Canim Annem... Mother's Day

Just like in a multitude of countries, Turkey celebrates their mothers with a special day and it just happens to be the same day as Canada and the US.  It's the second Sunday in May.  I always try to send my mom flowers or a little something on the day or as close to the day as possible so that I can be sure she knows how much love and appreciate her impact on my life and the gift that she is to me.  This year I got to send flowers to my grandmother as well as she is visiting my parents house for a few weeks. 
One thing that makes this year different for me is that I was recognized.  I'm single, unmarried and without any children of my own.  Sure, I have a classroom full of babies (that's what I call my classes) that I love like they were my own, but it's just not quite the same and I've never even thought about it before.  Until this year when a few of my students gave me gifts with tags and cards that said, "Happy Mother's Day!"  One of the parents even brought it in and said that they appreciated that my teaching partner and I were like parents while their child was at school.  It sure felt nice.
It also got me to thinking (well, that and what my mom said in response to my facebook post about it) that Mother's Day isn't just about the woman who gave birth to you physically.  It's about all the women who helped to give birth to the person you are right now.  And I'm so humbled to know that I've had a lot of lovely people in my life who have made me into the woman I am now and I'm so grateful for each and everyone of them (most of all to my mother who did more than give me physical life, she gave me a strength that few have and more gifts than I can begin to share in just a few words).  So thank you, ladies who have helped to form me and Happy Mother's Day canim annemler (Turkish for dear mothers).

I Survived Knee Surgery!

Yup!  I sure did.  One of the scariest thing for an expat is needing surgery or to be hospitalized in their host country.  Usually it means dealing with doctors who may or may not be at the standards you are used to from home, language barriers and all kinds of issues.  But I'm happy to say that my experience in Turkey was awesome.  My doctor actually picked me up from home, drove me to the hospital, helped me check in, came and checked on me pre-surgery and post and then came back at the end of the day to help me check out and drove me home!!!! And the anesthesiologist spoke great English, gave me all my options and helped me make the best choice for me... it was also the first time I didn't wake up groggy and dizzy from a surgery.  My nurse spoke little English but she tried hard and was very sweet and caring.  The hospital is also staffed with people equipped to deal with foreigners in several languages.  There are two ladies who speak English and walked through the whole process with me... checking me in, taking me to my lovely private room, helping to translate my family history, helping me to deal with my fears and helping me to leave at the end of the day.  I love those ladies with my whole heart!  They make a trip to the hospital less of a frightening thing and a little more like being with family when you clearly aren't. So I had minor knee surgery in Turkey and I couldn't be happier with the results.  My pain is VERY minimal... really just a little soreness at the end of the day, I am walking around with the only issue being that I can't bend it properly and I feel like I was well taken care of.  Chalk up a point for Turkey and their medical system and workers... especially at TOBB hospital (Hastanesi) in Ankara... they do a great job!!

Children's Day in Turkey

April 23rd is Children's Day in Turkey.  This holiday started 92 years ago when the national assembly was formed and Ataturk declared that the future belonged to the children.  So, today, children all over Turkey are performing in ceremonies and enjoying a day of being treasured and important (which for many children in Turkey is just a normal day.... kids are well loved here).
In my school, we celebrate with a short ceremony that highlights the importance of the day and celebrates the unique qualities of children.

We also plant trees that will grow and help heal the land just like the children will grow and become the leaders of tomorrow.  It's also really helpful that it was Earth Day on Saturday and the planting of trees goes hand in hand with that.

This year we also added a fundraising event where students would bring in money to help support a local rehabilitation center for children and also to egg their teachers into cutting their hair or shaving their heads (the hair will be donated to A Matter of Trust and be made into mats to help with oil spills). Basically it was a great day where fun was had, people were celebrated and most of all, people were helped!!

These are the staff that bravely cut or shaved their hair off.  3 of them were women who went bald for the cause and they all looked BEAUTIFUL!!

Ballin' in Ankara

First off, let me start off by saying that I am sorry I'm behind in my blogging.  Life just gets busy and things get laid by the wayside.  It's a bit of a shame but it is what it is.  Anyway, one of the things I've had the pleasure of doing in Ankara that has been busy and kept me from blogging is going to see a live basketball game.  I love the sport (I even poorly coach it at the high school girls level...thank goodness for the real coach who lets me be comic relief and a cheering section all rolled into one) and getting to watch it live is always fun.  Since there aren't as many foreigners here, it's sometimes easier to get to meet the foreign players and to talk to them.  Some of my friends are lucky enough to befriend them and get free tickets to games on a regular basis.  Not too long ago, my friend Trish got some VIP tickets and included me and a couple of others in the fun.  I loved it!!  The sad part is that it's just not that popular here.  The stands were mostly empty. 

We were cheering for the team in white... that was the friends team and they won!  It was a good game, even though some of the ref-ing was pretty terrible. 

