For the past few months my friend Kenzie and I have been teaching an English class. I am sure this must worry all of you reading my blog and noticing more than a few errors. Sorry! There is so much editing I can do before I would become disgusted with my writing or never actually put posts up. Anyway, I have have been passing on my excellent grasp of the English language to the five women in my class, and I actually think we did a pretty good job. I'm not always sure about some of the grammar rules and when I break things down for them I sometimes feel like English is just a big mess, but they are getting the hang of it. These woman aren't studying to take the big test at the end of high school, they are studying for when they travel, or so that they can help their children become fluent. That gives us the freedom to teach them things that will come in handy on a daily basis, not what the present perfect continuous tense, whatever that means, is. Plus it helps that the woman are so nice and they put up excellently with being taught by a couple of teenagers. They bring us coffee and treats, and focus while we teach them. They even came to see us preform our dance and me give my speech at my high school. When I first started teaching the class, I as so excited. I truly believed that we had power to really make an impact on these woman's lives. If we helped them better their English then maybe they could get a better job, or help their children move up. Part way through I became sort of disillusioned, they were missing classes, and not studying and though I still enjoyed teaching them it started to feel like more of a chore. When they started slacking off, we started slacking off as well, not putting at much time into our lesson plans, or explaining things as clearly. In the end though, we pulled through and I think we all got something pretty great out of the class. These English classes won't be a deciding factor in their lives but it was a chance for them and us to get to know an age group that we wouldn't normally interact with from a different country.
A week ago we had our last dinner and said goodbye to them for who knows how long. They said they wanted to come to the states, maybe even do some kind of exchange with the students they teach at the elementary school. Though I know it probably won't work out, I really hope it does. The whole time we were teaching them it felt so funny for them to call us "teacher", probably because they all have about 10 years on us, but I think it was also because though we were teaching them English a case could easily have been made for them having been the teachers. They corrected not only our Turkish but explained things about Turkish culture, and were one more window into Turkish life. After six months of four hours a week lessons, it was sad to say goodbye.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Ailem
In less than a week from today I will be at the airport in Adana, getting ready to board a plane to begin my trip back to the United States. That said, let the sentimental blogging begin! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by, it doesn't seem at all like I left ten months ago, but as the seasons come full swing I can see the differences.
For one last trip with my host family before I leave, they took me to Maraş a city about three hours north-east of Adana. My mom's brother lives there with his wife and daughter, and we stayed there for a night in September on our way to the village my host mom grew up in. Like last time we were supposed to continue on to the village but the trip was canceled. I was disappointed that we weren't going back there, I thought it would be nice to see the comparison between then and now. Then I knew nothing, now at least I know some, but I liked getting to see Maraş. It is a really old and surprisingly beautiful city. Lots of open shops and trees surrounded by brownish-red hills and dotted in the center by a castle that sits above the rest of the city. We went, my host mother, Dilşad, grandmother and grandfather, and great aunt, on a hot Saturday and with four of us squeezed into the back it felt like a long car trip. We only spent one night, most of it in their home, eating and drinking tea. We did go to the old section to buy more things, to stuff my already over-stuffed bag. I bought spices, dried eggplant and peppers to make a Turkish meal, a rolling pin , and at my host mom's encouragement, a pair of shoes though that is probably the last thing I need. Most of the time in Maraş I filled by playing with their precocious daughter Liya, we went through her children's book and she taught me words I didn't know. Even without such a high language barrier like before, I still find myself sitting awkwardly sometimes, not really sure what to do with but for the most part I enjoy being around my family here, and I think they like having me. They told me that they had gotten used to my being there and considered me as part of the family. They say I dress more like a Turk, they love it when I wear skirts because Dilşad never does, and that my Turkish is excellent. Though the real test of whether I have adapted to being here does not ride on the way I look, or the way I speak, but really, on how well I can make a pot of Turkish coffee. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but it is taken seriously. Perspective brides make it for her potential fiance's family, and it is made for most guests. I liked it from the beginning but the past few months I have started making it a lot, for myself and host mom or friends so I am pretty confident, but making it for my host grandparents and great aunt was nerve racking. Turks are kind but they don't coddle when it comes to making Turkish food properly which is good and bad. I carefully scooped the coffee and focused only on it while waiting for the grounds to thicken at the top and the rest to boil. So when my great aunt (the most critical one) declared that it was well done, and I am officially a Turkish child (though I shouldn't watch the tray when I carry it, and I should serve from oldest to youngest) I blushed with pride. "Eline sağlık" (health to you hands) they said, "Afiyet Olsun" (bon appetit) I beemed.
