Istanbul is notorious for its traffic. For this reason, I asked to live outside of downtown and I’m very thankful for the result – a large apartment with an incredible view, a pool to help beat the heat (85F+ daily), and a park to enjoy in the evenings. Teachers who live downtown can face a 1.5 hour bus ride home thanks to the congestion. Instead, I live 25 minutes from school and the bus ride includes fields of sunflowers in full bloom and shepherds tending their flock. In the small village near school, the bakery is occupied with locals having breakfast after morning prayers at the mosque.

My school is made up of two campuses – one close to downtown for Grades K-5 and the Marmara campus (Grades PreK-12) which overlooks Büyükçekmece Lake, which leads into the Sea of Marmara. I work at the latter and my classroom is located in the art cabins, connected to the school by a covered walkway.

While the exterior reminds me of camp (love it), the interior classrooms provide generous space to create and explore. The primary school art teacher has one room, my DP Visual Arts classes have a small room just for Grades 11 and 12, and I also share a large studio with a part-time art teacher. Just yesterday I had to move the full size human model – it was so lifelike that it kept freaking me out.

The school is located on a gated piece of land featuring fig trees and views of the rolling hills beyond. So far, the property gates have only been breached by our school dog, Hope. A stray who has been adopted by the community, Hope sprints the half mile in the woods alongside the driveway to welcome us each morning. Here is Hope, below, with Ali on our first day.

The school hosts students from 62 different countries and the most diverse staff I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Teachers hail from countries such as New Zealand, Ecuador, and South Africa, to name a few. With just over 35 students in last year’s graduating class, it will be an intimate community, but one I look forward to becoming a part of.

Our first week of orientation flew by – from the IKEA trip to a scavenger hunt at the Grand Bazaar and a rooftop Turkish breakfast with the new hires, it was busy but also chill. This dichotomy seems to represent the push and pull of Istanbul that I’m beginning to discover. It’s challenged me to loosen up and also determine what’s really important. A friend of mine has a 5 year rule – when something is frustrating or a decision needs to be made, ask yourself: “Will this matter in 5 years?”. It’s a work in progress. Thankful to have a quiet place to return home to each afternoon.

To celebrate the success of Week 1, Ali and I returned to the rooftop shisha bar, Chapee, on the outskirts of the nearby park. The frozen drink hit almost as smooth as if it included actual booze. As the muezzin call rang out from the mosque next door, the heat of the day gave way to cooler evening temps (a low of 75F). Happy to report that cooler heads have prevailed throughout the stress of making this big move, starting new job, and beginning to carve out this new life. It’s only been seven days but they’ve been well spent. Thank you to all of you who reached out after my last blog. Would love to hear any questions you have about life or school here in Istanbul in the comments below. Have a wonderful weekend!