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….