The Journey

     This post marks the first day of my journey to Izmir, Turkey. It also represents my first serious attempt at blogging. I hope that keeping a consistent record of my experiences in Turkey will benefit others who are interested in learning or laughing at the many mistakes and successes I hope to have over the next two years.

In order to establish an idea of just where I'm starting and where I think I'm going, let me paraphrase myself. I'm an MLS-wielding librarian from Kansas. I have worked in junior college and high school library environments for several years. I have always enjoyed travel and have been abroad several times, never more than a few months at a time. It's been a lifelong dream of mine to live in another culture and I feel extremely lucky to have been given the opportunity in Izmir.

I'm working as a high school librarian for ACI. This marks my first job after grad school.  My hope is that I can be a positive influence on the students at ACI by supplementing the curriculum with one-on-one help, particularly with database resources and proper academic citation. In short, I want to help students navigate through the sea of information we find ourselves in today by giving them the tools to determine a good source from a bad one and giving credit where credit is due. These skills are essential for helping people educate themselves and to build the collective body of human knowledge. I take my job and my personal philosophy seriously but I try to laugh at everything else.


My personal goals, while here are to gain language skills and scratch the surface of the unique culture of Turkey. I can't imagine a place richer in ancient world history and contemporary uniqueness. On the Agenda are the biblical city and library at Ephesus, Pamukkale springs and Troy. First, I have to make it to my apartment in Izmir and settle into my apartment.


I promise to post as often as I can, which will likely pick up when I set up my Turkish bank account and get internet service at my apartment. Thanks for reading!