Cappadochia Trip

This past weekend, a group of us went to the Cappadochia region of Turkey.  This area is a big tourist area that is famous for it's incredible landscapes and ruins.  The bus left early Saturday morning (after the teacher's dinner), and made a few stops before arriving in Goreme, the town we stayed in.  The first stop was at an underground village.  The underground village was inhabited by the Hittites, then by the Romans to escape from fighting and wars.  Families had their own little areas where they lived, cooked, and slept.  These people must have realized that wine makes everything more fun, because we even saw the winery area of the city.  There are extensive tunnels that connect it to other areas as well.  This tour involved a lot of crouching and huddling through tunnels to make our way around.  Here are some photos of the group in the city:

The group in the underground city

Crouching down to make our way through the tunnels

Crouching in a tunnel

People down here liked spice in their food....each hold held a different spice in the kitchen

After the underground city, we stopped to take a look at another castle (I am losing count of the number of castles I have seen here in Turkey!).  The landscape in this area was amazing.  We saw several hot air balloons, which is a gimmick Cappadochia is known for.  I would love to come back in the spring to do a hot air balloon ride in the area.

Cool rock formations in Cappadochia

Amazing landscapes

Castle photo

Finally, we stopped at a place called Pigeon Valley that is known for, you guessed it, pigeons flying around.  Needless to say, I was glad we didn't stay here for long.  But, it is also a place where people hang evil eyes and pieces of cloth on trees for prayers and spiritual reasons.  Again, some sweet views of the area....

Pigeon Valley

Evil eyes hung up to bring good luck

After a long drive, we finally arrived in Goreme, the town where we stayed on Saturday night.  The hotel we stayed at was amazing!  It was built into rock and the rooms were amazing.  We went to a whirling dervish cultural performance in the evening.  It is kind of difficult to explain...it is a Sufi ceremony, Sufis being a disciple of Islam.  The performance was interesting and it made me want to see the full-on show in Konya sometime.  After the show, we enjoyed dinner in Goreme at a restaurant where we had to remove our shoes and sit on cushions.  Kathy, Stacy, and I enjoyed some snacks and red wine from the Cappadochia region.

Such a relaxing way to enjoy a dinner!

The next day, Kathy and I went back to a carpet store where we wanted to find a "recycled" rug for our apartments.  As lovely and spacious as these places are, they are filled with BEIGE!  Beige floors, walls, and furniture.  So we have been wanting to find something to make our places more home-y and colorful.  Turkey is known for the quality of it's carpets and rugs.  The night before, we had seen patchwork carpets that had been pieced together from several different rugs.  The shop owner turned out to be the nicest guy in Turkey, who not only spoke excellent English and could answer our questions, but turned the process of purchasing a rug into a cultural lesson.  He took the time to show us his selection of patchwork rugs and allowing us to take our time choosing.  Some of the pieces used to make the rugs are over 100 years old.  At the end of it all, I ended up buying one for my apartment, Kathy also bought one, and Donna "DJ" Johnson was the big spender who bought two!  Here are a few photos of the show room and rugs:

Showroom at the store

They dye some of the carpets into a monotone, such as this one

My 2nd choice....I didn't get it, but I liked all the little pieces 

The rug I finally decided on!

I have to say, I know I liked the patchwork rugs because they reminded me of QUILTS and of course, I love quilts :)  Angela, the woman who owned the hotel we stayed at, said these patchwork rugs are very unique.  I know I hadn't seen one yet, so I am happy that I waited until I found one that I really liked.  Now I have some downtime ahead of me before a weekend in Istanbul in a few weeks, followed by my trip home for Natalie's wedding and Christmas!  I can't believe how quickly time has gone here in Turkey and how much I have experienced.  Some little Hendrickx birdies tell me that I might have visitors soon, which is really exciting :)  In the meantime, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season :)

Early November events

Hi everyone, it has been a while since I last updated my blog.  So I am going to try to do a two-part update here tonight.  The first part will go back to the beginning of the month.  After the blue cruise, we returned to Tarsus and continued sunny and warm weather.  The first weekend in November, four teachers from our group rented a car and drove down the coast towards the Kiskalesi area.  We went to an area known as Heaven and Hell.  Ironically, Heaven was a much more difficult hike than Hell.  Here are a few photos:

Beautiful day for a November hike!

