Job Discussion Forums

[bettyboo]

Hallo
I am considering moving to Alanya to be with a Turkish man that I have been seeing (long distance but frequently) for almost a year. I am going to do TEFL before even thinking about going there. I am somebody who will always want to work and hence TEFL will be a good start ...
Are there many schools in Alanya or will it be easy enough for me to get a job?
I don't have a word of Turkish but intend trying to learn - will I be lost?
Any other advice you can give about Turkey/Culture/Religion/ - my boyfriend has not lived all his life in Turkey but has tried explaining some subtle differences about Turkish men and what a 'wife' means to them!
I would be interested in hearing from anyone not from Turkey who is currently living in Turkey with a Turkish man/woman
Thank you

[Faustino]

Having explained the subtle differences to you, perhaps you could ask him now to explain the more obvious differences! I live with a Turk, but in Istanbul. I couldn't really tell you much about Alanya.

[Ebenezer]

well, I'll tell you what a "wife" means for Turkish men: someone who acts like their mothers and I'll tell you what Turkish mummies do to their cute little children even when they are 30 years old: they take care of their "children's" clothes, get them, choose them, comment on them, stand up to get tea, coffee, water, fruit, etc, etc, even if they have just sat down to watch their favorite program, after their "children" and husband have eaten, the perfect mum cleans everything and takes all the plates, glasses, etc to the kitchen, for if a man takes his own cup or plate to the kitchen he will die or will be called "light erkek" = "light man". I know what I'm talking about, I'm married to a Turk ("mum, where's my underwear? Mum,where is my towel? Mum, what am I gonna eat?")
Am I alone, folks??

[ghost]

Alanya used to be a village, devoted to fishing, and agriculture in the fields nearby.

Then the promoters stepped in and paid big prices for land which they have turned into profitable hotels and resorts. The result is a lot of Turkish "farmers" have become "nouveau riche" people....

This means that the town is pretty expensive, and is mostly devoted to the tourist industry. It is "dead" in winter, because few tourists and nothing going on.

Antalya and Izmir are better, because although both have tourist places, they are both also "ordinary cities" with areas of the city which are not touristy and where prices are reasonable.

For that reason, and others, Alanya is not everyone's choice destination in Turkey.

It is popular with Germans, and during April-September German is used more than English as a Second Language.

One is not aware of many language schools in the area, although there could be a need to train the people who work in the tourist industry there.