Turkish Friends

One of the greatest things about moving to a new country are the new people you meet and the friends you make. I wanted to take a moment to introduce a few of our friends. By the way, I don't have pictures of all of our new friends in Turkey. If you don't see yourself, it means I don't have your picture--it doesn't mean your'e not my friend :)

Our couch surfers from Belgium Berengere and Mathieu

Sinem

Our pal, Armagan Bay

Our American friend Max and Elis

Elsa and Duygu

Basim visited us in Turkey

Secil and her cousin

Aziz the dizease!

Naz, Gamze and Emra

Duygu and Pinar Cift Pinar

Gozde and Kenan

Kaan and I

Mr. Taner Taneroglu

Rana and Ali

Gami

Serhat Abi

Gokce the Witch

Zeynep and Celal

Orkide and Duygu

Berk, Duygu and Onur

Mr. Mann and Duygu

Cem

Didem and Mert

Selin

I'll have a new post soon introducing you to my Turkish family!

Dumpsters in Istanbul

While visiting our friends Mert and Didem in Istanbul's Yesilkoy neighborhood, we came across some beautiful and different art. Everyone knows what a dumpster looks like and how unappealing they are to the eye, but take a look at some beautiful creations I came across. Enjoy:)

Contacting Turkish Companies in English

Since my summer vacation is coming to an end, I realized I had so much to do with so little time. I needed to call the bank, set up Digiturk (Turkey's satalite TV), call TTNET (my ISP), Vodafone Turkey (my cell company) and do some other odd chores. This post will focus on the English services that various companies offer over the phone.

Let's start with Garanti Bank. I bank with Garanti because my salary is directly deposited to the bank. After receiving my new credit card, I had some questions about the card so I called the bank. In the US, when you call a company to speak with a customer service rep, you almost always hear an option for Spanish speakers. Well in Turkey, it's the same think except the option isn't for Spanish, it's for English. The English speakers with Garanti are very helpful and their English is clear and easily understandable. While they aren't always the most knowledgeable staffers, I can easily communicate with them.

Digiturk is one of Turkey's most popular satellite TV providers. I chose to go with Digiturk because they offer many channels in English. Our monthly service is cheap, too. We will pay 27 Lira a month for one year. We have HD channels and approximately 26 channels in English. I called Digiturk to request the service at our home and just like Garanti, they have an option for English. I've found the English speaking customer service reps on the phone to be very helpful and I can easily understand their English. One strange thing is that Digiturk does not have an English website which surprises me because there are thousands of English speaking potential customers in Turkey that they could potentially tap into. I was pleasantly surprised to hear an English option when I called them.

TTNET, my ISP, also does not have an English website. I did find their English speaking reps on the phone to be helpful. I once had a technical issue that required follow-up with their technical service department. I was informed that I would be contacted shortly by an English speaking tech. Sure enough, someone called within an hour and helped me with my problem.

Vodafone in huge in Europe and many countries around the world. According to Wikipedia, they are the second largest mobile telecommunication companies in the world. Unfortunately, they too, do not have a website in English for residents of Turkey. Luckily, like the other companies I've talked about, they have pretty good English speaking call center staff. While the English speaker from Vodafone was the most difficult communication I experienced, I was able to call and get answers to my questions. They helped me out.

I'm sure there are many other companies in Turkey that offer English speaking services to English speaking residents in Turkey. I've found that most governmental agencies do not have English services. Luckily, my Turkish wife is by my side to help me when I'm in a bind.

Banking with Garanti

The Garanti bank logo.

I want to share an experience I recently had with my Turkish bank, Garanti. First off, I want to note that I do not bank with Garanti by choice. Since my employer directly deposits my salary to Garanti, I'm kind of stuck with them. Now, I know what your thinking: I could easily open an account somewhere else and transfer my salary from my Garanti account to the bank of my choice, but I don't want to go through that every month.

If you ask around, most folks will say that Garanti is a good bank and the fact is, Garanti is the bank of choice for many Turks. I haven't had to deal with them very much except for the occasional phone call and the initial set up of my account. For nearly a year I just had a checking account with a MasterCard debit card. Garanti offers excellent online banking in English and if you call Garanti on the phone, most services are offered in English.

A typical Garanti ATM.

One more thing you should know about me before I get into this story. Before moving to Turkey, I worked at one of the largest credit unions in the US for nearly ten years :)

I decided that I wanted to get a Turkish credit card. A lot of Turks I know pay for just about everything with their credit card and every year or two, they rack up enough miles to fly to Europe, for example. I wanted to take advantage of those benefits, too. I consulted with a former Garanti branch manager about getting a credit card from the bank. She said it was pretty straight forward. I needed to visit my bank branch with my passport and residence permit, sign a few documents and I would be on my way. As it turns out, it wasn't quite that easy.

