Food and Phones

With the arrival of the heat, the arrival of some various oddities has arrived as well.  The ongoing election process and the music vans that accompany that, signify severe continued irritation.   The street beggars are out in fuller force as well, and perhaps the oddest ruse I have ever encountered, is that recently we have had young boys (between 8-12 I would say) who sit at various places on the sidewalks with a bathroom scale- presumably so that people will pay them to weigh themselves. In public.  In the middle of the sidewalk.  I don’t fully understand it, as surely people who want to weigh themselves would simply buy a scale and those who don’t want to weigh themselves most certainly don’t want to do it with dozens of people walking past to observe.  I have yet to see anyone actually weigh themselves, but occasionally a housewife will pat one of the boys on the head and leave them a small amount of change- so apparently this gimmick somewhat works.

It has also been a sad week at work, with the departure of a couple of my favourite classes.  I have seen them grow since they were Elementary students and now they are finishing their Intermediate level class, and stopping for the summer. On Thursday night they took me for a fabulous dinner at a restaurant I hadn't tried before- sending the leftovers home to Joe's delight.  It will be a little odd not having them around, and with the loss of these classes, and no addition of new ones, Joe and I are on nine/ten hour weeks.  Fortunately we don’t get paid by the hour, but I am an infinitely more productive person when I am busy, and it is hard to be motivated to find productive ways to fill all of my free time.  

My students

However, last week  Onder asked us if we wanted to go for breakfast on Monday morning.  I was surprised by the invitation, and not being a huge fan of the man (but seeing no way to politely decline) I graciously accepted.  Onder replied that he had promised and he is strict about keeping his promises.  I responded that that is a good way to be, to which he responded, “I suppose, sometimes.”  effectively taking away the graciousness of his invitation, and making us an obligation.  Nonetheless, Monday morning Joe and I readied and headed downstairs at 9am where Mehmet was waiting to take us.  We drove about twenty minutes to a village called Gokuzbey, a beautiful, green, peaceful spot for breakfast.  Onder and his friend weren’t there yet, so we explored a little and then made small talk with Mehmet (his English is so-so).  The food arrived twenty minutes after that, and we sat and stared at it for another half an hour when Onder graced us with his presence, a mere hour and fifteen minutes after the time he had arranged.  He opened with the line, “Why didn’t you start?”  to which I passive aggressively stated that it is rude to start until everyone has arrived.  He then proceeded to tell us that his wife’s car had broken down the day before and he had to deal with it that morning.  Fine.  

some of breakfast

Three different types of scrambled eggs, French fries and borek arrived along with tea to overload the already crowded table, and as Onder talked to his friends in Turkish for the whole time, (with an occasional comment in our direction) Joe and I quietly ate our food and then played 20 Questions.  The food was good though.  We headed home afterwards- Joe’s class was cancelled due to ‘school repairs’ (although we can’t see any visible changes) so we played backgammon until I went to see Buglem.  Having an intriguing conversation with Ali about Turkish politics as he drove me home.  Ali is a huge advocate of Erdogan (the current Turkish President) saying that he is bigger than Ataturk and his longevity in politics is equal only to the wonderous Putin.  I was glad I had my sunglasses on, and mostly answered with, “taman” (ok) to everything he said.

Mehmet, Resit, Onder, Joe and I

Joe patiently listened to me vent about the events of the day when I got home and then we went for a glorious walk in the evening sun.  Our last event occurred when my old phone (or rather Joe's old phone that I have been using crashed and burned.  It had been on the fritz for a while, but this meant that I either had to do without or buy a new phone.  With Joe's unyielding patience (I did buy him lunch for his troubles) we spent a good few hours at the mall over Wed and Thurs, until after careful deliberation, some cold feet, and a LOT of hemming and hawing, I purchased a phone.  Now to get through the weekend where Monday morning and a flight to Amsterdam await me.

My very first self-purchased cell phone

Inked

.  At work on Monday, we were handed stubs of how many vacation days we had used, and how many we still had left.  On it, it said that Joe had taken an extra four days (which he hadn’t- but after negotiation on how Joe had taken days he doesn't work as well, they conceded) and that I only had three days left- which also wasn’t true- I had four.  I went over it with them and told them that our contract had said we had from Dec 22 to Jan 3 off and we had come back Jan 2, leaving that extra day for me to take whenever.  Onder told us that was what the contract meant (that we needed to work the 3rd- to which I told him no, if you have the 28-29 off Oct off, it doesn’t mean you work the 29^th.  He then replied that “he (another boss) must have written it wrong” to which I held my tongue because honestly I didn’t care if he had written it wrong, that wasn’t my problem.  Finally he relented “Ok, since it's in the contract,” and again I held my tongue, because I got my extra day and didn’t feel the need to point out that he had tried to weasel his way around the wording in the contract more times  than I can count, but alas.  Small victories.

