Job Discussion Forums

[dmb]

Has everyone upped and escaped to the coast? I was the only poster all weekend.

[Theresa]

Well not exactly- Im in London and Ive spent the last 24 hrs eating : full English breakfast, 'eat as much as you can Chinese meal', a Cornish pasty, a bag of jelly beans, another one of American Hard Gums and of course Jelly Babies ( all those big bags), all washed down with many pints of Guinness with Laphraig chasers. Tonight is Korma night . Oh and its cool and drizzling here. Im actually winter jeans, a jumper and shoes and socks. If I had more money Id spend it all at Waterstones

[yaramaz]

I just got back from five days in the far west, doing the Pork'n Alcohol camping tour of British Columbia forests. Lots of beer 'n bacon to go with a 2 day music fest in the woods (very cool). However, am quite exhausted now as I'd forgotten the rules of camping in BC-- 98% chance of campsite neighbours jamming on their drums till dawn (4/5 nights till 5 am, like a night in Borneo) and the ever present heavy cloud of your finest BC bud wafting about and torrential downpours at hourly intervals. Am glad I parked my tent on high ground.

Am happily going through my list of needs now that I am back-- a newspaper every morning to go with my fresh home made espresso with a drop of cream, non-sucuk sausages, sushi, Thai, dim sum, micro-brewery beers, one-meter stacks of library books.... woohoo!

Hey, for anyone out there who knows better than me (which is zilch),how much is cable internet access in Istanbul and how would I go about getting it set up? I just found out that the flat I'll be taking over isnt hooked up for a phone (or it may be hooked up but not activated-- not clear). It does have a cable connection for a tv installed so I thought I might go that route anyway since I tend to spend a lot of time online with downloads and talking on msn etc and it might work out cheaper than by dial up. Any ideas or suggestions?

dmb, didnt you say something about a tv/internet cable deal you'd heard about?

[Bogazicibaby]

oh! do share that info please. I'm moving back to Istanbul in a few months and my apt has the same problem. Actually, it might have internet connection with the campus. Its one of the many things I have to check. This sounds interesting.

[vre]

I've been busy sorting out accommodation in Istanbul and I have found a great place! It was a very hard process but I'm really looking forward to the 'bul now!!!!!

[Mike_2003]

Hello,

You can get a ADSL connection. First you have to find out if your address is on the network, you can do this by going to:

http://www.telekom.gov.tr/webtech/default.asp?sayfa_id=194

Type in your phone number and it'll magically tell you if you can have it...

If you can, then you have to apply to the local Turk Telekom Office. You need to be the owner of the phone and also take the following with you:

-ADSL application form
-Your last paid phone bill.
-A photocopy of the ID showing you are the owner of the phone line.

Then I think you have to get a company to come round and fit the cables and modems (you need to buy a special modem). Then you are up and running.

There are different speeds available at different prices (prices are for the one-off connection fee and the subsequent monthly fee):

128/32: 49mTL
256/64: 69mTL
512/128: 109mTL
1024/256: 179mTL
2048/512: 279mTL

Good luck

Mike

[dmb]

Do you know any info on the Digiturk internet connection. I'll be moving flat soon, so it will be useful to have more options(Although one of my flatmates will be Turkish so I'll let her sort it out, I'm sure she'll get a better deal)
BTW Yaramaz did you see Mercan Dede at the music festival?

[ghost]

Most ESL teachers in Turkey don`t bother with Internet hook ups at their flats, because the combo. of Internet at work and Internet cafes usually works out cheaper and more convenient...

If you do decide to go the Private Internet hook up from your flat, beware of hidden costs which you will have to factor in.

[yaramaz]

I like to have my own connection in my own home using my own computer so I do want to check this out, whether or not

[Bogazicibaby]

I agree with Yaramaz!

Having the ability to use the internet anytime I want WITHOUT smoke filled lungs is worth the price I pay at home. It isn't that hard to get internet connections at home and there are a variety of dial-up options that are much less expensive than superonline.

What is "most" ghost? I've lived here for 3 years and its about half and half- meaning that half the EFL teachers I know have connections in their homes and half don't. How long did you live here to come up with that piece of knowledge?

