A Postcard from... Istanbul, Turkey

Why Turkey? I wanted to work somewhere that was different enough from home to be exciting, but not so alien that I would stick out and always be an outsider. Turkey, straddling Asia and Europe, East and West, seemed to fit the bill. I began applying for jobs while I was still studying at Teaching House.

There were quite a few jobs advertised in Turkey at tefl.com. I had an interview with EFinst using Skype, was offered a position, and flew out to start the job within two weeks of finishing my CELTA. In retrospect, doing my CELTA and moving to Istanbul were two of the best decisions I’ve made in my life.

Katy spending an afternoon on the Bosphorous Strait

They say if you live in Istanbul for a year that you will never leave. I’ve been here for over a year now and can see myself living here for a long time to come. I’m on my second contract with the same company. I spend four days a week teaching at a university, as well as a few evenings teaching small adult classes. Since I’ve been here I’ve gained a huge variety of teaching experience. I’ve travelled to offices and factories to teach business people, taught five year olds in a primary school, university students and also led the English programme at a summer camp in the mountains. The university work can be challenging, as the classes are large and some students are unmotivated, but overall I enjoy it. It’s satisfying teaching people of a similar age to myself and getting to know them.

I really enjoy living here and have fallen in love with Istanbul. There is so much to do and see and you are free to live your life as you choose. If you want to go out every night drinking and dancing, you can, but if you prefer culture, walking and endless glasses of çay or Turkish coffee, it’s there in abundance. Istanbul really has everything; great shopping, ancient buildings, museums, nearby traffic-free islands, and my favourite – the Bosphorus Strait. In a city of an estimated 15 million people, it’s great to be near water. On the weekends it’s lovely to indulge in a typical Turkish breakfast of fresh bread, cheese, olives, honey and a boiled egg at an open air cafe anywhere with a view of the Bosphorus.

A teacher’s salary here allows for a relatively comfortable quality of life, with a bit left over if you’re careful. Of course, it’s possible to spend a lot of money here, if you choose to live in a gated residence with a pool and eat out in expensive restaurants and drink a lot. But I live in a decent, safe and convenient area, go out a few times a week and still manage to save some money. Some of my most memorable days here involve nothing more than a ferry rıde (about a dollar), a glass of tea (50 cents), a fish sandwich (two dollars) and lots of aimless wandering.

My CELTA has proved invaluable. Any decent school here in Turkey will only accept teachers with a CELTA or equivalent. Of course, it’s only an introduction, but it has given me so many ideas about adding variety to my lessons and trying to encourage students to talk as much as possible. My university students classes especially enjoy using music and film clips in class, so I’ve used some of the ideas given to me by my trainers at Teaching House.

Katy
Teaching House CELTA Graduate, October 2008

Katy with her English students in Istanbul