Friends,
I wish I could report that my transition INTO Turkey was as smooth, painless, and anxiety-free as my transition to get here.... In the words of Alex Robinson: FALSE.
Jetlag has made me her bitch. I have yet to fall asleep prior to 6am and am really struggling with the most severe insomnia of my life. I have tried all the tricks in my book.... Deep, meditative breathing; reading; relaxing music; eye mask and ear plugs; counting sheep, goats, guinea pigs, and weiner dogs; benedryl..... Sweet slumber continues to elude me. I don't know if you've ever experienced insomnia, but its quite an enigma to me. Countless times, I get myself to the point where I am about to let go- I even start to dream little dreams.... Then, BAM- I come up against something that jolts me awake (sometimes its yellow, is that weird?), and I'm back to square one. Is it just jetlag? Am I having that hard of a time letting go of the Central Time Zone? Am I really this anxious to begin my teaching job tomorrow? I had two big travel days, but I figured I'd be back on track after another couple of days. I thought last night, Saturday night, would be my night..... Awake until 6:30am. Again. Normally I wouldn't care, but I have to start teaching on Monday/tomorrow morning.
In other news, the apartment I'm living in is falling apart around my ears... Most of the other apartments in the building haven't had hot water or heat for at least a week now, but ours was a hold-out. Last night our hot water heater exploded and flooded our kitchen. Yay! I was able to shut off the valves, which stopped the leaking, and we still have water- just not hot water- and we have radiator heating, so now no heat. The school has apparently been arguing with the folks who own the building due to their lack of attentiveness to this place, and I was told when I got here that I would be moving into a new apartment within 7-10 days. Realllllllly looking forward to that....
My roommates are cool, but most of them have moved out now, since the school told them they had to find other accommodations by today. There is one woman, from Iowa, who is staying here with me, so at least I won't be all by myself.
I realize that large transitions like this one are bound to have moments like this... I realize that I really shouldn't complain- I mean, look where I am! I am so blessed and lucky to have this experience. That said, I AM struggling right now and am looking forward to working out all these kinks and settling into a rhythm here in my new ancient city.
I observed at my teaching branch yesterday. I will have a four hour block in the morning with all the same students and a four hour block in the evenings with a different group of students. I lucked out and both are Level 2, which cuts down my lesson planning. I'll probably get a weekend class too, but haven't heard any details of that yet. My days off are Thursday and Friday.
It snowed yesterday! Big,slow flakes... It didn't stick, but it was beautiful!
I am right in the heart of nightlife here in Istanbul and I could hear a hilarious cover band out my window last night until 4am that played covers of Bon Jovi, The Police, Adele, and Eric Clapton. It reminded me of places on Bourbon Street like the Cats Meow, Krazy Korner, and Tropical Isle. I was laughing out loud about that one. Did I move to the French Quarter of Istanbul?
Alright, back to lesson planning.... Love you all. Drop me a note anytime- I could use the contact right now! Love Love Love,
Bethy
I wish I could report that my transition INTO Turkey was as smooth, painless, and anxiety-free as my transition to get here.... In the words of Alex Robinson: FALSE.
Jetlag has made me her bitch. I have yet to fall asleep prior to 6am and am really struggling with the most severe insomnia of my life. I have tried all the tricks in my book.... Deep, meditative breathing; reading; relaxing music; eye mask and ear plugs; counting sheep, goats, guinea pigs, and weiner dogs; benedryl..... Sweet slumber continues to elude me. I don't know if you've ever experienced insomnia, but its quite an enigma to me. Countless times, I get myself to the point where I am about to let go- I even start to dream little dreams.... Then, BAM- I come up against something that jolts me awake (sometimes its yellow, is that weird?), and I'm back to square one. Is it just jetlag? Am I having that hard of a time letting go of the Central Time Zone? Am I really this anxious to begin my teaching job tomorrow? I had two big travel days, but I figured I'd be back on track after another couple of days. I thought last night, Saturday night, would be my night..... Awake until 6:30am. Again. Normally I wouldn't care, but I have to start teaching on Monday/tomorrow morning.
In other news, the apartment I'm living in is falling apart around my ears... Most of the other apartments in the building haven't had hot water or heat for at least a week now, but ours was a hold-out. Last night our hot water heater exploded and flooded our kitchen. Yay! I was able to shut off the valves, which stopped the leaking, and we still have water- just not hot water- and we have radiator heating, so now no heat. The school has apparently been arguing with the folks who own the building due to their lack of attentiveness to this place, and I was told when I got here that I would be moving into a new apartment within 7-10 days. Realllllllly looking forward to that....
My roommates are cool, but most of them have moved out now, since the school told them they had to find other accommodations by today. There is one woman, from Iowa, who is staying here with me, so at least I won't be all by myself.
I realize that large transitions like this one are bound to have moments like this... I realize that I really shouldn't complain- I mean, look where I am! I am so blessed and lucky to have this experience. That said, I AM struggling right now and am looking forward to working out all these kinks and settling into a rhythm here in my new ancient city.
I observed at my teaching branch yesterday. I will have a four hour block in the morning with all the same students and a four hour block in the evenings with a different group of students. I lucked out and both are Level 2, which cuts down my lesson planning. I'll probably get a weekend class too, but haven't heard any details of that yet. My days off are Thursday and Friday.
It snowed yesterday! Big,slow flakes... It didn't stick, but it was beautiful!
I am right in the heart of nightlife here in Istanbul and I could hear a hilarious cover band out my window last night until 4am that played covers of Bon Jovi, The Police, Adele, and Eric Clapton. It reminded me of places on Bourbon Street like the Cats Meow, Krazy Korner, and Tropical Isle. I was laughing out loud about that one. Did I move to the French Quarter of Istanbul?
Alright, back to lesson planning.... Love you all. Drop me a note anytime- I could use the contact right now! Love Love Love,
Bethy
Ok. Now this made me laugh. Not at your sleeping problems, because I understand that. Counting guinea pigs and weiner dogs- now that's funny!
ReplyDeleteDeep, meditative breathing; reading; relaxing music; eye mask and ear plugs; counting sheep, goats, guinea pigs, and weiner dogs..
Wow, you're on a journey! Enjoying reading this. Rob H