Travel Updates

In the past 3 weeks, I've visited Ankara twice - once for an orientation & once for a teaching conference. Both visits have made me think that I'd really like to live there next year, although I'm not making any definite plans quite yet.

The orientation was an opportunity for all the Turkey ELFs to get together in-country and find out a little more about our job description. It was also a nice chance for us to see each other again & dish about our sites & experiences so far. We stayed in a pretty nice hotel, went to a reception at the US Ambassador's residence, and had a good time in general. An extra bonus for me was spending time with my friend Norma, who's been teaching in Ankara since last January. I saw very little of the city, but had a wonderful time seeing great people.

My most recent trip was for a conference presented by the Turkish version of TESOL. I was able to help one of my colleagues attend with me, which was a nice opportunity for us to bond a little, and I did some networking while I was there. Someone from one of the Ankara universities seemed ready to offer me a teaching job on the spot, which was a little awkward, but certainly flattering. I met some really great people in my field, and heard Penny Ur speak about grammar. And again, I spent some quality time with Norma. I managed to do a couple of touristy things this time, including going up the hill to the castle, although I didn't go in. Maybe next time.

I took the direct flight back to Malatya this trip, and had a nice chat on the plane with a man whose ex-wife & son live in the town in Poland where I did my Peace Corps training. He helped me figure out how to get back to my apartment from the airport, which was a great relief for me, since my Turkish is still almost non-existent. I'm really hoping to start learning some verbs soon.

And tomorrow it's back to work. We've got 2 more weeks of classes & then a week off for a sacrifice feast holiday. I don't fully understand the reason for it, but apparently every family is supposed to sacrifice a sheep and share it with the less fortunate. I'm a little torn about how much of that tradition I want to witness. My plans are still up in the air, but I'm hoping to travel at least a little during the time off.

And I think that about catches me up for the moment. I'm doing well, recovered from my cold, & ready to plow ahead with some potential projects. Oh, and I wasn't even aware of the earthquake until someone asked me about it on Facebook - it's much farther east than my city.

I hope everyone's doing well. Please keep in touch!