The Mediterranean!

This week we have been slowly settling in to life here in Antalya. I am slowly picking up more and more words in Turkish, and I'm sure that once we live with a Turkish host family words will come faster.
Alli and I have discovered two favorite swimming spots. One is on the beach a ways from Verna's house, where we can rent umbrellas and chairs and relax the afternoon away! We have done this a couple of times now, and it is simply amazing! The water is so warm! The other is a local swimming hole off the rocks in front of Verna's house. There is a long, steep makeshift stairway down to the rocks, where ladders have been put on the biggest rocks, to make it easier to get into deeper water. There's no sharks or anything to worry about, but I've seen a few people fishing with spear guns there, which tells me there's something big... The water is so warm that I am actually thankful to find a cold patch! Alli and I have gotten in the habit of swimming in the early evenings. This could be the beginning of a great routine!
We've tried to do a little exploring of Antalya this week, beginning with the tram and the dolmes, or bus. Yesterday Alli and I took the tram into the old city, and walked down to the harbor, in hopes of finding a short cruise (we see the boats all the time passing in front of the apartment). We fell in line with some older touristy-looking people, paid the captain a small fee, and joined a couple of German tour groups for a cruise of the bay! We laughed a lot, but enjoyed it all the same! On Saturday morning we explored the big market, which was wonderful! Apparently there is a market somewhere in the city every day, but Saturday's market is the biggest. We bought all kinds of fresh vegetables and fruit for next to nothing. Then we found lunch at one of the stalls - my new favorite food, guzleme (goozlahmay)! Its basically a chewy crepe, full of fresh feta cheese, spinach, or meat, or a combination of the above. So amazing!
Even more exciting was our visit to the rehabilitation center where we will be working. We went in on Friday to give them our papers (the center has to explain to the government why foreigners are there), and to set up details. I was shocked - the center was huge and beautiful! They just moved into a brand new building, with tons of open space, lots of rooms for individual instuction and physical therapy, several craft rooms, a theater, and even a pool! I was especially excited to see the pool - maybe I'll get to teach some swimming lessons! Tomorrow we will start our semi-normal schedule there, going on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We start out just observing, to see how they do things there, and also to see what kinds of gaps we can fill. I am so looking forward to tomorrow!