Job Discussion Forums

[manalive]

Living and traveling around Turkey is really
exciting. Unfortunately, we will be leaving soon.
A good account of life here (working/traveling/experience)
can be found at worldwalkabout.ca
from an expat's perspective.
Also, if anyone has any specific questions about
living in the south (which I love), I can give some
pretty sound advice.

As an example, I spend lots of time in the mountains
and have swam in the Med. Sea each month out
of the year. If this sounds like your kind of place, I'm sure
I can shed some light..
On a side note, my private school is pretty typical in all of
Turkey. I'll be leaving and can give you some fairly detailed
information if you're thinking about the k-12 route.

Feel free to PM if you need to.

[sixthchild]

Yeah we all could tell a few tales about this place, not all of it painted with a rosy glow either!
So just how long have you been here? More than 5 minutes perhaps?

[delal]

People only see what their filters allow them. Hermetically sealed bubbles are a bit of a luxury these days, I find.

[manalive]

[sixthchild]

Thank you and good night! btw, tried your web, not working your link is incorrect methinks!

[PC Parrot]

I hope that during your honeymoon stage people didn't have to put up with your going on and on about how great everything is.

It's really rather tedious to encounter a know-it-all just off the plane who really understands the place. They see it from a deeper angle than the long in the tooth residents who speak the lingo and have actually integrated with the locals!

There's that great line from Pulp -

'Everyone hates a tourist,
especially one who thinks it's all
such a laugh'

[manalive]

[sixthchild]

Enjoy the beautiful weather! Hmmmm, do I detect a patronizing tone?

[delal]

Sixthchild, I think the poster is actually, strangely, being positive after defending themselves
To be honest, the blog is lacking in that it doesn't mention any of the downs that are part of living in Antalya (crime, local attitude to foreigners, disgusting summer weather, to mention a few), or any tips on how to make friends/integrate etc etc. But there are plenty of forums which do do that

[manalive]

Sixthchild, I don�t really suppose my weather comment sounded patronizing. Not really sure how PC should take it. I�m not going to get baited into an internet gang war, though. I was just suggesting a site for folks that might find it useful. My friend dictates what is written there, not I. If she feels like it, I can suggest she write more about the horrible little monsters in schools. But, there is quite a bit of info here at this link:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.phpt=99730&sid=0a600dfd75c98b73aea5ffcd36bf64b4

I really can�t argue much with the overbearing opinions at the above link. It�s really no exaggeration. But, this is only one aspect of living here in this country if you are an ESLer. I do happen to think there are many wonderful things about Turkey. I guess if you want to focus on the negatives, you can always find something wrong.

The weather is beautiful and I get to be gone for the disgusting summer temperatures that delal has mentioned. There are plenty of forums, like this one, that focus on complaining about everything that is wrong with a place. I think my life would be miserable if I played that game all the time. And certainly; do enjoy the weather. Spring is great in most of Turkey, where ever you happen to be..

[sixthchild]

Manalive,
It isn't a war, it really is a way of showing you that after you have only joined the forum literally 5 minutes ago and haven't even done a year in this country, suddenly you are an expert!
Personally I find that irratting!
There are too many people in this country /forum who do that, don't join them.
Those of us who have been here a while (20 years and counting) know what is good about the place thats why we are still here , however we are not blind to the negative aspects too.
Hopefully Vietnam will suit you better. I intend to soldier on!

[cartago]

I'll be the odd one out here and defend it - it's a blog, not a forum. It doesn't really bother me that someone wants to put up a blog about her stories in Turkey and doesn't make it critical. I did think it was a bit odd that you felt like you were so prudish in the hammam when practically anyone would be if she were the only woman at a co-ed hammam.

I was expecting, given your comments, some horror stories about the awful children, misery loves company. Thank God I'm out of that situation now. I'm never stepping foot in another one of those places, I'd sooner jump off a cliff.

[delal]

In fact, I regret my above post.
I got annoyed by the blog as it gives no idea of how Turkey is such an interesting place to live, or of the support available, online via forums and the many individuals who will give up precious free tme, to help people settle in and sort out newbie problems.
But then it is my choice to read blogs or not.

[ecocks]

Thanks for the link! I found the write-ups interesting and informative.

Changed my perspectives a bit.