After along trip back from Maraş a city a couple hours north of Adana we went to our family friends house to go for a swim. It was about 9:30 by the time we actually got there but at this time of year Adana never gets cold, and it was an especially balmy night. Jumping into the cool water brought me right back to my first night in Adana with my new family. An hour or so after arriving in Adana over ten months ago we went to the same friends house and jumped into the same pool. Completely unaccustomed to the heat that hit me when I stepped off the plane and onto the hot pavement of Adana's airport there was nothing better than being submerged in the quiet water. Back then I knew almost nothing about my family, Dilşad spoke with me in English but it was sort of awkward, and my host mom and I couldn't exchange any words at all. After swimming in the pool that night I quickly feel asleep on the couch, exhausted from travel. But last night I sat on the porch with my host mom, sister, and their friends and ate fruit, sipped tea, and talked. The difference is astonishing, less because I can now speak, and more because I feel so comfortable around all of them. It's natural, Dilşad making fun of me, me trying to translate my retort quickly and usually to no avail and then my mom and her friend defending me. It all feels so normal now, part of the routine, which I guess is why it doesn't seem at all real that I won't be part of it anymore.
With my immediate family, Dilşad and my host mom, Nihal things couldn't be much better and a small but important sign of that is the names we use to identify each other . She introduces me to people as her daughter and only if asked explains that I am an American exchange student. When she is talking to me she calls me aşkim (my love) or charlottecim (my charlotte) and in turn I call her anne or annecim(my mom). Dilşad usually refers to my as kardeş (sibling) or fil (elephant), a slight at my weight gain here. I'll miss sitting around with them eating dinner, or watching TV and honestly I think they will miss me, especially Dilşad who will have nobody to make fun of.
For one last trip with my host family before I leave, they took me to Maraş a city about three hours north-east of Adana. My mom's brother lives there with his wife and daughter, and we stayed there for a night in September on our way to the village my host mom grew up in. Like last time we were supposed to continue on to the village but the trip was canceled. I was disappointed that we weren't going back there, I thought it would be nice to see the comparison between then and now. Then I knew nothing, now at least I know some, but I liked getting to see Maraş. It is a really old and surprisingly beautiful city. Lots of open shops and trees surrounded by brownish-red hills and dotted in the center by a castle that sits above the rest of the city. We went, my host mother, Dilşad, grandmother and grandfather, and great aunt, on a hot Saturday and with four of us squeezed into the back it felt like a long car trip. We only spent one night, most of it in their home, eating and drinking tea. We did go to the old section to buy more things, to stuff my already over-stuffed bag. I bought spices, dried eggplant and peppers to make a Turkish meal, a rolling pin , and at my host mom's encouragement, a pair of shoes though that is probably the last thing I need. Most of the time in Maraş I filled by playing with their precocious daughter Liya, we went through her children's book and she taught me words I didn't know. Even without such a high language barrier like before, I still find myself sitting awkwardly sometimes, not really sure what to do with but for the most part I enjoy being around my family here, and I think they like having me. They told me that they had gotten used to my being there and considered me as part of the family. They say I dress more like a Turk, they love it when I wear skirts because Dilşad never does, and that my Turkish is excellent. Though the real test of whether I have adapted to being here does not ride on the way I look, or the way I speak, but really, on how well I can make a pot of Turkish coffee. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but it is taken seriously. Perspective brides make it for her potential fiance's family, and it is made for most guests. I liked it from the beginning but the past few months I have started making it a lot, for myself and host mom or friends so I am pretty confident, but making it for my host grandparents and great aunt was nerve racking. Turks are kind but they don't coddle when it comes to making Turkish food properly which is good and bad. I carefully scooped the coffee and focused only on it while waiting for the grounds to thicken at the top and the rest to boil. So when my great aunt (the most critical one) declared that it was well done, and I am officially a Turkish child (though I shouldn't watch the tray when I carry it, and I should serve from oldest to youngest) I blushed with pride. "Eline sağlık" (health to you hands) they said, "Afiyet Olsun" (bon appetit) I beemed.