The weather stormed for a couple of days upon our return, but then mellowed out and we are into the start of a heatwave.  Currently the temperature is at 26 degrees (it's noon) with a high of 31, which makes the mornings and evenings quite comfortable and is daunting in the awareness that this summer will be infinitely hotter (matching Emily and Jason’s 40+ misery in Dubai).  but we havse been enjoying time with friends while it is comfortable and before Ramazan starts and then all hide for a month: I met Elif for coffee on Thursday and dragged her along to the tattoo parlor to translate for me (I had been wanting to add on to my bird for awhile) which was quite fun, and then we played a good few games of backgammon before she headed to class and I headed to Buglem.  Friday, only Eser showed up to class- and as he doesn’t come to any of the other classes, I cant help but think he comes to hang out with me, but nonetheless, we finished with a quick coffee (the pub was closed because it was Muhammed’s birthday) and agreed to meet with him on Monday at the pub when Joe could come. 

The weekend shone beautifully and on Sunday after classes, Elif, Joe and I headed back to the tattoo parlor.  We drank tea, and he gave us all bracelets that he had made, and then got to work.  Joe stayed until his class started and Elif was a champion.  She stood beside me and let me grasp her arm and mutter profanities when the pain was quite bad, her boyfriend (who showed up near the end) even ran back for my shoes when I forgot them- I told her he was a good find.  She wants one too, but needs to be able to place it in a location her parents would never see- Turkish parents aren’t as liberal as Canadian ones.

I limped home and relaxed, although I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the pain dissipated.  It was a little stiff the next morning, nothing terrible, easy to walk on and healing quite nicely!  I met Joe and Eser after I finished with Buglem and we had a lovely couple of hours at the pub, when Mustafa messaged, inviting us to breakfast the next morning (May 19 is a public holiday in Turkey to commerate the 1919 revolution that lead to modern Turkey as it is today.), we accepted and awoke the next morning.

We arrived at his house at 9am and chatted for a bit, before his wife brought out a gorgeous display of Turkish breakfast (including many delicious types of cheeses), Turkish coffee and a relaxing atmosphere.  We were supposed to go on a nature walk down the ravine behind our complex, but he was getting new balcony doors installed, so we left and he said he would call us when he finished.  About 3, he called and we hiked down the hill (it was quite steep) over the traintracks, down another hill, and arrived at the river to relax for a little while.  Mustafa is quite philosophical, which is normally not a problem, until he threw his plastic water bottle into the river and said, “that is a metaphor for my life,”  to which I replied that it simply looked like littering to me.  It was strange to have him go on and on about how nature is God’s greatest creation, and then leave garbage everywhere, but there is definitely a different mindset here than back home.  We eventually made it back up the hill, said our farewells and then Joe and I picked up some food for dinner and headed home to finish Breaking Bad.

Four Days in Fethiye

The sun was shining perfectly for a day in Fethiye. We happily explored our AirBnb (a few too many stairs, but otherwise perfect) with the beautiful view from the balcony, and then after a couple of showers, Joe and Terry went to pick up some things from the grocery store and Jan and I relaxed in the sun. They returned with some snacks and breakfast foods, and a few beers, and we unwound on the balcony with one before heading out to explore.  

The balcony

We wandered out to the promenade and strolled down the beach for awhile before stopping off for lunch.  The restaurants mostly catered to British tourists, but there were some good Turkish options as well.  We continued our walk, stopping in a few shops to pick up a few odds and ends and booking our boat trip for the next day (which was surprisingly cheap) and then taking the water taxi into Fethiye to peruse the city center.  We decided to save the proper tour for another day, and instead wandered through the old town and the shops before calling it a day and heading back into Calis Beach.  We wandered back to the house, put together some food and sat on the balcony to watch the sunset.  We played a game of Heads Up and then called it a night as we had an early-ish start the next day and we had had a long day. 

The next morning shone bright and beautiful as the day before.  The forecast had called for some storms, but fortunately they held off.  We had a quick breakfast and put our bags together before being picked up.  We gathered a few more people in our van (including a nice Chinese girl named Sarah, who stayed around us for the day) and then on to Oludeniz where the boat was leaving from.  Oludeniz is famous for its transparently clear water, and it did not disappoint.  

