Peru - Days 1-3

Friday, July 19

After three flights, I arrived at the airport in Peru and went through the visa process, which was surprisingly easy. I also exchanged money and hired a taxi, again very clear and easy. On the way to the hotel, the taxi guy gave me lots of tips (all in Spanish) about what to visit and where to eat and drink. Since he was an ex-police officer, he also gave me plenty of warnings about safety especially around idle people. At that moment, I was glad that I was only spending one night in Lima. I arrived at the hotel and checked in, but there was no packet waiting for me. So, I went up to my room to find my roommate for the night, Andrea. There are three of us sharing a room on this trip, so we rotate rooms where one person has a night to herself. Andrea did inform me we had to be ready to leave the hotel at 7. I took a lukewarm shower and fell into bed. But I didn’t sleep peacefully because of all of the street noise.

Sunday, July 20
I woke up early and met our guide at 7. Everyone was already on the van and I was the last one. I guess this group runs on time. We drove to the airport and took a flight from Lima to Cusco. Cusco is at 3,399 and this elevation is no joke. I felt dizzy and in a fog for most of the day. After the flight, we rested for a bit and then headed out to dinner and take a tour around the city. Cusco is a quaint city in the Andes which was once the capital of the Inca Empire. According to the Peruvians, the Spaniards came in and destroyed everything and brought Catholicism. Then, we explored the city, got a few necessities and went back to the hotel. The hotels here are FREEZING! Of course, it is winter here and there is no heat in the hotels. I have never slept with so many blankets.

Inca Museum

The Inca flag is rainbow.

Alpaca steak

The desserts here are amazing.

Eating guinea pig is a thing here.

Plaza de Armas

Sunday, July 21

Today was a hard day for me. The altitude got to me and I struggled on the hike to Rainbow Mountain. It started at 4,326m and climes to 5,200m. I made it all the way up to the summit (about 4,900m), but after so much dizziness, nausea, and nearly freezing to death, I decided to call it a day. Almost everyone in our group made it, but I just couldn’t do it anymore. I had hiked 8 miles and that was enough for me. But I did get some pictures from the group. Most of us had an intense headache and some had nausea. It was a tough day for all. We should have taken more time to adjust. We had gone from sea level to nearly 5,000m within 24 hours, which is definitely not recommended. I learned a lot that day. I learned to trust my limits and to pay attention to my own body. I feel sad that I didn’t get to see the amazing sites, but I am happy that I listened to body and turned around.

 

These are pics from a friend in the group. 

On the way down from the mountain, we had a small accident. All of a sudden, we head something loud hit the van and glass shattered everywhere on us in the back seat. One of the local guys had thrown a stone, supposedly at a horse, which broke our window. The stone was quite large and thankfully, it didn’t hit anyone. But glass was everywhere. We had to drive with an open window, along with the perpetrator to his uncle’s house so that he could pay for the window. When we stopped for lunch, the guides fixed the window with plastic so we could drive the other two hours home. Thankfully, no one was hurt…well, except for the local guy’s wallet.

Spring Break - Days 1 and 2 (Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay)

Disclaimer - sorry for the lack of pics. I am blogging with my kindle and keyboard, so haven't figured out how to put pics on it. I will add more when I get home.

The day before we headed out for spring break, my tooth fell out. No, really, it fell out. So, I had to find a dentist relatively quickly. Come to find out, this was a crown that I had done in Turkey and the dentist did not attach it properly. My tooth is very small and the integrity of it is possibly compromised, so the dentist sealed it and we will make a plan when I get back. At least, I can eat and function normally.

So, we had this crazy idea to go to Vietnam and Cambodia for spring break. I started researching and we chose a tour for about 16 days. I have two weeks off and my partner, Simon requested leave from work. Since I am cheap, we chose to take three flights because we thought we had plenty of time. We chose low-budget airlines instead of the major expensive ones. Of course, they nickel and dime you, but I thought we could save some money and spend it on other things.  

