I arrived here a little over a year ago. A year, month, and 20 days in fact. I started this blog while I was still in the States a little before I arrived here. This puts me in the interesting situation. I can read my thoughts a year ago...when I was living in the same place, working at the same job, in the same foreign land. And so I read. And I was shocked. And I was shocked at this surprise. I knew that my outlook would be much different a year later, but I did not expect to see such a change in what I was seeing and hearing. The same things are here. I hear the call to prayer every day. It wakes me up before 6am just as it did a year ago. But it doesn't register the same way that it did a year ago. It's so normal so I think nothing of it. And that is how I felt about everything I read. Little has changed, but so much now goes unnoticed by me.
I don't know how I feel about this discovered ignorance of my world. I was so excited to move here. There is something that is always energizing about throwing yourself into a new life. Your body is so alive, absorbing all the new sounds, sights, and smells around you. That is the feeling I arrived with. But the reason you lose that sense of aliveness is that it is so hard to keep it up. It's exhausting and stressful. My first year was a roller coaster of emotions. The highs were terrific, but the lows were not. In fact, this summer, visiting Seattle, then having my family visit me here, was such a needed break from all these overstimulation. It was so nice to be able to relax. A year later, I feel much more stable. Now things feel normal. My stress level is so far down that I find I can enjoy this "normal" world around me. I do not mind it. But reading my past posts, I realize how much I am not registering as amazing anymore. It's crazy that life in the insane city of Constantinople can feel normal, but it sure does.
Of course, now that I look back, this life did not seem so normal not too long ago. I was itching to get back at the beginning of this summer, which I did do after two weeks trekking across Western Turkey. I visited Chicago and Seattle, having such a splendid a time at each. Best part by far was seeing my family and friends. Next were the comforts around me: the language I knew, the orderly lines, good beer, stores stocked with any and everything you could imagine.
I returned back to Istanbul in August only to have some of my best friends followed by close family come visit. I was a great way to break back into life here and realize my pride in my new home as I showed it off. School started right after their feet left this ancient land. Now I have had a chance to enjoy the little changes from last to this year. I have changed locations. My new apartment looks out onto the Bosporus. It's a view that most Istanbulites would pay top dollar for. I can watch the ferries crisscross the strait, taking passengers back and forth between Asia and Europe. Huge barges steam up and down, scattering the little fishing vessels and water taxis away towards the shore, saving them from the big wake. It's a beautiful view and fascinating television screen that could keep me occupied for hours. Fortunately or unfortunately, other items call my attention.
One thing that is significantly reducing my stress level this year is having a notch on the teaching belt. One year of experience and I have still a ways to go, but it is SO much easier. I am also coaching the girls' basketball team. This is my first year as head coach of a team. I love it. There have been many things I have to adjust to. The level is much lower. Girl's athletics are far below athletics back home. Of the 25 girls who have tried-out, I would guess that under a quarter have played basketball before high school. We have to start from the basics. So let's start. Imagine directing kids to partner up, one partner stand under the hoop, the other on the free throw line. It might take some pointing, but eventually most American kids, no matter how young and inexperienced, can figure this out fast. Come back to my life. These are Turks I am teaching. Although some of them can speak English fairly well, they understand little of what those directions were. Partnering they can do, they do that in class. Interpreting "under" is iffy. Turks have few prepositions (which under is) and have trouble distinguishing the difference between at, on, under, etc. Then free throw line and basket are completely foreign. I have found myself placing the girls where they need to go. I need to point to their angle, knee, wrist when I talk about them. Last practice I handed them a sheet of paper with all the parts of the court labeled. Their homework was to learn where the elbow, baseline, paint, and free throw line were. Tomorrow I will see how well they learned. Most likely it's pretty good. These kids, to get into this school, have to do exceptionally well on an exam. To do well on this exam, you have to be able to memorize.
Other than that, life is moving too quickly to keep up. I am training for the Athens Marathon in November, which I will run with our good neighbor friends the Trauscht's. I am trying to continue to explore the city. This past weekend I went to the Belgrade Forest with my friend Joe, a beautiful park on the outskirts of the city. This area was the ancient city's prime source of water. Remains of the old aqueducts are still visible in the park. A large dam built in the 1800s remains. It was a beautiful and relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of this city that never sleeps.
