Living in Turkey – Working in Turkey

[ad#Link share in post google replacement]Getting a job in Turkey and living the expat life in Turkey will certainly present some challenges.

Once again, I feel like things are moving up. As I mentioned on facebook (what? you didn’t see me on facebook? here http://www.facebook.com/vagodamitio ), I felt like a returning son coming to Turkey. I had new friends cheering my arrival, friends offering to help me figure life out, and best of all – when I arrived in Manisa I already had an apartment waiting for me!
That’s one of the advantages of taking a job. The apartment and utilities are all paid for. Of course, time will tell how things go. At the moment, I’m sharing the apartment with just one other teacher. If they load it up like the staff room at a hostel as time goes on, then it might be an issue.

I didn’t come here with much, but teachers who have already gone left plenty in the way of clothing and even a couple of books. My roommate told me that I could take what clothes I wanted and surprisingly, I found quite a few things that fit me and looked like they’d never been worn. On top of that, I actually liked the clothes! So, my wardrobe has nearly doubled just by arriving.
The house is furnished and has everything that Hanane and I need in terms of a refrigerator, a stove, a washing machine, satellite TV, and wifi internet. Of course, back when we were living in the casbah we got by with no shower, no hot water, no stove, no fridge, and not much else, so in truth we don’t need much. All of this is luxury for us, but completely unessential.
The one thing that is missing is Hanane. I came as an advance scout to make sure everything is on the up and up and see if we can live here. So far, so good. I am just anxious to see her again. In truth, I’m a bit bored without her company. Last night there was a big carnival concert thing not far from the apartment, but I had no desire to wander up there on my own. If I were 25 and looking to get laid though, I think that’s exactly where I would have gone. Although, from what my new roommate has told me, it’s a celibate life for a single non-Muslim in Manisa. Sounds frustrating and I’m glad that I don’t have to experience that frustration any more. It’s funny, so much of my life was defined by that constantly looking for love, sex, or affection that I missed out on a lot in the process. Anyway, it was nice to recognize that and just know that I’m missing my wife.
As far as I can tell there are only four native English speakers in this city of 300,000. Two of those are going to be leaving. I’m not one of those, at least not as far as I know.
So, the apartment is good. The work is good so far. Manisa is also good. It’s a quiet city, the people are friendly, it feels safe. There aren’t a lot of bars or party places which means there aren’t a lot of drunks wandering around or fighting in the streets. The apartment is situated near a Turkish army base, looks like an officer housing complex to me, because these aren’t uneducated 18 year olds, nor grunts I’m seeing. Somehow the fact that I pass a bunch of sentries in helmets carrying machine guns just feels good to me as I walk to work.
I also pass by the police station where a guy in a flak jacket with a mean looking sub-machine gun paces back and forth. From our fifth floor front balcony that is what is on the left. On the right is an Imam school of some sort. I don’t really see these guys, but they practice the call to prayer and while some of them are good, man, some of them sound like two cats with their tales tied together and slung over a clothesline. They really shouldn’t let those guys use the PA system. Further down is the train station.
I love hearing the whistles and grinds of trains. It’s funny how often I end up living near train tracks. Fairhaven, Raleigh, Fes, and now Manisa.
From the back balcony which is off of our bedroom, there is an amazing view of Mt Sypil. It’s massive and as the moon rises, the sun comes up, or the sun sets the mountain exerts a pull, an attraction. In fact, I think it was the mountain that brought me here, but I’ll write about that later.
Manisa is a healthy place and it is filled with parks, outdoor workout stations, and lots of trees, green space, and scenic spots. there are no shortage of interesting statues and places to see. While I wait for Hanane, I am mostly walking around and just getting the feel of the place in my spare time. It’s easy to find a healthy meal for 1-2 lira ( about $1.50 will do it), the food is pretty cheap, and if you want to splurge, there are plenty of ways to do it. There are at least three movie theatres and I’ve already watched one film at a matinee for about $5 U.S, (8 lira).
There are libraries in Manisa. I’ve visited one of them already and found that they have a few English language books that are scattered over the shelves. When I say a few, I mean a few. I found a book about chicken embryology, a book from the 1800s about the pillars of European history, a book about ‘the Armenian question’, and a few plays. Still, it’s nice to have a public library and they provide free wi-fi as well.
I’ve done little shopping. Mostly buying food in the open air market on Thursdays and some regular groceries like pasta, milk, and rice in the supermarket. I also paid a visit to the Turkish version of Walmart, called ‘Migros’ and bought a pair of trainers so I can do some running for 25 lira (about $18). My next purchase is probably going to be a semi-smart phone with a camera since my phone is pretty shot and my camera is broken and gone.
I’ll be writing quite a lot about Manisa in the coming days. It’s a fascinating place with rich history and a lot happening. for now, I just wanted to sort of catch up with myself (and you) here at Vagobond.