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
1 comment:
Hi Charlotte,
This is such a wonderful post. I laughed out loud in some places and had tears in my eyes in others---almost like your two moms. I've read everyone of your posts, sometimes more than once and listened to your podcasts. You are such a fine writer. I'm impressed every single time I read an entry. They seem so effortless and yet I know you've put thought and energy into each post. I feel as though I've been with you on this ride. What a ride it has been!! Thanks for taking me along.
I know that Howard's comment let you know that Helen and he were with Norm and me for week. We had a wonderful time together. It was through Howard's comment here on your blog sometime before Christmas that I discovered you were all going to be together in Rome. I loved learning from you in Turkey what the family was doing----another wonderful connection. Thanks for all of it. I've had a great year's read.
Much love,
Nan
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