A few months ago, I left work a bit early to visit the bank with all the required documents. Since it was during working hours, I was forced to go by myself without the help of a Turkish speaker. I figured that  I would easily be able to request a credit card by myself with my little Turkish and I would be in and out in a short amount of time.

So, I go into the branch, take my number and have a seat. I was ready to scrap the idea after waiting 30 minutes, but then my number was called. I sat down with the banker--who apparently was having a bad day--and expressed my interest in obtaining a credit card. I could tell she didn't really know what to with me as I am a foreigner and the rules for foreigners are different. She left her desk to consult with someone else for about 5 minutes, then she returned. She told me that since I am a foreigner, I am ineligible to have a credit card in my own name and that I would have to find a guarantor. I knew this information mustn't be correct, but since I couldn't explain that in Turkish, I left the bank--defeated.

About 4 weeks ago, I went back to the same branch, this time armed with my Turkish wife. We took a number, sat down, and was called to the rep about 30 minutes later. This time, the gal helping us was a different person who recently returned to work from maternity leave. Duygu explained that I wanted a credit card and that I had been in once before, but was told I needed to come back with a guarantor. The nice Garanti rep wasn't exactly sure of the process. At first, before calling anyone to find out, she said that since I was a foreigner, I was only eligible for a secured credit card. Then, she suggested Duygu get the card in her name and order a spare card for me. At that point, she decided to call someone to find out the exact process. It turns out that even though I am a foreigner, I am eligible for a credit card because my salary is deposited to Garanti!

After all the misinformation and all the waiting, I could get a credit card! The customer service rep went to the printer and picked up a stack of paper that I assumed was the card agreement. The stack was quite large--114 pages to be exact. She then instructed me to sign every single page of the card agreement! I was shocked...I thought she was joking because even as she instructed me to sign every page, she was laughing! She said Turks just need to sign a page or two, but foreigners have to sign everything.

This is the first 114 pages.

After signing 114 pages, she brought over 25 more pages for signing. Once finished, she said that everything would be submitted and I should get the card in a few weeks. Fast forward 3 weeks, and I've got my Miles and Smiles card.

So in the end, if you are a foreigner living in Turkey and your salary is being deposited to the bank, you can get a credit card. Just be ready for dealing with wrong information, long waits and in some cases, poorly trained staff.

My card finally arrives!

Traveling from Turkey

One of the greatest things about living in a country like Turkey is the close proximity of so many other European and Asian countries. Since moving to Turkey, I haven't been able to travel as much as I would have liked, but I have traveled a bit.

Two months after after arriving in Turkey, we hopped on a ferry in Ayvalik and trekked over to the island of Lesbos (Lesvos - Mytilene) in Greece. For 30 Euros per person, the quick 45 minute ferry ride was easy and fun. I was traveling with my Turkish wife and two Turkish friends. One of my first observations after arriving in this beautiful working class island was how friendly the locals were! I know that politics between Greece and Turkey haven't always been smooth sailing, but these Greeks were incredibly friendly. We were repeatedly asked where we were from and we always replied America and Turkey. This was always followed by a smile and a greeting by the local calling us their neighbor and brother.

A few months later we took a trip to Amsterdam. I had been to Amsterdam once during a scheduled 13 hour layover on the way to Turkey from Seattle and I absolutely loved it! I knew I wanted to go back to spend a few days there and check out the sights. We traveled to Amsterdam in late January and it ended up being perfect timing as we were able to avoid the crowds and had beautiful weather. I love the winter months and I think this added to the overall ambiance of trekking around Amsterdam.

Fast forward a few more months and our travels took us back to Greece, this time to the Island of Kos. Kos is a 25 Euro ferry from Bodrum with the journey lasting about 40 minutes. They do offer a nice hydrofoil high speed boat for a few more Euros, but we decided to go the scenic route on the slower boat. Kos was another beautiful Greek island with super friendly locals, a more colorful nightlight and lots of tourists from all over the world.

For our next big adventure, I hope to visit Vienna during Christmas. I really miss the holiday spirit from back home. Celebrating the Christmas holiday in Turkey is not all that common as most Turks don't celebrate Christmas. This is starting to change in the bigger cities with Turks traveling to western countries and bringing some of our traditions back with them (and the international retailers in Turkey trying to capitalize on the Holiday with their "sales"). If I can make it to a spot like Vienna for a few days to soak in the holiday spirit, I would be a happy camper.