Our first flight was from Dubai to Channai, India. We arrived at the airport in plenty of time and went straight to the lounge. The nice thing about credit cards in the UAE is that they usually include lounge benefits. Simon's card gets us into even more lounges. The flight was fully booked, of course and there were lots of young, rowdy Irish teachers on the flight. The longer the flight got the more drunk they got and annoyed us. These millennials are something else. We managed to get through the flight and arrived in Channai. However, once we got there, the flight crew told us to remain on the flight and of course, I needed to use the bathroom and I was hungry. So, they herded us like cattle through the airport to ship some of the immigration process, but nothing was communicated to us. They even told us to stand in a single file line. I was pretty much fit to be tied at that point. Eventually, we got through security in single gender lines and waited for our flight to Singapore. The flight to Singapore was uneventful and immigration was really easy to navigate. We had to pull our luggage and recheck it, so we did all of that and had time to spare, so we tried some different food. 

The flight to Vietnam was uneventful except I changed seats halfway through because there were some empty seats and I couldn't sleep and then I was missing in action, which scared Simon half to death. Whoops! The visa was quick and efficient and we found the person picking us up. We did notice that the guy that helped us in the airport didn't seem to understand much English and neither did the guy that picked us up. We had better luck at the hotel, though. The rooms are adequate and the food is fresh. The exchange rate is 23,000 Vietnamese Dong per $1, so this is going to get interesting. The calculations are really difficult to manage, but we will figure it out. Tomorrow we have a cruise on the River. We are really excited about the cruise. 

The tour company picked us up at 7:30 and we met four other people in our group. Everyone was from the UK, but lived in different parts of the world and were all over 60. We loved talking with them and getting to know them along the way. On the way to Ha Long Bay, we stopped at a several places included a place where disabled people created embroidery. Of course, we had to buy a few pieces because the craftsmanship was utterly amazing. It is our hope that the money is going to them. We also took pictures with each artist. Afterwards, we stopped in Hai Duong Province where they make cultured pearls. I never knew how they were made, but it involved a very interesting process with seeding the ovaries, etc. I didn't ask many questions about that process. 

After the stops, we arrived at Lavender Cruises and boarded our one night cruise. There were ten other people on board including two guys from Germany, a family from France/New Zealand, a couple from Czech, and two girls from the Phillipines. Everyone was really nice and friendly. We were given a quick drink, a briefing, and then shown to our cabins. After checking in, we had a nice seafood lunch with a few beers. The first activity was kayaking followed by a visit to Table Top Mountain. The kayaking was quite short and honestly, I just took video while Simon paddled. I know I am super lazy, but it was fantastic. Then, we headed off to the mountain to climb thousands of stairs to a look out point. I am still out of shape, but it was worth the view. Once we came down, we began to notice all of the trash and pollution. The place was teaming with tourists and we have virtually spoiled the place. I feel sad that we didn't come earlier when the place was in a much more natural shape. 

After the activities and much needed showers, we came back to have a full seafood dinner and drinks. The food was fresh and abundant, although Simon could have dealt with having less seafood, but I was in heaven. I love all of the weird seafood including crab, shrimp, and fish. I was in food heaven. After dinner, I relaxed while Simon did some squid fishing. He caught two squid, but no one else caught any. I think he had the magic touch. When he caught the first one, I saw the spray of ink and didn't realize the squid still had ink in it. When we pulled it off the hook, my shirt was sprayed with ink. I guess it was a bit of a souvenior. After squid fishing, we headed to bed and crashed. 

The next morning, we got up for breakfast and headed out to visit the beautiful Hang Sung Sot cave. The translation in English is "surprising cave" and the cave definitely surprised us. It didn't look like much when we came up to the island, but the cave was absolutely huge. Once again, the operation was a well-oiled machine with many tourists coming in and out in an orderly fashion. We spent about an hour in the caves and then headed back to check out of the boat so they could clean the rooms to get ready for the next round. We relaxed on the sun deck while our lunch was cooked and watched the beautiful rock formations float past us as we headed back to the harbor. The scenery was breathtaking, but again, very polluted because of us. We arrived back to the harbor and it was amazing to watch everyone dump their trash and laundry in these small little boats that ferried us back and forth. Everything works with amazing efficiency as they ready for the next group.

