Funny student stories

I really have become a blog failure this year.  I keep procrastinating on writing about the October break trip....and now it is December.  Maybe it's because Facebook provides a more instantaneous way to update and share pictures and stories.  But I personally like to have a record of my life here in Turkey (and so does my mom!), so I WILL update about the following things soon:  October trip with Natalie, Istanbul marathon, and the Christmas markets in Cologne, Germany (actually this upcoming weekend, but I think I need to think ahead now).  For this post, I want to share some funny student stories that I have encountered/been a part of over the past year and a half here.  I should make this a segment on my blog (although I need more updates to have a segment), because these are the kinds of memories I really want to hold on to.  Here are a few of my favorites (**no real student names will ever be used!):

1.  This one comes from last year, when I was teaching third grade (I am teaching the same group of students as fourth graders now).  A little background--the students' schedule goes as follows: 40 minute lesson, 10 minute break, 40 minute lesson, ten minute break...for 8 periods.  During one of the last breaks of the day, the school provides a snack for the students.  So one day, the snack was mini bananas.  I was really excited about this and made sure I got my own mini banana for an afternoon snack.  One of the third grade boys, Billy Bob (clearly made up, as there is nobody named Billy Bob in Turkey!), is trying to get the adult passing out the bananas to give him another one.  I discover that he already ate three, so I said no more bananas for you.  After a few minutes, the bell rings, and I go to get ready to go teach Billy Bob's class.  Billy Bob walks in a few minutes late (typical), and clutching his stomach.  I ask him what's wrong, and he replies, "Ten bananas," in Turkish.  Turns out he convinced SEVEN of his friends to let him eat their banana snack and therefore, ate ten mini bananas in ten minutes.  Needless to say, Billy Bob spent the rest of that lesson in the nurse's office.

2.  Another boy in Billy Bob's class (there's a handful of characters in that section), let's call him Frank, called me "Ms. Dimbert" for the first semester in third grade.  Frank is more on the chubby side but has the highest pitched voice out of all the boys.  So "Ms. Dimbert" coming from him always gave me a little chuckle.

3.  Last year, the third graders brought in breakfast foods to share with their classmates to eat during first hour.  These included standard breakfast foods like cereal and fruit, as well as Turkish breakfast staples such as olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese.  I loved walking in and seeing them eating breakfast at their desks and sharing their breakfast stash with their friends.  The best image is of one of the more mild boys drinking tea with his friends....Turkish men love to drink their tea so it was hilarious to me to see them starting out so young.  And I wish they would do those breakfasts in fourth grade.

4.  Pencil cases are a really big deal for the students (because let's face it, they try to get away with putting more than just pencils in there).  The best pencil case I saw last year was shaped like a tube of toothpaste.  When I asked the student where he got the toothpaste pencil case, he said both of his parents were dentists and got it for him on a trip.  So perfect!

5.  There are many mature and responsible students in fourth grade, but one girl in particular, Lucy, is a cut above the rest.  Lucy wore a skirt, tights, flats, and her hair in a beautiful bun the other day...just like a teacher would.  It was classic.  I also am starting to realize that Lucy knows more about what's going on in the school than I do, so she's a good go-to person to ask questions about.  For example, today she rattled off the entire testing schedule for fourth grade (I was not aware of this).  She also knows about field trips, assemblies, and even stuff like whose parents own which businesses.  She is one of those students who could probably teach the English class for me, if I were ever absent.

That's all for now.  I think I will start to keep a list of funny stories from fourth grade and share the best here.  For anyone who is interested!

Weekend in Izmir

It is hard to believe that it in November already.  I have only updated once about my trip to Bodrum. The beginning of the school year was really hectic.  A brand new elementary school campus opened, and it unfortunately wasn't ready at the beginning of the year.  By October, everyone was more settled in at the new building with their schedules.  But October ended up being an incredibly busy month.  It started off great with a weekend in Izmir, the second largest city in Turkey on the west coast.  A group of foreign teachers flew to Izmir on a Friday night.  Anissa and I decided not to go to Ephesus or Pamukkale and stayed in Izmir to explore the city.  That Saturday turned out to be an epic day of walking!  Our first stop was the ruins from the ancient Roman agora, back when Izmir was part of the Roman empire and known as Smyrna.  The agora was the central marketplace in the city.  This open air museum was only a few lira to enter, and turned out to be a pretty awesome spot to walk around and take some photos.  

Archaeologists really had to dig to uncover these ruins

Photos from down inside the agora

Each section of the marketplace was reserved for selling different goods

After walking around the ancient agora, Anissa and I strolled through the Izmir bazaar.  We saw people selling fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, then onto clothes and shoes....it went on and on and on.

I thought this fish was some kind of shark at first

Many nuts and dried fruits for sale at the market

We walked through the windy streets of the bazaar, stopping to buy some scarves and other knick knacks.  Eventually we found our way out down by the water and walked along the promenade.