View of Hell

After the hike, we spent some time at Kiskalesi, swimming out to the castle and relaxing in the sun.  It seemed surreal to be enjoying sunshine at the beach in November.  Having a frozen daiquiri delivered to my beach spot was really the perfect way to end the weekend.  November seemed to be the month for luxurious treatment, as the following weekend I stayed at a 5 star hotel in Adana!  A group of teachers went to a blues festival in Adana, and Kathy and I decided to stay a night at the Hotel Seyhan. We enjoyed some awesome Italian chardonnay (Turkish white wine is usually dry, so this really hit the spot!) and a salon hairstyle at the hotel before making our way to the Hilton for the blues festival.  The bands were really fun and it was nice to hang out with some of the Turkish teachers outside of work as well.  The next morning (feelings the effects of all that yummy wine!), I finally made my way down to the hotel spa and workout facility.  Talk about a hangover helper.  An hour of relaxing in the steam room, sauna, and jacuzzi, and I felt like a brand new woman.  Five minutes before check out, Kathy and I were still sitting in the jacuzzi when I came up with the brilliant idea to stay another night.  AND so we did!  We even discovered an outlet mall in Adana to do some retail therapy.  People who know me well will understand that a weekend filled with good wine, music, spa treatments, and shopping is my idea of a perfect weekend.  It was awesome, and I can't wait to go back and stay at the Hotel Seyhan again.  

School has been going really well.  The third grade students are really sweet and it's fun teaching them new vocabulary and seeing how their English develops and improves.  They always make me laugh, and surprise me.  This past Saturday was Teacher's Day in Turkey, which is a nationally recognized holiday.  It was celebrated at school on Friday.  I had the morning off, and then arrived at school to see smiling students wishing me a happy teacher's day, and giving me little flowers and gifts.  It was so sweet, and I was actually speechless at the beginning of my first lesson.  After school, there was a social hour with snacks, cake, and speeches made by the administrators.  Then they bussed all of the staff to a restaurant in Adana where it was all you could eat, drink, and dance all night!  It was really great night.  

Dance party at the dinner!

My teaching partner, Gulcan and I at the teacher's appreciation day dinner

Bayram Blue Cruise

I am a few days out from the amazing blue cruise boat trip that I went on for the Bayram holiday in Turkey.  There is so much to tell about this trip!  I posted photos on facebook and I will attempt to post some here but I have been having some troubles with uploading here on my blog.

Nine teachers from TAC went on the boat trip.  It was organized by my friend Kerry, who had read about the cruise, made contacts, booked shuttles, and researched flights.  She did an amazing job and if she ever wants a break from teaching, she should consider travel agent.  The group left Tarsus last Wednesday evening to fly to Antalya.  From there, it was a windy two hour bus ride to Olympos.  We arrived after midnight so there was not much to see at that time.  The next morning, we walked down to the Roman ruins that are tucked into the mountains, along the river, and then lead out to the sea.

Part of the Roman ruins at Olympos

As it turns out, that's really all there was to see in Olympos.  At least as far as I could tell.  The village consisted of one muddy road with hostels, restaurants, and little snack shops.  It seemed to be a starting point for other travel excursions.  We took a bus to where we boarded the ship, and from then on it was paradise on the Mediterranean.  Altogether there were 19 passengers on the boat and 3 crew members.  The cabins slept 2-3 people and were definitely cramped and a bit rugged.  That isn't really important when everything there is to see is outside!  Our group was blessed with sunny days and calm waters.  The boat would sail for a few hours at a time, stopping for meals and swimming breaks.  All of the cooking was done on board by the Turkish crew.  We were treated to some delicious chicken, seafood, stuffed peppers for lunch and dinner, not to mention a traditional Turkish breakfast each morning.  Drinks were not included in the cost of the trip, but were available for purchase.  A nice cold Efes beer in the afternoon and a glass of wine at sunset really can't be beat.  There were plenty of places on the boat to sunbathe, read, chat, drink, relax, sleep...whatever floats your boat (can't help that pun!).  The Mediterranean waters were still warm from the summer and were clear and blue and just awesome to swim in.  The captain made a few harbor stops, so of course I used that as an opportunity to go buy souvenirs.  Two of the nights, we were anchored in a secluded bay and one night we were anchored at a harbor city called Kalkan.  Each night was filled with a delicious dinner, drinks, and games.  I have to say it felt really nice to disconnect for a while and just relax and enjoy being with some great people.  I am going to let some of my photos do the talking now....

Front of the boat, a great place to catch some sun, some great views, and relax

Cruising by another castle....I should start keeping track of how many castle ruins I see here!

Kathy and I soaking up the sun on the boat

Beautiful Kas harbor (where I did my shopping!)

Butterfly valley....too cold for butterflies at this time of the year.  And I couldn't be bothered to change out of my swim suit to hike, so I only have photos from the boat :)

Water-skiing in the Mediterranean, I never thought I could say that I accomplished doing that!

Enjoying one last sunset in the lagoon where we docked for the evening.  **Sarong is a new purchase!!**

Just awesome!!

I would definitely recommend this smaller type of cruise to anyone who wants a more authentic way to see the coast.  I have never been on a big cruise ship, but I really loved this experience.  The only downside of the trip is that my Kindle screen is ruined :(  But I will be having a new one sent out soon.  This means I will get even further behind with my book club books, sadly.  Another cool thing that some of the group did on the trip, at the very end, was go to a Turkish bath (or hamam, as they call it here).  We spent the morning in Fethiye at an old Turkish bath from the Ottoman times.  It really was the perfect way to end the trip, not to mention definitely needed after the boat cruise.  Kathy, Anissa, and I first sat in a steam room, then one by one were scrubbed and sudsed by a Turkish man.  Top that off with a twenty minute massage and we all felt like brand new women.  I was even complimented on how refreshed I looked at work the next day :)  More hamams for this girl in the future for sure!

Brief update

Hi everyone, it has been a while since I updated.  Unfortunately I don't have any photos to share this time.  It has been pretty busy at school and I have been trying to save my lira for the blue cruise coming up in a few days!  There will be no school from this upcoming Wednesday to Monday.  We fly out to Antalia on Wednesday evening, take a bus to Olympos, and then depart from Olympos to Fethiye on the blue cruise for the next few days.  Here is the link to my itinerary, if you want to check out what I will be seeing:

http://www.bluecruisesturkey.com/Cabin_Charters/Olympos-Fethiye.html

This past week at school, I had my first parent meetings.  My teaching partner did most of the work and translating since most parents only speak Turkish.  I thought the meetings went well and the parents seemed happy so that's a good sign!  On Wednesday all of the third graders went on a shopping field trip to Carrefour (kind of like a little Target).  I ended up being asked to go last minute, and it was really entertaining.  I think the trip was planned to go along with what they are doing in their Turkish social studies class.  I even bought little lamb steaks to season and grill on our new bbq at the apartment.  I had never grilled lamb before but it was actually really good.  That's about the most adventurous cooking I have done since I've been here.  On Friday, the students all dressed in red and white to celebrate Republic Day (celebrating Turkey's founding as a nation).  The students are otherwise required to wear uniforms, so it was fun to see them in their red and white outfits.

Tennis lessons continue to be a fun way to get out and get some exercise.  Our tennis instructor wants us to compete in a tournament at the beginners level but I don't know if I'm ready since I can't really serve :)  We'll see.  It's been nice to chat and skype and email with people from back home.  Since I took the job in Turkey, five couples I know have gotten engaged!  It's exciting to hear about but I do feel bad that I am not around for any of the celebrations and wedding related activities.  Maybe some people need to think about planning honeymoons over on this side of the globe so I can crash them :)  After this break, the next one is around Christmas, which I will be coming home for.  Then there is a two week break in January/February that I do not have plans for yet at this time.  Maybe Germany with my favorite mother :)??  If anybody has a hankering to do any travel at that time over in Europe, let me know and maybe we can meet up!

Rainy Days and Tuesdays Never Get Me Down!

Hi everybody,  this post is going to be about the rain that I have experienced here in Turkey!  Up until this week, it has been hot and humid.  Everyday.  If I could have gone to the beach or pool everyday, then I would have.  Some of you may have seen the photos from Kizkalesi beach (the one with the castle) that I went to a while back.  On Saturday, some of the elementary English teachers planned a trip to another beach called Kaprikali Koy.  This is a more rocky swimming area where you have to jump into the water to enter.  When we arrived, it did not look promising as there were dark clouds in the distance and no sunshine, not to mention no Turks at the beach.  But I did go in for a swim since we came all that way.  It was a very strange experience as the water at the top was cold (from the rain) and the water at the  bottom was warm.

Looming storm clouds at Yaprikali Koy

The storm clouds finally burst and it downpoured for about ten minutes.  I was fortunate to be under a roof at the time, but a few teachers, Donna and Kerry, were still out there swimming!  They said it was even hailing.  After all of that excitement, we were all ready for a seafood lunch.  Our department head recommended a seafood place that was incredibly delicious.  Fresh shrimp, calimari, and sea bass enjoyed right by the sea where they were caught.  It was an amazing meal.

