Following My Heart

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Since my blog is called Traveling with Claire and I haven’t done much traveling, I haven’t been writing too much. It’s not like Shekou where I was literally counting the minutes until my next vacation. I had a week off recently and I stayed here in Istanbul, exploring some new areas and trying some new recipes. I really do love this city. However, there is another reason I stayed home – I got a new job at my school. I will be the Tech Integrator/eLearning Coach for IICS! Next year, I am out of the classroom and onto new challenges!…

Five Questions

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Recently, I was asked to answer the following five questions by a digital friend of mine. I say digital because I have never met Dave in person. He is a fellow international teacher and we ‘met’ on Twitter and subsequently, started following each other on Instagram. I am not even sure how it all started really, but it’s been an inspiring friendship for me.  I can’t quite put my finger on it, but Dave just seems like the type of person everyone should have in their lives. So here it goes, feel free to comment and let me know what…

Forward Thinking

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As a friend and I were discussing our excitement about the upcoming year, she told me about this mental exercise to get me thinking about who I want to be. Essentially, think of your next significant birthday (so if you are 38, think 50) and ask yourself these three questions: What are you doing in your life? What do you have in your life? Who are you surrounded by… who is at your birthday party? And to think I just wanted a mocha and some bal kaymak! But truly, what great questions to ponder for 2014 and beyond! On a…

“You can walk and you can pay!”

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Today I went on an ArtWalk around the Tophane and Karakoy districts. All said, we visited eight galleries. It was inspiring to see the different works of art, although I have to admit that some of the more conceptual pieces went right over my head. The woman who started ArtWalk, Saliha Yavuz, was interesting. She essentially started this art tour after she had been working in a gallery and tourists kept coming in to ask her about the different galleries in Istanbul. And let me tell you, there are many! Anyway, she decided that this was something she could create and…

Finally…

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My ankle is finally, finally almost healed. A torn ligament is not a quick fix! Last week was the first week that my ankle felt normal… it’s been weeks and weeks! Slowly, I am getting my walks back in. I love walking. It gives me peace of mind and time to think. I walked home from Turkish class last week and this morning, I went for a beautiful walk around Istanbul. Early Sunday mornings are a great time to see Istanbul because there are no crowds and fewer cars barreling around. Plus, we are having remarkably good weather so it…

Reading the Signs

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When deciding to stay at an international school, most schools want the ‘soft’ decision of whether you are staying or going by October but by December, they need to know the definite yes or no because they have to start recruiting. I have already given my soft yes but there are always questions, well no. There were no questions about China… but the point is, it is a major life decision. Plus, recruiting is a brutal process and moving isn’t much fun either. And if you commit but then flake or change your mind, you can get blacklisted. No bueno….

Airport Lounges

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It still amazes me that I can be in one country one morning and a few hours later, I am in a completely new time zone and culture. It has been several years since I have been to Prague but it is still as lovely as ever. I attended the Google Apps for Education European Summit and it was overall a very good conference. My to-do list for school is about a mile long, so it will be nice to have next week off (thank you Bayram) to go through all of this learning. I also met a couple of…

Bruised Blessings

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When I looked down at my ankle after stepping into that dreaded hole, and watched as it instantaneously swelled into the size of a tennis ball, I knew this wasn’t something I could just walk off. Dealing with this sprained ankle has been much more difficult to navigate than I thought it would be. Not being able to walk or get around places is terribly isolating and massively inconvenient. After the first day with this thing, I quickly realized that ‘walking it off’ is how I deal with many (challenging and non-challenging) situations in my life. Walking helps me think…

Claire’s Apartment 2.0

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Since coming back from my whirlwind tour of the Baltic, I’ve been making some changes to my apartment. I purchased some new furniture and because it’s been so hot and humid here in Istanbul, staying inside and organizing my things has been a welcome relief. The political/protest situation around here has calmed down and it’s been really nice to be back in Istanbul, just hanging around. However, word is that things will most likely heat up in September when schools are back in session.  On Istiklal, there is a constant police presence with full swat gear at the ready. In…

Internet Access is a Human Right

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I knew I loved Estonia. I recently read an article in The Economist about how this country has become a leader in technology. There are two sentences within the piece that echo a sentiment that I have believed to be true for some time, ‘In 2000, when the government declared internet access to be a human right, the web spread into the boondocks. Free Wi-Fi became commonplace.’ Can I get an Amen? Whilst exploring parts of Europe with my family this summer, I was infuriated many times at the lack of free internet. It wasn’t so much that I wanted…