Wrapping it up...

15 days till we leave for Greece! Ace and I are both starting to get excited. I could definitely stay in Istanbul- I love it here- but am really looking forward to everything to come. Since I know I’m leaving soon, I haven’t found new students to replace the ones that have drifted away (average shelf life for a private student seems to be about 3 months) and I’m finding my last weeks pretty light on work and pretty heavy on….waiting. I’m taking the opportunity to see my friends as much as I possibly can without seeming to lonely and desperate!

Today I worked out, then met a friend of a friend who’s new in town. She’s looking for work and I’m looking for someone reliable to recommend to my students when I’m gone, so that worked out nicely. She’s a Midwestern mom whose kids just recently graduated high school, so she’s seizing “the ten years between when they graduate and when they reproduce” to see the world  Very cool. We chatted for a long time about students, making it as a tutor, and life in Istanbul in general, then I walked up the hill to Molly’s Café, where I’m now sipping a latte and admiring the very preggers café cat. On the way up the hill, I had the fortune to run into two very lovely street kittens on a doorstep. I stopped to say hi, and within a minute both were lounging in my lap. A Turkish guy stopped to play with the kitties- I figured he was more interested in my low-cut shirt than the kittens, and I got kinda bristly- but it turns out I was wrong, as he stayed behind to bat at a pamphlet with them when I walked off. It’s nice to be wrong sometimes! I caught another Turkish guy- this one maybe high-school aged- stopping to admire another batch of kittens in our rather tough neighborhood. He snapped a picture on his cell phone, then turned the phone around to show the kitties the picture and get their approval. Adorable.

I’m getting kind of antsy to start packing, cleaning, and giving away stuff, but I’m going to hold out for another week. Hopefully I’ll keep a bit busier this coming week- Friday is graduation at Ace’s school, so I’ll meet everybody in the suburb for that, then we’ll spend the night at Erin’s and hopefully mooch off Melissa’s apartment’s pool. Ace is finished with conventional classes and testing, and is now pretty much just babysitting the few students who are still coming to school. His stress level seems to be a lot lower now, though he’s still having to deal with a healthy dose of school drama, and he’s pretty darn excited to be done so soon. Apparently the school has run out of money (again) and isn’t paying the primary and kinder teachers, so our friend Anna, a kinder teacher, has stopped coming to school (as well she should). That means that the upper level teachers are covering in shifts, so Ace has been recruited to help with the kinders two hours a day several times this week. Aw.

Greece planning (the little bit I’m doing) is going well. We’re planning on spending two nights or so in Athens, then island-hopping around the Cyclades island group for the rest of our vacation, working our way south, then back north to Athens to fly back to Istanbul. The trouble is choosing which islands to visit- there are 200 islands in that group alone, and pretty much all of them are awesome! I’ve booked hostels for Athens and Santorini, the two places most likely to book up, and we’re planning on just going with the flow and finding lodging a night or two ahead of time for the other islands. I’ve also contacted some Couchsurfers, and we’re really hoping we’ll get to stay with someone in Athens or on some of the islands.

Wedding planning is going well- the big stuff is done, and the little stuff we can do from here is under control. I’m sure we’ll get swamped with to-do’s when we get home, but everything’s under control for now.

Ace and I were pretty set on doing our backpacking-wwoofing-couchsurfing trip from Ecuador to Argentina next year, but it looks like there’s a small chance things will change. Ace found a job posting for an international school in Bolivia, one which looks pretty reputable. It’s in the capital of Bolivia, which looks like a pretty pleasant place to live. I’ve gotten pretty excited about the idea of the unlimited open road next year, but financial stability and a home in Bolivia wouldn’t be too bad, either. It sounds like Ace is probably going to apply, and if, by a small chance, they’ll give him a decent contract and a week or two to fly home for the wedding….well, we’ll see.
Much love,
Kait