After along trip back from Maraş a city a couple hours north of Adana we went to our family friends house to go for a swim. It was about 9:30 by the time we actually got there but at this time of year Adana never gets cold, and it was an especially balmy night. Jumping into the cool water brought me right back to my first night in Adana with my new family. An hour or so after arriving in Adana over ten months ago we went to the same friends house and jumped into the same pool. Completely unaccustomed to the heat that hit me when I stepped off the plane and onto the hot pavement of Adana's airport there was nothing better than being submerged in the quiet water. Back then I knew almost nothing about my family, Dilşad spoke with me in English but it was sort of awkward, and my host mom and I couldn't exchange any words at all. After swimming in the pool that night I quickly feel asleep on the couch, exhausted from travel. But last night I sat on the porch with my host mom, sister, and their friends and ate fruit, sipped tea, and talked. The difference is astonishing, less because I can now speak, and more because I feel so comfortable around all of them. It's natural, Dilşad making fun of me, me trying to translate my retort quickly and usually to no avail and then my mom and her friend defending me. It all feels so normal now, part of the routine, which I guess is why it doesn't seem at all real that I won't be part of it anymore.
With my immediate family, Dilşad and my host mom, Nihal things couldn't be much better and a small but important sign of that is the names we use to identify each other . She introduces me to people as her daughter and only if asked explains that I am an American exchange student. When she is talking to me she calls me aşkim (my love) or charlottecim (my charlotte) and in turn I call her anne or annecim(my mom). Dilşad usually refers to my as kardeş (sibling) or fil (elephant), a slight at my weight gain here. I'll miss sitting around with them eating dinner, or watching TV and honestly I think they will miss me, especially Dilşad who will have nobody to make fun of.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Kına Gecesi
On Friday I had to give a speech and do a performance with all the other NSI-Y girls at my high school graduation. I'm in 11th grade this year so why we did it at the senior graduation I am not really sure, but I can tell you that I was not looking forward to the performance. In fact I was dreading it because even if everything went perfectly well, it would still be very very embarrassing, and that it was, but not as bad as I thought it would be.
The speech was to say thank you to all the people that have helped and influenced us this year, and the dance, well the dance was...I'm not really sure what the dance was for, entertainment? Last year the foreign exchange students at my school did something from Shakespeare, but we were roped into doing something a little bit more localized, a very traditional Turkish song and dance. It is called the Kına Gecesi, and it is a dance that they do around a bride the night before her wedding. The song was based off a girl who a very very long time ago was married off to a man who lived in a village a few hours away from her family. Basically the man was really terrible and beat his wife and because the woman lived so far away from her family she couldn't visit them. She begs her family to come and see her but they don't come until she gets really sick and is on her deathbed, she sings the song about her life just as they get there to watch her die. So, for some reason this is the song they sing right before weddings and everyone cries, and for a more obscure reason, we were singing it for the graduation. Believe me, it's not as weird as it sounds. Turks love to hear foreigners speak their language and sing their songs, it's very much that 'watch the monkey dance' kind of thing. Anyway if that weren't bad enough I was the only one who had to do the speech by myself because I go to school alone, and the head AFS person from Istanbul was coming to watch my speech. Not to mention that it would be in front of the entire senior class, all my teachers, and anyone that came to watch the graduation. Needless to say, I was very very nervous.
The night of the performance, I was struggling to keep my composure as the seats filled up and we watched the seniors file down the aisle. They, the seniors, were sitting on the back of the stage on these sort of steps, my teachers to the side, and the audience in front, so I was pretty much surrounded. We all had these hands free sort of microphones that looked like something Brittany Spears might wear which was pretty cool, but it kept slipping around and just added to my anxiety. Plus after my speech I had about five seconds to change before we went on to do the song. I kept it together for the most part. I was super nervous, and definitely stumbled over more than a few words, but I made it through. I talked in my speech about my first few days at the school, learning Turkish with the help of my classmates teachers, friends and family. I thanked my teachers and told a few funny stories about mix ups and embarrassments, and talked about how much I have grown to love living here. The dance went off with only a few minor hitches, the tie on my skirt thing that goes over the Jasmine-esk pants kept slipping and I stepped on it every time I moved. Fortunately the dance itself is not complicated at all, it is basically just us walking around a chair where the bride (Kenzie in our case) sits. The challenging part is the song, I was worried that our voices would be too loud and sound terrible, but it actually sounded alright.Overall I guess the night was a success!
When my host mom turned on the video later -my real mom paid my host sister to film the whole thing, though Dilşad would have done it anyway-I had to leave the room. It was so embarrassing to listen to myself speak and it sounded to me like a lot of mistakes, but the feedback I got was very encouragıng. The Turks who heard it were really impressed, though I can't tell if that was because they are still shocked I speak any Turkish at all, or if it actually was good, but I did my best. I am happy that at least in some small way I was able to show my appreciation to all the people that helped me this year. And hey if the speech made both my real mom and my host mom cry, then I guess it is a success!
I'm not sure if you can watch the videos, they are from Dilşad's facebook, but here are the links!
Speech: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=410897608088&ref=mf
Dance: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=410906268088&ref=mf
The speech was to say thank you to all the people that have helped and influenced us this year, and the dance, well the dance was...I'm not really sure what the dance was for, entertainment? Last year the foreign exchange students at my school did something from Shakespeare, but we were roped into doing something a little bit more localized, a very traditional Turkish song and dance. It is called the Kına Gecesi, and it is a dance that they do around a bride the night before her wedding. The song was based off a girl who a very very long time ago was married off to a man who lived in a village a few hours away from her family. Basically the man was really terrible and beat his wife and because the woman lived so far away from her family she couldn't visit them. She begs her family to come and see her but they don't come until she gets really sick and is on her deathbed, she sings the song about her life just as they get there to watch her die. So, for some reason this is the song they sing right before weddings and everyone cries, and for a more obscure reason, we were singing it for the graduation. Believe me, it's not as weird as it sounds. Turks love to hear foreigners speak their language and sing their songs, it's very much that 'watch the monkey dance' kind of thing. Anyway if that weren't bad enough I was the only one who had to do the speech by myself because I go to school alone, and the head AFS person from Istanbul was coming to watch my speech. Not to mention that it would be in front of the entire senior class, all my teachers, and anyone that came to watch the graduation. Needless to say, I was very very nervous.
The night of the performance, I was struggling to keep my composure as the seats filled up and we watched the seniors file down the aisle. They, the seniors, were sitting on the back of the stage on these sort of steps, my teachers to the side, and the audience in front, so I was pretty much surrounded. We all had these hands free sort of microphones that looked like something Brittany Spears might wear which was pretty cool, but it kept slipping around and just added to my anxiety. Plus after my speech I had about five seconds to change before we went on to do the song. I kept it together for the most part. I was super nervous, and definitely stumbled over more than a few words, but I made it through. I talked in my speech about my first few days at the school, learning Turkish with the help of my classmates teachers, friends and family. I thanked my teachers and told a few funny stories about mix ups and embarrassments, and talked about how much I have grown to love living here. The dance went off with only a few minor hitches, the tie on my skirt thing that goes over the Jasmine-esk pants kept slipping and I stepped on it every time I moved. Fortunately the dance itself is not complicated at all, it is basically just us walking around a chair where the bride (Kenzie in our case) sits. The challenging part is the song, I was worried that our voices would be too loud and sound terrible, but it actually sounded alright.Overall I guess the night was a success!
When my host mom turned on the video later -my real mom paid my host sister to film the whole thing, though Dilşad would have done it anyway-I had to leave the room. It was so embarrassing to listen to myself speak and it sounded to me like a lot of mistakes, but the feedback I got was very encouragıng. The Turks who heard it were really impressed, though I can't tell if that was because they are still shocked I speak any Turkish at all, or if it actually was good, but I did my best. I am happy that at least in some small way I was able to show my appreciation to all the people that helped me this year. And hey if the speech made both my real mom and my host mom cry, then I guess it is a success!
I'm not sure if you can watch the videos, they are from Dilşad's facebook, but here are the links!
Speech: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=410897608088&ref=mf
Dance: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/video/video.php?v=410906268088&ref=mf
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Exploremak-ing
The next day, we went on another adventure of sorts. One of the the AFS leader's husbands planned a trip for us to Karatepe National Park and the surrounding areas.It was originally planed for us AFS girls but because three of us are away visiting with our families that left just Rebecca and I, our host families, Kenzie's host family, and an assortment of other Turks. Karatepe itself is an open-air museum on a site which has been inhabited for almost 4000 years. It was a pretty beautiful little hike, though it was REALLY hot. Jeans were a really bad choice on my part. Though it was cool to see ruins that date back to the 13th century, if felt a little bit like a sculpture garden, all evenly spaced out along the paths. We spent the rest of the day visiting ruins in their more natural settings. An unceremonious roadside stop led past some small houses to one of the most awesome arches I have ever seen. Through the arch you come to a big field littered with columns and other remnants of the Roman era in Turkey, it was amazing. The edge of the field meets steep cliffs that crawl up to a castle on a steep rocky out cove. We felt the presence of the Hellenistic period castle as Rebecca and I scurried around the hills surrounding it. The Turks gave us a hard time for being unsafe but we couldn't be bothered, it was so fun! We scampered from one unguarded ruin to the next like mountain goats enjoying the scenery and picturing what took place there hundreds and hundreds of years ago. It was terribly hot, but totally worth it. The best part was either laying down in what we believed to be thousand year old tombs or climbing rickety scaffolding to the top of the arch. It was a wonderful day and just went to remind me of how much Turkey has to offer!
On another note, home in less than a month!
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