Upper Intermediate, here I come!

The dynamics of schools are always changing, due to factors such as enrollment, graduates and teachers coming and going.  Language schools are even more prone to change.  At my school, we usher students through many course levels each year.  The students with the least amount of English start out as Elementary students, then (hopefully) move up to Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate, Upper-Intermediate and then Pre-Faculty, throughout the course of the year (or several years!).  Each course lasts 8 weeks, and if the students pass a cumulative assessment at the end of the course they can move up to the next level.

I taught Elementary students for the last course.  Because most of the students were estimated to pass the course, my Teaching Unit was predicted to be teaching Pre-Intermediate and then Elementary repeater students (those who do not pass a level must sit the course again and again until they pass).  So, everyone in my TU is planning a course for a Pre-Intermediate level...I had the assignment of writing the course map.

Because the number of students fluctuate at each level until all the results of the tests are finalized, teachers can be shifted to other units up until the morning that classes start.  We know that some people could be leaving our lovely, friendly TU, but we don't know who.  So, we're working away until 3:00...when it was announced the 5 members of our TU are leaving.  And I'm one of them.  To say that I liked my TU is an understatement...I LOVED this TU.  Everyone was warm, friendly and helpful, often going out to lunch together.  To illustrate how much of a change this is, I must illustrate how massive this school actually is.  Imagine the whole school as a school district...each TU consists of about 12 teachers and one Head of Teaching Unit, so each TU is actually like a small school.  I literally just got shipped from Croft Elementary school to Miramichi Valley (to put it in Miramichier terms).

I'm in a different building (although, I must admit, it's a MUCH nicer building) in a different office (again, much nicer) teaching a different course (it looks interesting, actually) to different students (they will be very, very competent in English - these are very advanced students).  So, it's actually a pretty good deal, save for the fact that it's change and I'm leaving behind a very lovely, comfortable environment.

I start on Monday with students who I am hoping are just as lovely as my last students...Upper Intermediate...here I come!

Öğretmenler Günü

They really do respect their teachers in Turkey.  November 24 is 'Öğretmenler Günü', which means 'Teacher's Day', in Turkey.  In honor of this occasion, BUSEL, the English School department of my university put on a beautiful lunch for its teachers.  The fancy linens were pulled out, soft jazz music was played and, oh yes, there was wine AND baklava!  While Teacher's Day is not yet a national holiday (and will likely never be one) we did get to have a beautiful lunch and an extended lunch break.  My friend's son's school was being let out early today so that their teachers could go home and get ready for their dinner at the very fancy Bilkent Hotel.  Teachers all around the school were hugging each other and wishing each other a Happy Teacher's Day / İyi Öğretmenler Günü.




Some of my Teaching Unit (plus Eilidh, Colleen and Cynthia) at the teacher's lunch. (Photo by Ray Wiggin)


All of this celebration made me wonder how we celebrate teachers in the other countries that I've taught in...I remember various sweets being brought in from parents to schools I taught at in my hometown in Canada to celebrate the occasion...it seems to me that Teacher's Day is celebrated in the Spring in Canada.  I don't remember any mention on Teacher's Day in England  This is not surprising, considering the utter lack of respect that English people have towards the people who are educating / raising future generations of English people.  I sound bitter, but it's actually the honest truth.  You don't notice it until you see how very respected your profession is in another country and then you think 'Boy, are we ever doing it wrong...'.  Educating children (and adults) is one of the most difficult professions there is out there, but also one of the most rewarding, and the people who dare take up this daunting task should be respected and rewarded for their efforts.  The Turks really do it right here.

Eilidh, Me, Laurel and Colleen celebrating Teacher's Day. (Photo by Ray Wiggin)

In other news, I have been given my task for the next course.  I will be teaching Pre-Intermediate students, so there's a chance that I'll get to teach some of my former, lovely, students again, as they're moving up to Pre-Intermediate level as well!  We have some lovely, hardworking, mature students in this group, so teaching this group again is going to be great.

