Almost expat

It's been a very emotional few weeks. We all took the train to Devon to attend my dad's funeral, I can't describe how I felt when I walked into the chapel, numb, disbelieving that he was laying there in the coffin. It was a very nice but sad service, my dad wasn't a religious man but a reverend attended him with a humanist sermon. Afterwards, we went back to my sisters house where she had enough food to feed an army. Still better safe than sorry. I returned to London and stayed in the house I used to share with my dad, it really didn't feel like home anymore, and I settled into a routine of lethargy for the remaining week that I was there. I did nothing, I ate crap, I had not, until Thursday eaten a vegetable for 2 weeks and I was feeling it. My flight home was crowded, there were a family of Asians sitting around the aircraft, 35 of them, so at various points of the flight, they played musical chairs so I think I chatted to most of the family. They were all very ...

I arrived today, courtesy of Pegasus airlines, but only just. I had to split the flight, Dalaman to Istanbul then Istanbul to Stansted. I had an hour and 10 minutes transfer time. In the summer, this is fraught. Years ago you could get off at Istanbul and go straight to the domestic terminal getting your passport stamped at the end destination airport, now you can’t do this. You now have to get off the flight and get the passport stamped in and out at Istanbul, and it is there that you can run into problems. Today I breezed through passport control, where I got held up was in the duty free shop. After a 5 minute delay arriving, followed by a 5 minute walk to the international departures then a 10 minute queue to get stamped out I thought I would get some duty free shopping. It is a very long hall, the duty free at the airport but I picked up my tobacco (yes, I know it’s bad for me) made my way to the cashier and then waited 20 minutes to pay! He was so slow! He scrutinised EVERYTHING. ...

So as you have probably guessed, my stab at expatriate life has been temporarily put on hold. I am flying back to the UK on Wednesday so that I can be there for my fathers funeral. I am so glad I had not applied for my residency, had I have done, I would not be able to leave the country until I had had my interview. I’m flying back on the 20th as I want to spend Christmas here in Turkey. My dad has been quite ill this year, so his death hasn’t come as a massive surprise, but the speed has. He moved to Devon and seemed to perk up, his health was improving, a scan 2 weeks ago revealed nothing untoward. He had just had enough of life and quietly and peacefully slipped away. He never liked Christmas much, he was a bit of a bah humbug, now he doesn’t have to face it. I will miss him greatly, I looked after him for 9 years, but he looked after me too. MHTTB has been fantastic, he has kept me busy until my departure back to Blighty, taking me out and just letting me be quiet, miserable an...

Dear Dad,  No words can ever express how much I love you, how grateful I am to you and how much you will be missed. I will love you forever, rest now, you deserve eternal peace. 

It's not always sunny in Turkey, especially in winter. It's been raining for 2 days now, along with some dramatic thunder to go with it. The rain has postponed the fitting of the chimney and it has also got into the electrics for the water heater. The tank has a solar panel, but for rainy days there is this lovely little switch I can flick up on the consumer unit. What the consumer unit lacks, is a mains switch, that is located at the meter in a metal cabinet on the other side of the site. This morning I flicked the water heater switch up and it tripped the electrics. The rain was hammering down, but like the hero he is, MHTTB donned a coat and walked over there and restored power, only I didn't connect the tripping of the electrics to the water heater did I? So I flicked it up again and clunk the electrics went off again. Off he went again, only this time he stayed by the meter so I could check. It definitely was the water heater. It'll be fine when the rain stops, but...

Today, I met up with a friend, Sue, and off we went to the animal aid Christmas fair. This is the first chance I have had to see a large group of other ex pats. It wasn’t a massive affair, but what was there was some very nice stalls selling jams and chutneys, cake, pork sausages and best of all these! Obviously I got myself a few packs, they were a rare enough find when I was in the UK, plus I know the slimming world syn value of these, and tomorrow, after weeks of faffing I intend to go back on plan. I also bought some other really nice bits, some wooden heart wall plaques, a handmade (from real pine) Christmas wreath, which is tied to the balcony, and a few jars of jam. I am on the hunt now for a Christmas tree, my decorations have arrived and I am going to see to it that they get used. Going to the Christmas fairs are a great way of getting to know other expats. I joined a few Facebook groups before I arrived, and they are a mine of information and are very willing to pass on r...

As in Greece, you cannot flush toilet paper down the toilet in Turkey. Unlike Greece, most toilets come with a little spout at the back of the pan, with a tap you can access to wash your bits after doing the necessary. It can lead to some embarrassing moments. Take the other day, for example, I was visiting my sister-in-law and used the toilet. After doing what I had to do, I reached down and turned the tap on. How was I to know that they had the water pressure of a fire hydrant? Water splashed over to the opposite side of the pan, over the top and straight into my knickers and leggings, soaking the bum part completely. I had to pull up soggy leggings and try to walk normally. The worst bit was when we decided to sit out on the balcony and she offered me a cloth chair to sit on. It was more comfortable you see, but I had a wet bum. Imagine if I had had to get up again? I would have left a big wet patch on the chair. As I am getting to know them all better, the incontinent look wasn...