The elementary English teachers who braved the rainy beach:  from left to right, Kathy, Stefanie, Athena, Kerry, me, and department head Donna.  DJ Donna is in the back :)  Taken at the seafood restaurant.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada, and the Canadian staff at the school hosted and organized an awesome dinner, with turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, and even pumpkin pie.  Yes, I am really happy to say that I finally ate turkey in Turkey....I wish I had a photo!  It was a fun evening, and once again it ended with some torrential rain!  Luckily, my principal was leaving school at the same time and she gave the teachers who live off campus a ride home.  It was a funny ride home, and Pelin had a great sense of humor about us being wet and goofy (and maybe feeling a few glasses of wine!).  

It's only a few short weeks away until the October Bayram holiday!  I am hoping that all of this rain stays away while we are on the boat, but I am sure it will be amazing either way.  There are 9 teachers going on the blue cruise, and there is a good chance we will be the only ones on the 12 passenger  boat.  We may get additional days on this holiday, so hopefully I will be able to take advantage of that and see some more sights.  

Leaving you all with a photo of me with my turkey in Turkey and a big bowl of mashed potatoes :)

Karatepe Day Trip

A young girl hand weaving a rug at the loom

Over the weekend, one the principals at the high school organized a day trip to Karatepe to see traditional Turkish rugs as well as some Hittite ruins.  It was a long, windy bus ride to the remote village of Karatepe.  We arrived in time for a traditional Turkish lunch outside.  Afterwards, it was every gal (and one man) for himself as people went inside to scope out the rugs and determine which ones to buy.

A display of some of the hand-woven rugs for sale

Kathy and me with our rug purchases.  I bought two small ones and a wall hanging
with pockets  and Kathy's shows a little country scene.

After our time at Karatepe, we went to an outdoor museum and archaeological site to see some Hittite ruins discovered in the 1940s.  Now, I am not going to hide the fact that I don't know everything about history, so therefore I don't know if I totally appreciated everything that I saw at the site.  The Hittites had their civilizations around 1300 B.C.  (I think!).  I was excited to see this view upon climbing the hill!

Dorky picture for you, Mom.  Maybe it can be a framer?

One of the statues in the park.  Sidenote:  I have no idea who this guy is posing,
but it was impossible to get a photo without other people in them!

One of the carvings at the site.  My favorite, hehehe

Our last stop was to see some ancient Roman ruins and castle at the Hierapolis ruins.  Rustu Bey, our trusty tour guide, informed the group that the pillars at the entrance is a sign of how wealthy this area was.  The castle was built by the crusaders later on.

Kathy and I, just hanging out at some ruin

Amphitheater used for theater performances

Castle fortress on top of a hill

Beautiful sunset over the countryside to end the trip

After the big day on Saturday, I still somehow had energy to do some shopping at the Mersin mall.  No fun shoes or clothes this time, but I did find a yoga mat and a big candle for my apartment.  The group of teachers who went ate at a place back on the Marina, where I was able to order a bloody mary (and an Efes beer chaser!) with my lunch.  On Friday night, before going to Karatepe, I went out for dinner with two of the other teachers in the apartment (we were in search of a restaurant that serves beer with meals!).  At the place recommended by the headmaster, we randomly met an alumni of TAC, the school we all work at.  We ended up talking to Refat for hours and he even bought our dinner.  He had many suggestions for places to go visit in Turkey.  He gave us his number and said to call with anything we needed.  Once again, I was impressed and grateful for Turkish hospitality and friendliness :)

Oktoberfest....Turkey style

This past weekend, I enjoyed an Oktoberfest, Turkey style (just like the title says!).  Mr. Hanna, the headmaster at the school, spent years living and working in Germany and organized this trip to Adana for Oktoberfest.  While there were no Oktoberfest beers or sausages, we did get to enjoy some Beck's and of course Efes, potato pancakes, potato salad, and some German pastries.  There was also a band that played some German and Turkish songs as well as some DJ music mixed in.  It was a fun night out and I wish I had more photos to share, however most of my photos were pretty blurry since it was night.

(Turkish) German Oktoberfest dinner

School has been going pretty well over the past few weeks.  It has been really nice having the time to plan lessons without feeling rushed or staying late after school to be prepared.  I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I have been taking tennis lessons twice a week at the Tarsus tennis club.  That's been a fun way to exercise and learn a new sport.  For those of you thinking that I am too uncoordinated for this, you may be right but it's still fun :)  Otherwise, I sometimes go to a group workout session that another teacher on campus organizes.  Some of the other teachers have figured out ways to get VPNs for watching Netflix or American television shows, but I keep putting it off because without TV I find I have been reading a lot more.  I just finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society to stay caught up with my Minnesotan book club.  It was written as a series of letters, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants a unique perspective of WWII occupation.

