Turkish Doctors, Take 2

You of the faithful few that read this blog will remember the absolute craziness of the last time I was at the doctors when they tried to give me a topical cream for an internal injury... *sigh* So for the past 2 weeks I've been battling a cold/sinus infection/chest infection/whatever else phlegm-based that could be going on in my body. Today, I finally admitted that I had lost the battle and trudged down to the campus health clinic wondering what could be the diagnosis or how on earth they would decide to treat me... After much fawning over the fabulous purse that Raymond gave me a couple of years ago, they sent me off to see a doctor. His English was great, he asked the right questions, gave the lungs a listen and then proposed some antibiotics to fight the infections and a sinus cold medicine for some more immediate relief. He also took one look at me and said that if I wanted he could write a doctor's note that would excuse me from the next 2 days of school! WOW!! So different from the last experience! YAH!!! Just goes to show... consistency is so not the name of the game in Turkey! ;)

Soho in London... the land of dead Barbies and fun times

Yup, you read right... the land of dead Barbies and fun times. When I was in London, I was able to have most of my evenings free. This was great because I got to spend some time with family, so good to see Donna and Mike. I also got to hang out with one of my great friends who is a little CRAZY!! He decided that I needed to see the famous Soho of London and off we went for dinner and a couple of drinks. The streets were full of people getting ready to go to dinners, shows and parties. It was alive with energy and life. I loved it. First we went to a great restaurant that I can't remember the name of. After that we headed off to one small pub and then another. The last place was the one that caught my eye. We walked up to the door that was guarded by a very dapper and gorgeous man dressed in a black suit. I was nervous that the place was too posh for me, until I went downstairs that is. Downstairs was dark, the music was bumping and the ceiling was covered with dead Barbies and Troll dolls. You'd think this would be uber disturbing, but on the contrary, it was just plain funny. So, thanks, Taljit, for showing me the land of dead Barbies and fun times. Miss you much, my friend!
The wild and crazy streets of Soho

Yup... dead Barbies lining the ceiling... I took this leaning backwards and upside down... super fun!!


Me and Taljit...

Traveling with Teenage Boys

It's not the first time and I am sure it won't be the last, but traveling with students presents a special challenge. It's a challenge to get them to meet you at 3:30 am so you can make your early flight. It's a challenge to get them to remember that their passports need to be in their carry-on bags and not left in the seat pocket of the plane you just exited. It's a challenge to get them to stop asking you ridiculous questions. It's a challenge to convince them to sleep on the late night return flight. It's a challenge to get them to walk from one place to the next without complaints. And it's a challenge not to adore them all by the end of the trip!

What's this all about, you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago I traveled with my boys volleyball team from Ankara to London to participate in a volleyball tournament. It was the first tournament for this team and they ranged in age from 14 to 17. They were nervous and a little scared to be in a big gym with some very established teams, but they sucked it up, went in there and did their best. We didn't win a lot of games but we pushed some of the best teams to perform better and we made a lot of friends along the way. And, they stole my heart. Everyone of those boys did me proud with their play and their teamwork and with the way that they found love for a sport that many started to play just to travel to the tournament.

Here are some pics of our trip and my boys:

Playing their new "brothers" at the German School of London.

Getting ready to let the world know that we are BLIS! A timeout...

Warming up for a game.

How The Mighty Have Fallen

Not too long ago, I rated my favourite and least favourite airports. Some are ridiculous with the security measures they take (but, hey, at least you have some sense of security, right?), others had nothing to offer outside of the plane right and a nasty bench to wait on. At the top of my least favourite list was London Heathrow. It always seemed disorganized and like a zoo when I had been there. That is until last summer when I sailed through transfers there like never before and the shopping etc had risen to the level of amazing. I cautiously moved it from my least favourite list, but it's BACK! I was traveling with students and tried to do a group check in. The grounds staff seemed a little confused at first but got on board and had a supervisor usher is forward to someone who would "help" us. I guess the forgot to tell her that as she proceeded to tell me that ONE at a TIME was all she was doing. Okay... that's fine. Then she was rude and grumpy with the students when they were fairly polite to her. However, others stepped in and got our kids processed VERY quickly and efficiently and even managed to organize it so that we were sitting together. We breezed through security (these kids are pretty seasoned travelers themselves so it was easy) and split up to spend our 2 hours of free time shopping etc. Sounds fine, right? Well, typical to Heathrow, our gate wasn't listed on our boarding cards. We told the kids to continually check the boards and to give themselves plenty of time to get to the gate. The gate was listed to close at 2:55pm. At said time, the boards still listed our flight as please wait. Also not unusual but we asked an attendant and he informed us we'd be boarding at gate 21. So off we went, hoping it wouldn't change (which it didn't, so that was great). Once we FINALLY boarded the plane (well after our departure time) we found out that the reason for the delay was that Heathrow wasn't fully staffed that day for some reason and couldn't accommodate the volume of traffic (uh... people, millions go through this airport on the regular and have done so for AGES... you'd think you'd know that you need a butt-load of people to make it work). Fail, Heathrow... not epic, but enough to shift you back to the yucky list! ;)

Natural Disasters and the News

When you live overseas one of the first things that you may notice (I did) was how inaccurate or ego-centric North American media can be.

