options

Today I'm reminding myself that I do have options... I have a phone interview for an editing job in Serbia Wednesday, I'm still in the running for a PCR job in Georgia, and I have several resumes out for teaching at a uni in China.  Plus if none of them feels right, I can always remain in Ukraine for awhile longer.

skype

It's always great to skype with Courtney.... but today I told her I probably won't be coming back to visit in January... have some job possibilities in China and though they reimburse air fare, I probably would go right from here....

new hair do:)

It's that time again, when my hair color needs to be touched up, so it was time for a shorter do:)  Happy to have a hairdresser here (that means it must be time for me to move on.....)

remember to be fearless

...this is what I need to remind myself of... I am fearless... why am I afraid?  what am I afraid of?  what do I want...?  where do I want to go?  where does the universe want me to be?

hump day

I was pondering today about where I will go next.... the next destination (to move to) in the exciting continuing adventures of me!!!!!  It dawned on me (as I was talking to my friend Rebecca), just because I've had China on the brain and applied for millions of jobs there.....what really makes me think I will end up there?

Btw, I applied for a job in Serbia and have an upcoming phone interview.....hhhmmmm

rain, rain go away....

It has been raining for 2 weeks here.... I'm sure the ground is happy and saturated, so yea, thank you for the moisture:)

sunday is hell day

Pun intended.  It's my out of whack weird scheduling day where I work a whole 8 hours, compared to the usual 3 - 6 hour days during the week... Plus it's totally weird hours starting at 11 am, whereas week days start at 4 pm.  Yep, I'm a whiner.

china on the brain...

...Ooops, now I am applying for every job I see in China.....

request for contact

I was excited today to find an email from the coveted job in Inner Mongolia asking for a good time to contact me!

finally, the end of the first week of school

Every new semester brings it excitement along with it, and this one certainly has.  From the initial not knowing where the hell I'd be teaching, to surviving the first week at the new location......today is cause for a very heavy sigh of relief that the first week is over and I survived.  It was a little rough/weird.

that antsy feeling

...it's back... causing me to look for and apply for other jobs...in other countries.... the most exciting potential one is where I applied today... Inner Mongolia China which seems like the perfect blend of Mongolia and China!  Yippee Skippee!!!!  The funny thing is they do speak some Mongolian, and in this city, Hohhot, law requires all signs to be written in Mandarin and Mongolian , but it's not the cyrillic printing that I know and can read, but mongolian script, which I have no hope of ever learning....

first day of school snafus...

Whoa, was I ever glad when today was over!  I thought I knew how to get to my new school, but it turns out, I didn't......Got off at the wrong metro stop, had to call several times and after 30 minutes said this isn't right, I'm going back to the metro.  Turns out, I got off one stop too early.......ooops.

Luckily a tutor came to meet me at the metro and walk me in...lol.....Good thing because by then I was flustered, frustrated and tired of walking around.

Missed my first conversation club (1 hour long) and my second class of the day (2 hours long) was a new one that no one showed up for......yes, really.  The good thing was after all that, I think I know how to get to school and I got to leave at 8:45 and will still get paid at least for the 8:00 class.  Whew:)

where am I working?!

Today is the first day of the new semester at AEC, and American teachers don't start till tomorrow. The usual is for the school director to phone and tell you when to show up Monday and what you'll be teaching...  Well, I heard from the training director around 8 asking if I'd be willing to work at two different schools... Of course, that's what I requested...

By 9 still nothing.... after several confused texts and phone calls, I discovered I'm working at a new school during the week..... what?  It was after 10 pm when I finally was told who to contact so my new director got a phone call from me when she informed me I'd be there 4 days a week and somewhere else on Sunday.

Wow....change is good:)

Skype mania weekend

It was truly crazy with my Skyping this weekend.... Richard, Coutney (and family). then with Pete and his clan...............feeling the love:)

Time to switch it up

Since my room mate and I have decided not to move (I had the opportunity to move to another apartment across the island so Rebecca could be my roomie again, along with a 3rd girl and opted to stay put), I wanted to change bedrooms.

