Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Who: Me, a TEFL certified English teacher, currently attracted to countries that are also foods
What: A 3 month teaching stint across the Atlantic Ocean in one of the most historic and culturally rich countries in the world
Where: Baceshier (pronounced Bach-e-sheer), a small suburb about 30 minutes outside of Istanbul, Turkey
When: March 31- June 15
Why: A need for a job, a love for adventure, and an offer I couldn’t refuse
How: 2 weeks before my ETA in the United States from Chile, I received an email from Jeff, a friend I had met teaching English in Santiago. A mutual friend of ours, also from Santiago, had been unable to finish her contract, and they needed a native English-speaking teacher ASAP.
With no job prospects in the states, the offer sounded pretty good. The school would pay for my flight and apartment, I’d have my own classroom, I’d get some experience teaching kids, enjoy some fabulous Turkish food and see some sites in Istanbul which, according to Jeff, was “amaaaazing.”
“But,” Jeff told me, “You have to be here by the end of the month.”
I’d never made a decision so quickly. In all my time in Chile, I realized that I live with what I like to call a controlled spontaneity, a delayed sort-of action-taking regarding adventurous decisions….. Thus jumping on a plane to Turkey, after what would only be a two week “visit” to the states after being away for home for over a year seemed a bit, ludicrous, and exhausting. My father said, it was like I was in the Army being shipped away after a short period of leave. And it did feel that way. Anyway….. After four days of weary contemplation, (I had just been traveling the Patagonia and was shacked up on the noisy futon of a friend of mine in Santiago), I said yes. (All this despite the fact that about the only knowledge I had about Turkey was that they spoke Turkish, duh, ate a lot of kebobs, and that the largest major city was no longer Constantinople).
Two weeks back in the states from Chile, I had just enough time to wash some clothes, see some friends and family, and overload on Chic-fila biscuits, peanut butter, and some good ole maternal loving. I ordered a Turkish phrase book online, repacked my suitcase, and jumped on a plane to Turkey. Some odd hours later, I ended up jet-lagged and completely terrified/excited in the Istanbul airport scanning the crowd of taxi drivers for Jeff who had promised he would meet me.
And so here I am…
And the adventure has begun……
What: A 3 month teaching stint across the Atlantic Ocean in one of the most historic and culturally rich countries in the world
Where: Baceshier (pronounced Bach-e-sheer), a small suburb about 30 minutes outside of Istanbul, Turkey
When: March 31- June 15
Why: A need for a job, a love for adventure, and an offer I couldn’t refuse
How: 2 weeks before my ETA in the United States from Chile, I received an email from Jeff, a friend I had met teaching English in Santiago. A mutual friend of ours, also from Santiago, had been unable to finish her contract, and they needed a native English-speaking teacher ASAP.
With no job prospects in the states, the offer sounded pretty good. The school would pay for my flight and apartment, I’d have my own classroom, I’d get some experience teaching kids, enjoy some fabulous Turkish food and see some sites in Istanbul which, according to Jeff, was “amaaaazing.”
“But,” Jeff told me, “You have to be here by the end of the month.”
I’d never made a decision so quickly. In all my time in Chile, I realized that I live with what I like to call a controlled spontaneity, a delayed sort-of action-taking regarding adventurous decisions….. Thus jumping on a plane to Turkey, after what would only be a two week “visit” to the states after being away for home for over a year seemed a bit, ludicrous, and exhausting. My father said, it was like I was in the Army being shipped away after a short period of leave. And it did feel that way. Anyway….. After four days of weary contemplation, (I had just been traveling the Patagonia and was shacked up on the noisy futon of a friend of mine in Santiago), I said yes. (All this despite the fact that about the only knowledge I had about Turkey was that they spoke Turkish, duh, ate a lot of kebobs, and that the largest major city was no longer Constantinople).
Two weeks back in the states from Chile, I had just enough time to wash some clothes, see some friends and family, and overload on Chic-fila biscuits, peanut butter, and some good ole maternal loving. I ordered a Turkish phrase book online, repacked my suitcase, and jumped on a plane to Turkey. Some odd hours later, I ended up jet-lagged and completely terrified/excited in the Istanbul airport scanning the crowd of taxi drivers for Jeff who had promised he would meet me.
And so here I am…
And the adventure has begun……
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