A lot of work places only have a few computers for many people. If you want the flexiblity of using a pc on your own terms- I think that connection at home is the way to go for me and for a lot of my friends.

Yaramaz, if you want help with getting connection when you come back to Istanbul, I'll ask my husband to help you. He would be glad to do it and glad to check on if there are any "hidden" costs.

DMB- I've been wondering about the digiturk-internet connection myself. It isn't available in Antep right now so I didn't pursue looking into it. If my apartment doesn't have university connection, I may look into it again.

Maria

[Mike_2003]

I looked into the Digiturk connection a year or so ago and it was a little strange. I think you could download from the digiturk cable but not upload, so you still had to use your phone line for this. It seemed a little pointless to me.

It may have changed since then so don't hold me to it!

Mike

[yaramaz]

Bogazicibaby, thanks for the offer of help.

It has been a very annoying yet pressing point and the friend I'm taking the flat over from hasn't been very forthcoming with information about this particular aspect of the place. Having internet at home has been a life saver over the past two years (and hey, ghost, pretty much everyone I've met working in EFL in Turkey has had an internet connection at home if they brought their laptop or bought a desktop or was loaned one by the school, like our leather-trousered friend...).

I guess I'll wait until I get back then suss out the situation re: phone lines or cable options. I'll let you know, and if you- or any of you- find out details do tell!

[ghost]

Bogazbaby is right about smokey Internet Cafes in Turkey....a horrible environment to sit down to a computer...and if you complain to the management, they just laugh...as they are smokers (in their vast majority) too. Ghost travelled throughout South East Asia (Feb-April 2004)in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka...and never faced the same problems in those Asian countries. Also in the Asian countries the noise level in the Internet cafes was much lower...you could actually concentrate on the screen...not like in Turkey where you have a bunch of 18-30 year olds playing stupid war games on the computers, shouting and smoking etc....

Yaramaz will see her disposable income reduced quite a bit in the Big City (Istanbul) with all the incidental expenses she will have, now that she will not have the benefit of free board and lodging with Internet access in Teacher`s office. But she has made that decision and good luck to her. At least she is taking the risk of moving to Istanbul, and chances are she will find the environment quite a bit more stimulating than provincial Kayseri.

Istanbul also offers the advantage of being a flight centre for many destinations world wide. Also Greece, Bulgaria and Romania are close enough for short 3 day trips, using night buses and trains.

[yaramaz]

Um, gee, ghost, thanks for reminding me again that I will face a severe reduction in disposable income. Gosh, I hadn't even considered that when I accepted the job. I've only been living and travelling extensively in Turkey for two years. Never even noticed that Istanbul was more expensive....

(Actually it isnt much more expensive than Kayseri-- there are just more and better places to spend your money. There are few cafes, no bars or clubs, and no decent clothing or bookshops in the whole city of almost a million--- you try spending your salary there!)

Do you want to know why I'm moving to Istanbul and putting aside a huge chunk of income on housing and happily accepting that my spending money will be reduced to the pittance that most people in normal jobs live on? Because after two years of living in an often frustratingly provincial, conservative, stifling city and easily saving almost 10 000 pounds with no effort in spite of several holidays in Europe and Canada each year, I decided I need a life. I dont need more money but I do need friends and cafes and bookstores and open-minded people. In Kayseri I had to share a flat with a woman who treated me like a cockroach. Fun! I would much rather put aside 1/3 of my salary for rent and utilities if it means I can come home to a lovely, spacious flat by the sea side that I can call my own.

It's about priorities. Maybe next year I'll move on to other things, more, um, economical things. But for now I want to enjoy myself, spend money, recover my long-lost sanity and peace of mind. Life is not just about saving money, as I'm sure dmb can attest. Not that Qatar and Kayseri are the same but there are similarities...

BTW ghost, my internet access there was not in 'teacher's office', it was in my flat. All teachers could have free internet access in their flats if they had a computer. However, this is not a good enough reason for me to stay a third year.

[dmb]

Yaramaz is correct and you will have a life in Istanbul. Why am I moving? My flatmate has gone to Saudi and from August the first the rent increase is 100%!!! Can the landlady do this? probably. Currently looking for a flat in Cıhangır with 2 friends