Independence Squared

Happy Turkish Victory Day everybody! On this day in 1922, Turkey won the final battle in a war for Independence from the Allies who took over after the Ottoman defeat in WWI. Lead by the country's hero, Ataturk, the country officially became the Republic of Turkey a modern, secular nation-state on the political front.  Turkis people are generally very patriotic, and proud of their country, and everywhere we go statues and paintings of Ataturk remind us of how beloved their hero is.  (That's his big head carved into the side of a mountain Mt. Rushmore-style.)

Here's where the coinsidental squaring of Independence comes in... Today is ALSO our first day in our own apartment!!!  We are back in Alanya and finally, finally, Maşallah (Turkish for "Allah made it so") we have settled into our own place.  For those of you who may have forgotten how long it's been, Alan and I have been homeless-drifters-living-out-of-suitcases since JUNE! I can't even tell you how good it feels to finally hang our clothes on hangers.  We swept and mopped and cleaned up a dead bird corpse with the joy that can only come from feeling "home at last." 

Perfectly preserved bird carcass on our balcony. Alan dealt with this guy, But I tackled TWO moths! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kitchen, (in case you couldn't tell)

Our appartment is located near our hotel, a short walk from the beach, the mall, and the local farmers' market.  We have two bedrooms (one for you!), two bathrooms (one for you!), two balconeys (can you guess who one is for?), a kitchen, and a living room.  We spent most of the day making it all sparkeley clean because in Turkey the person moving in is in charge of that, not the owner, and because for some reason cleaning your own home is so much fun! (For the first time at least.)

Living Room/Dining Room

Your Room! Ready and waiting for you.

Balcony #2

We went back to the Monday Market today and this time got to buy all the delishious food that we wanted, and have a fridge filled with produce. We also had our first successful bargaining experience, getting a huge set of spices AND an adorable spice grinder for 15 lira rather than 25.  WooHoo.  The walk away method really worked.

Time hurry off to bed, because we have our first day of work tomorrow! We'll let you know how it goes. 
You let us know when you'd like to book a week at Hotel Erin-and-Alan.

A Night of Istanbul Sights

While we were doing our training in Istanbul we were disappointed by the fact that we were so busy and far away from places like Sultanahmet and Taksim square that it was challenging to make it to see some of the beautiful places in this great city. I had no clue how large the city of Istanbul was, it has Nearly 13 million residents, that's 5 million more that New York City! It also covers a relatively large area. The area we were staying in was a 1 hour express bus ride away from Taksim Square, 1 and a half hours on a regular bus. Due to this time constraint and our busy schedule there were only two opportunities for us to see the sights. The first was a day off on Sunday. As luck would have it, I was not feeling well that day so Erin and Nanette, another American teacher heading to Alanya, trekked to Sultanahamet, home of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and many other museums. Since I didn't go, there are no pictures, but I hear they were beautiful.

Our second opportunity came when a classmate who is working and living in Istanbul offered to take us to Taksim and Beşiktaş and to spend some time by the Bosphorus. It was a lovely evening of walking around the city with our new friends. This was also an opportunity to try some of the famous Turkish foods we had yet to try such as Kumpir. This dish is basically a baked potato, but the Turks don't stop at butter, sour cream and chives. When you order kumpir you get to go up to a counter that looks like an ice cream counter. Instead the bins of ice cream were filled with cheese, corn, mushrooms, relish, sausage and many different forms of olive from chopped to an olive paste. You choose your toppings and go back to your seat and enjoy.

We were also lucky enough to get to try a special kind of Ice Cream made in Turkey that is made with a Pine Resin. Although the taste was similar to the ice cream I know and love from around the world, the texture was very different. It was stringy and chewy, but still melted somehow in your mouth. Nearly as interesting at the ice cream was the man who served it to me. Although his skills were impressive, his talent was lost on me since he wouldn't give me my ice cream. I found a video online of a man who's routine was much more elaborate than the man who served me, but you get the point. You can see that video here.

You can see many of the pictures in the album on the left. I am running out of battery life and time at the mall, so I have to cut it short for tonight.

Warning!!! Teacher Nerd Alert!!!

Dear faithful reader,

The following blog post is filled with information only about the educational philosophy of the school we will be working at. If you don't care to hear about it please feel free to skip this post.