We arrived at the harbor, met up with our original crew and headed back to Hanoi. Once we arrived back at our hotel, we relazed, had dinner and decided to walk around a bit. The city is small, but bustling with motorbikes and people. It is a smaller city, but there are 7.782 million people who live here, according to Google, so I don't classify it too small.  We had a good walk around the neighborhood and stopped for a beer on the corner to do some people watching. The people are incredibly friendly and often said hi to us. My favorite was watching all of the motorbikes. They came in every fashion with riders to match...young, old, short, tall, helmets, no helmets. Even babies were on the bikes. It was definitely organized chaos. Afterwards, we had a walk back to the hotel and enjoyed a few beers on the rooftop. This is only day 2! I can't wait to see what happens tomorrow!

Life in Dubai

I have been living in Dubai for seven months now. It is absolutely the most advanced, craziest city I've ever lived and I absolutely love it. I have always loved adventure and have traveled and lived in some interesting places, but this takes the cake. From the sand storms to the lavish malls to the sandy beaches, Dubai truly has it all.

There have been some things that have taken time to get used to here.

1. My Job
I have shifted from being a teacher to being an administrator and it has taken some time to shift into my new role. I have always been a teacher and I love being a teacher. I mean, I really love it. It drives me and helps me get up on all of those early mornings. Schools are alive with enthusiastic, curious students who will lead our world one day. They are my driving force. But being an administrator means you don't have that kind of one-on-one contact with them on a daily basis. No student is calling you his/her teacher. It is almost like a death of some sort. But that connection is replaced with hard-working, eager teachers. Teachers who work day and night to make sure that every single child is making progress in his/her class.

You also have to make hard decisions that sometimes affect many people or cause sadness, anger, or resentment. Change is hard for most people. There are some hard changes we have had to make this year in my school for various reasons and it has been difficult to say the least. But we are making progress as we get to know each other and work together for the same purpose.

Being an administrator does allow me to get out and see things that are happening around the school. For example, we had a Dr. Seuss day where reading was celebrated.

I often find various posters up around the school celebrating initiatives from the government, in science, math, etc.

I also witnessed and participated in an inspection process here in Dubai. My school is accredited through NEASC, but every single school here in Dubai has to go through an inspection process with KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority), our local entity, where a team of inspectors comes for a week and observes, meets, and discusses your progress compared to the previous year. The team was predominately American and I really enjoyed talking with them and share experiences. What I anticipated as being a scary, stressful process ended up being collaborative and rewarding.

2. The driving

Holy God, the driving...it is absolutely insane. From the roundabouts to the tailgaters, to the luxury cars to the 10 lanes of highway, I have had to get used to the way things are done here on the roads. One of the great things about being in Dubai is that you get a brand new car when you rent for a year. So, I have a Nissan Sunny that I rented for about $300/month, all inclusive. I absolutely love it. But seriously, the other drivers can make/break your day. I live in the school's accommodation, so it is very close to my school. It takes me five minutes to get to work. The problem comes when I have to drive to other places. Cars will come up on your bumper and honk and/or flash their lights while maintaining a "safe" distance of an inch or two. It is madness. Often these cars are worth more than a house, but it doesn't matter. Sometimes it is the crappiest cars and don't get me started on the mini buses for workers. They are the absolute worst! There are speed cameras at nearly every mile of the highway, so you would think that makes a difference, but it doesn't seem to make a dent in the problem. Imagine if there were no cameras? OMG!

I also can't get used to the traffic circles/roundabouts here. I can't figure out which lane to use and when you ask people or look online, you get different answers. Last week, a guy missed me by INCHES when get cut in front of me to exit the roundabout. In my opinion, you need to be in the right lane if you are exiting. But everyone has to exit, so I feel more comfortable staying in the right lane, but then I block people from exiting. It is a nightmare.

3. The sandy weather 
I thought when I moved to Dubai, it was going to be luxury everything and lots of sun. I mean, I live a few minutes from the beach and it is always hot...or so I thought. The past few days we have had blinding sandstorms and then a deluge of rain. Once the rain comes, it seems to clear out all of the nasty, sandy weather. I have no lived in a desert before, naturally, so I didn't realize the amount of says. Sounds stupid, doesn't it...but I am serious. Dubai was built on a desert and I live in the middle of it. And as you can imagine sand gets on everything...balconies, inside windows, cars, eyes, etc. I had eye surgery last year to correct my vision and I still have some dryness here and there, but the desert has made it ten times worse. I use Visine quite often!

