Transition Complete - Last Post

I write this post with a mixture of success, sadness and excitement. Success because I feel we really have achieved a lot in just 3 months. Sadness because that's the transition process behind us - never to be encountered again. And excitement because our "normal"life starts today - as normal as a pilot's life (and his wife's) can ever be.

So just time for a quick reflection on what we faced when we arrived, and how we've managed.

- Set up a home - Tick. We have a lovely apartment in a lovely village. Its not anything fancy, but its ours. Filled with our own furniture and belongings, with enough rooms for visitors to stay easily, and a place to relax and entertain. We love it. Not a day goes by without me telling Paul how happy I am in my new home.

- Get registered in Turkey - Tick. Easy for Paul, the company did it. Took 3 months for me - and lots of extra "fees" to get it sorted. I've got a quiet 6 months before we have to start the whole process all over again for next year (better start saving ! ). But I'm still persona non-grata as I still can't get a phone contract in my name. Oh well - it stretches the communication skills to go and get a pe-paid package every month.

- Learn Turkish - Half Tick. Actually, I'm being hard on us here - we have a very good vocabulary base now. And I'm not sure I want to learn too much. They just speak back to you, and then we're stumped ! But I have started Turkish classes in earnest now. Had a grammer lesson this morning.  How am I going to learn to put my verbs at the end of a spoken sentence ? It was easy for my Latin A-Level as I never had to speak it - only write it. To say "I would like a white wine" you have to say "I white colour wine would like". Just as well I'm on a detox for a while as I'll need to get my head around this ! Or just resort to what I've been saying for the last 3 months - seems to work !

- Make friends - Tick. This isn't easy when you move to a new country but we do seen to have a lot of acquaintances in our little black book now - pilots on the same intake as Paul, people I've met from FB pages, my recently founded Book Group, and ladies from IWI. But it all takes time (and effort) to initiate friendships and keep them going. There are quite a few I know I will become good friends with though, and I look forward to getting to know them better.

- Find something to keep me occupied - Tick. I'm particularly proud of this. Board team member and Events Team Volunteer Coordinator of the IWI within 3 months of stepping on Turkish soil. At least Paul can go to work knowing that I'm not going to be bored or complain. 'Cos a bored Karen doesn't make for an easy life ! And I'm loving it.  Looking forward to our Christmas Festival on 29th November. Then there's a Spring Ball to be organised. And events and coffee mornings to attend. I'm also looking forward to working with some of the charities we raise money for.

Something else to keep me occupied - we're planning on getting a dog in the Spring - from a dog shelter that a friend volunteers at. Paul has written it as a comment on FB already - so that's that settled then. I'm very excited about that - a reason to get out walking on the beach a few times a day. Speaking of which - this was the view when I was our running this morning - the sand is grassing over now - its all very green down there. And the temperature is wonderful - around 13 deg. Loving it.

What else have we gained ? Try 3 kilos each !! Well we haven't actually - we are still the same weight as we were when we left Singapore (which was too heavy) but the fat seems to have shifted around ! So I started 9 day detox diet on Tuesday - I'd forgotten how hard all this dieting lark was. But the memory cells are coming back - learning whats good and what's not. My whole diet has been crap for the last 4.5 years !!!  And the roast dinners I've re-learned to cook since we moved into our new home will have to take a back seat for a while. A couple of weeks (days ???) and we'll reintroduce the odd glass of wine I hope. And roast potatoes.

And why has this fat shifted ? Because I hadn't realised exactly how arduous all our cycling was in Singapore - how many calories it burned off and how easy it was to do it. We've found a new route in Yesilkoy - its just a 5km stretch along the beach which can only be done outside of peak walking times (so about 10am or 2pm). We've only managed 3 loops so far due to all the dodging we have to do, but its better than nothing. But the cycling issue is one we still need to resolve.

So why has "normality" set in today ? Well Captain Yarnie has take to the skies again. As I write he is currently on his way back from Hamburg, on his first flight as a Turkishair pilot. He's on line-training for 10 flights - should hopefully be finished by 18th November.  Its been 3 months since he last sat in the cockpit and was very excited when he went off to work this morning. He looks so handsome in his new uniform.