After 11 long and somewhat exhausting days in Istanbul we are back in Alanya and in our new apartment (I won't get into that, that will be covered by Erin). The time we spent in Istanbul was helpful in allowing us to learn more about the philosophy of the school and how they expect us to teach. Although most of the information was review for Erin and I, who seemed to be two of the more experienced teachers as far as classroom time goes, it was reassuring to hear that many of our important philosophical beliefs about education align with the schools. The school performs a learning-style assessment on each child every year to help the teacher design the lessons for the class. The report that we get includes a break down of how the children in our class will best receive the information we are trying to get across. Some of the styles include Linear, Kinesthetic, Musical, Reading etc. In fact on the last day Erin and I both got rather excited when we spent 4 hours discussing how to motivate students without bribes, and the importance of having "brain gym" exercises in the lessons.

The Brain Gym is a concept (from a book called Smart Moves by Carla Hannaford) that the preschool teacher in me understands and loves, but I know it is left out of many of america's classrooms. "What is it?" you may ask, let me tell you. The idea of the brain gym is that we can use different physical activities to wake the brain up, improve concentration and help children focus in class. While we already knew the importance of the mind-body connection in early learning it was great to see a school spend so much time on it in their training. Erin cried she was so happy, I got a little misty (I mean it wasn't Major League or anything).

The School where we were being trained was located on a beautiful campus. In fact there were two campuses within a 5 min. walk of each other. The building we were trained in belonged to the Science and Technology High School, a school that seemed to have a learn by doing philosophy. As we wandered around the High School we discovered a museum of knowledge that included many hands-on representations of famous discoveries. Erin likened this place to San Francisco's Exploratorium. You could wander through, and experience many of histories different scientific discoveries. What a great way to teach science.

This campus also had an entire room dedicated to lego building. I believe this served them well because in the lobby there was a case that had 2 shelves dedicated to trophies from the European Lego League competitions. It seemed that this school had a great philosophy for teaching children the skills necessary to further scientific study in the future. We took some photos and I created a new album just for them on the right.

The other campus, where we would eat our 3 meals a day, was the Primary School campus. Erin and I decided that we would love to work at this school based on seeing 2 of the rooms on the way to the cafeteria. One room was dedicated to music, including the floor piano from Big, and a mural of the world painted on one wall with real instruments hanging from the country they originated in. We walked by several times when different school groups were playing in the room. The other room was an entire room dedicated to children's art projects, the atelier that the ASICC always dreamed of. We both feel like we were pretty lucky to have gotten a job with a school that seems to have a great philosophy on education.

Kale means castle

I don't know whether we couldn't stand the thought of another day only sitting by the pool for hours, or if we actually felt like it was a bit cooler but Erin and I decided that today would be the day to venture out to some of the sights of Alanya. We packed our bag with some swimwear (for emergency dips into the sea) and headed towards that lovely castle you have seen in so many pictures. We didn't make it to the actual castle today, but we did see plenty of sights.

First stop, the Alanya Museum. While the inside of the museum was closed we did get a chance to wander the gardens and see some examples of art, carvings and mosaics that would have been found in the region dating as far back 5 b.c. and perhaps even older. In the picture below you can see one of the mosaics we saw, and many more are in the album.

After wandering the garden of the museum we needed to dip ourselves into the sea. We took another trip to Cleopatra beach. The water again felt so cool and refreshing that it immediately lifted our spirits.

Although this picture doesn't show it well you can see one of the many pirate ships that populate the waters around the castle. These boats offer trips around the castle, stopping to let people swim at different spots. As we floated in the sea there was a ship rounding the castle island and both of us were reminded of the last scenes of the Goonies. I realize that there is no way they came to Turkey to shoot just this one scene, but it is eerie how similar it looks. I almost expected to see Chunk and Sloth yelling "Hey you guyyyyys" from the beach.

After the beach we decided to head to the Damlatas cave, where the air is said to cure asthma. Scientists have yet to discover the real reason why, but something about the humidity and the type of air in the cave. While we were there I inhaled some large puffs to take full advantage. As you can see the cave is full of those impressive stalactites and stalagmites that I remember seeing during our sixth grade camp trip to moaning caverns.