When I lived in Korea, I got worried emails and calls almost weekly about the riots (I worked directly across from the National Assembly my first year there and the worst their riots ever did was cause me a delay in getting home, no worse than the spring Cherry Blossom Festival) or the constant threat of kidnapping or bombing from North Korea (which was mostly posturing by one side or the other to look meaner than the other). News reports made it seem to most North Americans that Korea was a place of serious unrest and that it was just a matter of time before I died from it all as a lone white face in the crowd (there are multitudes of foreigners living happily and safely in South Korea, by the way).

When I moved to the Middle Eastern country of Oman, I also got regular calls and emails worrying about the imminent invasion or danger (this was right around the time of the second Gulf War... please excuse my ignorance in not knowing which Operation it was... I'm Canadian, not American and not all that interested in the technicalities of battles etc, instead I simply worry about the folks involved and am grateful for their sacrifices) from the anti-air firing of one kind or another. Sure, times were more precarious and I was in the Gulf region, but I was way down in the south of it and my sweet lifestyle wasn't altered a bit. I wasn't treated less for being North American or white... I was respected as a woman and a foreigner and I loved being there (would move back in a heart beat if the opportunity arose). Media in North America planted a seed though that ALL the Middle East was oppressive and dangerous. It just wasn't true and I STILL find myself defending the beautiful people I met there.

Now I live in Turkey and some of the attitudes about the people are similar to that of Middle Eastern people (which Turks are not, by the way. They do not consider themselves Middle Eastern and, in fact, they are much more aligned with Eastern Europe than the Middle East). But that is not the biggest misconception. The biggest so far is that Turkey is a small place. It's not. Turkey is a HUGE country. Just the past Sunday, a massive but shallow earthquake struck the Van region in the east of Turkey (most news agencies led with the headline that a massive and destructive earthquake hit Turkey and my inbox got flooded with concerns. I know, I know... the public is also responsible to educate themselves and should have looked a little more deeply, but it wouldn't hurt the media to at least mention that it was in the far east of the country). Van is more than 1,000 km from where I live and I didn't feel the slightest tremor. I also didn't feel last year's closer earthquake in Sivas (I was in the air on my way to Antalya at the time). Nor did the bombing that happened in Ankara (my actual city) hurt anyone I knew nor was it heard or felt anywhere near me (although, that did shake me up more as it was closer to home for sure).

I guess what I am saying, folks, is that when the news throws some scandalous headline your way, PLEASE read a little deeper, find out a little more before you panic. Also, I'd like you to think about how you can help the victims of the earthquake in Van. Connect to the Turkish Embassy or Consulate in your country and see if you can do something, donate money or find out if international organizations are helping out. Turkey is mobilizing wonderfully, starting blood drives, clothing drives, medical drives, food drives and so on. The area that was affected is very close to the Iranian border and it is VERY cold in the winter. Winter seems to be coming early this year and tens of thousands of people are currently without homes, clothes and basic survival needs. Even my students are pitching in, we are helping to spear-head a drive for basic needs at school with the fifth grade. We need more help than just this country and her loyal foreigners can give. Please send aid if you have the means or the time at all.

Struggle to Survive

That's the title of the first Unit of Inquiry that my students study at BLIS. They learn about needs and wants, how those look different depending on climate and location and how some don't have their needs met equally and what happens as a result. It's a pretty amazing thing for kids to gain a more global understanding of basic needs for survival and to see them grasp it and to become more socially responsible is simply a thrill. Not all the kids get it and not all of them take action, but some do and hopefully more will in the future.
To help the kids understand the consequences of not having our basic needs met, we took them to an animal shelter here in Ankara. It was eye-opening for all of us and left many of the adults heart broken. The shelter we went to see houses over 2,700 (yes, TWO THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED) dogs alone. We weren't able to ascertain if they had a spaying/neutering program but it didn't seem like it as puppies were abundant. These dogs aren't tame and can't be adopted and the government seems to give minimal support as many of the animals looked to be on the brink of starvation. It was sad but it did drive home the point with many of our students about having our basic needs met and helping others meet theirs.
Here are some photos of what we saw:

The cage where some of the cats are kept. One climbed the cage door to try and get the kids to touch her.