To sum up -  it's been a rollercoaster 3 months since we arrived in Istanbul, and never again will we have the trials and tribulations of settling into a new country (unless Scotland becomes independent in the next 5 years !). But we have risen to the challenge and have enjoyed almost every minute of it all.

Thanks to all those who have taken the time to read this and follow our adventures. Time to switch back to good old FB for intermittent updates now. Signing off for the last time ...............

Almost There !

Wow ! I haven't written for 2 weeks. What's been happening ? I guess we've been really busy with all our visitors.

I wish I could say we've been settling into our life here - but Paul still hasn't got confirmation of his first flying date so we don't have a normal life to settle into just yet. We've really just been biding time until the day that he hits the skies again. Fingers crossed he will get his Apron Pass tomorrow (26th Oct - which is exactly 3 months since we left Singapore). Sounds as if we are being impatient (me ? Of course not!) but if he doesn't do at least one flight in October then we are back to basic pay again. Arrggghhh ! Still, there's 5 days to go yet - anything can happen in the next 5 days.

So, we enjoyed the week with my parents. They left on the 16th promising to come back next June when the sun will be shining and they can sit by the pool. We did have a lovely night with them and Colin and Vaila at Aqua Florya before they left - watching the sun set and the stream of planes on the flight-path ahead.

We had the night to ourselves on the 16th and chose to spend it with 2 Irish people we'd never met. The lovely lady, Caroline, who helped Paul through the process of finding the job in Turkishair, was in town with a colleague (who's name I can't even remember now). So off we toddled back to the Hilton Hotel near the airport - where we lived for the 2 weeks before we moved to Yesilkoy - to meet them just for a few drinks. Half a bottle of wine and 4 double gins later - at 2am - we fell into a taxi - after I was apparently riding the big sheep / ram that's outside the hotel foyer. Thankfully Paul didn't have very good control of his iPhone, so there's no photographic evidence. So much for a nice quiet night in !

Last week was spent with Colin and Vaila (with a trip for them to Cappadocia in between - for those who plan on visiting us, a 2 day trip here is definitely something to consider) with me also attending a few IWI meetings. I am now a fully fledged member of the events team, currently looking for, and coordinating, over 150 volunteers for the Christmas Charity Festival on the 29th Nov. It's so good to be back in the events management seat again !

Oh - another big tick in the box - my ikamet (residence pass) has finally arrived. This has also allowed me to tax the iPhone 5 I brought from Singapore and have a decent smartphone device with me at all times. I still can't get a monthy contract - as that involves taking a Turkish man along to the phone company and asking him to be my guarantor. Stuff that ! I'll continue with my complex pre-paid monthly way instead - which involves 3 packages - one for data, one for texts, and one for international calls ! The goalposts keep changing every month on this - but if life was completely smooth and unchangeable then we wouldn't be living in Turkey !!!

And speaking of ticks - the shower tray and doors have been replaced. After 6 weeks of waiting in fr the guys they finally came, with all the right tools and parts, to finish the job. We now have a shower that doesn't leak all over the floor - but only after Mr Y took a trip to his local hardware store for sealants to re-seal all the areas the plumbers had missed ! How they missed anything I don't know as there were 3 of them on the job !

On Friday, Paul's birthday, Catrin arrived for 4 days. Its great to have Daughter Number 2 around for a while. We had a lovely birthday meal at the same restaurant I celebrated mine in - they remembered us and it was more free ice-cream and after dinner liqueurs. There were still no other diners in there though. A beautiful 3 story restaurant with 4 staff in attendance, and no customers on a Friday night. How do they do it ? We do have a few theories but we won't go into them on a public page !

Oh - and before Vaila left she very kindly baked Paul a cake for his birthday. Finding the same ingredients as in the UK was challenging, but the taste was great. Thanks Mdme Will. Cake very much appreciated.