Next on to the Red Tower. Built in 1226 this 5 story tower was added to the base of the castle to protect the harbor from naval attacks. It was used for centuries and was renovated in the 1950s. It was opened to the public in 1979 and now acts as a museum on several of the floors. Most of the floors had some pictures of the tower and the castle from different time periods. The views of the beach were beautiful from the tower.

At this point we decided to head home. Now came the long walk back to the hotel. We realized something about the Mediterranean culture. With this heat we have to be able to slow down and take breaks. We were both pushing to the main road where we could get the bus and with each step I was getting grumpier and more drenched in our own sweat. I realized that it was time to sit at a cafe and get some cold water and relax. That was a perfect opportunity to recharge and cool off. Around the Mediterranean you hear that people always do things "tomorrow." (In Spain it's "Siempre Manana"). I get it now, you have to be willing to take breaks at the risk of killing yourself.

Over the past week I have gained a great amount of respect and sympathy for the devout muslims that are following the traditional ramazan (thats what they call it here in Turkey) practice of fasting. They are going about their daily business of work without having food or drink during daylight!!! After our long hot walk we were met by our normally peppy receptionist who seemed to be wilting away in the heat of the day. They are truly devoted to their faith.

A final note about an interesting phenomenon we have noticed here in Turkey. Alanya is heavily populated with tourists in the summer months, that I've talked about before. As we were in the cave today I noticed that how people pose for pictures seems to change based on culture. It was my observation that people from northern Europe seem to strike a model-like pose in their picture, often without smiling. Many of them don't even look happy. So here is Erin doing her best angry-model-like pose...

I wish every night was Turkish night

It has rapidly become apparent that Alanya is quite the tourist destination in the Summer months. It is filled with Northern Europeans escaping their endless supply of cold for the hot sun of the Mediterranean. It is easy to tell how long the visitor has been here by the stage of their tan. Upon arrival they are generally the pasty white you associate with northern europeans. Within a day that moves to sunburnt lobster red. When that fades their hides finally reach that leathery orange brown we are accustomed to seeing walk out of the tanning salon in America. Like a Thanksgiving Turkey this indicates that their time in the oven is done and it is time to return home for another long cold winter, something that Erin and I will readily welcome if it means being out of this heat.

Tourist season in Alanya also brings about the "Turkish Night" shows at just about every hotel and restaurant. Usually one or two nights a week a hotel has a special dinner of traditional Turkish foods and at the end of dinner a dance show. We previously reported on one at the Ottoman House, but last night was our hotel's turn to host Turkish night. We invited our new coworkers Jan and Adnan, as well as their family to join us since their home overlooks the show and they had never been. Unlike the Ottoman House show this show included many different types of dance, some traditionally Turkish and others just for fun. In the northern part of Turkey, in the Caucus Mountains there is a dance that looks very similar to Riverdance.

Erin once again had the opportunity to participate in this show...

This guy threw flaming knives at Erin blindfolded. The last one was even thrown from his mouth!!!

At the end of the show it was time for the belly dancer to come out and wow the crowd with the hip (and other part) shaking that you would associate with a belly dancer. When she asked (and by asked I mean walked around and grabbed hands) for crowd participation little did she know that this tall skinny white guy would steal the show. Not only did I shake and shimmy like the best of them I apparently also rolled my belly...a skill I never knew I had.

Check out that sweet form.

That poor belly dancer, upstaged by a white guy from Patterson. I didn't feel too bad once she finished the night by getting tips as she danced around to the tables. What a great night.

Rewind...

We realized after the posting frenzy yesterday that we had forgotten something important.  We never wrapped up the Tour De California properly.  So here it goes!
After five weeks of traveling all over the state approximately 6 inches apart, sleeping on random floors, couches, and air-mattresses, we managed to see many people we love, many parts of California, and many different climates, all without killing each other. Job well done.

