Finally an update!

Ami:

We've been having some trouble getting Vox to upload our blog entries, so they've been fewer and farther between than usual. But I'm here with just a few brief updates and mostly photos!

 

Josh's birthday was this last week and we celebrated with a few friends, a couple cakes, and some flashy pool gloves. It was a pretty fun time if I do say so myself. The next day we were treated to a proper English breakfast by Jonathan and Tabby (with bacon and everything!) It was really lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We've been reading a lot, playing out new Turkish monopoly set, and watching The Wire

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We've been lighting the candles of our make-shift manora every night and making plans for our Kurban Bayram holiday (it's the 19th-23rd). We're planning to head down to Ephesus with a couple friends. Hopefully we'll rent a car and be able to drive all over the place. The Kurban Bayram, by the way, is basically a sacrifice holiday where (we've been told) everyone slaughters (or has someone else slaughter) an animal and gives the meat/money to the less fortunate. I'm not sure what we'll be missing by leaving Istanbul, but undoubtedly the village we're heading towards (near Ephesus) will have some festivities to witness/avoid at all costs.

 

Overall things have been going well and it's hard to believe we've been in Istanbul for four months already! While we both like the city and our neighborhood, it's going to be really nice to get out of the dense urban sprawl and see some open land.

 Josh doing some lesson planning:

And me making some stew for dinner: