Yarın, napacaksın?

"yarın, napacaksın?" This is the question my host mom asks me most nights meaning, what will you do tomorrow? and for weekdays it goes pretty much like this;

My Mondays are like for most people the first day of my week. Also, like for most people I don't generally look forward to this day, but neither do I dread it. I make my cup of coffee, eat my cornflakes, Dilşad waits for my to be ready (just as my sister did in the states,) and we walk to school together. I could sleep in about an extra half hour and save myself sitting awkwardly alone in my classroom waiting for the other students, but Dilşad likes to get there early and I appreciate the time together. Sometimes we don't talk, sometimes I probably talk way too much singing her the Turkish songs I have learned, and taking suggestions for new ones. The walk is only about 7 minutes so it's really not enough time to get on each others nerves.

I try to make use of my time in school by studying Turkish, reading children's books, writing, etc. I am participating more and more in my lessons but certainly not up to their level. My history teacher who I have mentioned in previous blogs still enjoys getting me up in front of the class to answer questions. I enjoy being pulled in to participate but the problem is I really can not understand this man. My classmates think my impression of him is funny, but it's true he speaks in a low rapid grumble, and I can't make out much of it. His classes do wake me up though!

I also joined a gym! Most Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I try to go. I joined for a few reasons. One was admittedly to try to counteract some of the affects of the enormous amount of delicious Turkish food I have been eating. Another is simply for my health, I get very little exercise here since I don't play any sports. It's also nice to add a little variety to my life even if it just means going into a small sort of basement stuffed full of workout equipment.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays like always I have Turkish classes. Now that another three of our members have left classes are smaller and though more empty, also more serious. We have been upping the difficulty level, deciding to only speak in Turkish while there, taking tests and pushing each other unintentionally to improve. We now start our weeks by picking a song to sing, dissecting it, and learning it by heart. The first two weeks have been Turkish pop (I will try to find a way to get them online) and the third is a rehearsal dinner wedding song, used to make the bride cry, yeah, it confused me too. It feels good to get more out of our time there and I still really enjoy being with my friends though we do miss our girls.

The newest addition to my schedule has been teaching English. Every Wednesday and Friday at about noon I leave school early to go to the Gençlik Merkezi (youth center) so teach English with to about six women who must be in their late twenties to early thirties. I teach the class with Kenzie, who has been doing it a bit longer than me. I started with volunteering at a kindergarten, trying to teach 15 or so 5-year-olds English, and when I had the opportunity to teach older people, I jumped at the chance. So far, I like it a lot. Kenz joked that my enthusiasm was normal for the first few lessons, and I was enthusiastic. I feel like I have the opportunity to really help these women learn English, and I have been thinking a lot on how to explain things. Teaching English is not an easy task! It reminds me of the English as a Second Language classes I helped with on the island, and I have a whole new respect for both the teachers and the students there. What a confusing language English is!

So there is my extended answer to a pretty simple question. With that, if anyone has a specific question about life here or anything, I would be happy to answer it. I love comments and feedback!