Rhodes, Greece

Part Three... RHODES!! I took a ferry from Kos to Rhodes (this was an ordeal in and of itself since the company I was meant to ride with was on strike and rescheduled without informing anyone... so there I was... lone foreigner with a backpack at 4:30 am waiting for a boat that was not coming. Thank God for my awesome travel agent in Turkey - Aegean Tour Travel - who helped me to get a ferry with another company that same day).
Anyway, I made it and was instantly impressed with how HUGE the castle walls were and how it was still a part of regular life as my taxi whisked me through one of the gates and onto the newer part of the city where my hotel, Atlantis City Hotel, was located. The staff there were sweet and got me settled in no time with a map and a plan of action for the next day (I was really only here for one full day due to the ferry mishap.
Rhodes has an amazing old city. When I left my hotel, I walked straight to the water, wandered along until I came to one of the outer walls of the castle that was built by the Knights of St. John. I entered the moat and wandered in relative peace. Almost no one was in there with me. Like Kos, Rhodes is on their winter schedule because there are few tourists here. However, unlike Kos, Rhodes is open for business. All the shops and restaurants are generally open and willing to sell their wares. There were a few tourist shops closed but generally the city was bustling. The best part? The old town within the city walls. It really was like stepping back in time. The mark of each castle invader left in tact as well. There were mosques, synagogues and churches in their together. Museums for each as well. And people were still living in restored sections and running their businesses within the walls as well. Had there been no cars, I would have truly felt like I had stepped back in time. There was a little magic in the old section of town, that's for sure.

The Street of the Knights within the castle walls.

A 14th Century church within the walls of the castle.

Poppies were blooming everywhere... made me so happy. Can't wait to get my better camera so I can take better quality pictures of this kind of thing!

Walking in the moat. There were cannon balls everywhere as well... so interesting.


The inside of the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John was full of mosaics and art work. I liked this piece the best. It costs 6 Euros to get in, pretty cheap for all the cool things you get to see.

Kos, Greece

Part two of my Spring Break trip too me to a little island in Greece called Kos. Initially I had thought to stay there for 2 or 3 days but on the sage advice of several friends I planned a one night stay.

Kos is a BEAUTIFUL little island with pretty beaches, some great little sites but it only takes about an hour to see the entire town. There is Hippocrates tree which is pretty cool. To think that the father of medicine was there, taught there and planted the tree so he could have somewhere to sit in the shade (and you need it in Kos, even in mid-March the sun was relentless). They say that the Apostle Paul taught in the shade of the tree too. *sigh* My inner ( yea right, let's be honest... everyone knows) history nerd and Jesus lover was thrilled to stand in that spot and read under the shade (although there were no leaves on the tree) of that tree (is it bad that I was dumbing down my brain with the latest copy of People Magazine rather than expanding my knowledge?).

The Plane Tree of Hippocrates... behind it is a Mosque from when the island was part of the Ottoman Empire.

A beautiful church in Kos... it just made me think of Easter.

Spring has sprung here! The very walls of the castle had flowers coming out... beautiful.

My first view of Kos from my ferry boat. Pretty, pretty.

Happy me from the overpass that leads from Hippocrates tree to the castle (which was full of Byzantine ruins... which we have LOADS of in Turkey so I didn't pay the Euros to go in a see).

Mid-March is NOT the time to go to Kos. While the island is charming, quaint and sleepy all year long, it was still shut down for winter hibernation (maybe opening back up at the end of the month or early April according to some locals I asked) and so there were no shops open, just 2 small restaurants that I could locate and a handful of cafes. It was VERY sleepy. Good for a day but not longer.

Bodrum, Turkey

I know, I know... I've been a bad blogger as of late. I haven't written much and there has been much to write so I apologise and will get right down to business! Today I'm blogging to you about my spring break... and yes, you can interpret the word blogging as bragging if you like!! ;)

There will be a series of entries from the spring break because I went a series of places and instead of producing a jumble, I thought a short series would be better. Part one, as the title tells you, takes place in Bodrum, Turkey. Bodrum is a gorgeous little town in the coast of the Aegean Sea that resembles what you think of when you think of a Greek resort town... beautiful white villas nestled into the hills and crystal clear waves lapping against the beach. The people are friendly, the seafood is fresh and tasty, the views are stunning and the atmosphere is relaxed. I think in the tourist season (which it isn't quite yet), Bodrum becomes party central with tons of bars and clubs right along the water. There is an abundance of leather goods for sale and a gorgeous little castle and other ancient ruins to see. In short, Bodrum has it all and for a decent price.
The main marina in Bodrum was laden with beautiful, traditional vessels that would run tours during the tourist season. I'm sure that many a Blue Cruise was taken from this area as well.

I loved that many of the cafes and restaurants had tables right on the beaches... which were NOT sandy, by the way... they were very pebbly.

This was the view from my hotel in Bodrum, the Manastir Hotel and Suites. It was a great place to stay, clean, quiet and well... look at the view! The castle is the Castle of St. Peter, it was built but the Knights of St. John...


Ah.... how can you not love waters like that?

It's said that the father of history is from Bodrum... this bust attests to it. I didn't check the museums for more as I was too busy enjoying the sunshine and the sounds of the waves. It's the perfect place to go when you've had a little too much winter...