Outside city walls

I remember seeing the difference in lifestyles when I went to Cappadocia, I finally realized that Turkey is a poor country. As many people were telling me, Turkey doesnt want to admit it but, they are a 3rd world country. There are a few pictures i didnt post but of the ones i did, that was life there. Everything was rock and crumbling. Its a tourist destination, all i saw were hotels, yes the hotels were nice but what about the other people living there. Everythign was broken. there was rebar sticking out everywhere, it looked likea big construction site minus the fancy tools.

Houses with broken windows, I assume they are abandoned. Houses without roofs, i hope they are abandoned. Life with very little amenities. Do they hate that tourists are coming through on a daily basis snapping photos and riding in fancy coach buses? They love to take advantage of us. We are making their living, but does it bother them? I think it would bother me. It bothered me being a tourist in that situation.

I realized that a lot of villages were like this. When i ask my students where they are from they always tell me some small village. When talking to my roommate last night she was telling me that where you are from in Turkey is a big deal here. It is probably the second question you ask someone when you meet them.
I asked why? was there different ways of treating people when you tell them where you are from? She said many times yes, cause they have different values in each area.
I then wondered how my students came to Istanbul, or big city life. I know most of them are pretty well of, as English Time is known for its expensive tuition.

I think of all the modern day conveniences, we americans, take for granted. I am doing laundry right now, and one thing i really miss are american washing machines, complete with DRYERS! My clothes comign out nice and soft. The way things just work in America, but then I also love that people arent frustrated when teh electricity goes out. that is just common, or when the water isnt working for a while. thats just common. In America people would be yelling and complaining instead of just dealing with it. I guess i've just learned to deal with the fact that things might not work out, and so I'm able to be happy.

A Historical Realization

I just got back from Cappadoccia. What a crazy place. First off, taking over night buses is not comfortable. I should think about sucking it up and flying.

The first day of my tour was interesting but the second day was when I was really blown away. The underground city was ridiculous. It amazed me what Early Christians went through, first off to carve out 8 floors of stone, multiple rooms and being able to survive there. The time and man power it must have taken to build those cities is ridiculous. They said there would be thousands of people who lived in these cities too. They could only cook once a every few days and only at night for fear of enemies looking for them. THey would hid underground for days, not in luxury but on rocks. The first thing that came to mind during this was the Flinstones. No joke everything was rock. It amazed me that people would actually find them, as it felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere. Beyond that, there were 36 underground cities found in Cappadocia. Understanding a bit more what early Christians went through was very interesting. I think i have hardships when people make comments to me about Christianity, but i dont have to hid my faith. Even living in a predominantly Muslim country, They dont really bother me about it, I also respect them enough to not go around boasting my religious views.

I find it intersting that a country with so much Christian history has little to few actual Christians in it. How did it completely turn around? How did the Muslim religion over take this area. I would really like to know the connection between the two religions and their areas. I have already started wikipedia-ing the historical questions i had.

Traveling alone wasnt bad. I met lots of people on my tour, but I like traveling with my friends. You can find silly things to laugh about, and the down time goes by a lot faster. I'll make due.

I know there was a lot more I was going to comment on, but I cant think, I'm still quite tired, so i'll probably post again later.

Needing a little American

Well my second class if finished. One of the girls was about to cry as she left. That was cute. This class had an interesting dynamic. I got to know their personal lives pretty well, which was always interesting.

I think the most entertaining part of today was when one girl walks in late, and we were just discussing random things. She interrupts and says "christy! ray (her american dance teacher she is in love with - who has also been hitting on her) is married! He has a wife and two children in America! HE IS MARRIED! TWO CHILDREN!" My response was a bit of a chuckle and said "well what did I tell you about American guys, no good. They are very much liars, I'm sorry." What an American guy move, She was like " he doesnt wear a ring. and friend of mine found out and told me" Poor girl.

