see the school, met some staff, got our bus cards, searched how to get phone plans and internet set up and then he drove us back to the apartment where we napped for a few hours.

our first meal in Turkey- fantastic array of cheeses

                We forced ourselves to get up and went to the grocery store to pick up a few odds and ends,  but all in all we were too tired to cook and merely passed out again.  Tuesday morning we were both awake in the middle of the night but set an alarm for 9am and then set to work cleaning the apartment.  It was a bit irritating to have to do that, as we both felt it should have been done before our arrival, but life got slightly less overwhelming once that was finished.  We showered and headed into town (our first attempt to figure out the bus) and then  wandered a bit before heading over to the school to use the wifi.  We met a couple of the other owners, Memet and Onder and chatted with them for a bit.  They got us a second key and a kettle and we chatted for a bit and drank our first Turkish coffee.  We left at about three, being told to relax the next day and come in on Thursday, and walked up to the big mall to get a lamp and an extension cord and a few other odds and ends (including finding beer and wine!), and also indulge in our first Turkish donair.  We caught the bus from there, and played Yahtzee for a bit to kill time before a socially acceptable bedtime.  James Bond also aided in that regards.

The kitchen

                Wednesday was exhausting.  I cooked my first meal in the kitchen, but other than that I pretty much slept on and off all day.  Read, sleep, eat watermelon, read, sleep.  Despite the friendliness of everyone, a minor tinge of homesickness was starting to creep in (for the first time in many years and it was a strange feeling- I guess that's what five absolutely perfect weeks at home will do to you) and sleeping it away seemed the best option.  I did get up long enough for us to go for a walk around the neighbourhood and see what was around and I found my favourite Turkish cookies from when I lived in Albania- which was very exciting.  Once again, we played Yahtzee and watched another James Bond  and then passed out.  Today is our first “work” day and so it will be good to establish a routine.  Hopefully internet will arrive at our house soon….

Tiresome Travel

                    It seems like much longer than six weeks ago that I wrapped up my time in Indonesia and spent a glorious five weeks at home- catching up with friends and family, showing Joe the sights, eating way too much spectacular food and just all around having an amazing time.  It all came to an abrupt end roughly 31 hours ago, when Mom and Dad dropped us off at YVR with big hugs and plans to see each other soon, that the long reality check of the lifestyle I have chosen was thrust back upon me.  Being frugal, Joe and I decided to fly with Condor Air to Frankfurt.  Now, while I am sure that this airline would be splendid for short haul flights, it is not an aircraft designed for long haul flights.  Realizing that their baggage allowance was vastly insufficient, we sucked it up and paid 115.00 dollars to get a teensy bit more luggage to Frankfurt and then cleared customs and unwound with a beer and a Subway before our flight.  We headed to the back of the plane (where the rude man at the counter had placed me in a middle seat second row from the back) to discover that the only media options for our ten hour flight was one episode of Friends, and one chick flick- What to Expect When You’re Expecting.  I had already seen both of these, but in the essence of killing time, I would rewatch them both. 

Our last beer in Vancouver

                     We were also unpleasantly surprised by the lack of leg room- emphasized by the woman in front of me insisting on reclining her chair as far back as she could for the entire flight- including meals- disregarding everything any seasoned traveller knows about airplane etiquette 101.  I spent a good time with my knees in the back of her chair in passive retaliation.  Despite the movies and the terrible food, and the appallingly bad customer service (when the drinks man passed by, Joe had his headphones in and he took them out and said, Pardon, and the man said “What do you think I am going to ask you?” it passed and will soon fade away into memory although I would most definitely not fly Condor again unless I had no other option.

          
             We gathered our luggage in Frankfurt (again, in the essence of being frugal we had booked the journey as two separate flights) cleared customs, and then had eight hours to kill before heading to Istanbul.  Frankfurt is an expensive airport, and although beer and Jägermeister were ridiculously cheap – that is not enough to sustain one  for that long a time, and money flew a little more than I would have cared to spend but alas.  Turkish Airlines, our hosts for the next two fights, had a much more gracious baggage allowance (considering that Frankfurt to Malatya is half the distance from Vancouver to Frankfurt I found this quizzical, again aiding my active dislike for Condor Air), allowing us to split the weight between our bags and not making us pay extra.  We weren’t expecting food on the flight (it was only four hours) so we bought a quick dinner (yet more money down the drain), but Turkish Airlines was timely, polite, and had ample leg space.  Due to the lack of sleep on the first flight, I nodded off before we took off, and was awoken about an hour later by drinks and a highly delicious meal.  They finished it off with a cup of coffee and I alternatively read and dozed until we hit Istanbul.

         

      Yet another painful realization arose in Istanbul when it was discovered (there was no info online- we did look) that my entry visa would cost US $60.00 while Joe’s cost only $20.00.  My credit card is a little wilted at the moment, and it turns out travelling cheap actually cost more money in airports than I have ever spent in my life.  I suppose fifteen hours worth of waiting in them will do that to a person.  Needless, at 2:30am in Istanbul, both Joe and I were quite cranky waiting for the third flight, so he watched Fringe and I wrote this delightfully jaded blog while waiting for our final leg to Malatya.