One of the local newspapers posted this worker trying to keep the sand out of his eyes and these guys crossing a bridge.

4. The diversity

The diversity is utterly amazing here. At last check, we had over 50 different countries represented in our school. The teachers in my school come from Lebanan, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Ireland, Canada and the UK. It is the most diverse place I have every worked and it is glorious. One of the things I have learned is to ask a lot of questions instead of making an assumption. For example, if I see something at work with a teacher, I first ask about what is happening instead of assuming. I also have to be careful as I am the only U.S. trained teacher in my school and I need to learn more about how U.S. curriculum looks in our context within the mission and vision of our school. Honestly, it is about respecting one another and giving other the benefit of the doubt.

5. The services

I am not going to lie, I do have someone clean my house and do my laundry. I have someone wash my car. I have groceries delivered and sometimes meals. I have water delivered every week. I have someone do my nails and take care of my body (massage, etc.). I have a newspaper delivered every morning. Even my new car was delivered to me. I often have food delivered. We have tons of workers at school who immediately help with the call of a name. I seriously don't lift a finger. You can get anything delivered here including: laundry, groceries, spa services, Souq packages (like Amazon), and food from nearly every restaurant (including Dunkin Donuts and Cheesecake Factory!). If it deliverable, it can happen. 

6. Separation of genders, dress code 

My school is mixed, but the majority of schools have separate sections for boys and girls. Additionally, all of the government services here seem to be separated, especially if there is some sort of contact. Yesterday, I actually saw an ambulance especially for women with a female EMT. The gyms and beauty services are also mostly separated. My gym has a mixed area and an area for all females. I have to say, I love the all-female gym. It gives me some sort of power feeling to see a bunch of strong women working out. This has been especially important for me as I get back into shape. Even some of the taxis are by gender like this pink one in front of our school.

The dress code is also a bit different. I am amazed at the women who exercise completely covered because of the heat. I am always dying in my t-shirt and capris. You see a range of different types from completely covered to barely covered (at the beach), but for work, government and normal day-to-day activities, I try to keep my shoulders and legs/elbows covered. One of my favorite stories is Banana Republic and it is very different here. They have the same type of clothing you would see back home and then they have culturally appropriate clothing. I have bought several dresses for work from there.

Well, I guess that is for now. I will try to blog a bit more especially as I am leaving for spring break tonight to Vietnam/Cambodia. 

Cyprus and Amasra

Since I only have a few weeks left, I wanted to make sure I included Cyprus (the Turkish side) in my travels before heading back to the U.S. The flight is only about an hour, so I knew that I could do it in a weekend.

I booked a sea view at one of the hotels my colleagues recommended and asked for the highest floor. The hotel did not disappoint. They gave me the top floor and the hotel is located on a stunning piece of real estate with dramatic blue seas as far as the eye can see. I am fascinated by the water. I think it stems from the fact that I grew up in a land-locked state and I rarely saw the ocean. But the Mediterranean is my favorite. I can't get enough of the gorgeous, turquoise-blue water. It is just stunning and what I crave to be near when I am stressed or have too many plates spinning in the air. I don't even need to get in the sea, just being close to it is enough for me.

I had to change rooms after the first night because the bathroom was backed up and was leaking into my shower. So, they placed me on a lower floor with a gorgeous sea view. The pic to the left is that view.

The town of Girne is very small and easy to navigate. It was mostly tourists with a small harbor. People are very nice, but clearly rely on tourists for their income. I didn't venture out much except to the harbor and a few shops.

The sunsets are amazing from the balcony of my apartment, but they were even better here. I watched the sun set both nights and it was just glorious. I imagine I could just rent a place here for a month and spend my days swimming in the sea and reading in the afternoons.

I had a little work to finish, so I spent a few hours a day writing, but overall, it was very relaxing.

During my last full weekend here in Turkey, I decided to go to Amasra, a beautiful coastal city on the Black Sea about three and a half hours from Ankara by bus. The bus ride was fine, although not for the faint of heart because of the mountains.

