This post transported me back to the early days after moving to this town. When it was all new and foreign and different. We wanted out. We were not going to have children here, not going to buy a house here, definitely not going to send the kids to school here. Twelve years later here we are. Still here. The town has changed in some ways; it’s a little prettier, has sprawled and is more crowded. There are signs of community at Click for more
Tag: Canakkale
Global Friends
A few months ago I participated in a six-week workshop called SUM-it UP run by Global Niche. I’ve known Anastasia and Tara, founders of Global Niche, for many years. We have something in common as wives who followed Turkish men home. The course itself looked deceptively simple. Six weeks of working through visions and goals, to what online platforms you want to present these on, to creating and action plan and implementing it. Easy. But somewhere along the line it Click for more
Book Fairs Galore…
Last week saw Canakkale’s 1st International Book Fair, held in the Megaron Conference centre in the Kolin Hotel. The book fair consisted of one book shop from downtown, a few publishers, foundations and local authors. On the day I visited the international was provided by a stand apparently run by the Cuban tourist board (there was no one on the stand to ask). Still it’s a start and hopefully next year will see a bigger and better book fair. From Click for more
Don’t Panic!
Fittingly enough given it would have been Douglas Adam’s 60th birthday on the 11th of March these words have been running through my head repeatedly in the last few days. The government have decided to change the education system. This should be greeted with shouts of joy and delight as there are plenty of things that could be improved on. But instead of changing the curriculum or adjusting the exam system (which changes every few years anyway) the plan is Click for more
Disconnected
We wait… But We have three 19 litre bottles under the stairs, Another 8 litres inside the house. Drinking water is delivered. Wipes can be used for grubby hands and faces, The kettles are all full. We can cope till the water returns. We wait… But Our heating is an enclosed fireplace, logs stacked since June. The hob works with gas, the spare canister’s full. Torches and radios are tested and working, Phones are charged and spare batteries stockpiled, Click for more
Finally, a plan…
There has long been talk about constructing a museum near the site of Troy, something that is sorely needed. There are very few artifacts to be seen at the site, and only a few in Canakkale Archeology Museum (which few tours visit), which leaves some of the most interesting things out of view of the visitor. There also needs to be an attempt made to explain the importance of the site, both archeologically and in terms of global culture; a Click for more
School Days
One thing I wasn’t going to do when I started blogging was talk about my children, I was not. My time online was going to be my time for me: no kids, no housework, no responsibilities. I’m breaking that rule today. Having spent the summer constantly in the company of my children, the last month of which also included Baba aka the Handyman, we have been wrenched apart. It started with the Handyman’s return to work, leaving the three of Click for more
A Most Distinguished Visitor
I sat applying nail polish with exaggerated care. The care was exaggerated on two counts; first, I don’t wear it often and paint fingers as well as nails, and second, we were on a ferry. It wasn’t moving and it should have been; the second coat of polish was to distract me from that fact. Ten minutes after it should have and ten minutes before we were due to be at the far side of the far peninsula we finally Click for more
Cead Mile Failte Romhat
It seems fitting to finally get my first post on my new blog up on St. Patrick’s Day. Fitting because the odd mix of national holiday celebrated in a country that doesn’t acknowledge it is typical of expat life. So as I sit here listening to NPR’s Irish music stream and am sent a stream of Paddy’s day greetings and news through Twitter, the daily reality around me is sublimely ignorant. More so than usual perhaps as we have workmen Click for more