Sometimes it feels like one of our biggest challenges is communicating to people back in the UK what it's like to live in Central Turkey.
Often when we say 'Turkey', people think 'package holidays on the beach'. The Mediterranean and Aegean coasts of Turkey are very lovely, but they are also incredibly different from Central Turkey where we live.
I love the city where we live. But it is most definitely not a beach holiday destination place (for one, we're a rather long way from the sea). I have to be careful how I dress and how I act because I know that as a foreign woman, I am watched and scrutinised.
And just as people sometimes think all of Turkey is like the beach resort they visited once, sometimes they think that it's always warm here. Or at least always warmer than the UK.
So just in case you happened to think that, it can be cold here. Colder than the UK. In fact, the weather forecast for tomorrow says that it's going to reach a high tomorrow of -1 degrees (with a low of -8 degrees). But that the -1 degrees high is going to actually feel like -5 degrees. And it's snowing at the moment. This is pretty typical weather for our city in winter, so it's not exactly a surprise. But I am definitely looking forward to spring!
