Routine

It’s funny how quickly life falls into a familiar schedule. I get up at 5:30 AM and go through my morning routine. I leave the house at 7:30 AM to go the bus stop. A van picks us up at 7:45 AM and we are at Zirve by 8:00. I teach from 8:30 AM – 12:10 PM, followed by lunch in the faculty/staff lunchroom. Then a long afternoon stretches in front of us. Usually there is some sort of meeting as well as grading and class prep. However, the vans don’t leave until 5:30 PM and our west-facing office gets quite warm. A couple of times I’ve walked up to the top of the hill behind our building to drink in the view and enjoy the fresh air. One afternoon last week I actually took my knitting and sat on a bench on the shady and breezy side of the building. At least a lot of students walking by learned a new word: knit. I get home about six. Can’t wait to get the shoes and work clothes off. I may listen to some music, have a light supper (yogurt and fruit or something like that), study a little Turkish, talk with some of the other teachers, do some class prep – nothing too heavy. Then it’s to bed with a book and lights out between 9:30 and 10:00 PM. It’s like that pretty much every day Monday – Friday. There are the little dramas around work and the frustrations of inconsistent Internet service at home. While I understand little of what is being said around me, everyone is very helpful and I get around stores and buses with a fair degree of ease. In short, day-to-day life isn’t all that exotic. Maybe that's just the way we humans cope with the unfamiliar: we make it familiar.

Of course, I do love the fresh fruits and vegetables available everywhere. I arrived at the end of the peach and melon seasons. Now its pears that really taste like pears and grapes just bursting with sugar. Persimmons have also made an appearance. Then there are the ubiquitous tomatoes, eggplants and peppers in all shapes, sizes and colors. I’m getting really spoiled when it comes to produce – and great yogurt.