I've been in the bigger room and was kind of sick of it... too hot in the summer with the many windows and thought, hey how about a change.  So Jonfen and I switched and though the new room is smaller, it's adorable with some built in shelves and cozy:)

back home to Kyiv

Today I arrived back home and man what an exhausting trip it was.... note to self, when looking to save money, also consider that waiting around in a train station where you have to pay to sit in comfy seats, and to use the toilet, as well as eat, should all be taken into consideration.

Of course, I was down to my last few greevna after having to talk to several different people at the Odessa airport, which will not change or accept Turkish lira for greevna (as well as not being able to change it in Istanbul...no one has greevna...)  After successfully changing my money, I had just enough for transportation to the train station a little something to eat, and transport from train to home.......

Luckily I was dehydrated so I didn't have to worry about paying for the toilet, and I sat on my backpack to read for the next many hours.....

must have books

Even when travelling, I am always reading at least one book.... Just this trip I was finishing up Cold Mountain, a great book I'd read years ago.  It just so happens I got this copy from my friend Laura when I visited her in Bristol in January.  I finally read it, then traded it at the hostel for another book.  Before leaving it, I wrote in the jacket that it came from the UK January 2013, went to Ukraine then ended up in Turkey, September 2013.  Where next? I picked up and am almost finished with my new book The Wind up Bird Chronicle, by a Japanese author which is weird, compelling and I'd recommend it too.

dining like a backpacker

Even though I can't afford to travel very luxuriously, I manage by cutting food costs.... here is my dinner one night.  These beans were surprisingly tasty, in fact the best canned beans I've ever eaten!  Just a hint of sweetness, seasoning, some nice green pepper.  delish!

lost in the hills of Istanbul....

this place is full of hills....big ones, and a few smaller ones, but hills everywhere.....whew...

simultaneously invigorating and exhausting!!!

Korean=Turkey+ silk road

There's a really cool event going on here in Istanbul... a festival with performances, displays, etc from various countries along the Silk Road... I watched a performance by some Korean kids, and it was great!

museum pass...

Once again, I've fallen for the "museum pass" deal.... This one was 15 TL more expensive than the web site said, but I bought it none the less... Will I get my money out of it?  We shall see.....

new game plan...

I've not had this similar issue on other trips where things for sale are so lovely that I want to buy everything I see.....oy.... Now I have to closely manage my remaining funds till I depart on Wednesday.... I'm sure I'll be ok and will choose to graze from snack/street food more (have eaten dinner in restaurants both nights thus far though not so expensive still more than other)..... And I've decided to forego the dervishes (too expensive now) and just buy a museum pass to see the main sights..... It's a gorgeous place, historical, opulent, exotic.

amazing market!!!

Oh my... I  decided to enjoy myself today by doing whatever struck me... so I went to the big bazaar and spent much of my allotted money for the week...oops, not a good idea.. However, I do have a lovely hand embroidered pashima which will grace my wall in my apartment:) and a cool silver turtle with the "eye" symbol on it for protection that goes nicely on my multi charmed necklace I wear most of the time....

I have arrived in Istanbul:)

I finally got here...my first impressions of the city are:  beautiful well groomed, clean, very very green and lovely, friendly:)  I think I'm gonna like it here!

beautiful city

This place is great, and I've strolled all around the major spots today, taking photos and people watching.  Tomorrow the beach!

Odessa

I arrived at the ungodly hour of 6:45 am.... and against my better judgement caught a taxi.  He did however, take me to my hostel quickly and by 7:30, I was snug in my new comfy bunk sleeping again.

overnight train...

hmmmm.... this one may not be as restful as the last two in recent times... As I waited in the short queue to board the train a pushy young lady stepped right in front of me, giving her ticket to the conductor.  She then handed her bag to the stranger on the steps to heft up.  Turns out she was one of my coupe mates.  She snored.  A lot.  And quite loudly.  The train was rough, lots of stop and go and I didn't have a restful night.  In the morning, while waiting for the toilet, who is in front of me...yep....and she was in there 10 minutes...oy.  However, let me say, Hey Odessa!  I'm here:)