Oh, and since its  a day for ticking things off lists - I took the plunge and went to a local hairdressers yesterday. Its right next door, in the basement of the apartments, in the middle of decoration, and staffed by men (as are most things in Turkey). If it didn't work out then it would always grow back. Pretty funny experience actually as they don't speak English and I had forgotten to learn the Turkish for "just take an inch off all over". There were lots of women coming and going - no-one for an actual cut - most for a blow-dry only. It seems that Turkish ladies have an aversion for drying their own hair ! Anyway, the results weren't too bad. I think I'll go back there again. And according to Catrin, I don't have to dye my hair any more, as people are paying for a mid-brown with white highlights look !  So I'm right on trend with all my new grey bits :-)

I've decided that this is the penultimate blog entry. The last one will be a photo of my lovely husband going to work for the first time. Once that happens, I think we can finally say that we have settled into our new lives.

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

So - Nanny and Grampa arrived safely on Thursday night - eventually ! It took them 2 hours from touchdown to arrivals ! They should have had assistance, but it never materialised, so they had to walk the whole distance after waiting for over half an hour. Still, they got here in one piece at 11:45 pm, straight home in a taxi, and several nightcaps until 2am. It's lovely having them here. They love our new home, and my Dad has already started talking to the locals!

Once they wake up the following day they immediately chose their favourite seats - I could have predicted it ! My Dad on the balcony and my Mum at the kitchen table overlooking the pool. So we've spent 2 days around Yesilkoy showing them our lovely small town, and we went on a road trip to the Black Sea today. And it pee'd down - cats and dogs all day. It was great though as it was a good recce for me and Paul to see if there are any roads up there that are worth cycling on. There are - but to be honest, the scenery isn't worth writing home about. Perhaps the weather put us off, but we really couldn't see the attraction. Or perhaps we've just been spoiled with unlimited cycling opportunities and great scenery for the last 4 years. Still - at least we know where we can get a great car hire deal in Yesilkoy now - with Ozzie at Inter Rental Cars - Ozzie spent 6 months living with a girlfriend in Barnsley - and loves the UK. Paul had him in stitches with all the regional accents he does.

A disappointment this week with the shower - yet again. The guy finally turns up on Saturday afternoon - proudly sporting new shower doors. HE started to enthusiastically unscrew the originals before I could stop him. So I kicked the shower tray (which is the whole reason we need a replacement - our extra kilos are putting a stress on the crap plastic tray and have exposed a crack in it - causing a wet floor) and he shrugged his shoulders. He didn't know we needed one !  Paul gets more stressed than me about it though - I just laughed - he's really frustrated as this has been 4-6 weeks in the waiting ! Hoesgeldinez Turkiye.

One tick in the box though - well almost - I now have a temporary residents pass - which will apparently do until the card arrives - maybe next week - maybe. At least I can get my iPhone 5 registered here now (after I pay the tax of course) and get a contract rather than pre-paid.

So why the title - "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff" ? Well' all the little niggles and frustrations that happen to us are just that. And they are laughable really - hopefully they've made for a few good stories in the last few months.

After yesterdays bomb attacks in Ankara - 95 people dead  believe - and the possible future for Turkey - then everything else pales into insignificance. Its always the innocent people. And thanks for those who have asked after us - we are fine. We are 500 miles away from Ankara, and 10 miles from Istanbul. Hopefully our sleepy hollow will keep us safe. But if the Lira continues to fall, and the political situation worsens - who knows - we could find ourselves looking for a home in the UK sooner than we think. But no point worrying about that just now - we have a lot of life enjoyment to seek first.

Great Excitement and Aching Limbs

I'm writing this while trying to watch Game of Thrones as we realised that we haven't seen the last 5 episodes - looks like its going to be a late night again !  Not sure how we missed them - I think it coincided with moving out of our flat in Singapore, and getting distracted with all the changes we've had in the last 4 months. Anyway, things are back to normal now and, thanks to Ffion, we are able to watch pretty much what we want on Apple TV. We aren't sure what she's done. or how she did it - but she's a marvel. We can see films, series, live ITV and BBC (yes - we did watch the rugby on Saturday - sorry England), and I can catch up on Downton and Strictly. All for the price of a packet of fine chocolates from the coffee shop down the road.

