happy new year

a new year will arrive tomorrow night. a fresh and hopeful start... a chance to make a wish and to start over; to change and to stay the same:) I hope you all will have many beautiful times in 2011. have a great weekend with your loved ones.

STUDENTS POST 2:

"Ayhan Dervişoğlu"

Do you need something fun for the weekend? Here is an idea from Ayhan:

How I Met Your Mother is a hilarious sit-com. The story is set in New York and it is about five close friends: Ted, Barney, Lily and Marshall. Each episode starts with Ted telling his children in 2030 the story of how he met their mother. I will try to introduce you the characters:

TED MOSBY:

He is the main character of the sitcom. Ted is acted by Josh Radnor. Ted is a romantic architect who tries to find his dream girl. He is very considerate and kind. According to Barney, he thinks too much. He falls in love a lot and once he was in love with Robin, too. He wants to get married and have kids. When his skyscraper designed turned down by a company, he quit being an architect and became a proffesor.

MARSHAL ERIKSEN:

He is acted by John Segel. He is in love with his wife Lily since college years. They are happily married. In his family everyone is tall and big, but Lily is short and thin. He was Ted's roommate. He is very honest and can't tell any lies. He is a lawyer and works for a bank. They want to have a child soon.

LILY ERIKSEN:

She is acted by Alyson Hannigan. She is Marshall's wife and a kindergarden teacher. She likes shopping. Her nick name is Lilypad.

ROBIN SCHERBATSKY:

Robin is acted by Cobie Smulders. She is a Canadian and works for a local TV channel and presents 4am news. She was seperated from her mother at an early age. She lived with her father. She dated with Ted and Barney. Robin is atough girl, she likes using guns and smoking cigars.

BARNEY STINSON:

He is acted by Neil Patrick Harris. He claims that he is Ted's best friend and winkman. He tries to set Ted up with new girls. Unlike Ted who is a romantic, Barney always try to be with a different girl . He can do anything to date a girl. He is a real womanizer. He is a manager at a bank. He always always wears suits. His famous line is "Suit up!"

That is my favourite sit-com. What is yours?

STUDENTS POST 1:

"Gizem Yılmaz"

I usually go to bed at around 10 or 11 o'clock. If I sleep late, the reason is usually the fact that I have to study hard or drink coffee at night. I usually try to sleep early, of course except on special days; such as new year's celebrations. At the weekends I go to bed at 12 o'clock latest. However, my classmates sleep very late. They always say ' I sleep at 3 am. and 4 am.' I really wonder and would like to ask you: What do you do when you go to bed late?

fog: a quilt covering the city

We woke up to a misty halo today. A soft light was covering the city, absorbing all the morning sounds: the buzz of the city, the horns of the cars, the rushing taps on the street. I like the fuzziness of foggy mornings, as well as the one of snowy days. They turn the city into a fairyland and turn our ordinary lives into a timeless fairytale. So, here I admit: I woke up today and wished I were a student and could skip the classes and sleep in my bed, tucked in warm sheets. However instead of falling into dreams, I got up and went to school. Most of the students couldn't make it to the first hour, so I went to my office and had breakfast. Later, I heard that some of my students went to cinema, some didn't even leave home and some strolled around the city. What about you? How was this morning for you?

eat pray and love

"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. "
EAT, PRAY and LOVE


On Saturday, I went to see the movie "Eat, Pray and Love" which was adapted from the novel. I had read the book so I wondered how it was filmed. The movie is about a divorced woman who travels to Italy, India and Bali to survive from depression and sorrow. The woman is played by Julia Roberts.
In Italy, she tries to learn Italian and enjoy life. She meets new friends, eats delicious Italian food and has a good time. In India, she does yoga and meditation. There she concentarates on her feelings and learns to accept herself. And finally in Bali, she meets very friendly local people and falls in love with a man. Although she is afraid to fall in love again, she takes a step to overcome this fear. That's how the movie ends.
If you want to see beautiful views from different countries and like romantic movies, you should definitely see it. It goes good with popcorn and coke:) Have you watched any films this weekend?

monday blues

Do you feel bad and tired on Monday mornings? I sometimes do, but today was different. I was feeling energetic and happy. I think when you have a good and happy weekend, it makes your Monday easier and sunnier. After having a lazy home-sweet-home day on Friday evening and on Saturday, I went to a rock music concert at night. One of my friends has an amateur music band called 8 saat. It was their second concert, but they were very proffesional and cool on the stage. On Sunday, I took a walk in Kuzguncuk and met my friends in Kadıköy. It was sunny and warm. That felt very good after a rainy and chilly week. All in all, that was a very peaceful and cheerful weekend for me. What about for you?

Here we go!

Today we started a new school year. The quiet and empty building became lively and crowded again. You could see everybody running in the corridors, excited, happy and a little bit anxious. As for me, I was energetic, happy and excited to meet my new students. Every year I meet 40 or 50 new people and learn their names, get to know them during the year. That is quite a chance for an occupation. It never gets boring. Once in the classroom, a teacher forgets everything and just concentrates on the class. I think this is wonderful. I'm very glad to meet each of you. Until tomorrow, stay safe and have a good rest but take a look at my question first: What were the good things and bad things for you today?

"Don't forget that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair"
Khalil Gibran

And here I'm with my new bob haircut ready for the autumn and ready for a new school year. Sometimes having your haircut is more than just something physical. It is more about making a change about yourself. This month I have had a lot of changes. I have moved to a new house in a totally new part of the city. I have bought new furniture and finally yesterday I had a new haircut. It feels good to change. What would you like to change about yourself this year?

photo:www.noomiedoodlesfashion.blogpsot.com

"Every city has a gender and age. Rome is an old woman. London is a teenager. Paris, I believe is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman." says John Berger. When I read this sentence, I felt how true it was. Cities are just like people, they have certain kind of aura. You can feel it when you walk down the streets, when you inhale the smell of its morning and when you mingle in the crowd at night. Do you feel that in Istanbul? What is the gender and age of İstanbul?I will give my answer in the next post.

Let's walk!

Today is a bright and breezy autumn day. It is almost already October but there are not any golden leaves on the ground. The trees are still alive with green leaves. The only hint about autumn is the smell of rain you can feel in the air. Even when it doesn't rain... So with the sun above and the cool breeze outside, I wanted to get up early and walk to work. People were going to work, the children looked still sleepy and the cats were streching under the sun. It was perfect. I like autumn mornings because it reminds me the excitement of new beginnings. What do you like about autumn?

photo:www.geziyorumlari.com

Who is Audrey?

Audrey is my favorite cinema icon. She is one of the most beautiful, naive and elegant women of all times. When I decided to start a blog to meet you, I wanted to include her into my blog. So this is not a diary of an actual Audrey. This is the blog of an English teacher who lives in Istanbul. Here and there, now and then I will write to the blog and share things with you; my students. I will be delightful if you follow me and send your comments for the posts. In every post we will have a question. You may just think about it or come and join to talk about it. So for today, What will be the name of your blog and why?