Life Lately

So, today was pretty fun. It finally feels like we’re actually back in Istanbul, because we made it back to places that we visited before. This morning we traveled two hours by mini-bus, metro, and walking to get to TRT, one of the main television and radio stations in Turkey. One of our students from last year, Gokhan Bolukcu, is an emerging music artist in Turkey, and he had a ten minute segment this morning on TRT-News. We went to meet up with him at the studio and hang out for a while before and after he went on. We didn’t actually get to go into the recording studio, but we were sitting right down the hallway and watching him on live TV. We also got a copy of his CD, which he kindly signed for us. I know that it will be worth tons someday!!


Once we were all finished, we went down to get balik ekmek from the near the straights. It was quite good, in my opinion. But then again, I like fish, so of course I would think it was good! Balik ekmek is just a fish sandwich with some lettuce and onions, and in my case salt and lemon juice! Afterwards, we started walking towards the biggest square in Istanbul – or at least the most famous, Taksim. We stopped for çay along the way, and stopped in some music stores. Gokhan had brought a friend along that didn’t speak English, so we got a lot of Turkish practice today. It was fun to just hang out and spend time out and about in the city. But I will say that it has worn me out. Partly the mental exercise of working on my Turkish combined with the walking and traveling around the city.

Nonetheless, it was a fun day, and something that I don’t often have the privilege of doing. So, for that I am grateful, and with that . . . goodnight.

Originally Posted on Kylie's Writing Blog here: http://klizbarker.wordpress.com/2011/08/27/life-lately-today/

Living in the big city!

So after a summer of travels that took us from Gaziantep, to Senegal, to Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Denver (and I'm sure a few other places in between) we are now back in Turkey. We arrived here last Friday evening. So we've now been here about a week and a half and beginning to feel pretty settled in. As we mentioned in the last post, we moved from Gaziantep in the Southeastern part of Turkey to Istanbul in the Northwest portion of the country. Istanbul is a really big, big city. We are beginning to discover and feel pretty comfortable in our little corner of the city. We are excited that we are not too far away from some good friends who live here. We are still trying to figure out the quickest way to get there (we are much closer on the map than the route the buses always take!). Also, Kylie's school is just about a 3 minute walk from our house. So that is perfect for her. Some of her co-workers who have an hour commute are somewhat jealous!

One of the nice things about working as a foreigner is that usually housing is included with your job. Last year our housing arrangements were a little...tight. (Ask the group of 12 american college students, plus 3 turkish students trying to make a traditional dish...it was tight :-P) We are really excited about our place this year. It only has one bedroom, but it is about the size of both the bedrooms from last year. It also has a much more open arrangement in the kitchen and living room, so we will actually be able to have a table to eat on instead of always eating on the couch. So we are excited about it. We are grateful for the gifts that some fellowships gave us while we were in the states and used that to furnish the place (and cover up some of the existing furnishings!)

(you can also see pictures on facebook) 

Summertime!

Okay, so I know it is poor etiquette to begin with an apology, yet nonetheless I apologize for not having updated this the past few months.

Since we last wrote - all the way back in April - a lot has transpired. First, we decided that we will not be returning to Gaziantep this fall. Kylie has a job teaching in Istanbul. I have transferred my credits and will be continuing my MA studies at a university in Istanbul. So when we return to Turkey, August 12, we will be moving to a new city. We are excited about the opportunities and adventures that await us there. So that is where we are headed but now a little about where we have been.

We finished out the school year in Gaziantep. It was sad to leave behind a lot of good friends that we have made there over this past year. We are hoping that we'll be able to see many of them again when they come to visit Istanbul or when we go back to Gaziantep. The last weekend of the school year a group of students from Northland came out and spent a couple days in Gaziantep. It was really fun to get to introduce them to our students and just to spend some time with them and hear about what they are learning. Then a few days later we got on a plane to fly to Senegal to spend three weeks with a group in St. Louis, Senegal where we were last summer. We were able to teach and help the students teach an evening English course. Kylie had some awesome opportunities at a public school to teach and interact with the teachers there. We also got to reconnect with some good friends from last year. It was a good trip but as we came to the end we were excited to come back to the USA.

We came back to the states and spent a week in Atlanta with Kylie's dad. He was finishing up the last week of treatment for prostate cancer. It was a really encouraging time for us to see the opportunities he had to be a blessing to so many people who were going through situations even more challenging than his. After that we spent a few weeks in Pennsylvania with family. It was a lot of fun and went by very quickly. After our three weeks in PA we came out to Colorado for about three weeks with family here. So far it has been a really good time. We've gotten to explore and adventure and overall just get ready for this next year.

So now as we have just a week or so left before heading back. We are excited about the opportunities that are ahead of us. As we go back we have the chance to meet a number of new friends. We will be closer to other Americans and so are excited about being able to help them in the things they have going on. There are also some opportunities for the future that are developing that we are excited to be a part of.

So that is a brief (sort of) update on where we have been and where we are going. We'd love to hear from you whether through this blog, or email, or facebook.

Also, among all the other things we have going on, we are both writing in different places. If you are interested feel free to check those out:

Kylie is writing an education blog with teaching ideas, stories from the classroom, and other related topics. You can find it here: http://justawordinthegrandstory.wordpress.com/.

She also has another general writing blog that you can find here: http://klizbarker.wordpress.com/

I have just begun a blog that is more or less about culture, theology, history and politics and you can find that here: http://thoughtfulconvergence.wordpress.com/.

One last thing if you are looking for a great short story for introducing kids to different cultures or if you'd just like to learn more about life in Senegal. Check out this short story: One Day as a Talibe. It is currently only available for Amazon Kindle (and the free kindle reading apps) but hopefully will be available in print sometime in the future.

Some of our English students in Senegal

sunset out on the boat

The Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs

Hiking above Montezuma, CO