Cats in Turkey (Turkiye'de Kediler)

Before coming to Turkey in 2006 for the first time, I knew little about the country. Of the many things I have learned about Turkey over the years, certain things stand out in my mind and I continue to be amazed at such things.

Cats. I love cats. I would love to have a kitty of my own if it weren't for their stinky litter boxes, shedding hair and their razor sharp claws shredding up the furniture. Cats are everywhere in Turkey and I mean everywhere! The locals call them sokak kedisi, or street cats. Some cats are very polite and love to be touched, while others you should definitely steer clear of. One can usually tell the mean kitties from the nice kitties by looking into their eyes. For example, if you see a cat missing one of their eyes, he's probably a mean cat!

These cats are very clever...after all, they are street cats. You can normally find kitties near restaurants begging for table scraps. Apparently, cats love fish and cheese. But be forewarned: once you start feeding one cat, the rest will follow.

Turkey has ample pet stores with many kitties for sale at absorbingly high prices. If and when I ever decide to have a cat in my home, you can bet-your-bottom-dollar that I wont pay a cent for a cat (expect the shots, etc). I have seen many beautiful, friendly cats that I would happily adopt so long as I can get over the stinky litter box and the couch shredding.

Settling In

Settling in has been a lot of fun and a surely wild ride. From finding a job to activating my internet & cell phone service has been an experience! On arrival in Turkey, I felt naked without my OWN cell phone and my OWN internet at home. Needless to say I spent many hours at the Starbucks one kilometer from my home enjoying fast and free internet whilst sipping on an ice cold beverage. Speaking of Starbucks, I love Starbucks stores in Turkey. Most of them are air conditioned and they simply remind me of home in Seattle. I like to call it my home-away-from-home.

I brought an iPhone 4 with me from the states. Unfortunately, it was not as easy as popping in a Turkish SIM and using the phone. Rather, I had to jailbreak the phone in order to get it working here in Turkey. Once I paid a phat fee for that, I was pretty much ready to go. I have unlimited internet access on my phone--albeit slow--and all of my incoming calls are free! I only pay for text messages and calls that I initiate. A few weeks later Duygu's brother, Ozgur, went with me to our local TTNET store to activate the speedy ADSL internet. Once again, super fast and unlimited internet at home and in my pocket...I have my clothes back and I'm reconnected!

Next was finding a job (to me, it is more important to be connected to the internet rather than having a paycheck!) Before coming to Turkey, I pondered  the idea of working for a bank. Since I have nearly 10 years of finance experience, I thought I could teach these Turks a thing or two. Unfortunately, I was lacking two things: fluent Turkish and the desire to work 70 hour work-weeks. Luckily, I was born with a skill that is very sought after here in Turkey: native English! Duygu introduced me to her old English teacher that works as a high school principal at a very reputable school in Turkey. They must have loved my smile or were extremely desperate as they hired me on the spot.

I then needed to hammer out my legal status as a resident of Turkey. I was pleased to find out that it is not nearly as expensive/time consuming as the US when it came to Duygu getting her green card. I had my residency permit in about a week and it was for the most part pretty painless. Other than making multiple unnecessary trips to the foreigner police station and paying a few (hundred) Turkish Lira here and there, I can't complain much. 

Now that I am legal, have a job and internet in my pocket, it's time to sight see! I had three months to travel and relax and that is exactly what I did. During my nearly three month vacation, we spent time in Western Turkey on the Aegean in Ayvalik, we journeyed to Greece for a few nights (and LOOOOVED it), Spent a few weeks in Istanbul, visited Southern Turkey and the Mediterranean in Fethiye and just explored Turkey in General. More about traveling later...

It is now early September and my 1st 2nd and 3rd graders will start school next Monday. Am I ready to teach English? I dunno. But I am surely reading to give it the good ol' college try. 

I've always said I keep coming back to Turkey because the people are so great and the food is to die for! I continue to meet new gracious Turks and foreigners from all over the world here in Turkey, eating my way into new relationships. All that being said, the real reason I am in Turkey is for my wife. She was generous enough to give up her life here in Turkey to join me for nearly five years in the US--I can do the same for her. I am so happy being here with Duygu and seeing her face when her brother pops by with her niece. I love seeing Duygu's mom treat her like a daughter--telling her what she should wear and what to eat. Duygu is now able to reconnect with friends from her childhood and university friends. She is happy. If she is happy, I am happy. I can be happy anywhere in the world, as long as we are together. Don't get me wrong, I do miss my family and friends...but I just got here, and I'm happy to be here!