For all you teachers out there...İyi Öğretmenler Günü!

sand, sun and goat sacrificing in Side

Dan, Colleen, Eilidh and I wanted to have the ultimate relaxation for our November week long holiday in honor of Bayram.  We had all done the backpacking through capital cities in various countries sort of thing, and this time we wanted to explore another kind of holiday: an all-inclusive resort.  This was my first time at an all inclusive resort, which are popular along Turkey's Mediterranean coast.  Turkey is becoming a popular tourist destination for many Europeans because the Mediterranean coast looks exactly like Greece (and I dare say has more Green ruins than Athens) but is half the price, because of the Turkish Lira currency (I do love a good currency conversion!).  We booked through Thomas Cook and snagged a special offer available only for residents of the UK.  Ask me how much it cost, really.  I can tell you I spent more on two dresses from H&M than I did on this holiday.

The mother of the family setting the goat skin out to dry.

We met two lovely women working as Animateurs for the resort at breakfast on our second day.  We asked them about watching a Korban Bayram celebration and they immediately invited us to their family's home for their sacrifice.  Now, I'm the kind of girl, who, when graciously invited to a special religious ceremony, makes every effort to go, despite being unable to eat goat.  So, we take a dolmuş (privately owned mini buses) and then one of the girl's brothers picks us up in their family's van.  We go to the house and when we arrive, the men are already full-on into cutting up a goat.  I think they were cutting the fur away from it's testicles at this point.  So, here we are, full-on foriegners with limited understanding and conversational skills, watching it all go down, in awe, and trying not to giggle about the goat's private parts.  Imagine, if you will, 4 foriegners showing up on your doorstep on Christmas Day saying 'Um hi....we were just wondering about this Christmas thing you do....um, could we watch and document it all on film?  Great.  Thanks.' Because that is essentially exactly what we did.  We were on our best behaviour of course, being perfect guests, and the family was more than happy to share their tradition with us.  Turkish people are famous for hospitality and this family was no exception.

The mother making delicious, stretchy wrap bread.

After tea, we went outside and gathered pine cones and needles to make a fire.  When the coals were hot, they were loaded into a little box where the goat was cooked on a rack.  Paper thin, stretchy bread was set out, among roasted vegetables and Fanta (which the family bought especially for us) and we made wraps with the fresh goat meat.  (I'm sure you will have guessed that I did not eat any goat, being a former vegetarian and long-standing non-red-meat-eater.)  I did manage to sneakily take the goat that was generously offered to me and sneak it over to Dan, who scarfed it down without problem.

This goat was sacrificed in the most loving, humane way possible...wish I could say the same for animals killed on meat farms.

After washing up and stuffing our faces with baklava (fresh from the oven!) we headed back to the resort.  I cannot even describe the hospitality that was shown to four perfect strangers on that day.  We were told that we were now members of a Turkish family, that we have Turkish sisters and brothers and a home to stay at in Side, by people who were kind enough to share their religious celebration with us.

Amazing.

yirmi beş yaşındayım

Every birthday, when my brother and I were little, my mom used to string streamers and balloons on the ceiling of the dining room so that when we woke up, our birthday morning was special.  I cannot even describe my amazement when we woke up to streamers and balloons on our birthdays.  It was like the most magical thing that ever could have happened, it almost seemed like the decorations sparkled, in all our excitement.  When we got a little older, and the novelty of streamers and balloons wore off, mom cooked us our favourite meal on our birthdays.  It was always usually fish and chips, or chinese food.

There are no streamers, balloons or chinese food when you celebrate your birthday in another country.  It's possible that this sort of occasion could be very lonely, if you don't have any loved ones around.  I'm very lucky that this has never been my experience.

It's not the first time that I've been away from Canada for my birthday.  Last year, I celebrated my birthday in Paris with Greg, Heloise and Heloise's boyfriend Tibault.  This year, I'm in Ankara, Turkey for my birthday, not quite as spectactular as Paris, but still pretty great all the same.  I cannot even begin to describe how very lucky I am to have such amazing friends (and students!) who made my birthday spectacular.

Birthday dinner at Marco Paschas' in Bachelievler

On Saturday, my friends and I went out to Marco Paschas in the Bachelievler neighbourhood.  We went for dinner and drinks and had a fantastic time chatting away.  It was a really nice night.  It was sort of warm, so we sat on the roof top floor for dinner.

On Sunday, I went to Colleen's for a study date.  Ever since Olympos, Colleen and I have been dreaming about this delicious eggplant and garlic yogourt dish we had at our treehouse.  Colleen managed to re-create the recipe and we made it together as a birthday request.  It was easy to make and so delicious.  I am going to try to make one Turkish recipe per week, so watch for a food blog entry coming soon.

