Reasons and Reasons

"Why are you moving to Turkey?" Is a question I get a lot and everybody gets a slightly different answer. Some answers are more true than others, some more complete, some are flippant and others barely scratch the surface. The question itself implies two questions: why move and why Turkey? I am not sure I could articulate all the reasons for either one, so I give sound bytes:

"It's governement isn't in revolt"
"I wanted to avoid the construction on campus"
"It was time for a change"
"I wanted an adventure"
"I needed a break from Gunn"

These are all true and they dont add up to the whole reason. I needed to get out of my rut, I need a new challenge, I need a kick in the pants. But at the same time, I really like my job, my school, my colleagues. I have a great house, a comfortable life and the cutest cat in the world. My government isn't in revolt, construction will be on the other side of campus and I finally have enough extracurricular activities to be as busy as I want to be.

Many people respond to my answer by saying something along the lines of "Good for you! This is the sort of thing people should do when they are young." I am not young. I think what they mean is single. I am single. My insurance agent is the only one who was really honest, she said, "Good for you! I thought that was something that only people in their 20s do." Of course the implication in either case is that it is easy to do this sort of thing when you are unattached. True, there is only one person to figure out all of the paper work required, one person to do all the packing, one person to make all of the decisions and perhaps easiest of all, there will only be one person over there, alone in a foreign culture, half way around the world...

Thank you for indulging my momentary pity party. Of course it is easier to travel alone and of course I have not had to do all of the preparation alone, but this still isn't easy, which is part of why I cant say exactly why I am moving or why Turkey.

A few logistical reasons can shed some light on Turkey. I went into the process with East Africa on my mind, but there weren't any jobs that seemed to fit. (More on this later.) I was eventually offered jobs in Tunisa (5 different preps, 3 of which I hadn't taught before), South Korea (or as Ann likes to call it Koreastan, -2 C the day I interviewed), and Turkey (a Muslim country with a secular government). I also interviewed in Cairo, but they ended up not offering me a job, but then their government went into revolt, so I am not sure I would have taken that job anyway... So to Turkey I go and the decision has really grown on me.

Finally, the reason for the second Reasons... Why write a blog? I am not a good writer. I tend to write 'just the facts, ma'am' in a scientific tone. This happened, then this happened, we went there and ate that, etc. It is boring. It is boring even for me, and I was there. I hope to post a lot of pictures so you dont actually have to read, but we are just getting started here. Besides I have promised to keep in touch with loads of people and there is no way my budget will allow me to send that many postcards every week. I have kept a trip book on every major trip I have made since my trip with Kate to Alaska and I enjoy having the record of my adventures, so even if you dont read it, I will be glad to know this is there for me.

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