Winter is Coming

          November is upon us- and for the first time in a few years, I must say that it actually feels like November.  Things have started becoming more routine here- days off are fairly regular, gym days, classes, cooking and the like.  I have been on a soup frenzy- cooking a new soup every week and it has been a lot of fun finding new recipes and such.  There have not been any new developments.  I went for a gorgeous walk yesterday and watched the leaves change colour and the sun glisten through the chilly autumn air.  As wonderful a walk as one can get I do imagine. 

               

Just a hint of snow on the mountains

            Last Monday, Mustafa asked us for a favour.  He teaches English at the high school across the street from our house, and he wanted us to come in and teach a class so that his students would perhaps be more enthused to learn English (something I have a feeling will be becoming more common as Gunger has also asked and I assume many more will too).  Although I was not too keen to go back into a high school (I had enough of that with the Japanese kids) we agreed and it was actually a lot of fun.  I have never taught with Joe, so that was interesting in itself as well.  Afterwards the three of us went into town back to Arkadas Café, to meet a couple that was looking for an English speaking babysitter (for lack of a better word) for their 27 month old daughter and expose her to English.  Mustafa had found this couple through a friend, and we were arranging how it would work out.  I agreed to go there on Thursday and meet the little girl and see what they were wanting and then decide if it was something I was interested in doing.

               

The trees and the mountains

             It turns out Thursday was a busy day (even though it was technically my day off) because Mehmet took us to the police station to finally start registering for our residential visa.  This should not have been so complicated but it was.  When we arrived in Turkey (almost two months ago) we paid our entry, got a little piece of paper and then a stamp.  They took the paper for the stamp, but immigration did not understand.  Apparently we needed the piece of paper (which was made redundant by the stamp) that they kept at the airport (no one had informed us thusly) and because Mehmet doesn’t speak English, we kept passing the phone back and forth to Yashar (who was at work) to help us translate.  Fortunately, someone knew somebody in Ankara, and they agreed to process our information.  We went back to the school and filled out the forms- including a copy of a bank statement saying we each had $3000.00  (again, we were not told we needed this money) and that was a bit frustrating as Joe does not have that money in his account.  Onder called to see if I could transfer the money from my account to Joe’s and then back (he apparently does not know of the woes of international bank transfers which I became far too familiar with last year) and I point blank told him it was impossible so they figured something else out.

              

One more- I never tire of fall colours

                  Between running back and forth between buildings trying to sort out paperwork, Habib cooked us lunch- pide firini (Turkish pizza) and it was fabulous.  It is my turn this week to make ‘Canada soup” (Turkish soup is cream based) so that is my task for Thursday this week and we seem to be forming a little lunch club.  We ran to one more building with Dogan after lunch (cutting it close for me to get to this babysitting gig) and filled out more paperwork before I quickly gathered my things and headed out.  IT was raining and miserable out, but I still prefer walking to bussing, so I moved quickly through the streets to my meeting spot with them (the Carrefour) so they could take me to their house- a beautifully furnished apartment about a thirty minute walk from the school.

               

Pide Firini

               The whole family was home, the grandmother made me Turkish coffee, and the mother (Kubra) stayed with me most of it to make sure her daughter was comfortable.  We played and read books (me speaking English, her largely ignoring that fact) for an hour and then Kubra and her husband Ali drove me home.  Busra (the little girl) was very upset she didn’t get to come inside with me, and all in all it was nice to get out of the house and be around people, so I will be going there twice a week to ‘babysit’.   By Friday I was exhausted as my days off had been at work, so Joe and I went to the gym and then I made butter chicken for dinner in anticipation of another long weekend.

Lunch with Dogan and Habib