Re-orienting

I decided to put this blog back online because it seems to be visited pretty often...

As can be see from the previous posts, this blog was fairly random. At first, it was supposed to be about living in Turkey but I did not feel completely comfortable blogging about my life in Turkey so that sort of fell by the wayside...then I found myself with A LOT of time on my hands in Turkey and not much money so I spent a good deal of time looking on E-Bay and writing random articles for Associated Content...

...Now I am back in a PhD program in Edmonton, Alberta. It's not quite the same as being an American in Ankara but I thought I might post once in awhile. There is no purpose or specificity to this blog right now; I'll just have to see how this evolves...

Home, Where My Thought's Escaping

With only 8 days to go before we leave, I am realizing how many things I missed that I had no idea I would ever miss. These are things which make me happy or which I enjoy. Nothing like absence to make the heart grow fonder! Here is a list of things I am looking forward to enjoying again:

1) Sharp cheddar cheese
2) Free speech
3) Root beer
4) Sour cream
5) Thrift stores
6) Garage sales
7) Peanut butter
8) Bacon
9) Greasy breakfasts
10) All Mexican food
11) Chinese takeout
12) Indian takeout
13) Seeing kids in car seats
14) Pedestrian right-of-way
15) HGTV
16) Convenient recycling
17) Seeing signs that warn of fines for littering
18) A variety of wines and beers
19) Listening to the radio in English
20) Living in a house with things that are mine and not university-issued (down to the silverware!)
21) And most of all, seeing my friends and family or at least being in a closer time zone!

There are some things I will miss here that I am currently enjoying in Turkey:

1) The smell of honey suckle
2) Feeling saturated in history
3) Cheap fresh bread
4) Cheap good olives
5) The pastries made with pistachio

The Best Intentions

Well, I had intended to post pictures of Istanbul… which I hope to still do but I will have to do it soon before we begin our around-the-world-move and things become chaotic.

I liked Istanbul, I think because people told me I would, but I LOVED the small town we visited as my birthday present: Selcuk. I wish now that we had had more time and money to explore the south coast of Turkey because I think we would have been pleasantly surprised. After visiting Selcuk, I can see why people would retire to Turkey (Ankara does not inspire retirement). The picture above is a close-up of some of the carving that was at St. John’s Basilica.
A handsome tortoise at St. Johns.

The jaw-dropping Library of Celsus.

A lion mosaic in the Terrace Houses. It was in a room with murals of different game birds on the wall. It looked like it could have been a stunning playroom.

Olive oil and olives for sale at Sirince. We had the best gozleme in this town at a garden eatery that served only gozleme (Turkish pancakes with filling) and ayran and tea. The view from this little place down a dirt track was stunning. The place was called Azrum Piknik Gozleme. Well worth the little walk off the beaten track.

And lastly, some of the storks on the aqueduct.

A marvelous trip, indeed. Turkey has been a challenge for me – which inspired me to start another blog on the subject of happiness – but visiting some place as warm, laid back and comfortable as Selcuk was truly a bright spot. Why oh why did they build this university in Ankara?! Although, I like Ankara better than Istanbul! Gasp! Its cleaner and more classy – not the same skyline to be sure, but for a small city girl like me (burbs of Denver) Ankara is easier to endure.

I hadn’t thought before that people should try to come to Turkey but really, I think a trip to see the south coast would be a good trip to plan for if people need holiday ideas!