It's confirmed* - I'm going to Istanbul!
But travel madness aside, I'm really looking forward to the next adventure. I loved my visit to Istanbul earlier in the year - it left me craving to see more of the country, like the hot air balloons of Cappadocia or the salt pools of Pamukkale. Moreover, I welcome the challenge of a new client, a new city, a new culture. This assignment will take me out of the cozy, predicable nest I've built in Glasgow and catapult me outside my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to learning, to growing, and to helping my new team ship some kickass Turkish technology!
The backstory: there have been some changes here at our client in Glasgow, one of which resulted sadly in our current development team being reduced to roughly half of what it was. At first, the boy and I were told we'd be sticking around. This made sense given that we were based here and many team members who traveled weekly from London, Manchester, etc requested to roll of. But the day before we were leaving for our 2-week vacation (which we are on now), we got the news that our schedules and skill sets lined up better with the gig in Turkey, and were we willing to go? And just like that, we announced to the team that the following day would be our last.
Logistically we'll be operating in fast forward mode - once we get back to the UK, we'll have a day to pack up in Glasgow, the next day to fly to Istanbul to get settled, and the day after that we'll be at our new client...ahhh!!! Then a week after, we'll head to London to get obtain our full working visas, then it's back to Istanbul for good, with sighs of relief.
I'd always felt pretty comfortable with the 'pack up and hop on a plane with ridiculously short notice' mentality that comes with being a consultant at ThoughtWorks, but I've definitely gone soft since living in Glasgow and not traveling for work the past year. I'm picturing our apartment and all the random shit we've accumulated - climbing gear, airbed and extra pillows/sheets/blankets, dozens of jars of spices, random souvenirs (thankfully we stuck mostly to magnets), clothing and electronics... to pack or donate all that, sell our bicycles, and pop in to say goodbye to our co-workers all in one day will be the ultimate test of my road warrior abilities.
I'll definitely miss Glasgow. I've grown fond of living and working here. There are still many things I wanted to do in Scotland, like hike Ben Nevis and eat a deep fried Mars Bar and go back to Edinburgh. Leaving on such short notice makes me feel cheated of a proper farewell.
But travel madness aside, I'm really looking forward to the next adventure. I loved my visit to Istanbul earlier in the year - it left me craving to see more of the country, like the hot air balloons of Cappadocia or the salt pools of Pamukkale. Moreover, I welcome the challenge of a new client, a new city, a new culture. This assignment will take me out of the cozy, predicable nest I've built in Glasgow and catapult me outside my comfort zone. I'm looking forward to learning, to growing, and to helping my new team ship some kickass Turkish technology!
*Well, as confirmed as things at ThoughtWorks get, which is never quite 100%. I'll truly believe it when I've been there a week!
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