Ramadhan and New Arrivals

Ramadhan is upon us.  This is my first ‘full’ Ramadhan, as the years before in Indonesia, I arrived for the tail end, was home for the second one, and was teaching at the Japanese school for the third  so only a handful of students were participating.  Despite the finale when Emily and Jason were visiting and we got to listen to the mosque go off for a solid 24 hrs (including the horrendous decision to allow children to sing/pray over the loud speakers), I have never really taught during it.  That being said, I do not enjoy teaching during Ramadhan.  The students and teachers alike have a zombie-esque quality to them, as they are not eating, drinking or smoking for seventeen hours of the day in 30+ degree heat.  Although Turkey is technically a secular state (meaning most shops and restaurants are still open), Malatya is fairly conservative so the majority of people are fasting.  It has led to some very interesting discussions about the meaning of Ramadhan and they whys/why nots of why people participate.  The main reason that I can discern is that they are sympathizing with the poor (I have never seen so many beggars in Malatya until it began) and those who can’t fast due to health concerns, pay a daily fee to the poor as I learned from one of my students who is diabetic and thus can’t fast. 

Otherwise, not much has been happening.  A plethora of new classes has begun (although Joe and I are still teaching under 20hrs a week) and they are on a ‘summer course’ meaning they last only 8 weeks, and we zip through the book.  Naturally none of the staff felt the need to tell us, and I found out from one of my co-teachers a week in, and am now behind in 2 of my 3 classes which is a pain.  How no one felt it necessary to pass on this vital piece of information I have yet to decipher, but alas.   Language schools seem to seriously lack in communication which is irony in itself. 

Joe messaged me on Thursday to inform me a new teacher would be arriving on Monday night.  Naturally I was shocked, as Joe and I hardly have full schedules, and we know next to nothing about him.  Since we have gotten used to having the house to ourselves (taking up three of the four bedrooms) we spent our day off on Saturday cleaning and rearranging the house. (Joe finished up the cherries baking another pie).    I had a Skype interview that day so I had rearranged Buglem, and I sat around and waited for the new teacher.  He hadn’t arrived by the time Joe got home, so I looked up flights, but there had been no flights arriving at 6:30 (the time they had given me).  A bit confused, I messaged Onder and of course I got no reply, so I messaged Gungor.  He called around for me (not managing to get ahold of Onder either) and found out from Yasar that he was coming in at 6, and that Onder must have taken him for dinner.  We waited and waited- I went to bed at 11 and Joe at midnight. I got a message from Onder shortly thereafter saying that the new teacher wouldn’t be arriving that day- no explanation at all.

The next day, I found Onder after my classes to ask him what had happened.  He informed me that he had found out the previous afternoon that there had been a problem and the teacher would be late.  I looked at him, baffled, and asked him if he had gone to the airport.

“No.” He replied.

Trying not to call him a moron, I answered, “You didn’t even go the airport?  You didn’t think that this was information we needed?”

“I told Joe there was a problem,” he replied, trying to pass on the blame to Joe when he clearly hadn’t told him anything.

“No you didn’t.” I answered.  He didn’t say anything, and since I knew he was never going to apologize for being self-concerned and unaware of others, I simply said, “If you hear anything you need to let us know immediately,” and walked away.

He called that evening saying the teacher was at the bus station, and he was going to pick him up.  Hours passed, no sign.  I called him to ask what was happening.

“I am at home.”  He said. “I couldn’t find him. He will call me.”

Horrified at the thought of this guy (the only foreigner at the bus station) just hanging out, was appalling, so we offered to go help him locate him.  Fortunately he did manage to call before that, but we were shocked. 

He made it here in one piece, thoroughly exhausted, and we made small talk for a bit before he crashed.  Talk about adventures.

Election Day Antics

It was a lovely start to the week.  Sunday was Election Day in Turkey, which meant that Joe and I had our first Sunday off since we arrived.  My students invited us out for a late breakfast, so Joe and I meandered into town- stopping at the mall because Joe needed a new harddrive, and then to meet them at 1pm.  Only Habib was there, so we chatted a bit and he gave us some presents to remember him by (bracelets for Joe and anklets for me) and we waited almost a full hour before Merve, Onur and then Seda arrived.  We ate breakfast (a vast array that covered the table with 33 different options) and discussed the election (they had all voted for a different party).  

From left to right: Seda, Merve, Habib, me, Joe, Onur

By the time we finished eating, Murat showed up- we learned later that he had asked Merve to be his girlfriend, but she had needed time to think about it- and we all piled into his car and drove up to Gonduzbey where Merve’s father had a ‘garden’ although it turned out to be more of a farm/orchard than a garden.  He gave us a tour and then we had tea and more food (which we had to eat to be polite even though we were stuffed) and then we went cherry picking.  They were fresh and delicious, and we ate more than we put in the bags- but we all went home with crazy amounts.  If anyone knows any good cherry recipes, I would love to hear them because I don’t know what we will do with them otherwise- it is an insanely full bag. 

The gang cherry picking

Murat drove us home, sharing the good news that Merve had agreed to be his girlfriend (although her father doesn’t know because that is not the way that dating works in Turkey) and we arrived home later than anticipated after a fun filled day to watch an evening storm roll across the sky.

We awoke that night to very good electoral news- AK Party was still in power, but they would need to form a coalition government in order to rule.  Since it doesn’t look like any of the others want to work with them, they are now in the process of figuring out if it will be a minority government or a coalition.  Most people here seem very pleased with the results as well which is good- not a lot of tension- at least in Malatya there isn’t.  On Wednesday Joe and I had the day off as there was a teacher training at the Anemon hotel that evening.  Joe set to work making a cherry pie (curtosy of Martha Stewart) and I cleaned and helped him destone cherries (a tedious task).  Elif came over that evening before the event, and I have her some clothes and she beat Joe at backgammon before we walked over.

