Charlotte profile picture

Charlotte

"If the grass wasn't green, the sky wasn't blue, the sun wasn't yellow, then what would we do?"

About Me

So I think it is long overdue AGAIN to write so new things about me. First of all, I am a Christian (that is still the same =). God has made so many wonderful changes in my life recently (and still is) that some may not recognize me. I have been blessed with the opportunity to live in Turkey, make a ton of new friends, have a great apartment, but I have no more cat (he finally escaped to freedom I guess ;). I have just started my second year teaching kindergarten at Doga! I have two classes of four year olds that I split my day between. I still get to see all my old kids which makes me sooooo happy. I love them in a way that no other class can ever come close to comparing with. I am sure I will never be able to thank them but they will be precious to me always. They learned so fast and we had so much fun together everyday. I teach all day in English. I still have the world's best partner teacher, Kezban, to help me with everything, and also a new partner, Ela. I also have the most wonderful boyfriend in the world, Murat. He is also my best friend here, which makes him even more important to me! I am so lucky to have found him. We had a wonderful trip through Europe and spent a month in Italy and Germany. You can check out my blog and photos at charbar137.blogspot.com.I am here ultimately because it is what I felt called to do. I also love the excitement, adventure, and challenge of going somewhere different. I spent 3 summers, and more, abroad and have visited many countries: Israel, Germany, Poland, Italy, Hungary, Turkey, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Rep, and Denmark. Next on my wish list are Georgia, Armenia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, and more of Eastern Europe. Right now I spend most of my free time reading the Bible, studying the Bible, taking a course on Aromatherapy, learning about teaching English, listening to sermons on my iPod (metrocalvary.org or subscribe on iTunes), learning a new language (Turkish and also Zaza), reading other non-fiction books, exploring my new home, keeping in touch with my friends back home, and hanging out with my new friends.found this flowers layout at HOT FreeLayouts.com

My Interests

I love traveling, watching my shows and movies, learning languages (German, Spanish, Italian, TURKISH!!!, Kurdish, and Zaza), reading anything especially the Bible, non-fiction, good fiction, and lately anything about Turkey and Islam, being active, riding my bike, hiking, writing, and having fun.

I'd like to meet:

Walter Moers (author), John Cusack (my fav actor), Tom Hanks (just seems like a great guy) Shah Rukh Khan (my bolloywood hero), Margaret Atwood (author), and Carlos Ruiz Zafon (another author), and most importantly God (someday ^_~).

Music:

Hindi Music (surprise), Tarkan, My Chemical Romance, Killers, Snow Patrol, The Shins, Mustafa Sandal, Fall Out Boy, Jem, Death Cab For Cutie, Tiziano Ferro, downhere, Jeremy Camp, Superchick, The Rasmus, Damien Rice, Postal Service, Kate Havnevik, Bjork, David Gray, Enya, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bocelli, Imogen Heap/Frou Frou, Sugarcult, Copeland, Gripin, Emre Aydin, Murat Böz, Emre Altug, classical, oldies, opera, and whatever else I feel like. I have been listening to my ultimate favorite artist in the world, Tchaikovsky, a ton. It is like he is playing inside my soul on repeat. I soar, plummet, swing, and twirl in time to his music. I love my Ipod!

Movies:

My favorite Bollywood movies are Main Hoon Na, Koi Mil Gaya, Kal Ho Na Ho, Devdas, Swades, Hum Tum, Parineeta, KANK,3KG and anything with Shah Ruhk Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, and Aishwarya Rai. I love foreign films like Run Lola Run, He Loves Me He Loves Me Not, Amelie, A Very Long Engagement (and everything by Jean Pierre Jeunet), Love Me If You Dare, Life is Beautiful, Behind the Sun, Viziontele (1 and 2), and Devil's Backbone.I do watch movies in English as well like Little Miss Sunshine, Dream For An Insomniac, Dante's Peak, Elizabethtown, Pyromaniac's Love Story, Empire Records, The Very Thought of You, Grosse Pointe Blank (or anything John Cusack), Moonstruck, Fight Club, the new Pride and Prejudice, Emma (or any Austen adaptations for that matter), Son of the Pink Panther (the best in my opinion), Everything is Illuminated, Science of Sleep, Endless Sunshine of Spotless Mind (and everything Michel Gondry), Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Big Fish (and everything Tim Burton), Constantine, Neverwas, and movies I get nostalgic for from my childhood like Secret of Nimh, Rainbow Brite and the Starstealer, The Chipmunk Adventure, and Fern Gully (no laughing!).I am counting down the days for Be Kind Rewind, the new Michel Gondry film, because it is going to be amazing!

