Istanbul - A Ton of [Not So Great] Firsts

Well, after 2 weeks of good ol' American lovin', I was back on the road. I left Miami with a bit of self- struggle - it's always exhausting, after just coming from a new country, to head right back out again. New gets old fast.

I flew from Miami to JFK without problems, even managing to pack both of my checked bags under the 50 pound limit. I was pleasantly surprised, and perhaps even emitted a squeal of delight after seeing the numbers- until I discovered that Delta Airlines, my chauffeur to Turkey, only allowed ONE free checked bag on international flights. Nerds!

My flight from New York to Istanbul actually boarded 30 minutes early, which I've never, every heard of. I guess everyone was checked in, but still, odd. After boarding, I switched seats with a fellow passenger so he could sit next to his friend, only to discover that my new seat was right next to a woman and her 9 month old child. Well, I guess a hearing impaired person should take one for the team. A baby wailing in my ear for 10 hours is much less painful, half to be exact, for me than for the rest of the population.

We began to pull away from the gate - and then pulled back again due to some mishap with the log books. Again, a first for this frequent flier. After waiting around for what seemed like ages - we finally broke free and took off... an hour late of our scheduled time.

Now, this plane was not half as nice as the ones I've been on recently. No individual TVs on the seat in front, and... well, I guess that was it. I love those little personal TVs. I took some benadryl to calm my cough and to block out "Love Happens", which was playing on the large screen at the front of the cabin (it was awful!), and soon fell asleep.

I woke up to commotion in the aisles. Apparently, a passenger had become violently ill, or something of the sort, and the flight attendants were calling for a doctor. This went on for about and hour, with the flight attendants gathered at the back of the plane, and, just as the little flight map showed we were almost passing over Europe, the crew announced that we were landing in Dublin due to a medical emergency. Another first!

After a half hour detour to Dublin, the passenger was treated immediately by emergency medical officials discretely in the back of the plane. Though I respected their knack for privacy, I also wanted the juicy details. We all did, and mused about what it could possibly be, with guesses ranging from heart troubles and seizures to the utterly ridiculous. We were very, very disappointed in the end. No one had actually seen the passenger or his "attack",  and there was not a word about the nature of the illness or the status of the situation from the tight-lipped crew. For all we knew, the flight attendants were simply craving some real food, and the "Emergency Medical Team" were really Pizza Hut delivery boys in disguise.

The medical emergency aside, we began our wait to get back in the air. We waited, waited, waited.... 3 hours later, we finally took off again. At this point, we are all starving - it's been over 6 hours since our last meal. The flight attendants, presumably satisfied from their secret pizza party, did nothing.

We finally landed in Istanbul, after 15 hours of travel. I was so ready to get going - and get going I did. I immediately found the two jolly Turks waiting for me with a sign, and was escorted to the lojman - teacher's apartment in Taksim, a lively area of the city - and informed that at 11am the following day, my head teacher, Kai, would be coming to pick me up. I unpacked, called home, and fell asleep immediately.

The next morning, I met Kai. He's Iranian, lived in Canada for awhile, and is now in Turkey working for English Time. He took me to my workplace - a school about 45 minutes away by subway and bus. The school is a nice one, in the Sirinevler region of the city (very close to the airport). I met some of my co-workers, whom were very nice, and very helpful. I work with about 10 other english teachers, and what seems like an army of Turkish people. They are very friendly and lively bunch - I think I will enjoy it here immensely.

One of the newer teachers had recently been sick from food poisoning, and had missed a few days - but was coerced into coming in today. I was told would be taking over his evening class for half of the week (classes meet everyday for 3 or 4 hours in the morning or evening), to appease the frustrated students - and, since he was still so ill, I would be (surprise!) co-teaching the class with him that night. I agreed, trying to help out, and was told that if I could teach an "Activity Class", a one hour elective free speaking opportunity, that would be great. So, on my first day in Istanbul, I taught four hours. Another first - to be randomly thrown in the mix like that.

Evening classes go from 7-10pm, so, by the class' end, I was exhausted. I was told that, at 1- 1:30pm the following day, I would be picked up by the driver and transported to the head office to meet Karen, the head of English time, and sign my contract. I went out with the other teachers for a drink in Taksim, where the lojman is located, and the center of everything in Istanbul. Everyone was great - I'm sure I'll make some good friends here.

The next morning, at 10:30am, I woke up to a banging on my door. Completely confused, I got out of bed to the landlord signaling (no english!) me that I should go downstairs. I threw on my coat and walked carefully down the winding marble staircase. There was a few people in the lobby, all confused. The Escort was there to pick a list-ful of people up, me included. No one had the right time - some had been told 2pm, some 1pm, and some, including a girl who had just arrived the previous evening, had been told nothing at all. We threw on some clothes, grabbed some make-up for the bus, and headed out the door. Well, I guess I'm lucky that's the first time THAT has ever happened to me.

The Escort called Kai, who spoke to me. He told me that I should go to the branch after signing my contract. I asked him about the time - he replied that he "told the driver 1pm, but, surprise surprise! I guess it was different." There was no apology - something that set me off. Mistakes happen - but you apologize to the person you inconvenienced. That's just common courtesy - and professional respect. I was very upset.

The head office was nice, and we all signed our contracts and met Karen. She seemed nice enough, but still did not apologize for the mis-communicated time! I think I was really looking for this - and was additionally aggravated when she commented on the situation without apologizing to us. If I didn't need a job and money and a place to stay, I would have had a talk with them. It's just common courtesy!

[I think I'm still stuck in Japan - I would have been apologized to for ages, then taken to lunch and treated like a queen. I like that - butter me up.] 

I went to my branch after the orientation, arriving at around 2pm. I don't know why my head teacher made me go - there are no classes from 2 - 7pm here, and he wasn't even there. I sat around for 5 hours, before teaching a class at 7pm (the one I had taken over). The students are great in this class - which aleviated my frustration a bit. They are all adults, and are charasmatic and eager to learn.

Needless to say, I was so ready for the weekend off. I slept for 14 hours Friday night, until 1pm the next day- something I don't think I've ever done in my whole life. Saturday, I wandered around Taksim with Lee, my neighbor (the one who had just arrived before getting suprise- woken up the next day). We sat in Starbucks - there's THREE within 10 minutes of the lojman - heaven! She actually just came from Japan, like me - from Westgate! We even knew some of the same people. It's such a small world!

I think the reason I am a bit flustered with English Time at the moment is due to my Japanese work experience. Anything compared to the well oiled machine that was Westgate will seem disorganized and dysfunctional. I know that this company is respectable and trustworthy - but the communication seems a bit off. All in all, it was a crazy first few days here in Istanbul. Full of not so great first-times.

I'll write more about the area I'm living in, the city, and work soon. I want to get some pictures first, and, unfortunately, it's been rainy an dismal everyday so far. Once Istanbul gives me sun, I'll give you photos.  It is a lovely place so far, though!