Elif, Joe and I am the seminar.

  As normal, it started about a half an hour late, and while we had expected  to be hopelessly bored, the woman they had doing it was very good: funny, informative and with some interesting classroom ideas.  It wrapped up with dinner, and all in all it was significantly more fun than the one we went to back in September when we had first arrived and didn’t know anyone.  It was a pleasant twist to a very hot week.

The Beauty of Amsterdam Pt. 2

Wednesday morning shone bright and sunny, it was gorgeous, although a little nippy with the wind still kicking up every now and again.  We walked in to the Anne Frank house (although the lineup was around the corner and none of us felt like paying 20 Euros to wait for an hour to see an attic) and then headed back to Vondelpark for a stroll.  

Anne Frank House

We left, deciding to come back later with some beers, and headed for lunch at an Irish Pub near the museum district.  From there it was back to the Red Light District so that Caitlin could get her nose pierced.  While we were there, we saw people up on top of a church, and decided to go up.  It turned out to be the oldest church in Amsterdam, and our tour guide gave us some splendid information topped with stunning views of the city.  

We headed back to the park and spent the better part of the afternoon relaxing until it got too cold to sit outside anymore. 

Vondelpark

We made our way back, but the weather was still beautiful, so Eric relaxed with a movie and Caitlin and I went out for a walk through Westerpark (right beside our Airbnb) and at twilight it felt like Narnia.  It was absolutely stunning with the sun setting and the vibrant colours of little houses tucked in behind trees.  We were both very sad we didn’t have our cameras with us.  By the time we got back, it was quite late as the sun didn’t set until about 10pm, and we relaxed with some music until bed.

My last full day in Amsterdam got off to a mellow start.  We decided to go see Haarlem (about 15km outside of Amsterdam) and we walked the 2km to the train station and took the short trip to Haarlem.  Since we really didn’t know anything about what to see there, we headed to the center, and enjoyed walking through the sleepy little town- a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam.  We again enjoyed lunch on the patio, and then wandered the canals, admiring the houseboats (or dock houses because they weren’t really boats) before heading back to Amsterdam.  

We walked back up to the house, relaxing with a film for a couple hours and then it was time for me to leave.  Caitlin and Eric walked into town with me and we found a patio to sit with a beer and watched people for a couple of hours, before off I headed to the airport.  Amsterdam topped all of my expectations- it was the perfect blend of relaxation and culture, and the perfect place to spend four days.

My trip home was equally as uneventful as my trip there.  The man at Passport Control decided to make me answer questions in Turkish (which at 4 in the morning is quite tricky) but apparently I passed because he let me back in.  I made it home by 8am to a lovely surprise breakfast of a fantastic omelette, fresh bread and a cup of coffee.  Joe outdid himself by washing the dishes so that I could go pass out when I finished eating.  It was a good set up for the summer, and an enjoyable way to arrive home.

The Beauty of Amsterdam Pt. 1

It is only the second time in three years of travelling that I have left the country I reside in and head for outside adventures, but this one made it all worthwhile.  I awoke bright and early to glorious sunshine on Monday morning, eagerly anticipating my journey to Amsterdam.  I walked down to the bus stop, and made my way to Malatya airport for my first flight.  I luckily had the emergency exit seat(e.e.s), so full leg room.  I easily killed four hours in Istanbul with a couple of beers and my book, and then landed another e.e.s. for the four hours to Amsterdam.  I made small talk with the older Turkish gentleman beside me (I am continually grateful for Michael Jordan as he makes explaining the pronunciation of my name infinitely easier), watched some T.V., dozed and arrived about 5pm.  I cleared customs with no problems, and then went to wait for Caitlin and her friend Eric to arrive.  I was quite pleased with their delay, as I was a titch shell shocked wandering the airport and looking at the tall, blonde people, the variety in the markets and the fact that everyone spoke English.  I managed to get my bearings by the time they arrived, and we headed to the train.  

We missed ours by a minute, and Eric saw a sign for Central that was leaving sooner than on the platform we were waiting for.  Thinking he knew what he saw, and not reading Dutch, we agreed and ended up on a train to the Hague- not the direction we were hoping for.  With the help of a nice Estonian traveller, we managed to get off and reoriented back in the correct direction.  We let our Airbnb hosts know we would be a little late, and enjoyed the scenery as the stress ebbed.  We found our bus from there and made it to our location in West Amsterdam by about 10pm.  We rang our host, and he came down to show us the ropes.

Rijks Museum

We headed back out to locate the grocery store (it was closed) and then relaxed by the canal before calling it a night.  The next morning was windy and cold with a drizzle pelting down in the wind.  Eric and I headed to the store to pick up some breakfast stuff, and then we had a lazy morning.  Since the weather was so miserable, we caught the tram to the Rijks Museum and spent a couple hours enjoying the art.  

Caitlin and I

Eric and Caitlin

We wandered out and as the rain had died down (although the wind was still wickedly cold) and walked into the center, meandering the canals, and stopped for lunch on a patio with a heat lamp.  From there we wandered into the Red Light District to see the Erotica museum and check out a couple tattoo shops (for Caitlin and Eric) but they were all quite pricey. 

  From there we headed to the Amsterdam Dungeons- an underground interactive history lesson on some of the darker times in Amsterdam’s history.  It was really interesting to have actors tell the story and enjoy the ‘live’ telling of history.

By this point we were a little tired, so we caught the bus home, stopping to pick up supplies for dinner, and then relaxing with a movie and an early bedtime.