Hidden Gems

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After Turkish class this morning, I headed out to an area called Fener with two other students from class, Phllycia and MaryLou. This is an area of Istanbul that I’ve wanted to explore for a while but it’s not a place I feel comfortable out on my own. We set out to find two sites: Patriarchal Church of St. George (Greek Orthodox) and St. Mary of the Mongols. Now the Church of St. George ‘is the main Eastern Orthodox church in the world; the central place of worship for a congregation of over 300 million’ people… right in Istanbul, a…

Revisit

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I’ve officially been on break for a week and it’s been really nice. Maybe China ‘prepared’ me for humidity, but it’s not too bad here right now. I looked at my list from my post in May and after some research, I realized that some of these items were a bit expensive so I am rethinking the list: 1) Take an intensive Turkish language course Yes – 9am to 1pm, Monday – Friday, plus homework. Fantastic but hugely time consuming! 2) Get a swimming pool pass from one of the hotels No. Anyone have an extra $800 to $1,00US to…

Street Art Istanbul

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Recently, I downloaded an app called StreetArt Istanbul. From this app, I get a little bit of information about the street artists around Istanbul. For instance, I had no idea that some of the more well known street artists get commissions to do certain pieces. Also, this app gives the location of the art; not such good news because directions are incredibly difficult for me. However, as I was walking around Istakal in the rain this morning, I stumbled upon this great alley with a bunch of street art; mostly painted by an artist named Leo Lunatic. I felt like…

Light

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My first ceramics course started this past Saturday and it appears that my teacher is a well known ceramics artist here in Istanbul. She even invited me to her presentation at Istanbul Modern the next day! I was nervous because it was in Turkish and didn’t know anyone else, but I decided to step out of my comfort zone and went anyways. So happy I did. All part of my master plan to push myself. Recently, I just finished watching the first season of Orange is the New Black. Essentially, this WASP woman gets sent to jail for a crime…

Becoming Turkish

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I’ve made the decision not to go to California this summer and to stay put in Istanbul. I will probably take a few long weekends to cities in Turkey, but overall, I want to start saving money and not always spend it on traveling. Traveling can be really expensive, and it tends to sneak up on you. It’s always the little things. However, this decision caused a bit of panic because what am I going to do for six weeks? Most, if not all, of the people I work with are traveling which could mean a lot of Claire Time….

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!…

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….