Arrivals

My arrival at Atatürk Airport in İstanbul was uneventful...

Which was a relief because this is what my trip looked like: 4 hour drive to Pearson International Airport, 11 hour flight to İstanbul, to be followed by a 6 hour bus ride to Ankara, followed in turn by a taxi to my hotel...add in waiting times and a 7 hour time change and you're looking at a 24+ hour odyssey...

Anyway, I found a taxi to the bus depot from Atatürk Airport and got on the next bus departing to my new home.  One of the great things about living in Turkey is that there is no need to book bus or train travel in advance!  Prices are usually always the same and if one bus is full, there is another bus 10 minutes later!  Public transportation systems are government funded here which means they are obscenely cheap to use!  A one way ticket to Ankara (a 6 hour bus ride) cost me less than $20 CAD!  Compare that with Greyhound in Canada for a similar length trip!  A short 10 minute taxi ride later, I was passed out on my bed wondering how I would be up the next morning so I wouldn't be late for my first day of work!!!

Through the wonderful people at the TEFL Institute I was able to secure my first teaching position at one of the largest English language institutions in the world - Wall Street Institute.  Feeling excited and nervous, I set out that first Tuesday morning to find my new work place.  I arrived at precisely 10am as instructed.  And the place was empty...well, okay, I wasn't expecting a marching band or fanfare to welcome me on my first day, but I was expecting a person.  Just one!  Anyone!!  I eventually found a janitor.  It turns out that janitors of English schools don't necessarily speak English.  So, I sat.  And sat.  And sat.  At 1pm, the manager of the centre finally showed up.  He hadn't known that I was supposed to be there that day and so looked somewhat put out to see me.  I tried not to let his blasé attitude interfere with my shiny new job excitement.  Let me interrupt for a moment and let you know that this particular manager was on his way out and his last week coincided with my first week which accounted for his attitude - lucky me.  It's a good thing that I had so much positive energy that day because this experience would have turned the "old" me completely off and I would have left.  But I couldn't help wondering what working here was going to be like.  Was everyone going to be like this??  Was there no regard for customer service in this country??  And my biggest worry - What the heck have I gotten myself into??