How it all happened...

Many people have asked me about the new job in Dubai. I have to admit, I wasn't really looking. I love Turkey. I love Bilkent. The people here are sweet, passionate, and respectful. After finishing my degree last fall, I knew I wanted a leadership position in curriculum, instruction and/or assessment in a K-12 environment, but I thought I would stay here another year or two and see how things developed. As most of you know and have experienced, find a job in today's day and age takes time. So, I reorganized and updated my resume and started looking at some of the options on Linkedin. I clicked on a few jobs and uploaded my new resume. A week later I had an email request to complete some formal paperwork. I actually received the request when I was in Thailand and my computer was not working, so I had to complete it when I got back. So, I replied to the email and said I would submit later when I returned home. Once I returned home, I submitted the paperwork and received an email request for an interview with the principal. Then, I began to get nervous. Oh no, what happens if this actually goes through and I get hired? Oh crap, I need to get myself together and review some things before this interview. The secretary told me the interview would be via Facetime.

The interview went well and the principal said he would probably recommend me to the Chief Academic Officer (CAO) for an interview. So, a week later, I had an interview with her too. Our interview was mostly a conversation together, which was nice because I was able to explain my ideas and passion for K-12. This position is for a curriculum coordinator at one of the school systems managed by AMSI in Dubai. There are currently three school systems with a fourth one to open in the fall. The job is exactly what I want to do - supporting teachers, curriculum implementation, etc. and all with American curriculum. Hooray! After the interview, I received a contract a few days later. So, I had a tough decision to make - stay in Turkey or go to Dubai. I have been teaching for 18 years. I love, love, love teaching. It is truly my passion. But I am also ready to support teachers full time. I want this to be my primary focus at this time in my career. So, I accepted the job. Then, came the fun part - the PAPERWORK. The new job wanted two things attested. I had no idea what that meant, but I was soon to find out. 

Attested is basically like a glorified notary but with government officials. My highest diploma and a criminal record needed to be attested. For the diploma, it needed to receive approvals from the Secretary of State, Department of State, and the UAE embassy in the country in which the diploma was received. So, when is it all said and done, it cost me about $350 to get this done because I had to send my diploma to the U.S. and then pay a service to run it around for the approvals. This will take 4-5 weeks (but of course the new job wanted it in a week). 

Secondly, I had to get a criminal record attested from Turkey. This is where the problems began. I called the UAE embassy here in Ankara and they told me that I could print out my criminal record from the online system, take it to the ministry of foreign affairs, and then bring it to the UAE embassy for attestation. So, I went to the Post Office (twice) to get my password and then my colleague helped me to navigate the site (in Turkish). I printed my record and headed to the ministry. When I arrived to the ministry, I went through all of the security, walked to the building, and took my place in line. Nearly an hour later, my number was called. The guy took the paper and threw it back at me while muttering something in Turkish. I told him I don't understand. I also gave him a piece of paper that a colleague had written for me in Turkish requesting attestation. He repeated whatever he said and when I didn't understand, he wrote something on the paper. When I tried to use my phone to call a friend for help with the language, he said no. At this point, I was getting upset. I repeatedly told him I didn't understand while he proceeded to push the next number. I refused to move, so he told me to sit down next to the window. When the next person came up to the window, he asked him to translate for me. The guy was from Sudan and he translated that I needed to go to the governor's office and then back here. So, I called a friend (and maybe cussed a bit) and then got directions to the governor's office. When I arrived at the governor's office, she also threw my papers back at me and did not speak English. I asked her if I could use my phone and she said yes. When I called a friend, he translated for me and we talked back and forth. She said that I needed to get the record printed at another office and that foreign governments do not accept the online version. When I told her what the UAE embassy had told me, she told me they don't know Turkish law. Apparently, either does the ministry of foreign affairs. 

By that point, it was time for me to go back to work after roaming around the city for three hours. Essentially, I had started with steps three and four of this five step process. So, I headed back to work and vowed to start anew in the morning. This time a friend met me in the city to help me with all of the paperwork. First, we picked up the criminal report, which was easy, but took some time. Then, we went to the notary down the street. My friend was translating for me and come to find out, the notary spoke English! That was the only place that spoke English in this whole process except the UAE embassy. After the notary, we got the necessary stamp in the city and then headed to the foreign ministry for step four. My friend was not allowed in, even though I argued, so I struggled to get it done.

