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First picture from where I live
the view from the deck and from my window. beautiful! Happy Mother's Day to the moms! And Happy week in Turkey to me 😊
It's hard to believe it's already been a week! It only took me a day to realize that I need to learn Turkish. I've started learning but I get easily overwhelmed when it comes to languages and then need to take some time off. I'll be motivated again soon 😊 Check out Lacey's blog for a closer look inside the language.
http://www.mytb.org/LJoy
I don't have many expectations when traveling, but part of me did think there would be more English around here. Compared to Korea there is substantially less written English. Maybe it's because the alphabet is nearly the same as English, where Korean was totally different. I previously got the impression I would see it more often simply because so many more people seem to travel to Istanbul as tourists than to Korea. At least, American people. The main reason I want to learn it is so I can speak to the other lady that works in the house, and the driver. I can hardly say please and thank you, and I am being served throughout the day, which is strange to me. The
least I can do is have manners.
So far I've been getting adjusted to the time change, enjoying all the food, and figuring out my role in my new job. Also, getting to know the kids, which turns out to be more difficult in a different country. That may be obvious to some but usually it's so easy for me. I try to think about it from their perspective. Suddenly, a foreigner is living in your house trying to speak to you in a different language all the time. It definitely would have helped to have some background knowledge of the culture and language. Instead, I am an ignorant American 😊 Or at least, a busy one because if I would have had any time I would have at LEAST picked up a travel guide or Turkish-English dictionary.
The history here is incredible. Most people should know that about Istanbul but it's difficult to wrap your head around it. Americans obviously have no such history. I hope to learn as much as I can about it. All of the food I've had, I've really liked! They eat yogurt with everything, but it's more like sour cream than yogurt.
The meals are prepared in the house and there are usually three courses and I always struggle to get to the third! The kids eat way more than I do. I feel like I've been eating since I arrived! But it's all delicious 😊
Driving here is crazy! Not that I am driving, but even riding can be an experience. I guess you just do whatever you want! The roads where I live are tiny, tiny, cobblestone street roads with cars parked up and down the sides. Oftentimes cars are trying to go both directions. I've been told multiple times to never assume that a car will stop for me. Another random fact, stray dogs are everywhere. From Lacey's house you can hear them barking at night.
That's all for now! More later 😊 Hope all is well wherever you are!
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Jeanne
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Thanks for letting me know you had this out there! It looks beautiful! And your view! Amazing! I hope you're feeling more comfortable every day. It's so foreign; did you think that anyplace could be more foreign than SK?? Good luck with the language and the kids!! Love you!!