The Izmir clocktower, a symbol of the city

The waterside is filled with many restaurants, bars, and tons of shops.  We found our way to Alsancak and enjoyed a fabulous dinner there.  This meal is one of the best seafood dinners I have had in Turkey.  Skewered, seasoned sea bass with lots of peppers and tomatoes...delicious.

The next day, we continued our walk through the city, this time past the seaside and up the hill to a few of the museums.  The Archaeology museum in Izmir was small, but had some great pieces to it.  There were many Roman statues and marble engravings from excavations in the area, as well as pottery and sarcophogi.

These stone carvings were just hanging out outside the museum

Painted sarcophogi, a rare find

Very elaborate marble sarcophogus

I continued walking up the hill and was rewarded with some pretty awesome panoramic views of Izmir.

I caught up with Anissa again at this shiny blue mosque up on top of the hill.

Finally we walked back down to the seaside again and enjoyed one last meal before heading back.  Izmir was a really fun city to visit, so very different from Tarsus or Istanbul.  It had more of a cosmopolitan feel to it than Mersin and was a really nice city to walk around and take in all of the sights.

Down by the seaside walkway

One last photo...a shot of Ataturk carved into the rock, as taken from a moving taxi

Long Weekend in Bodrum

First blog for year 2 in Tarsus, Turkey.  It has been quite the whirlwind start to the school year this time around.  I am happy to be teaching fourth grade with my teaching partner from last year.  A new kindergarten-4th grade campus has just been finished (about a month behind schedule).  A few weeks into the school year and finally all of those students are getting settled into this new campus.

About a month ago, there was a long weekend for everyone in Turkey in honor of Victory Day.  My friend Athena and I took advantage of this long weekend to go to Bodrum, Turkey.  I have been itching to go to Bodrum for a while now.  All of the Turkish people I know rave about how it is a wonderful place to visit with beautiful seaside views.  We got in late on a Thursday night and were scheduled to go on a day trip to Kos, a Greek island just off the coast of Bodrum the next day.  Unfortunately, due to visa issues, we were not allowed to leave Turkey to go on this trip.  Thankfully, the company we booked with were able to put us on a day cruise around the Bodrum harbor.  It turned out to be a really beautiful and relaxing day in the sun.  The captain stopped a few times for swimming breaks in the sea, which really just can't be beat.  Here are a few photos from the boat cruise:

One of the harbors where the boats are docked

Bodrum Castle

The white buildings on the hill facing the sea were absolutely picturesque

Just a beautiful day out in the Mediterranean

Cool sunset to end the day

The next day, Athena and I woke up bright and early to go on an all day tour of Ephesus.  Ephesus is an ancient Roman city, the largest eastern city of the empire.  We were really lucky to get an excellent English speaking Turkish tour guide.  Our guide was full of facts and information about the history of Turkey and Ephesus.  He spoke very candidly of his compulsory military service, which I had never heard anyone do before.  At Ephesus, he first took us around the section of the city where "regular" people lived.  Historians estimate that 250,000 people lived in Ephesus.  Around fifteen perecent of the city has been excavated by archaeologists.  Here are some photos of the "regular" people's section of the city:

Ready to see Ephesus

Walking through one of the old streets

Sitting in the commoner's amphitheater

Ruins from a two-story temple

Frescoe of Nike

Ruins of the Roman bath house

The second part of the tour featured the "VIP" section of Ephesus.  The first look at this part of the city from the top of the hill is truly spectacular.  

Sweeping view of VIP Ephesus

One of the statues lining the road

One of my favorite parts of Ephesus, this used to be a fountain

The massive library

Entrance to the VIP bathhouse

Community toilets.  Our guide said the VIPs had slaves who warmed up their seats in the winter.  

My favorite picture from Ephesus

Cheers to our awesome guide!

The 25,000 seat amphitheater, the largest in the ancient world.

Our day trip to Ephesus was incredible, and most definitely recommended to anyone visiting Turkey.  There is still more that I wanted to post about Bodrum, but I will have to put it in another entry since this one got really long.

Turkey, Year 1: Top Ten List

This past week has been filled with so many good byes and endings as the school year has wrapped up.  It has been a busy week filled with packing, parties, football games.  It has also made me reflective of my past year here in Turkey.  So here it is...my top ten list of  living and teaching in Turkey, year 1.

10.  Turkish treats

It has been really fun discovering and trying all kinds of Turkish food this year.  Food varies so much from region to region, so that is always a must do when visiting a different part of Turkey.  My favorite Turkish food though has to be baklava.  Thanks to my dear friend Kerry, I have tried more kinds of baklava this year than I ever thought I would.  Chocolate baklava (aka choclova), baklava with kaymak, and then of course the traditional kind ooozing with honey and pistachios.  The best baklava comes fresh and hot from the pan, so gooey that you need a handful of napkins afterwards.  Best baklava I had this year:  the choclova pictured, found in Istanbul.

9.  Relaxing at Kiskalesi

Kiskalesi is a beach area about an hour and a half from Tarsus.  It is a fun beach with amazing views of the castle, which is a swimmable distance away from the shore.  I went a few times last fall when I first arrived and then this spring stayed overnight at a hotel ran by an American guy.  Relaxing and enjoying the sea breeze, taking a dip to cool off, and of course ice cold drinks delivered to your beach chair....Kiskalesi is a trip I will be making many times next year as well.

