where is kate...

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 17 Water

I don't drink enough water.  Quite frankly I think it’s boring, tasteless and plain.  Teaching young ones means that I am talking all day: explaining things, reading things out loud, repeating things …. repeating things.  Talking. Talking. Talking.  I should be drinking much more water than the ‘at least a litre a day’ we are advised.  I’ve tried enticing myself with new and cool water bottles, bribing myself (probably too old for this!), and buying lemons and limes to sweeten the taste.   

Any suggestions?

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 16 Community

It wasn't until I lived overseas that I really valued the idea of a community and being part of one. To me, a community can be a group of people with something in common – something physical, or a belief or idea.  Just people getting together for a common purpose.  Whether they are formal or informal, for a serious cause or for laughs, for sharing information or just lending your ear - they have us feeling that we are one part of something bigger.

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 15 Friendship

Yesterday I told you about my favourite pale blue and white clouds bedcover.  I loved it. Anytime I was feeling a little homesick, a little displaced, a little lost, my favourite bedcover would get pulled out and put on the bed.  A security blanket, pun intended.

On one trip home to Australia, I was telling my sister that I thought the bedcover was coming to the end of its life, and that I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, as I needed it.  Needed it!

On the final day of my stay she presented me with a pen – pale blue with white clouds.  She said I could let the bedcover go to bedcover heaven, as I now had the pen to hold on to.

That’s friendship. How lucky am I that she is my sister too.  xx

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day14 Home

Home. Where is home for an expat?

We move about every 2-3 years, each country is chosen for us – our home is decided by an employment position.  I quite like the surprise, the challenge, the adventure, the daunting task of finding doctors, hairdressers and some new friends. However, it does pose a difficult question:  Where do you call home if you hardly have time to set one up?  For me, home is where my stuff is, home is where my partner is, home is where I cook most nights and use my familiar kitchen utensils. 

Home used to be wherever my favourite pale blue and white clouds bedcover was, until it started to tear and had to be thrown away, I had to get attached to something else …. but that's all part of finding how to make my place, my home. 

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 13 Darkness

We were in Jordan last summer and spent a night sleeping in tents in the middle of Wadi Rum.  After a day riding around in the most run down Nissan Patrol I have ever seen, it was lovely to be relaxing around a camp fire with super sweet black tea and newly formed friendships.  At 9pm they turn off the electricity, leaving us to enjoy the darkness of the desert. I looked into the sky and discovered it full of stars!  Not one or two, but thousands of tiny twinkling and flickering specks and I realised that I couldn't remember the last time I had seen such a clear and peaceful star filled sky. Unexpected surprises are the nicest.

[whereiskate]

Last month we managed to use my school holidays for a bit of skiing in France. My first time to the Mont Blanc region and being a fairly new skier I thought it'd be a bit daunting - full of fabulous skiers and me getting in their way! I was wrong - this place was amazing. We skied at St Gervais and Les Contamines and I did lots of walking with such fresh air and beautiful views. No real crowds and a scary mix of beginners mixed in with the experts.

I need to make no mention of all the fabulous French food I consumed, right?  

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 12 Music

Well, this is going to be embarrassing.  Music.    

My taste is generally pretty bad, and pretty old school. I get attached to songs and I can’t let them go.  My iPod is a messy and mangled mix of songs from my favourite movies (think Grease and The Sound of Music!) and 90’s and 00’s ‘classics’. I'm the girl that was very excited when Cotton Eye Joe was on the radio during my drive home last week. 

I like songs that make me dance, I like songs that make me sing a long. Not a bad thing, right? 

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day11 Running

We ran a lot in Australia too, however when we relocated overseas 5 years ago we realised running was a sport that we could do anywhere, with very little equipment, with as much or little time as you have. 

We’ve run with scary stray dogs in Mumbai, hurdled fishing rods and their owners in Istanbul and are very much enjoying the serenity of a breezy evening along the Corniche here in Doha.