The kids carrying the food they brought to give the animals. They were walking through a corridor of cages filled with malnourished nursing moms and puppies.

One of the cages filled with both female and male dogs.

More dogs. And this was the nicest of the cages... most were dirt and row after row of dog houses (thankfully the dogs can get out of the weather somewhat).

The cats...

My Seker (Sugar) Bayram (Holiday)

*this post is super late... sorry folks*

Here in Turkey, they mark the end of the month of Ramadan with a holiday called Seker Bayram. I got a whole week off from work for the holiday and it translates into Sugar or Sweet Holiday and sweet it was!! I had already planned my week last spring and was ready to hop on the plane whe the time came. I flew from Istanbul to Vienna and overnight-ed there (I love Vienna). Then I hopped on another plane early in the morning, bound for Amsterdam where my lovely aunt and uncle picked me up and whisked me off to Rotterdam. We spent a couple of days together with them showing me great places like Delft, Den Haag and all around Rotterdam. It was their last weekend there as well, so it was a pleasure to spend it with them, even if the weather had no intentions of cooperating.


Me being cheesy in Delft. Everyone needs a shot in the big shoe when in Holland,

The beautiful streets and canals of Delft.

Deflt Blue Porcelain is what people think of when they think of Holland... well, that, the shoes and the tulips. In Delft, they even put it in the sidewalks and streets.

In Den Haag, we saw a procession of police waiting to escort a minister from Turkmenistan or one of the 'stans... it was pretty interesting... especially the cop on the end who was dancing...

The big cathedral in Den Haag. So beautiful.

My savoury Dutch Pancake... so yummy, washed down with a wheat beer... also yummy!

Every train station had a sign for the kiss and ride... so much nicer than the North American drop and ride or park and ride.

The boat we took for our tour around the harbour of Rotterdam. So nice!!

There they are... tulips! And these are wooden ones!

An old street car in Rotterdam.

A building in Den Haag.

After that I took a train to the most beautiful place I'd seen: Brugge, Belgium. It was the most beautiful little town with winding streets and canals everywhere. I really enjoyed wandering around trying to find my hotel on my own (not always that easy, since street signs are few and far between and the locals don't seem to know street names either - they mark a location by the church that is nearest). Once I found my hotel, I was thrilled to find out that I had the top floor where the roof was tilted and the view looked out over this fairytale city. It was simply gorgeous and the beer... well, it was DELICIOUS!! I even tried some of the local food (some of which was way out of my comfort zone: mussels au gratin, rabbit stew) and just loved it all. Not to mention the fantastic chocolate!

The view from my hotel in Brugge. It was beautiful!



The horse carriages were common and popular in Brugge. I didn't take one but I wanted to.

The peaceful cloisters in Brugge where women can live in peace and not be nuns. Very interesting and serene.

Mmmm... more Belgian beer! With over 1,000 varieties to try, I did my best but came no where close.

A Belgian waffle of course!! ;)

A very tasty brewery I found while wandering the streets in Brugge. I did a LOT of walking that day.
One of the first things I saw when entering the town. It was just so beautiful.


The next day, I hopped another train (the train system in Europe is fantastic and not that expensive really) bound for Brussels. I was fortunate enough to have a former colleague and friend who was letting me sleep on an air mattress at her place (and sleep great I did, by the way). She was also willing to be my guide that evening and to tell me the must see stuff in Brussels (she was the one who also suggested Brugge... by far my favourite place on the entire trip). I had some trouble finding her though as Brussels is much like Brugge in that no one knows the names of the streets and very few street signs or maps were around (unlike Paris from my previous spring break... where finding things was super easy). But find her I did and we went out for one of the best salads of my life in one of the prettiest restaurants I've ever seen. We also went to the local farmer's market that turns into a giant street bar! It was a blast and the beer... well, YUMMY!!This was my favourite beer: Raspberry beer!!!
The next day I hopped yet another train bound for Amsterdam and wandered around there for 3 days. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. People were friendly and relaxed and it was incredibly easy to get around and see everything. They even have a hop on, hop off canal tour, which I took. The weather finally began to cooperate and it was lovely.

The famous I AMsterdam sign. This is when I wish I had a travel buddy to take a pic of me in front of it.

The bell tower of the church next to the Anne Frank Huis... an amazing experience to visit there.
The view from my hotel on Prinsengracht.
Bicycles everywhere!!
The old Heineken Brewery that is now a museum and Heineken Experience. Very cool!