We boarded the boat- the first ones on, and found one of the very few places that were outside and in the shade.  It turns out the boat had a tab system (which I hate) and made sense for the cheap entry onto the boat in the first place.  It took about an hour for everyone to arrive- about 50 people, but apparently this can get up to 300 during the busy season- we were all very grateful there wasn’t that many people.  It was a beautiful day on the water- but I was truly baffled by the amount of tourists that arrived on the boat sunburnt and stayed out in the sun all day.  It looked painful, and one woman later on, when Jan told her she looked very red, said that it would just turn brown later.  It wouldn’t, it was going to be a painful peel, but apparently this is the mentality of many British tourists.  We made our first stop at the Blue Cave, and then turned the waterslide on, and in I went.  It was considerably colder than I had been expecting, but it managed to be a pleasant shock to the system even though I didn’t stay in long.

We continued on our way with the next stop at the Butterfly  Valley.  We paid the entrance fee and then meandered through the valley- where there was a serious lack of butterflies- up to the waterfall.  Even without the butterflies it was a beautiful hike.  Our next stop was at Aquarium Bay for lunch, where we joined by another stray- a Turkish-Spanish guy- and Sarah.  After a delicious lunch of trout or a disappointing lunch of chicken, we were off again to St. Nicholas Island where we had the option of water sports (which we didn’t take) and then to the Cold Water Spring where Joe took the waterslide chute in- I was deterred by the words ‘cold water’ so I didn’t join in, and then to our last stop at Camel Beach where Jan and Terry went for a swim and Joe and I stayed on the boat with a beer.  One of the staff went cliff jumping for our amusement (although it was a bit lame) but then we headed back.  We took a big bumpy van back to our hotel, showered and then went for a sunset dinner.  We wandered the promenade before heading home for tea on the balcony and then off to bed.

Our last full day in Fethiye got off to a lazy start.  We had breakfast in and then slowly headed to the water taxi to go into town.  We stopped for a Turkish coffee and baklava on the other side and then found our way up to the rock tombs- forgoing the castle, as it was only ruins- which had a fantastic view of the harbour after a steep climb up to the tombs.  

We went shopping in the old town where I found the most beautiful handbag I have ever seen- with a pricetag to match that didn’t fit my budget in any way shape or form- so I sadly left it alone.  Jan picked up a few odds and ends though before we headed to a fabulous lunch near a pond in the market.  I went to pick up one of the cushions to change chairs and was hit by a very unhappy mewing noise.  A handful of kittens were sleeping peacefully beside us, and when one stumbled out we were treated to his delightful kitten antics while we ate.  Dinner and a show.  We wandered a bit longer through the center and then took the water taxi back, stopping for ice cream on the way back.  Jan and Joe rested for a bit while Terry and I went to explore the promenade in the other direction and Terry went for one last swim.  We finished up the evening with some beer and chips, teaching Jan and Terry how to play Yahtzee- with Jan having some of the best luck I have ever seen.  The boys went to get a pizza and it was a lovely last evening.

We finished up the holiday with a full English breakfast on the beach, where we saw some turtles playing in the water- but they sadly didn’t come up onto the beach.  Then Joe and I said our farewells and headed to the bus station for the long 20hr bus journey back to Malatya.

Pre-Holiday in Malatya

Jan and Terry’s flight was delayed by about an hour on the way in, making it quite late by the time they got back to our house.  We stayed awake and chatted- receiving a few goodies they had generously brought with them, before calling it a night and heading to bed.  We had a slow start the next morning, beautiful sunshine coming through, and breakfast in.  Eventually we got moving and headed into Malatya to go for a tour.  We headed up to Canal Boyu for coffee and then to the market, and one of our favourite restaurants for lunch.  Then I headed to work and the others left. It all passed smoothly until I was leaving work and Isilay called me over to hand me a new schedule- including a Mon/Tues/Wed class that was to start the next day (although why you would start a Mon-Wed class on a Wed still baffles me) meaning that my class was to finish an hour later than normal, putting the flight we needed to take in jeporady.  I told Isilay the problem and then left, mulling over how to fix it.  I figured it out by the time I got to the bus stop, turned around and ran back to the school to offer the solution.  Fortunately Onder was still there (not a phrase I usually use) and so I explained to  him my solution (working the Monday –my normal day off- to make up for the missed class) and he agreed.  Years of working many different jobs has afforded me the knowledge that if you come up with a solution by yourself, the employer will usually accept the change in plans.  Anyways, I ran back to the bus stop and managed to catch the same bus I would have without the delay, which was a bonus and arrived home for a glass of wine and a chat before bed.

