Long Time...

Wow...so it's been two months since I've last written here....Sorry to those who actually read this!  Let me start with the same lame excuse that everyone seems to use - I've been sooooo busy!!  This is actually the truth though...

Since I've last written here, I left Wall Street and started a new position and presently I'm back in Canada (just for a visit though!).  I'm heading back to Turkey in less than a week and I've got mixed feelings about that...anywho, first things first - Wall Street.

So, I left my position as Service Manager for WSI in August.  Not with any hard feelings though. I still highly recommend this institute for anyone thinking of moving to Turkey or to any other country with a WSI location.  It's a fantastic school for those just starting out in the ESL teaching world and I enjoyed working there immensely.  Through this institute I've met so many interesting students and fellow teachers - and also the love of my life!  So it was with some trepidation that I set out to follow a new path.  

When I get back to Ankara, I'll be working as an English Coordinator for a private school.  I'll mostly be managing 16 other English teachers and not really do much teaching.  I feel more comfortable in a management position, so we'll see how this new job fits me.  However, the school has some pretty high expectations about their English program and I feel some pressure about reaching their set goals.  It's always scary to leave a cushy job to try something you've never done before but it's exciting and that's what I'm looking for!

Before I left for Canada, I had an opportunity to meet all my teachers and staff and I'm super excited to get back and get into the swing of things there!  I'm also interested to see what it's like working in the private education system in Turkey.  Should be interesting to say the least!  I'll keep you posted on that!

So, presently I'm in Canada at my parents home in Northern Ontario.  It's been so great to see my family and friends - and it almost feels like I haven't been gone for an entire year!

Coming back, I've noticed many things...here's a short list:

- people follow traffic rules here and get angry if you don't!
- things are expensive!!!  yikes! food, clothes, everything that I thought was reasonably priced before I left seems to have shot up in price!!!
- I really missed the changing of the leaves in fall and I'm so happy I was here to experience it!
- you have to pick up your own garbage at a restaurant - in Turkey, you just leave your tray or garbage on the table and someone comes by to pick it up.  As a result, the restaurants are always very clean - the ones here have ketchup on the tables and litter on the floor...
- TV commercials are ANNOYING!  In Turkey, you don't have nearly as many commercials, and they are generally concentrated at the end of the program  instead of every 5 minutes as in Canada
- North Americans eat a lot of prepared foods
- gas is cheap!
- customer service is 100% better in Canada
- there is a lack of outdoor seating areas at cafes and restaurants
- you can't smoke in public places here!  I really miss that!  Smoking inside still happens in Turkey - yuck!!!
- life feels like it stood still here - everyone and everything is pretty much the same as when I left.  That feels somewhat disappointing...

These are just some of the things I've been noticing here. 

Earlier I said I had some mixed feelings about going back to Turkey.  I'm mostly worried about how I will re-adjust to my 'normal' life back there.  When I went 1 year ago, I wasn't homesick at all.  Everything was really new and exciting so I didn't really have time to be homesick.  Only when there were a few weeks left before leaving for Canada did I get a wave of homesickness.  I'm worried that this time I'll feel that right away.  I'm not going back to something new and exciting - it will be life as usual when I return.  So, what will that feel like?  Sometimes I wonder if it will be a relief to get back there.  But then I wonder if it'll be the same as last year - I'm going back to the same home, yes, but I'm also going back to a new job with a new schedule and a new expectation...so maybe I'll be too busy once again to notice where I am and who's missing in my life.  Also, it'll be different because U will be there to welcome me back and we can get back to our normal lives with our friends and routines so maybe that will cut the feelings of homesickness as well.  I guess only time will tell!