Looking Towards 2016

It seems like the older I get, the faster time flies by. A year ago, I was sitting at home, wondering what I would do since graduating. 2015 was a transition time for me — not the best time, but necessary.

So what am I up to right now? What am I looking forward to in the future?

(This is in no particular order.)

1. Improve my Turkish. I’ve been struggling since I stepped off the plane in August. The language is tough, but if I can hold the most basic of conversations, I’ll consider that a success. I’m starting Turkish lessons next week, so wish me luck.
2. Get  into a graduate program. Applying to five universities has consumed my mind for the last few months, and I’m so ready to be done.
3. Travel more in and out of Turkey. This is the absolute best time for me to see other countries, so I’ll continue taking advantage of it. So far, I have Prague and Budapest planned for April, and Spain and Portugal planned for June. Time to start saving up. In Turkey, I want to get to the Black Sea (Trabzon and Rize, in particular) and the Mediterranean (from Antalya to Bodrum).
4. POST MORE ON THE BLOG. I’ve been slacking! The goal: post at least once a week. So get ready.
5. Stop eating so much fast food here in Turkey. There’s no microwave in my apartment, so every hot meal has to be cooked. It gets old really quickly, but I can’t keep ordering Subway, Dominos, Burger King, etc.
6. Come up with more creative lesson plans. The textbook for my classes is boring, but with less than two hours per class every week, I don’t have much wiggle room. Some of my students have a lot of potential to speak English well, so I have to find better ways to motivate them to speak more.

That’s all this week! I’m off to Istanbul this weekend.

**This picture was taken in Hierapolis, near Denizli, Turkey.