As Wednesday was going to be a long day, we got a really late start.  Joe and Jan played backgammon and Terry and I went on a walk of the neighbourhood, we packed and I tidied a bit more, before heading into town to drop off our luggage at the school, have tea with Habib and then for lunch.  After lunch we wandered down to the park (as I had swapped Buglem from the Thursday to the Wednesday) and then I left them at coffee and played with Buglem before heading to class.  Jan and Terry had wandered around while Joe and I had class- Jan even managed to get a pedicure, which I was greatly impressed by- and then we walked up to catch the airport bus to Malatya.  We didn’t have long to wait in Malatya before we departed, arriving in Istanbul in good time.  We had six hours to kill there so we went to the comfy chairs at the Starbucks, bought our token coffee and attempted to sleep- although I think I am the only one who successfully dozed for longer than an hour.  Our flight to Dalaman was also on time, and Turkish airlines always serves food- but the hour flight wasn’t long enough and it did feel quite rushed.

We gathered our luggage and found the airport bus to Fethiye, a pleasant enough journey, which took us to the Otogar and then a Dolmus (mini bus) from there to Calis Beach where we were staying.  We eventually found Olga (our AirBnB host) and she showed us the ropes and suddenly it was 10am and we were ready for our holiday to commence.

An Unexpected Week

It was a strange and beautiful week.  The weather shone bright and sunny, and although it felt a little boring, it was different.  As usual I went to see Buglem on Monday and it is amazing me how big she is getting!  Having never really spent this much consecutive time with a small child before it is fascinating to watch her maturity level and her interests evolve into a real little person.  She is getting so interested in books and wanting me to read to her, and she has gotten much quieter, almost as though she is just absorbing everything I say.  As an added bonus, she played with my hair for half an hour last week- and I love having my hair played with, and all I had to do was read her children’s stories- bonus number two. 

Then Tuesday surprises happened.  I was all showered and dressed and Joe and I were playing backgammon until I had to go to work, when the phone rang, and it was Isilay.  Something was going on with ‘fixing the classes’ (didn’t fully understand what she meant) but my class that night was cancelled.  We double checked, and she confirmed and okay. So we cracked open our bottle of wine we had been saying since Cappadocia, moved the backgammon game to the balcony and continued there.  When the wine was finished, we grabbed a towel, our books, some music, and went to pick up some lahmajun and beer for our picnic.  We wandered along out through the small field behind our house and down onto the rocks below, where we set out our towel and relaxed in the sun.  It was slightly hindered by two small boys who kept coming down to  watch us, but their older brother kept coming to collect them, and they were kinda cute so it wasn’t that bad. 

First picnic of the year

We both got a little burnt, and then relaxed for the rest of the night.  I awoke Wednesday morning to an email from Isilay saying that both of our Wednesday classes, and Joe’s Thursday class were cancelled, and Friday was up in the air as well.  It’s a good thing that we don’t get paid by the hour, but the best part about a salary is that an extra week holiday is totally ok with us.  We headed into town anyways to buy our bus tickets back from Fethiye, exchange some money and talk to Isilay face-to-face to confirm what was going on.  The school appeared open, and everyone was there, no sounds of any sort of construction, but again we had confirmation that the classes were cancelled.  We asked why they hadn’t moved the classes to the other campus (a five minute walk away) but were given the scoff of all scoffs, and so we laughed and moved on.  We wandered down the street to the mall ( I stopped in a couple of shops looking for a bathing suit, but while Joe is a patient person, bathing suit shopping is not his forte, so I decided to go back another time) and picked up some odds and ends we needed, stocking up on some wine for when our next set of visitors arrived, and having lunch before heading home.  We relaxed for an hour, played some more backgammon and then went for a walk.  We ran into Onder at the playground watching his kids play, and chatted with him before buying our first ice creams of the season

Our little picnic friend.

By Thursday it was getting a little weird.  Not working and staying in town is not a phenomena I am used to.  Joe headed into town to meet Malik, and I spent the day relaxing before heading off to see Buglem and then home.  However by the time I went to bed that night- virtually as I got into bed, I started feeling strange, I had the chills and body aches and then shortly after whatever stomach bug (be it food poisoning or another cause I am not entirely sure), so when I found out that Friday was a holiday and my class was cancelled, I was okay with that.  Joe bustled about, buying me sprite and bananas and making soup, which was quite sweet of him considering I didn’t get around to eating much, but the thought was appreciated.

The weekend passed in a blur of misery- teaching with stomach irregularities is never joyous, coming home to eat very little, and then repeating it.  Each day got a little better (although I will spare you the details of my symptoms) and  I even managed to eat real food on Sunday!  Which shouldn’t be that exciting, but I was getting really hungry.  Time continues and with the re-opening of the pharmacies today, (stupid weekends) I hope to speed up the process as Jan and Terry arrive tonight, and a healthy digestive system makes for a considerably more enjoyable holiday!