My 180 Students

Ya know, I was really bummed out that I wasn't able to come back for the wedding.  I did see a lot of pictures (and some pictures of the honeymoon) and it looked really great.  Everybody looked wonderful, and I could tell from the photos that everybody was having a great time (even the ones where Steve puts on the serious face).  I guess I'll just have to wait until January to see everybody...

But!  I wasn't bummed out for too long.  As it turns out, my job is really physically exhausting.  I have 180 kindergarten students that I teach twice a week.  It's only 24 teaching hours, but man, I never realized how physical teaching is when the kids can barely speak.  What I mean is that it's all dancing, singing, running around and shouting the dozen or so words that they know in English.  It's really nice though, having all of the kids yell "Hello Mr. Matt!" when they see you in the hallway.  It's also kinda nice being salaried, because even though my classes finish at 3:30, I have to stay there until 5:00, so I'm forced to get stuff done ahead of time.  I like it.

Anyway, after the first week, we decided to celebrate by going down to the Galata fish market and eating some fresh fish and smoking a nargile (I know, bad for your health, but.. whatever) by the Golden Horn, the waterway that separates Beyoglu from Sultanahmet.  While we didn't take any pictures of the awesome view, I was able to find a picture on the internet that accurately depicts our setting...

(from http://istanbulstreets.wordpress.com/, so credit's given where credit's due)

So yeah, this is where I live now.  No castles in sight, but the view's alright just the same.