For fun let's sing a little song called "Where did Erin and Alan go this Summer?" (Set to the tune of the Animaniacs' 50 State Song.) Feel free to trace our path on this handy map.
San Francisco, Alameda, Patterson, Alameda, San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Alameda, Red Bluff, Tracy, Patterson, Yosemite, Patterson, Folsom, Patterson, Morro Bay, San Luis Obispo, Irvine, Santa Monica, Irvine, Riverside, Torrence, Oxnard, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Alameda, Patterson, Long Barn, Patterson, San Francisco, Alameda (Erin), Patterson (Alan), San Jose, Alameda, San Francisco, FLY AWAY! Whoa.
Best estimate of milage: 6000 miles in five weeks.
While being in the car for that much time was rough, we were so lucky to get to see so many important faces.  What a great way to say goodbye to our home country.  We miss you all.

As a final goodbye we had the most amazing night ever in San Francisco at a piano bar.  We had a blast singing and dancing with many friends and some family members too.  Though the piano guys didn't know "Istanbul not Constantinople,"(serious bummer) our loving friends knew all of our favorites and were able to come up with a wonderful substitution.  We graced the dance floor with some seriously amazing (aka lame) moves to an awesome rendition of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" mixed with "I Want to Grow Old with You," from the wedding singer. It was a beautiful moment for us and for everyone in the bar, Im sure.  We, make that I, had too much fun, and ended my night beat-boxing and singing in the microphone with the piano guy (Snoop -dog?) while sitting on his bench and mock-playing the piano.  I'm just sure he loved me. And just like the good old days, many of our friends joined us on the dance floor with the most complicated and fabulous dance moves, including a certain nameless friend doing the worm across the floor, because that is just how awesome she is.  Best. Night. Ever.
(Don't worry if you missed out, I imagine this will become a staple of all summers in Cali.)

For all of you who played a part in making our last 5 weeks in California as wonderful and memorable as they were, thank you, thank you.  We are looking forward to doing it again next summer, and here in Turkey when ever you can make it.

xoxox times a million

We thought Farmers was big

Yesterday we had the joy of experiencing our first local market. Although we are still living in a hotel room with only a mini fridge we armed ourselves with our newly memorized Turkish numbers and a few hand-crafted (Thanks Wheelers) reusable bags and set off to the Oba Market. Being a vetran of farmers markets I had an idea of what it would look like, but I did not expect there to be such a large number of vendors. Picture San Luis's Farmers with 3 times the produce. We could have purchased anything from hand sewn linens to potatoes, olives to tourist souvenirs. The people of Alanya pride themselves on the quality of the produce they grow, and I have to say it doesn't disappoint. The peaches are softball sized and just as good as those found at home (in Patterson I mean), the watermelon is so juicy that Erin suggested I take my pills with it at breakfast.

As we walked toward the market we saw many shoppers having left with carts full of fresh produce, kilos of tomatoes and bags of aubergines (did you know Americans are the only ones that call them Eggplants?). Erin and I both agreed that our favorite part of the market were the young family members trying to learn the family business by shouting the same chants their parents were shouting at potential customers as they passed. They definitely made us want to stop at their booths. Now our mini fridge is filled with an array of fruits and we are looking forward to heading back when we have an actual fridge.

I mentioned above that we memorized our Turkish letters. As you can imagine those are not the only words we have learned I though I would include some of our favorites and most used.

Merhaba - Hello

Günayadin- Good Morning

Güle Güle - Goodbye (a favorite because it makes us think of Julia Gulia in Wedding singer)

Tesekkür - Thank You

...gidecegim - I'm going to (it sounds alot like you are saying Billie Jean, Erin made a song which I quickly said we would not be singing.)

Murat, the man at our hotel's front desk has been our tutor giving us new words every day. This morning Erin said günayadin to the chef at breakfast and he was shocked and delighted to hear it come out of her mouth. It has been interesting to learn a new language especially now that we are going to be teaching children to do the same. I am sure we will have more empathy for our students.

Thats all for today, but stay tuned for our updates on the "Turkey Shore" and Turkish "Safety" Guidelines.

Two Posts in one day?!?! Get used to it... It just got REAL.

Dear friends...
The last four days have been a whirlwind of new experiences.  I'll try to do my best to fill you in on all of our adventures without overwhelming you with info. No promises though.

August 4th: SFO, USA- Our flight out of the country started rough, with us finding out at the ticked counter that every bag we had were over the weight limit (some by 20 lbs!) we asked what that might cost and the ticket taker said $500!!! AGH! Thanks to extremely resourceful family members that didn't just kiss us goodbye at the curb, we we're able to send back all of the non-necessities to, and reshuffle to make the weight limits.  Luckily Alan's Uke made it. Phew.  Tearful goodbyes at the airport, with the Moschetti's leading the pack in amount of tears shed, with the Stehli family holding it together amazingly (although, I'm sure they were crying on the inside).