Finally, I was able to go the UAE embassy here in Ankara with all of the required docs. Not an easy task, but it is done. Geez!

10 days to go!

As I sit here on my balcony for the umpteenth time, listening to another storm roll  in on this beautiful summer night in Ankara, I am thankful. I am thankful for this experience of working here at Bilkent. It has finally hit me that I am leaving, so I am in a mad rush to get in one more trip, meet one more friend, go to my office one more time. There have been a lot of things going on, so I thought I would try to catch you up.

sunset from my balcony 

view from my balcony 

I will be leaving Turkey on July 22 flying through Germany and the East Coast to head to St. Louis for about a month. After a month of visiting friends and resting a bit, I will head over to Dubai some time mid-August. My hope is that I will receive all of my household goods during the week before orientation, so that I can unpack and get settled. I do much better when I am settled and everything is in its place. So, here is what has been happening over the last few weeks.



Holiday Time
At the end of Ramadan, we had a long weekend, so my partner and I headed to Bodrum to spend the holiday with his family. Bodrum is stunning. It is on the coast of the Mediterranean with bright blue seas. This was my third time to Bodrum, but the first time staying in a summer home. A lot of the people here seem to have summer homes that they can enjoy during the warm months. We stayed with my partner's family, which of course, made me miss my niece and nephew even more. I can hardly wait to see them. The family would go to the beach in the morning and the pool in the late afternoon. This was really smart so that everybody didn't get too much sun, but was always moving and enjoying vacation. The drive was the worst part as we drove through mountains and well, Turkish drives don't always obey the road rules. There were many times when I closed my eyes and maybe overcorrected my partner a bit too much. I had a hard time containing my control freak nature, but I tried. It was a lot to do in just four days, but I am so thankful for the experience.

huge pool at Can's family's place

love the yachts

the beach was pebbly and the water rough

cotton candy on the beach!

Black Sea
I went on a day trip to the Black Sea, specifically Filyos with one of the tourism agencies here. The trips that the tour guide plans are always fun with many different activities. This one was just a day at the beach, resting and relaxing. I had never been to the Black Sea and it was on my list, so I was really glad that I could fit it in. The day was bright and sunny, but turned cloudy and started raining as we left. On the way out. we stopped by some ruins and took stunning pictures in lookout area just above the beach. I try to take in these moments and burn them into my memory for when I am sweating in the desert this fall. Turkey is honestly one of the most beautiful countries in the world. From the seas to the mountains to the amazing food, it is just spectacular.

panoramic 

The ruins are also amazing here. There are ruins everywhere and in this case, they were trying to create and exhibit of them, so a guard was there protecting them. It was just breathtaking.

Car is Gone!
I have been walking to work the past week or so since I sold my car. My walk to work is gorgeous with tree-lined paths and stunning scenery. It is about two miles to work, so if I walk to and from, I get about 10,000 steps. I have also been walking to the gym, so the steps add up! But I definitely miss my baby car. She was very good to me and tolerant as I learned to drive a stick shift.

walk from my office to library

Dr. Akagun

Laser Eye Surgery
I had corrective eye surgery in early June and boy, was it an experience. I have been wearing contacts/glasses since I was ten years old. I knew several of the expats here had laser surgery, so I asked the expat community and they referred me to Dr. Akagun. Now, my prescription is high, so I knew it would be miracle if I could actually see without contacts/glasses. But it worked!! The first few days really, really sucked. I slept for like 48 hours and I could not deal with the sunlight. But about day 3 or 4, I turned the corner. I could see so clearly. It is still very weird for me to get up and not have to put on my glasses or take out my contacts at night. I still have to use drops during the day and an ointment at night, but my eyes feel really great. Hopefully, the dryness will disappear soon. The doctor was very sweet and I would recommend her to anyone. It was a bit difficult with the language (other than the doctor) in the clinic, but overall, it was a good experience.

after 

before

getting ready 

yeah, I rocked those glasses