This upcoming weekend, there is a trip planned to Karatepe learn about rug-making.  I should have more photos and more interesting things to post after that trip.  Overall, I feel like I have adjusted to life in Turkey and working at the school, which isn't to say that I don't miss people back home like crazy.  It's really been amazing to be able to Skype with my family, Nate, and other friends.  It somehow makes my experiences here in Turkey feel more complete when I can share them with the people back home I love. 

To end this post, here is a funny photo I took after the cleaning lady came in on Monday.  I came home after a long and hectic day at school and this made me smile:

My stockings all hung off my porch, with care :)

First Week Of School

It has been a nice, lazy Sunday and weekend after my first week of teaching.  Yes, I did end up having to teach the rest of the week after the opening ceremony!  The third grade students seem like a really nice group of kids.  I am still getting names down and also determining their English abilities.  Overall, I would say their English language proficiency is lower than I expected, although that might change once they get back into the groove of school and hearing English on a more regular basis.  The first week consisted of getting to know the kids, basic rules, and also listening to some summer homework presentations.  Their English summer homework was to create a brief presentation of what they did over the summer.  Just like in the U.S., you get a lot of kids who didn't do their homework!  But I have had a number of students bring in flashdrives with PowerPoints or other presentations to share.  I have to think that the parents may have had a hand in preparing them :)  I was pretty amazed at how much traveling the students did over the summer.  My favorite presentation was a girl who had traveled all over Europe, including the red-light district of Amsterdam!  Luckily, that one got lost in translation and no questions were asked :)

All of this for only 6 TL!  That's about $4!

It was a pretty busy week after school as well.  I started taking tennis lessons at the Tarsus tennis club.  I go two days a week and it has been fun learning how to hit a ball.  I don't have the best hand-eye coordination in the world so I have a lot of work, but it's fun to take lessons.  I also got my residence permit, which allows me to come and go out of Turkey as I want.  One night this week I went to get some humus from Karavan, which was hands down the best humus I have ever had.  The ayran in the photo is a traditional Turkish drink made of yogurt, water, and salt.  Some people hate it but I actually kind of like it.  

This weekend I booked my blue cruise boat trip for the October holiday.  Here's a link to my intinerary:

http://www.bluecruisesturkey.com/Cabin_Charters/Olympos-Fethiye.html

As you can see from the photos, it should be a beautiful trip!  I can't wait to go, and it's always nice to have something fun to look forward to.  Saturday night I went out for dinner and some drinks in the "Old Town" part of Tarsus (really, the whole city is old!).  A number of old buildings have been renovated into nice restaurants and bars.  It was nice to sit outside and enjoy some live Turkish music and relax with some of the other teachers at the school.  Next weekend there is an Oktoberfest celebration in Adana, which should be a good time as well.  The beer of choice here in Turkey is Efes, a pilsner.  There's a dark Efes and a lemon one as well.  It's not as good as the Tuis in New Zealand, but still all right :)  The wine is pretty good here, so that makes me happy.  Any hard alcohol is pretty expensive, except for Raki (pronounced Ra-kah).  Raki is a clear liquid that they mix with water and ice, and then it turns a milky white color.  It tastes kind of like black licorice and is incredibly strong.  I don't care for it at all, but the Turkish men really go nuts over it.  I did buy a Turkish coffee liquor, so maybe next weekend I can throw some of that in my morning brew.  

Thanks for reading and giving feedback :)  I have been able to skype with some people and it's really fun to share about all of the new experiences here.  Visitors welcome, anytime :)

Apartment and school

I have been writing for a while now that I will post photos of my apartment and school, so here they are!  Today was the first day of school for students.  There were many parents that came for the opening ceremony and helped students bring their books and materials to their homerooms.  I saw some third graders with rolling suitcases of books and materials!  The opening ceremony consisted of the national anthem and speeches.  I was really surprised at how well the third graders listened throughout the ceremony (standing in lines!).  Everyone agreed that afterwards the students listened better than their parents during the ceremony.  Here are some photos from the first day:

Third graders waiting after the ceremony!

After school, I walked into a freshly cleaned apartment!  Today was the first day my cleaning lady came and it was amazing to walk in and see everything put away and clean.  I figured it would be a good day to take some photos and share, so here they are!

Living room

Kitchen and dining room

My bedroom

And my Turkish toilet!  To be used for storing cleaning supplies

Tomorrow is the first day of teaching for me, followed by parent meetings, then tennis lessons!  If you want to see more photos, I just made a big album on facebook.  Also, if anyone has skype add me!  My username is nicole.dimberg.  Right now I am eight hours ahead of central time zone, which makes it tricky to find good times during the week, but weekends are much more flexible.  I hope everyone is enjoying the fall colors in Minnesota, I know I will be missing them!