Mmm.
I have just made myself a lovely late dinner (onions and garlic and hamburger and mant>, which is basically Turkish ravioli) and am settling down to finish off my glass of wine and eat a few dark chocolate cookies while I listen to the recording of Mozart's Requiem in D that I just bought on iTunes. I feel remarkably satisfied with life, although I still have not been able to get my hands on any coriander leaves, either dried or fresh.
So, um, Turkey. I arrived here on August 25th, so I'm pretty well settled in now. I'm teaching spoken English to undergraduates at Bilkent University in Ankara for at least a year, which is certainly not what I expected to be doing after graduation, but I'm convinced it was a good idea. Teaching abroad was pretty much the only chance I had of traveling again for any length of time, and transportation and housing are both provided, so it's a pretty good deal. I'm in my third week of classes, and I think it's going pretty well. No major disasters thus far.
Turkey itself is both wonderful and frustrating. My flat is in a residential block on campus, and the campus itself is up on a rather large hill overlooking the city (Ankara is mountainous), so I'm a bit removed from day to day life, but I've gone into town as often as I've been able. It's not that terribly old a city as it currently stands, though if you go back far enough we're on what was Galatian land, and if you go back even farther we're somewhere in what was the Hittite empire. It is, however, the capital city of Turkey, so what it lacks in historical interest it tries to make up for in government buildings, embassies, and international businesses. It's considerably less manic than Istanbul; less interesting, but also, I think, more livable. The people here are very friendly, but sometimes a little too much so. My blonde hair has prompted a certain amount of unwanted attention. Nothing threatening, mind you, but it is a reminder that in some parts of this country it's still hard for a woman to get by without a head scarf.
We had last week off for Bayram, the holiday at the end of Ramadan, and I played tourist on the Aegean coast with a friend. Our stops included Istanbul, Troy, Gallipoli, and the archeological site at Ephesus. It was a fantastic week, but to talk about it would take more time than I've got for this post, so I'll save it for later. Ephesus in particular was very impressive.
Hope everyone's well!
So, um, Turkey. I arrived here on August 25th, so I'm pretty well settled in now. I'm teaching spoken English to undergraduates at Bilkent University in Ankara for at least a year, which is certainly not what I expected to be doing after graduation, but I'm convinced it was a good idea. Teaching abroad was pretty much the only chance I had of traveling again for any length of time, and transportation and housing are both provided, so it's a pretty good deal. I'm in my third week of classes, and I think it's going pretty well. No major disasters thus far.
Turkey itself is both wonderful and frustrating. My flat is in a residential block on campus, and the campus itself is up on a rather large hill overlooking the city (Ankara is mountainous), so I'm a bit removed from day to day life, but I've gone into town as often as I've been able. It's not that terribly old a city as it currently stands, though if you go back far enough we're on what was Galatian land, and if you go back even farther we're somewhere in what was the Hittite empire. It is, however, the capital city of Turkey, so what it lacks in historical interest it tries to make up for in government buildings, embassies, and international businesses. It's considerably less manic than Istanbul; less interesting, but also, I think, more livable. The people here are very friendly, but sometimes a little too much so. My blonde hair has prompted a certain amount of unwanted attention. Nothing threatening, mind you, but it is a reminder that in some parts of this country it's still hard for a woman to get by without a head scarf.
We had last week off for Bayram, the holiday at the end of Ramadan, and I played tourist on the Aegean coast with a friend. Our stops included Istanbul, Troy, Gallipoli, and the archeological site at Ephesus. It was a fantastic week, but to talk about it would take more time than I've got for this post, so I'll save it for later. Ephesus in particular was very impressive.
Hope everyone's well!