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Hello All!I am writing on the computer in Greg's classroom, as we still do not have internet in our apartment. You may notice some interesting typos, as I am using a Turkish keyboard, which slows me down considerably! Turkish as four forms of the letter i ... confusing! as well as no q, x, or w.
Well, today is the first day of classes, and we both are looking forward to meeting the students. The faculty is a great group of people of all ages (we are not the only gray haired, although all aging Turkish women keep their hair black), from all corners of the world (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, France, Turkey). We had our first faculty event last Friday, and it was fun -- good conversation, and fabulous food. (Imagine salmon served with walnuts, dried cranberries, and fresh figs; several types of olives; fresh melons; peaches; Indian curry ...)
We have become quick friends with a couple, Bill and Hale Barry (yes, her name is right), and they are taking us under their wing, showing us the city and the culture. He is from Michigan, she is Turkish. They are both fluent in the language, so they can help us immensely, as few people here speak English. We can actually use our German to communicate frequently.
Our apartment is in one of two buildings that the school owns (probably a total of 100 units), in a busy suburb on the Asian side of the city. The bus ride to and from school takes 30 - 45 minutes, depending on the traffic. Oh, the traffic! We think it's best to leave the driving to the native Istanbulus! Greg is writing an amusing account of the traffic, which will come your way soon. The apartment is large and spacious, with a nice kitchen, 1.5 baths, 3 bedrooms. We have made two trips to IKEA so far, so we are decorated in efficent and economical Swedish style.
There are a total of 17 MEF schools, only one is outside of Turkey, and only one is International. The International school shares the campus with a national school; there are about 2000 national students, and 250 plus international students. The national school has a number of well-equipped music rooms, and seems to have a rather extensive program. The international school has only one classroom for elementary music, and one classroom for secondary music. But we share the auditorium, and some music events/activities are shared between the schools. We will learn more later, as our language skills increase (i.e., exist!), as the national school music faculty speaks limited English.
We are still trying to get our bearings in this huge city, and want to figure out the bus systems before we venture too far away from the apartment or the school. Little by little ... step by step. We visited a small Greek district near the school, and Greg had his first full shave/haircut/massage there, while I moseyed along the Bosphorus. He looks ever so dapper now! The areas around the school are definitely upper class, much more "European" and cosmopolitan than Umraniye.
We are now in Ramazan, a Muslim period of fasting and reflection. About 3:00 am, one or two very enthsiastic and artistic drummers walk through the neighborhood, alerting everyone to arise and eat before sunrise. Then, after dark, the fast is broken, and many families are out at the restaurants and kebaps, eating and celebrating. We see many shrouded and veiled women in Umraniye, mostly dressed with arms and legs covered, and with a head scarf that covers all the hair.
Cooking here is an adventure, too. I made spaghetti last night, with marinara sauce made from scratch. The tomatoes are so flavorful, and cheap. It's not easy to find the right spices, though, so the sauce was definitely somewhat Italian with a Turkish flair. We couldn't find basil, so oregano and parsley had to suffice. The district near our apartment (Camlik, in Umraniye), has a number of small shops -- bakeries, groceries, cafes/restaurants, pharmacies, cell phone shop, etc. And, yes, everything is uphill, on both sides of the city. We are constantly walking and climbing, carrying home groceries, doing the European thing. Fresh bread, fresh and dried fruit, veggies (tomatoes, cukes, eggplant), yogurt (flavorful, not tart), olives, cheese, chicken, beef -- these are consumed every day. We have breakfast and lunch at the school, so we actually have few meals to prepare.
We now have a CD/DVD player, and are scheduled for cable tv to be connected Sept. 5th. We are supposed to have internet at the apartment soon. Our evenings have been full of reading, scrabble, cribbage, and laughter over the events of each day. We have few hours at home during the week, as the bus picks us up at 6:45, and brings us back by 17:00. We fall asleep early, and are up early -- a change for me! Makes us healthy, wealthy (ha!), and wise (haha!), and also, exhausted by 15:00 ...
The weather has been in the 80's, the humidity is usually mild, there is always a pleasant, cooling breeze, the electricity has been constant (unlike the school's phone and internet service), the pace of life is slower (unless you are driving), turks tend to be laid-back, unless driving or discussing politics or football (soccer), we hear the calls to prayer throughout the day and night ... life is good here.
Blessings and love to you,
Nancy and Greg
