This blog has been a bit neglected recently. Life has been busy! Here's some of what has been going on with us:
For most of our time here, L and I have split our language learning time pretty much 50:50. He's looked after the boys in a morning while I've worked, then we've swapped, then vice versa the next day. That sort of thing. About 8-10 weeks ago we decided that, for several reasons, it was time to change our routine. Now, L is usually free to work from 9-5 each week day, apart from when my language helper is here and sometimes he watches the boys. I fit hours in more flexibly, in part because I have more Turkish-speaking social activities in a day. I often work 8-9am while L looks after J and S, my language helper comes a couple of afternoons a week, I meet with some friends to study our favourite book together each week in Turkish, I work some evenings and I'm currently going to a weekly evening course on worldviews that is in Turkish. So we've been adapting to this new rhythm of life.
And then while we've been adapting to our new routine, everything got thrown out of sync for a month while L did his CELTA English teaching course. The CELTA course is a four week long, well respected and internationally recognised qualification for English teaching - that is also well known for its intensity. L finished the course last Friday and got his provisional result back yesterday, he passed with a Pass B grade, which is like passing with merit.
In addition, during that same month, L also gave a talk at one of our Sunday gatherings. He'd prepared it and had it checked earlier, but he still had to go over it multiple times before giving it. Nevertheless he did really well (at both giving the talk and with his course) and seems to have taken really naturally to English teaching. I, on the other hand, have learned from L's course that I never want to formally teach English as a foreign language!
And in amongst all of that, J has started dropping his daily nap and S has been learning to walk. We've been starting to make preparations and pack some boxes ready for emptying our flat and putting all of our belongings in storage (just over 3 weeks until the removal company comes!) and also making plans for when we're back in the UK.
However, if you asked J what's been going on he would probably give you different answers. He'd tell you that the other day he went to the park at the Zorlu shopping centre and played in the sand with his friends' diggers and dumper trucks. That when my language helper comes she's been reading books in Turkish about Thomas the Tank Engine to him, and sometimes he's even allowed to watch Thomas the Tank Engine in Turkish. He'd tell you that he saw diggers and two steamrollers on the way to the park last week and that the greengrocer that we pass on the way home from the park gave him two cherries this morning and that yesterday his friends came to our house to play. And that soon we're going to go to England and stay with Granny and Grandpa and they have a black dog and a garden with a trampoline and we'll eat fish and chips. And after that we'll go and stay with Papa S and Gilly B and go and play on the beach and go in Papa S's boat.
The world must seem simpler when you're not quite three years old!