8.  TAC/SEV Parties

This year, we had two big school parties, filled with excellent food, drinks, music, and of course dancing.  The first one was for teacher appreciation night, and then recently an end of the year party.  It is really fun to see all of the high school and elementary school teachers dressed up.  The spread is always fantastic.  And it doesn't take long once the music starts for everyone to get up and dance.  Watch a video that is shared on my Facebook wall to see for yourself how fun these parties are.  

7.  Long weekend in Antalya

In May, I went to Antalya, a resort town on the southern coast of Turkey, for a three day weekend.  It is a short flight from Adana, and I was relaxing in the sun by noon.  The water and coast is beautiful, and it was amazing to be able to jump right into the water at the private beach we stayed at.  Historical Antalya is very nice and well-maintained, with a lot of history and character.  I look forward to going back to Antalya at least one more time to enjoy the beautiful beaches and charming old town.

6.  Antakya road trip

This spring, Donna, Kerry, Stacey, and I went on a road trip to the historical city of Antakya.  Although the mosaic museum ended up being a little disappointing because of renovations, it was a really fun trip filled with lots of laughter, fun, and a few wrong turns here and there.  I wrote a more comprehensive blog entry about Antakya earlier.  It was very satisfying to know that we could travel to a less-touristic part of Turkey and be able to communicate, get around, and have a successful trip.  

5.  Cappadochia

Cappadochia is definitely a must-see place to visit in Turkey and I will definitely be going back next year.  The landscape is just something you have to see to really appreciate.  I loved staying in Goreme at our hotel built into the rock.  It was also in Cappadochia where I found my patchwork rug, which will be a Turkish souvenir that I intend to enjoy for many years.  Very cool place indeed!

4.  Turquoise Coast Blue Cruise

Everything about this trip was fun, fun, fun and absolutely beautiful.  The best way to see the beautiful southern Turkish coast is by boat.  Kerry spent the first few weeks of school organizing our 4 day, 3 night blue cruise from Olympos to Fethiye.  Every day was filled with beautiful sights, relaxing in the sun, and stops at picturesque coastal towns.  I loved everything about the cruise and would definitely recommend it to anyone travelling in Turkey.

3.  Istanbul

When it comes to history and sightseeing, Istanbul takes the cake.  If it isn't on your list of cities to visit, add it and put it towards the top!  I went to Istanbul several times this year.  One time for the teacher's orientation, another time in December with friends, and then again took Nate in April during the beautiful tulip season.  And I have not seen everything there is to see in the city!  I loved the Aya Sofya, Blue Mosque, and Bosphorous boat cruises (see photos).  Topkapi Palace, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, and the Underground Cisterns are other awesome places to see.  I will definitely be going back next year.  

2.  SEV Third Graders

Based on what I share on this blog, it can probably seem like I am not actually doing any teaching or working here.  Of course, that is the reason that I came all the way to Turkey in the first place.  I was so lucky this year to teach this group of third grade students.  They are a sweet, caring, fun, and eager bunch.  It has been so awesome to see and hear how their language skills in English have progressed over the year.  Every day, I would get hugs, smiles, little compliments from my students.  We had a lot of fun in our lessons.  It's because of them that I woke up feeling positive and ready for work each day. It was truly a joy to teach them, and I look forward to seeing them next school year...hopefully as their fourth grade English teacher :)

1.  SEV English Department Teachers

To top off the list....the BEST part of my first year in Turkey has been working with and getting to know the teachers in the SEV English department.  I love all of the foreign faculty that arrived at the same time as me.  I will miss Kerry next year so much, both as a co-worker and a friend.  The foreign faculty in the SEV English Department have all supported me and one another throughout this year.  And of course, the Turkish faculty are in a class of their own.  I don't have words to express the level and depth of their support and hospitality.  It boggles my mind that year after year, they welcome us foreign teachers, knowing that we will be saying good bye after a few years.  My teaching partner, Gulcan (see bottom picture), was the most amazing person to work with.  Without her, I know would have made mistakes or run into problems when it comes to dealing with student behavior, communicating with parents, doing report cards, etc.  All of these aspects of teaching are so intertwined with the culture, of which I was just learning.  Our Turkish co-workers help all of us to be culturally sensitive and appropriate.  They are always willing to listen and answer our questions.  Without them, I feel like my first year would have been a disaster.  When Gulcan went on her maternity leave, her substitute Aylin stepped in and did an amazing job from day one.  It is an honor to work with all of the teachers in the top photos.  I will miss Kerry, Stef, Christy, and Nurhan, who will not be returning next year.  But I look forward to one more year with the rest of the team.  Living in a foreign country that is so different from your home has it's difficulties, but when you have wonderful people around you, it makes all the difference.  

I am excited beyond words to be going home for the summer....and while I know it will be hard to say good bye again and it's always hard coming back after being home, at least this year I know that I will be returning back to an amazing group of people.