We ate food and watched "Despicable me" which is actually a really good movie! One of my fellow teachers put a bunch of movies on my harddrive. that will be nice for the holidays. On my walk home I got really sad. I have not been really homesick since I left. OF course i have days where i want to be home, but never homesick like I was fighting back tears. I am no sitting in Starbucks in attempt to get work done. I dont want to be annoyed by those cats at home, and I have a bunch of hours to kill until church tonight. Note to self. Dont be away from family next Christmas.

cats

I was fine not having pets when i grew up. I liked animals like i liked children. they were fun for awhile but it was nice to give them back to their parents. Currently I am cat sitting for the two kittens that live downstairs, since i'm teh one who is here for Christmas. Two kittens, cute. but annoying. I come home for my few hour break, I sit at the table (the only place i have a spot to sit) and I'm attacked by kittens. they wont leave me alone. They are clawing at my shirt. I try to give them attention but I also had work to do, plus one of them smells. They are quite annoying I must say.

Today I finished my first class, they were an intense class, I started with them,after they kicked out the first teacher. I had my good nights and bad nights with them, but overall a great class. One of the girls made cake and brought it tonight, then I practiced with them for the test. After I said my goodbyes, i went to the teachers room to finish my paperwork, one of the turkish teachers called to me and said i had students looking for me. I went out and there were three of my students waiting for me to go out for a beer. Fun guys. we sat and practiced both languages. These were three of my favorite students. Very hard workers, not neccesarily the best ones, but entertaining. Two of them were the ones who always came to class drunk. They asked me lots of questions about my life in America. They were comparing prices of things,, and my favorite line was this " Christy, what kind of car did you have. what did you pay.. this is what it is in turkish, very expensive." Student" yeah cars very expensive so thats why i have a horse." (horse in turkey is like having a horse in chicago=ridiculous)I realized that he wasnt being sarcastic, because that had come up in class a few times. He was a very entertaining quite student. After our beer then insisted they take me to starbucks. I insisted they were crazy and that I wouldnt sleep tonight. So here i am one the morning blogging because I had starbucks. Note to the Americans, turks dont know the word No. We got our coffee to go, and started walking. At this time it was two male studnets and me, and they insisted to walk me to my door b/c it was midnight and I shouldnt walk alone. What great guys. During the last two classes, the differences between American men and Turkish men have come up. I have noticed a complete opposite. In turkey where i feel a lot safter a guy wont let me walk home alone. In america where the liklihood of me getting mugged is higher, a guy will easily let me walk home after my persistence.

The other week i went out to dinner with 8 of my turkish female students and my American friend Russ, The girls insisted on paying and when russ got up to go to the bathroom the girls freaked out. They told me that Turkish guys always pay and they were worried that russ would do that also ( Russ and i snickered as we both knew neither of us had the money to pick up a 10 person tab) i think its interesting how this culture still accepts teh fact that men take care of the women. When I was in cambridge i remember having a discussion with Bennas housemates about dates and weather a guy should pay. I remember feeling very old fashiioned when I insisted that a man should pay for a date. I hate that in America, there is that awkwardness, yes the girl offeres to pay or to split but the male is a MAN and pays. I guess our feminist friends have changed our luck.

I got a lot of warnings when I was looking to come here. "Christy they dont treat women the same there" Yes, there are many times where I am frustrated about the role of women, but many times its refreshing to know that I am treated like a "woman" I dont have to be good at sports, I dont have to be competitive to get a males approval. It is ok to be feminine, I am still respected. Not " woman make me a sandwich" but i will make you a sandwich because I would like to serve you.

I'm not sure if any of this makes sense, it is late for me, and I've had lots caffinee/sugar. However, my original post was going to be this: class one finished, i did it. Life is good. I am still trying to figure out my life after English time

no show

Well I had two private lessons scheduled today and 0 percent happened. Communication is one issue that really bugs me here! My ING Bank one, told me that he got an email from my office saying it was cancelled, funny they couldnt push "forward" to me so I didnt make the hour commute to wait half an hour and come back home.

While I was sitting there, I made lots of plans and goals for myself. I thought a lot about life after Turkey, Sometimes i wonder if there is going to be life after turkey or just continued life in Turkey, but over all, i think i'm pretty sure my future plans are based away from here. I started looking at what goals I have for my life. What I want out of a job and how I can attain those. I really want to pursue my languages so I'm going to make a concious effort to study A LOT! I was asking my roommate some Turkish questions and she got me interested in a language school that would probably work with my ridiculous schedule. I am also trying to keep up on my italian. I'm thinking about spenind my week and a half holiday there so i can further my language skills and be more appealing to international businesses. Fluency in three languages would be my goal, one that I'm going to work hard on. that means I need everyone who reads this blog to hold me accountable.