You'll find us running a few times a week, as long (or short!) as we feel like.  We participate in races as much as we can and will even travel for them – what a good excuse for a weekend away!

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash Day 10 Time

A timely topic, this one.  Considering this post is two days late!  Thursdays are chaos for me.  Technically a shorter work day for me, but after a busy week I’m always exhausted and usually cannot string a sentence together - in spoken or written form.

I manage to fit a lot into my days and I consider myself pretty efficient and organised, but there is usually something that drops off the end. 

Would I like to be less busy, sure?  However, I know that the more I have to do, the more I can manage to squeeze in.  My husband’s Mum says “If you want something done, ask a busy person”.

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 9 Spring

Roses are red

Violets bloom in Spring

Forget flowers on date night, I’d prefer some bling!

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 8 Chocolate

To my dearest Chocolate,

I'm just going to say it, I love you.

I love that you're creamy, I love that you're bitter, I love your soft centres. Your little blocks of happiness make me smile. I love the way you lay on the couch with me after a bad day. I love the way you celebrate with me after a good day. You're always there to support me. You are special.

Can we be together forever?

xx 

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 7 Nature

Teaching young students descriptive writing.  Describe what they hear, see, smell and can touch/feel:

Nature:

I hear birds chirping, the wind through the leaves. I hear running water. I hear people laughing and having fun, it sounds happy and peaceful.

I see birds flying to nearby trees.  I see a stream, a colourful butterfly and I think I just saw a frog!

I smell someone’s BBQ. 

My feet feel cool in the stream.  I can touch the cool grass as I lay and relax. I feel hungry knowing there is a BBQ close.  I feel I should go and join their fun!

[whereiskate]

I spent quite a long time in this shop. Determined to purchase something but just could not decide which ones!

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash21013 Day 6 Island

  While living in Istanbul for 3 years we became very attached to an island called Bozcaada (Boz-jar-da), a 5 hour drive, and 2 ferry rides from Istanbul by car. 

This tiny island on the Aegean Coast boasts great wine, cheese, fish, beaches and sunsets.  My favourite spot was a tea garden that was sheltered from the summer sun by intertwined trees and grape vines.  Mixing with the locals, Turkish is an advantage – even if it’s just a very smiley ‘thank you’. 

Something memorable happened each time we were there, including when I was invited to help roll vine leaves at a local restaurant.  I was terrible at it!  Lots of laughing by all and a crowd of supporters formed as they passed on their knowledge in fast excited Turkish that I couldn’t catch a word of.  They sent me away with my work – not fit for the restaurant!  Good times!

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash Day 5 Health

Health.  Am I healthy?  Yes.  I mean, sometimes!? 

Well, I just came home from work desperate to have a naughty McDonald's Cheeseburger but have chosen low fat plain yoghurt and nuts instead. 

Healthy, right?  Absolutely!   

I exercise, I do watch what I eat and drink and I try to get enough sleep.  But health isn't always in our control, so I try and remember to be thankful for mine.

[whereiskate]

#BlogFlash2013 Day 4 Books

A lot of my reading at the moment is work or study material or books.  Interesting, sometimes inspiring, but rarely (or never!) do they take me to a life other than my own. 

My current novel is by Orhan Pamuk, called The Museum of Innocence.  A fictional love story set in 1975 in Istanbul, Turkey.  Kemal who is soon to be married to Sibel, becomes a compulsive collector of things owned by, or that remind him of his love that could never be, Fusun.   

Pamuk began this project during the 80s, and collected mementos and wrote this book, and has since set up the Museum of Innocence in a small building along a cobblestone street in Istanbul.  

Istanbul was my home for three years and I can imagine the city, the streets, the socialising Turks and the complexities of a growing and changing city in the 1970s. Now being able to visit this museum and see a collection representing Kemal’s life has me enjoying the notion that this could very well be someone's true story! 

[whereiskate]

My love of Istanbul is not a secret. My love of Turkish food and drink is no secret either. On a recent trip back it was fabulous to catch up with all my old friends, and the social eating and drinking that comes along with it.