To end, I will leave off on the lists of indispensables I am starting to form from each home I know have. This will be a fluid list, I am sure, over my time that I am here. Therefore, as of October 1, 2012, this is what I state:
From my US home:
Extra sharp cheddar cheese
already-made hummus
chips and salsa
brown sugar
good bacon and prosciutto (that is not an arm and a leg to get like it is in Turkey)
Mexican food
Indian Pale Ale
microbreweries
From my Turkey home:
delivery service: for no extra fee, I can order online or by phone from grocery stores and local restaurants...revolutionizes life here
fresh produce, particularly tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet red peppers
Ayran: their unsweetened yogurt drink
Turkish olives
I don't know how I feel about this discovered ignorance of my world. I was so excited to move here. There is something that is always energizing about throwing yourself into a new life. Your body is so alive, absorbing all the new sounds, sights, and smells around you. That is the feeling I arrived with. But the reason you lose that sense of aliveness is that it is so hard to keep it up. It's exhausting and stressful. My first year was a roller coaster of emotions. The highs were terrific, but the lows were not. In fact, this summer, visiting Seattle, then having my family visit me here, was such a needed break from all these overstimulation. It was so nice to be able to relax. A year later, I feel much more stable. Now things feel normal. My stress level is so far down that I find I can enjoy this "normal" world around me. I do not mind it. But reading my past posts, I realize how much I am not registering as amazing anymore. It's crazy that life in the insane city of Constantinople can feel normal, but it sure does.
Of course, now that I look back, this life did not seem so normal not too long ago. I was itching to get back at the beginning of this summer, which I did do after two weeks trekking across Western Turkey. I visited Chicago and Seattle, having such a splendid a time at each. Best part by far was seeing my family and friends. Next were the comforts around me: the language I knew, the orderly lines, good beer, stores stocked with any and everything you could imagine.
I returned back to Istanbul in August only to have some of my best friends followed by close family come visit. I was a great way to break back into life here and realize my pride in my new home as I showed it off. School started right after their feet left this ancient land. Now I have had a chance to enjoy the little changes from last to this year. I have changed locations. My new apartment looks out onto the Bosporus. It's a view that most Istanbulites would pay top dollar for. I can watch the ferries crisscross the strait, taking passengers back and forth between Asia and Europe. Huge barges steam up and down, scattering the little fishing vessels and water taxis away towards the shore, saving them from the big wake. It's a beautiful view and fascinating television screen that could keep me occupied for hours. Fortunately or unfortunately, other items call my attention.
One thing that is significantly reducing my stress level this year is having a notch on the teaching belt. One year of experience and I have still a ways to go, but it is SO much easier. I am also coaching the girls' basketball team. This is my first year as head coach of a team. I love it. There have been many things I have to adjust to. The level is much lower. Girl's athletics are far below athletics back home. Of the 25 girls who have tried-out, I would guess that under a quarter have played basketball before high school. We have to start from the basics. So let's start. Imagine directing kids to partner up, one partner stand under the hoop, the other on the free throw line. It might take some pointing, but eventually most American kids, no matter how young and inexperienced, can figure this out fast. Come back to my life. These are Turks I am teaching. Although some of them can speak English fairly well, they understand little of what those directions were. Partnering they can do, they do that in class. Interpreting "under" is iffy. Turks have few prepositions (which under is) and have trouble distinguishing the difference between at, on, under, etc. Then free throw line and basket are completely foreign. I have found myself placing the girls where they need to go. I need to point to their angle, knee, wrist when I talk about them. Last practice I handed them a sheet of paper with all the parts of the court labeled. Their homework was to learn where the elbow, baseline, paint, and free throw line were. Tomorrow I will see how well they learned. Most likely it's pretty good. These kids, to get into this school, have to do exceptionally well on an exam. To do well on this exam, you have to be able to memorize.
Other than that, life is moving too quickly to keep up. I am training for the Athens Marathon in November, which I will run with our good neighbor friends the Trauscht's. I am trying to continue to explore the city. This past weekend I went to the Belgrade Forest with my friend Joe, a beautiful park on the outskirts of the city. This area was the ancient city's prime source of water. Remains of the old aqueducts are still visible in the park. A large dam built in the 1800s remains. It was a beautiful and relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of this city that never sleeps.
To end, I will leave off on the lists of indispensables I am starting to form from each home I know have. This will be a fluid list, I am sure, over my time that I am here. Therefore, as of October 1, 2012, this is what I state:
From my US home:
Extra sharp cheddar cheese
already-made hummus
chips and salsa
brown sugar
good bacon and prosciutto (that is not an arm and a leg to get like it is in Turkey)
Mexican food
Indian Pale Ale
microbreweries
From my Turkey home:
delivery service: for no extra fee, I can order online or by phone from grocery stores and local restaurants...revolutionizes life here
fresh produce, particularly tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet red peppers
Ayran: their unsweetened yogurt drink
Turkish olives
