Hello everyone,

For those of you who don't know, I am spending the next 9-10 months in Istanbul teaching English as a foreign language and seeing what this interesting city has to offer. Courtney (my girlfriend) is here on a Fulbright grant and will be studying youth participation in civil society across the Republic of Turkey. You can read her blog (which will quite be interesting and informative) here.

I arrived in the late hours (due to a flight delay that involved 7 hours in Heathrow) Saturday evening. I had promised Courtney I would run a portion of the Eurasia (starts in Asia and ends in Europe) marathon the next day. Courtney completed the marathon...I completed just over two miles. The marathon was an interesting introduction into Turkish culture...let's just say it wasn't exactly Boston in terms of fanfare. The Turks seemed more puzzled by WHY someone would run 42 km (26.2 mi) than excited about cheering the runners on.

I've spent the majority of this week getting settled and getting a general feel for the city. We are currently residing at a sort of dorm for American researchers in a small fishing village called Arnavutkoy. It is a beautiful area and it has been interesting to talk with all of the other Fulbrighters. It is certainly an eclectic mix of people. Though our accomodation is nice, we are actively looking for a more centrally located (and bigger) living space.

I hope everyone is well. I'm not sure the exact direction this blog will take, so if anyone is interested in hearing about a certain topic, please send an email or comment in the space available.