Heading to Turkey

Well, here I go, embarking on my next great adventure: teaching in Turkey. I interviewed for an was accepted to an EFL teaching position at TOBB University, a private university in Ankara.

The plane left Charlotte, North Carolina at about 6:30. From there, I had two-hour layover in Chicago. It was a long flight from Chicago to Istanbul: eleven hours. In hour three, I could already feel my ankles hulking out into cankles. However, I promised myself that I wouldn't disturb my seatmate too much, so I only got up two or three times during the entire flight.

I flew Turkish Airlines. At this time, I'd like to give a shout-out to them as they took very good care of their passengers. Once we were airborne, a small helping of Turkish Delight was brought around to all the passengers. About an hour later, the crew brought menus to us so that we could decide on our dinner. Being a carnivore, I chose the meat option, which was some sort of beef roll, a cucumber salad, rice, and an eggplant dish that was too spicy for this little white girl.

At some point in the middle of the flight, a crew member brought around some hot towels. Let me tell you, that was refreshing to put the steam over my skin and suddenly not feel so gross.

About two hours before landing in Istanbul, breakfast was served. I thought that was a bit odd, since we would land in Istanbul at 5 pm. However, if one was counting from when we left Chicago then, yes, breakfast was appropriate.

When we arrived in Istanbul, the plane stopped right in the middle of the tarmac. All the passengers then took stairs to the tarmac, then took an airport shuttle bus, which was about the size of a city bus, to the main terminal. I panicked while I stood in line for visas and passports, but I made my flight to Ankara just fine.

I knew I had to meet the university-supplied driver at International Arrivals, but Ankara is a large city and therefore boasts a large airport. I asked the gentleman at the information desk where I could find IA. He said "Go out, take left, walk 200 meters." I smiled and thanked him, but as I was walking away, I thought "Oh no! How far is 200 meters? Twenty feet? A mile?" I still have no idea how far it is.

Once I found my way and retrieved my luggage, I was happy to see the driver with my name on the placard he held up. He knew very little English; however, that's more than I can say for my Turkish. The only word I knew was "hello" (merhaba). Needless to say, it was a quiet ride to my lodgings. But after being in transit for a grand total of 19 hours from Charlotte, NC, to Ankara that was just fine with me.

Until next time, kiddies!