Istanbul in the Spring!

This past break I was fortunate enough to visit Istanbul during the spring time. After being away from my New York springs, I was so happy to see and smell nature coming to life again. Istanbul is beautiful enough but the flowering plants and trees made it extra special.
Another nice thing about Istanbul is you can walk around by foot and not have to worry about transportation, although the taxis and tram are good ways to get around too. Our hotel was ideal and centrally located in the old city just overlooking the Blue Mosque and the Bosporus River. It was called "The Arcadia" and with a travel agent you can book it for $140 a night. I would stay there again as it is a very clean place with a wonderful rooftop restaurant. Rooftop restaurants & bars seem to be a very common thing in Istanbul giving you breathtaking views of the city. It is a great way to spend the afternoon!
While we were in the city we were able to meet up with some old friends of ours, Jim and Ana Leahy who taught with us at AIS in Kuwait about six years ago. It was a blast having drinks up on top of a roof with them, reminiscing about old times. That is the nice thing about teaching overseas; even if you do not work with certain friends anymore at a particular school, you can always meet up with them at some location, somewhere in the world. And, after seeing them, this planet doesn't seem so big after all- which is very comforting!

Restaurants in Kuwait

Over the past eight years, I have had many an adventure in some of the restaurants here in Kuwait. Granted there are many to choose from. Some of the newest include: Pizzeria Uno, Romano's Macaroni Grill, PF Changs, etc. The food is great... very similar to that back home in the states. It is more about how they serve you that is always intriguing. Here are some examples of "unusual" service that I have encountered throughout my time here in Kuwait. I admit that most of the oddities come from language barriers as the waiters or waitresses' English is limited.

Johnny Carinos:
Customer: "Does that soup come from a can?"
Waitress: "No it comes in a bowl"
Customer: "No-what I mean is it homemade or does it come from a can?"
Waitress: "No sir it comes in a bowl"

Ok-now on to the next one:

FRESH restaurant

Customer: "Can we have some more maple syrup for our pancakes?"
Waitress: "I am sorry... We don't have...No more."
A few minutes later she brings out dark caro syrup... hmmm... this is not quite the same.
Customer: "No thank you. Can we have some whipped creme and strawberries instead?"
Waitress: "You want creme? Do you want strawberries in the creme?"


FRESH Restaurant again:
8:10 AM Customers are sitting outside for breakfast.
Waiter comes out and offers menus.
Customers are looking at menus.
8:30 AM Customers would like to order... Asks waiter if they can order...
Waiter "Sorry sir/maam... we don't open until 9:00 AM"
Terrific!

TGIF Fridays
Customer to waitress: "I would like to have a club sandwich (toasted) on brown bread."
Waitress brings food. Club sandwich has brown bread but it is not toasted.
Customer: "Is it possible to get this bread toasted?"
Waitress: "OK.." Then she takes the sandwich back to the cooks.
10 minutes later she brings the sandwich back. It is now on WHITE bread but now toasted.
Customer: "Sorry to bother you but I wanted brown bread for my club sandwich."
Waitress:" Yes, I know but we cannot toast brown bread only white bread can be toasted sir."
What????
The tricky part about getting bread toasted here is in Kuwait, they call all bread, (toasted or not), TOAST.

Anyway, I think that is part of the fun of living overseas...It is a lot of small differences that add so much to your daily life. Every day is truly an adventure.

The Old Days

Today while spring cleaning, I came across a bunch of old photos from the past. They were taken in the 70's; a time when things seemed so much simpler. Even more so, this was a time when I was the happiest. For the first six years of my life my family lived on a dairy farm. Mom and Dad worked very hard to make a good life for all of us. Some of my most happiest times were of playing in the kiddie pool, sandbox (made out of the kiddie pool after getting punctured), going on the swing set, wading in the creek as well as being around the animals all day. If we ever went without anything, I never knew it. No matter what happens in my life, I will always hold those memories close to my heart. The pictures are pretty lovely too.

Footloose

Right now I am watching the movie Footloose circa 1984! That movie is almost 30 years old! The soundtrack was one of my favorites and I love the dancing scene at the end! Anyway, it was certainly a different world back then. I am not sure if I really miss high school that much but I do miss many things that happened during that time as well as the music. Watching this movie brought back so many memories... Who would of thought this movie would be shown on a Kuwait movie channel. Thanks Kuwait!

New Inspiration!

Today I became newly inspired by a teacher/writer at our school who just got his first book published. The library had an open house for him all day where students came up to hear about his adventures in the publishing world. Basically the message was to not give up. The road in getting published is long, with many bumps but you just keep plodding along.
I have just started working on my resource book regarding how to teach research skills. I would like to call it "Scaffolding Research" or "Scaffolding Research Skills". I just completed my introduction and soon want to write my query letter. After presenting many workshops and working on this curriculum for research the last four years, I believe I have enough material and knowledge to write this.
Thanks Jamie for the inspiration. I am so happy for you!

Feeling Indifferent

Lately I have been feeling indifferent... It is the kind of thing that I think is natural when you know you are leaving your current job and country to go somewhere else and do something different. There have been days where I just go though the motions: nothing is really bad nor is it really good. I am not depressed in any way... but would just like to get excited about something. I have a trip coming up during spring break and perhaps that will get me going a bit. I've been keeping a gratitude list at work on my computer that I started a couple years ago as well. Being grateful has always been a way of keeping myself grounded. Living overseas is a bit tough at times because there are always moments that you need for family to be around-even if it is just for a hug.
2 1/2 more months of school left and I welcome those months with a thankful and loving heart (even if I am indifferent!)

Spring Break & Istanbul

This Monday I will be landing in Istanbul at 3:00 AM. Dave and I were going to just take a bus transfer into the city but opted for a hotel pickup instead. It will cost more but we also have realized that as we get older we go for comfort rather than saving a few dollars. Dave has never been to Istanbul before so I am excited to show the city to him.
Back in 2003 my sister and I went to Turkey on the way home from Kuwait. Not only did we visit Istanbul but also Bodrum, Pamukkale, Ephesus, and Oludeniz in the south. My favorite memories were of the pottery studios, the small, quaint little towns, as well as paragliding in the south. This time, it will be much cooler than when we visited. Yahoo weather predicts the high of 50's or so. Geez... Hope my thin skin can handle that as coming from Kuwait to there will be tough going.