August 4th/5th: Midnight: somewhere over Greenland- We had the surreal experience while on the flight of completely skipping night time.  As we flew East over the US the day sped towards sunset, but then we flew north over Greenland, which, like Alaska, is experiencing very little if any dark hours. While over Greenland, in the span of one movie, we watched the sun dip towards the horizon, sit just out of sight, and rise again. By this time we were speeding towards Europe and daytime.  Add up the amount of daylight hours we had in the US before the flight, the amount during our travels, and the amount in Turkey after landing, and you've got 30 straight hours of daytime. Whoa.  (See photo in web album)

August 5th: Alanya, Turkey
After 20ish hours of travel, we arrive safely in our new hometown.  We are greeted by our ultra friendly and helpful bosses, and the oppressive Turkey-in-August heat. Quick introduction to a world we are unfamiliar with (crazy drivers, beautiful mosques everywhere, and lights that will only work when a key is inserted into a little hole in the wall), then collapsing into bed with bellies full of butterflies.

August 6th: Alanya, Turkey (OK you can assume that location from here on out)
Bodies still on California time awake before five am.  Experience our first call to prayer out on our own private balcony while taking in the dark views of our new home.  Made our way down to the sea after the sun rose, delighted to find that even at 6:30 am the water was warm enough to swim in.  Let the water wash away the butterfly plague: commence complete bliss. Incidentally, in the past few days we continue to be in awe of how wonderfully different the Mediterranean is from the Pacific. Rather than the cold biting, punching slaps of waves beating you down, the Med seems to offer a warm hug, with high salinity that floats you effortlessly around.  Somehow it is reminiscent to floating in a warm bath as a little girl and pretending to be a mermaid. Total comfort. 


August 7th:
We tried out the Bazaar. Not too different from the markets in Mexico, a lot of people pushing the exact same products everyone else is selling for "a special deal just for me." We promised each other we wouldn't buy anything till we had an apartment (and maybe a paycheck) so it was reletively easy to say no.  But still they try.  Two different guys asked us if we were married (which we said yes to, because Jan said it would make things easier, and I had a feeling they were going to try and hit on me) at which point both started trying to sell us baby merchandise.  When we explaned that we didnt have children, one suggested we buy the stuff anyway, and go home and start reproducing tonight, and the other asked Alan if "it's broken?" Needless to say, next time we'll try out saying we're NOT married.  


Update on Jet-lag:
Our bodies seem unable to adjust to the time difference.  I have woken up before five every day (today 2:30!) unable to go back to sleep. This is lovely in some ways (starting my day with the beautiful call to prayer, and some moments of quiet reflection, being up earlier than the scorching sun for a workout at one of many outdoor gyms, a practically empty Mediterranean to swim in, and a shower all before breakfast on the pool deck= LOVELY). Unfortunately, by noon we've now been up for 7 to 10 hours and are in need of a nap.  So here comes the second four hour section of sleep for the day, waking up in time to shuffle out for a sunset dinner, after laying in bed and whining about the heat and my tired eyes. The only good side to this is that we currently sleep through the most unbearably hot hours of the day, and nothing in Alanya starts shutting down until midnight (even the public pools), so we dont miss too much action.


Sorry no pictures this time.  They were taking an obnoxious amount of time to load.  Check the Web album, and pretend they are intermixed in a lovely way.  
PS if you are wondering why so many of the pictures look grey, that isn't smog.  Its the "heat haze"! Heat you can see. Something to get used to. 

WE MADE IT!!!

Hi Everyone,

We made it to Turkey and are getting adjusted to the heat and the lifestyle. Our coworkers and hosts have been great help in adjusting to this change. I don't have alot to write today except that I have added a new album to our photos section on the left. This will take you to a new flickr album because I found out that Turkey had blocked picasa albums. I can't imagine this will cause any problems but if it does please let me know.

We still have to go to the mall to get internet access so we may not post too regularly for the next few weeks so please stay tuned. I will do my best to email you every time we post something new.