On Monday, the day of my birthday, Colleen brought me a warm breakfast square as a birthday breakfast.  It was delicious and I'm definately going to get the recipe from her so I can start having warm breakfast squares on the soon-to-be-coming cold winter days.  Later that evening, Barkın, the lovely Turkish man I am dating, took me out for a nice, traditional Turkish meal.  I don't know what everything was called that we ate, but it was really delicious and we had a really nice evening.

On Tuesday, Barkın came over and Colleen, Eliidh, Laurel and Koray surprised me with a cake and presents.  I got a hamam kit (scrubby cloth, exfoliating mitt, olive oil soap and a scoop!) and baklava (mmmm...baklava).  But that's not all...

My lovely students :)

My lovely students brought in two delicious cakes from Mado for my birthday, this afternoon.  They had closed the door to the classroom and three of them were standing outside the classroom door doing their best to stall me in English.  When I went inside the classroom, the lights were out, everyone shouted 'Happy Birthday' and there were two cakes on the desk.  I was told to cut the cake, and did the best I could using a plastic knife while the students crowded around taking pictures.  I forgot how much teenagers like to pose for the camera and take pictures.  We ate the delicious cake, drank Coke and took tons of pictures, which are now on facebook.

So there were no balloons, streamers or chinese food, but I can honestly say that I feel like a total princess for my birthday week.  I couldn't ask for better friends or students to celebrate my birthday with. I'm a very, very lucky girl :)

living room oasis

All around Turkey, there are these adorable little 'gazebos' or terraces that you can take your shoes off, go inside and lay up against tons of comfortable pillows.  The tables are low, and you're essentially sitting on the floor on top of pretty Turkish rugs and cushions.  It makes for the perfect venue for catting with friends, eating or smoking nargulay.  I was inspired by these little gazebos to make my flat a little more 'lounge friendly'.  I have an ugly, stiff couch and chair set in my flat, and efforts were made to cover up the ugliness.  But one night, Laurel and I discovered how comfortable our couches can be when they are made into sofa-beds and have tons of pillows piled at the back.  That night, we decided we needed cushions to turn our couches into comfortable day beds.  I was inspired by the pretty blue patterned cushions I saw in Olympos to make my appartment both pretty and comfortable.

Ulus market: Fabric Row.

Laurel, Colleen and I went to the market in Ulus to try to find our cushions.  I must say how much I love Ulus.  It's the oldest part of the city, and it kind of shows.  But, Ulus is where you can get the most delicious börek, lokum and baklave, in addition to very cheap household goods.  The streets are narrow and windy in Ulus, and it's usually quite crowded, with vendors calling out, advertising their goods, people selling simit and corn on the cob (street food, in this area of the world) and plenty of hustle and bustle.  There is a very long street in Ulus that sells mostly clothes and cloth, so we headed there.  I saw pre-made cushions similar to what I saw in Olympos, but we kept looking.  We found giant, thick, patterned pillow cases in a fabric shop.  They were 15 TL each, so Laurel and I each bought 3 and negotiated buying the 3 for 40 TL.  We like to try to work on our bargaining skills whenever possible because it's common to bargain in this country.  Prices are not listed, you must ask a shopkeeper what the price is.  It is possible that the price could be raised, considering we are foreign and do not speak the language, so we do try to bargain with vendors where ever possible.

Ulus Textiles!  Laurel and Colleen with one of the friendly shop keepers.

We got our cases and took them to a lovely store aptly named Ulus Textiles, where the shop owner spoke perfect English and we asked him to make cushions to go inside the cases.  Colleen managed to find pillow inserts, so it was just Laurel and I who needed to have our pillows stuffed.  We negotiated 60 TL for the 6 pillows, down from 70 TL and arranged for our pillows to be ready in an hour.  I also bought thick, navy blue fabric to cover my ugly couch and chairs and go with the blue theme I have going on in my flat.  It was 34 TL for 4 metres and I had more than enough to cover my furniture.

Colleen's pillow doubles as an air bag.  Just a joke :)

We took a taxi home and all began re-arranging our furniture.  I covered my couch and chairs and arranged my pillows.  We ran from appartment to appartment to check out the transformation in everyone's living room.  Voila!  A gorgeous, comfortable lounge bed with pretty Turkish patterned textiles.

Gorgeous, Turkish-style living room :)