So - the great excitement - obviously - the arrival of the furniture and the settling in. It's taken just 4 days, and we only have 3 boxes to unpack (they all say handbags - but they can't be - surely ? ). All the pictures have been put up and we finally feel that we are "home". In fact, the furniture fits in better here than it did in Singapore. Its brought a real warmth and cosiness to the place - which is just as well as its decidedly nippy out there at night now.  Some photos below. Those that came to our place in Singapore will recognise the furniture and pictures on the walls.

Why aching limbs ? Well, yesterday morning (Monday), Ffion left for the airport at 6am. Paul was sleeping again by 6:15 but I decided to go for a little run along the seafront - inspired by our friends - The Nannes - who sent us photos of their trek up a mountain in Bali. Made me realise just how little exercise I have really done in the last few months- I'm not sure I could walk up a hill, let alone trek up a mountain !  So off I went wearing my newly found long trackie bottoms and a cycling shirt so that I could carry stuff in the back pockets (lets face it, I won't be wearing cycling tops to cycle  anywhere very soon). It was just 7am - got to see a lovely sunrise. Well worth it.

Not being one to take things slowly (apart from the actual running - which was slow) I managed 8.5 kms - mostly a jog, with some walking. Felt pretty good when I got home. Not sure what I was trying to prove though - but I went to a spin class at night as well. The result ? I can hardly walk up or down stairs now, and I have to lower myself gingerly onto the loo ! Still - if its going to help in my goal to lose this extra weight I've put on then it will be worth it.

I had planned on doing the same tomorrow morning (Wed) but all plans have changed now as I have been invited to the Board Meeting for the International Women of Istanbul (IWI) tomorrow morning. I went to an Events meeting this morning (my first trip into Istanbul city on my own - pretty painless really) about the IWI Christmas Fair. I've picked up the roles as volunteer coordinator, and Process Improvement Coordinator. I'm feeling energised again.

Negative note though - we waited in all day yesterday, hung around all day today - and still no plumber. We've just found out that Caglan has fired him - wonder where that leaves us for our replacement shower ???

Cloudy Skies and Exictement

I can't believe its been a week since I last posted. Where has the time gone ? How can someone who doesn't work be able to fill so much time doing nothing ?? Two someone's actually - as Mr Y is on a long sabbatical at the moment as well.

Great news on that front - Captain Yarnold takes to the skies on 22nd October. He's had his roster and they are flying him hard from Day 1. In the last 9 days of the month he will be flying 8 of them - and we have no clue what will happen in November yet. Its a long time to wait - but we've been advised to enjoy every minute as he isn't going to have any minutes from 22nd Oct.

Great news on another front too - our long awaited shipment arrives TODAY ! Whohoo. My excitement is uncontainable. We can have more than 4 plates in the cupboard, have extra settees to sit on, a dining table to sit at, bedside lamps, more than 4 towels, a bed to sleep on ............. the list goes on. (It does make me a bit sad to write this though - I feel so selfish being so excited when there are so many people out there who would give their right arm to live with what we have had for the past 3 months.)

What a journey to get here. We have been delayed firstly by the Singapore 50th Birthday holiday, then by the Turkish Sacrifice Festival holiday (I estimate a 10-14 day delay due to the two), then the Customs computer system broke down and the release authorization wasn't getting signed off. Luckily Gunes in the Istanbul shipping company has been extremely helpful and has pushed it through as quickly as she can. I bet she will miss our daily chats :-). And we have incurred additional storage costs as a result of other people's holidays - but lets not dwell on that !