After all that life planning and thinking, I came home. Two of my roommates where here when I arrived and one asked me about what we were going to do for christmas, we are the only two goin to be here, and I started to think she meant turkish christmas "new years eve" But she said christy, Friday and saturday what do you want to do? Eat here go out? Go out for a christmas dinner and then go out? She said she would find something festive for us to do. that made me really excited, I said as long as I wasnt by myself I would be happy. You cant really recreate Christmas here, because it wont be the same as it was with my family at home. Its time to make the most of what I have and to celebrate Jesus's birth. I told her my only plan was to go to church and i would do anything afterwards. It made me excited as I was beginning to think i would have a really lonely Christmas.

Welp I am off to study! Starting my new year resolutions early:)iyi geceler(turkish goodnight) buona notte(italiano)

rain rain go away

I dont mind the occasional rainy day,but when its been a solid week of rain, it starts to get annoying. As I was walking home today, dodging the massive amounts of umbrellas that walked by, I was thinking what I would rather have: a million of umbrellas or frigid temperatures? I think I actually would go for frigid temperatures. I just dont like carrying umbrellas. I hate my feet being wet all the time. However I do love getting out of bed and not rushing to put on as many layers of clothes as possible. There is always the pros and cons.

Yesterday I was feeling a bit homesick. I had a crappy morning class, listened to some people complaining about life then went home by myself. Altoghter a very bad mixture. I remember walking to work that night counting in my head how much time I have left here, I also was hoping that something in my night class would cheer me up. It seems that everytime I get a little sad or frustrated something turns it around pretty fast. Sure enough I had an awesome class. I was in a very giggly christy mood, and totally fed off my class. Altogether we had a great class. Once again, God was watching over me, and provided.

During one of our breaks today, Brandon and I were chatting when we heard two teachers arguing about something to do with English Time, Brandon and I were talkign about what if we just up and quit. It sounded fine to me, but then I kinda of panicked? What would I do? Yes go back to America as easily as one $50 plane change. But what would I do in the States? Now that freaked me out. absolutely nothing about that plan sounded good (of course- except the fact I would be with my family and friends) My mind was quickly calculating how much money I had, and how much that would last me. I decided that whole fake quitting idea was not worth it. Although I am pretty sure the teachers are getting really fed up with some of the drama going on at our school. I do believe this time it was about some people not getting paid the correct amounts. Luckily for my first full months paycheck, I did get paid right. Oh the joys of working in a foreign country.

On a fun note. My morning class was in a bummed out mood because they didnt do so hot their writing exams. The fourth hour I knew i had to do something to cheer them up. I got one of the guys to belly dance for us. Keep watch on facebook as luckily today I had my camera on me! I was sure to document that moment really fast:)

A friend in the time of need

I like being in Turkey, but it was starting to get lonely. I was starting to get into a rut of going home and staying home after my classes. I noticed why the teachers hang out only with other ex-pats. some turks just cant be trusted. I'm learning that, On saturday night i figured I was going to spend another night reading by myself when my phone rang. it was my roommate telling me to come meet her at some restaurant. Even though i was already in my pajamas I knew i needed to get out and go. I quickly dressed and met up with them. It ended up being a great night. I hear some good music then one of her friends invited me out dancing, which was really fun too. I got to meet a whole new group of people, and they were friends with my roommate which made them all very trustworthy. That was nice. The next day I went to church, it was the Christmas carol service. A girl sat next to me, and I eventually started talking to her, as i havent given up on meeting new people at church yet. She was asking why I didnt come to a few events and I explained they were all during my odd teaching hours. She took me to the Chruch lunch where I met a lot of other people. Her act of kindness really helped also. Finally that night, I went out after work with some of the teachers and one of them asked about my days off, and we realized we had the same ones. She asked if we could hang out on those days cause she doesnt do much otherwise. I said definitely and she actually called me the next day to do something. Wow. three things in a row that didnt fall through :) Yay, its nice to have that during the holidays when it sucks not being in America.