Television:

Now that I do not have a TV I watch lots of shows online. I stay current with Lost and Heroes right now. My all time favorites are ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, and Roswell. I used to watch Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives but have fallen way behind. Sometime far in the future I will find a way to catch up ^_^...

Books:

Possibly the greatest children's book ever written! If you haven't read it you have missed out. This list could get long but I will only put my favorites: The Bible, The Shadow of the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafon), Blind Assassin (Margaret Atwood), Shadow Song (Terry Kay), Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass (Lewis Carroll), Dragon Can't Dance (Earl Lovelace), Tales from the Expat Harem, The Book of Lost Things (John Connelly), The Looking Glass Wars (Frank Beddor), Black Trillium (Bradley, Norton, and May), all the Harry Potter's, all Jane Austen novels, Return of the Native (Hardy), all Nelson Demille, George RR Martin's series, all books by Walter Moers (he is a genius), The Fate of Africa (Meredith), Kabul in Winter (Ann Jones), Why Geography Matters (Harm de Blij), and In Search of Kazakhstan (Christopher Robbins).

Heroes:

God, my best friend Sarah, my mom, and my dad. God- well of course it is because of John 3:16. He sent Jesus to die on the cross so I can spend eternity in Heaven with Him (and he created this amazing world we live in in only 6 days!!!). Sarah- because she has amazing patience and is an awesome teacher. I hope to be at her level someday. Mom- she has given me everything I could ever need and more. Dad- He lives his life in such a positive Christian way that makes the people around him feel wonderful and special.

My Blog

Changes!

So I will be starting to blog on this site. If you want to know more just head on over. You can bookmark or just check here. I will occasionally post blogs here which will direct you to the new blogs ...
Posted by Charlotte on Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:12:00 PST

On the Carousel of Life

So I am writing this blog with many different emotions welling up and subsiding within me. I have just had my last day with my Brown Bear class. It was over too soon and I will miss all my kids like c...
Posted by Charlotte on Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:31:00 PST

WE WON!!!!

Fenerbahce beat Chelsea 2-1 (we scored their goal too =P) and I am on cloud nine! When we beat them in England, we will move onto the European Cup semi-finals. Volkan was so awesome (our goalie) and K...
Posted by Charlotte on Wed, 02 Apr 2008 02:25:00 PST

Israel, March 6th

We woke up early today to get a head start. We called Eli to take us to a breakfast spot because our hotel was not close to any food places, and the restaurant did not open until 12. We ate a quick br...
Posted by Charlotte on Mon, 24 Mar 2008 10:43:00 PST

Israel, March 5th

Our plane flight from Istanbul was early in the morning and we arrived into Tel Aviv at around 9AM. We went to get our luggage and find the she rut’s to Jerusalem. A she rut is similar to the Tu...
Posted by Charlotte on Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:48:00 PST

My parents visit Istanbul! (part 2)

My other set of parents arrived on the night of Feb 29th. I had been excitedly awaiting their arrival for a few weeks and would give the countdown to anyone who would listen. After some last minute cl...
Posted by Charlotte on Mon, 17 Mar 2008 01:44:00 PST

A long overdue update

Sorry I have been kinda MIA for a while. I think about you all often, and always plan to write you and to write blogs. Everyday I get home from chasing after 16 kids all day and I just want to sleep. ...
Posted by Charlotte on Sat, 15 Mar 2008 03:12:00 PST

Things that make you go hmmmmmm.....

On Friday, Turks and myself woke up to find a message when we tried to connect to YouTube:" Access to this web site has been suspended in accordance with decision no: 2008/55 of T.R. Ankara 12th Crimi...
Posted by Charlotte on Sun, 20 Jan 2008 11:18:00 PST

Turkish kids say the darnedest things!

So just a quick little anecdote to illustrate the many joys of teaching English in Turkey. This week we are learning the letter F. The kids sometimes bring things from home for show and tell, but we a...
Posted by Charlotte on Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:26:00 PST

Happy Birthday to me!

So, I recently turned 27 and had my first birthday outside the US. I missed Mikuni's with all my girls, and getting to see my family, but I had a great birthday nonetheless. I went to work and my kids...
Posted by Charlotte on Thu, 03 Jan 2008 10:05:00 PST