So - what's been happening in the last week ? Well, I can't let it pass. I tried, and I managed 4 paragraphs, but, well, I did enjoy watching the rugby last weekend. A little victory to my home nation. Thankfully I have a very magnanimous English husband who took the result on the chin - and I didn't gloat (too much). It's so great to be able to watch live events from home with just a 2 hour time difference now. No longer do we have to watch games at midnight, or catch the highlights the next day. Being so much closer to home makes me feel as if I'm not even away from home these days. We still have a lot of catching up to do with people though. And that's already started - Ffion is here at the moment (about to be put to good use unpacking boxes for the next few days), my parents have booked their flight - next Thursday for a week, Colin And Vaila overlap with them, and then stay  for 10 days (in between travelling around), and Catrin arrives the day that C&V leave. And I might plan a little trip to Aberdeen in November as I hear there is an ladies night out planned - I don't have to miss out any more !

Oh, and in October I have the first Book Club meeting, I'm off to an International Women of Istanbul (IWI) events meeting to help plan their Christmas Fair, and I have my first IWI Board meeting. I'm up and running !

We have been having a lovely time with Ffion, but I do feel sorry for her in that the sun went in a few hours before she arrived on Monday night and hasn't been seen since. And the temperature has sunk to 21 deg. And its very cold at night now - there's quite a cold wind lingers around Istanbul - its like being back in Aberdeen (love it !). To add insult to injury, the UK has been experiencing a mini heatwave which Ffion has left behind. Never mind - she can wear er new Raybans next year.

We hung around the flat all day on Tuesday, waiting for the plumber to install the new shower - you've guessed it - he still hasn't appeared.  Then we went off into Istanbul on Wednesday. We went to the Grand Bazaar first - just for a look. Ended up being stuck in a lamp shop for half an hour. After a nice chat with the owner and a cup of cay (tea), we are now the proud owners of two lovely lamps - thanks to Ffion and Catrin for buying them as our birthday presents this year.

After that we ventured next door to a carpet shop. We did explain that we weren't going to buy anything - but still managed to pass the time for another half an hour being shown a lovely array of rugs. Starting price 3500 USD. We think we can work with that when the time comes ! Its got to come down a long long way before we will consider buying one. But at least we have some ideas and a benchmark now. And it was good fun. The Grand Bazaar is huge- we barely scratched the surface. You could be in there for days wandering the streets. You have to be good at bargaining though. One seller offered me a backgammon set for 350 lira. Within 3 minutes it was on offer for 100 ! How did that happen ? Not that I bought it - there's plenty of opportunity to go back - once the bank has some money in it again. That will be 2016 then !

The it was off to Topkapi Palace. Nice enough place, with great gardens, and a lovely cafe overlooking the Bosphorous (well we think it did - it was too misty to see much ! ) - but we really aren't top tourists in Istanbul. But it was great to wander around in cooler weather, with less tourists than normal.

Yesterday we stayed closer to home and went to the aquarium at Aqua Florya - just a 2km walk along the beach from us. Now that was more up our street than 16th century palaces and mosques ( I know - we aren't culture vultures ! ). A very well presented aquarium right on our doorstep.

Last night saw us watching the Wales vs Fiji game, at home with 2 Austrian pilot friends - Thomas and Peter. With Paul around it was like having 3 disciples in the room ! Anyway, it was Peter's introduction to Rugby - I spent hours imparting my knowledge of the game onto him ! He's still none the wiser, and probably very misguided now. But he had a great time. Its a bugger that Wales didn't get the bonus point the needed to secure them a place in the next round, but I guess it will make the England vs Australia game all the more exciting now. ( I don't understand why Wales played in blue. Were the red jerseys in the wash ? I think they were at a psychological disadvantage in blue.) We've promised The Disciples a 2 game extravaganza on our bigger screen, with more seats, on Saturday night. Scotland then England.

Well, I'm off to wake up Paul and Ffion now (I've been awake since 5am planning where everything is going to go in the apartment) - they need to be on the ball for this furniture shipment arrival.

A little aside before I sign off though - we've stepped up our Turkish language learning. There's now a whiteboard next to the fridge with key words and phrases. We go around saying as many of them as we can to people, and replace them with new words when we are feeling confident. I think we are driving the bloke in the supermarket next door crazy. The 3 men who work in there often shake their heads when we bound in with enthusiasm !