First weekend

I've been here a week today.
I've taught 17 hours of classes.
I've spent 7 nights in the As Hotel.
I'm remembering about 75% of my Turkish.
I've made friends with the other teachers in the school and some of
the students.

I really like it here. I was talking to another teacher yesterday,
she's also new, and we were discussing our first week of teaching. How
rewarding it is, and how easy and quickly the time passes while
teaching. I thought that teaching 3- and 4-hour classes would be
hellish. Our longest class during teacher training was an hour and
planning that one took forever. Planning a 4 hour class is not any
more difficult than planning a 1-hour class, and it's much easier to
execute. There's time to deal with any problems that come up, play
games, and just chat with the students. It's really nice. I think
after teaching these classes it would be difficult to step down to 1
and a half or 2 hour classes!

On a completely different note, I saw a sign the other day and checked
the internet to confirm, and Yes, it is true. IKEA is opening a store
in Istanbul on May 5!!! Am I excited! YES!!!!