Birthdays and Being "Under the Weather"

I have not been able to write so much because I have been ill. Not so bad but my cold mutated into a sinus infection which became a cough that is really sticking around. I went to the doctor today (finally) and got some meds and a note to stay home from work and recover for the next 2 days. I feel like health might be just around the corner. Yipee!!!
School is going well, but it is tiring. I spend half the day with Kezban in one class and the other half with Ela in the other class. I do pretty much the same thing two times a day but it is tough. When I was with Kezban the full day last year there were many opportunities for breaks. Now I only get 15 minutes if I am lucky. The kids are great though. They can never compare to my class last year, but I love them all too.
This has been a week of birthdays. Kezban had hers on Friday and Kadir on Saturday. After school on Friday we went to Mado for cake and tea/coffee. It was very nice and low key with me and 6 of the Turkish teachers from school. Afterwards I went to dinner with some other friends for delicious Adana kebap. It was a great day.

Me and Kezban
Me, Necla, and Nuray

Kadir's birthday was a larger event. He is Murat's cousin and I have gotten to know him very well over the last year. We all (about 20 of us) met at a restaurant in Nevizade (the area of Taksim with the best nightlife scene). We ate fish, drank Rakı, and took many photos. I was coughing a lot though so I made it an early night.

The Birthday Boy, Kadir

That pretty much catches us up to today. I am going to immediately post two blogs about my trip to Urla and Izmir to tell you a little about both of those. Please feel free to comment, but make sure to tell me who you are if you do not have an account ;).