Thursday, September 27, 2012

Teen age and Tardy

This year I ride a service bus comprised of about 20 students and me to school . The bus is supposed to leave at 8:20 a.m. and, when everything is working smoothly, should arrive at school at 8:50, thus giving me a whole 10 minutes to briefly catch my breath and start the day at 9:00. Unfortunately, it doesn't work this way. I have several teenage girls on my bus who do not think promptness and courtesy should trump their morning ablutions. Often they are so late that the bus monitor must call their apartments to announce our arrival. In addition, the bus driver turns off the engine  to save the precious $10/gal. fuel, and we all wait...and wait...and wait....After what feels like an eternity, (probably only 5-10 minutes, but I'm a product of the book Cheaper by the Dozen so minutes count) we see the co-eds strolling down the lane towards the bus at a speed meant to keep all of their hairs in perfect place and  show they are not going to rush for anybody...And, I guess, thinking about it from a their perspective..why should they be 10 minutes early for school?!

So, today I decided to ride my bike. It's 16 kilometers one way and takes me about 45 minutes going and about 35 minutes coming home. Adding in an extra 15 minutes for a possible flat tire and another 10 minutes to change it, I can leave the house at about 7:45 a.m., have a beautiful ride along the Aegean, and arrive at school having accomplished two goals: exercise and a peaceful start to the day. Granted, I don't get to listen to a student practice whistling for 16 kilometers or check out the perfectly coiffed hair, but I do get to start the day a little bit more in control. In other words, I don't like my time being managed by "teen age and tardy."

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Find a blue eye...Nazar

Today was one of those great days when things just fell into place. As a matter of fact, I came out of one class (it's supposed to be trouble with a capital T) feeling like we'd had a very good class. But, when I commented on the fact that the students were "great", my co-teacher said, "Don't say that...find a blue eye..you know..Nazar?" And, I said, "Oh, like if I say something good I will jinx it." "Exactly!" she replied. "Shhhh."

In any event, I rode home on the bus in good spirits feeling ready to face a undesirable chore, cancelling my internet service. (Yes, I have a new, better service but I still haven't cancelled the old one because... a) Eric was here and I wanted to savour every minute with him, and b) the offices are only open M-F until 5:30 so the only day I can possibly get there in time is Tuesday. (hence...today).

Heading out of my apartment  with modem in my backpack, and bike at hand, I met an English speaking neighbor who both plays tennis and wants to ride bikes. We exchanged numbers.

At the internet office, I was able to both cancel my service AND prove to the customer service representative that I had a) fulfilled my 1 year contract because of good service and timely payment in Malatya and b) was not going to pay a penalty for cancelling early. In effect I was NOT cancelling early and the company was NOT providing internet service so there really was no contract..at least since my arrival in Izmir. And, I did most of this talking in Turkish.! Go me.

The sun was still shining and the weather was beautiful so I decided that rather than go home to my dirty apartment and cook the sad little chicken and slightly old green beans sitting in my fridge, I would enjoy the beautiful Aegean Fall weather and ride my bike until I felt hungry. 20 kilometers later and I found a delightful, delicious Turkish restaurant that made the best salad and chicken kebab that I've eaten so far in Turkey..not exaggerating...

Next to the restaurant was an outlet store for one of the large Turkish porcelain manufacturers. I've been searching for coffee mugs..I have no matching sets..or any without chips for that matter. I was able to locate a pretty blue mug with a big handle that settled nicely in my hand. When I inquired about the price I had to ask twice because it was too cheap..(about 75 cents) I couldn't believe it, so I went ahead and bought 4. Hopefully to handles won't fall off.

On the way home I ran into one of the first bike riders I met in Izmir and organized a ride for this weekend..not one of the 8 hour group affairs with too many chai stops, but a 3-4 hour ride to a beautiful destination on the sea for a quick bite and return home.

As soon as I got inside my apartment, I found a blue Nazar to ward off the evil eye. But, I still say...Thank God, it was a great day.


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Jumping over Campfires

Friday night I had the pleasure of chaperoning the 9th grade "Welcome Back to School Campout." This is an annual event to welcome both new old students alike and to hide the fact that summer really is ending in two days and students will be buried under a mountain of homework for the next 180 plus days. This student/teacher bonding experience was similar to many I've attended during my years of teaching except for two main differences: tent construction and campfires.

At the start of school on Thursday, one custodian starting putting up the tents. He worked throughout the day and late into the evening. By Friday morning when I arrived at school, all tents were neatly assembled in tidy rows and columns making it easier for me to count. Six times six equals thirty-six tents. Things were becoming clear to me.. Whereas we as teachers in my US schools taught the students to put up and take down their "own" tents thus killing 2 hours of student free time, we were actually going to have to plan many more activities than originally thought.

Luckily, each department (math, science, PE, English, art, music, etc.)was responsible for only 1 to 2 hours of activities during the night. Thank goodness for Orcas Island and it's plethora of "team-building activities" that could be modified to encourage problem solving and decision making in English.

Fortunately, the time between after school and the start of the evening campfire passed pretty much like I would have expected...football, volleyball, loud music, chips and soda, girls wearing their cutest non-uniform outfits in hopes the boys would notice and the boys still acting like they were middle school students and not even aware that girls even existed,  the PE teachers organizing games that gave us teachers the ability to evaluate who are potential  "problems" might be e.g. the athletes that cheat on the playing field are often worse in class...

Around 11:00 p.m. the group of 70 + students and 25 teachers moved to the parking lot where a large campfire was built. There were no s'mores but there were girls singing current pop music and boys adding fuel to the fire, literally and figuratively.  At one point a police car stopped by with his lights flashing to make sure we were "supposed" to be there. The flames were getting higher, the fire was getting bigger and the boys were huddling together making "plans." The principal gave her "don't you even think about it" look and I was wondering what they might be "thinking" about when all of a sudden the boys starting leaping across the fire. Apparently this fire-leaping is very common and they even have a holiday for camp fire jumping on May 6th. The flames were licking the boys butts and nipping at their baggy pant legs. Several boys slipped as they crossed the flames just catching themselves before falling backwards into the fire.

The principal marched over and put a stop to all the "foolishness" (I would call it a "lawsuit"  just waiting to happen in America), but not before the boys scored big points for bravery, finesse, bravado, and heroics from the girls..(I guess they noticed each other after all..) Did I mention that a male teacher was the first to jump the flames...?

Monday, September 10, 2012

I Like Competition!

For those of you who are used to more regular posts, I can blame my irregularity on 1) the terrible internet service and 2) the fact that there's just a lot more to see and do here...

Regarding #1 above, I think I've solved that problem. I've used the good old principal of free market capitalism and found a new service. Everyone had heard about my complaining but finally I complained to the right person. Our apartment manager mentioned that a new company had installed fiber optic cables to our building and did I have a contract with the other company, blah, blah, or would I like to change? I immediately jumped on that option..problem solved!

Regarding # 2 - There is a lot more to see and do here. This is a very active town that rarely sleeps. So, in making up for lost time, I'm socializing a lot more. Socializing can mean tea, coffee, beer, snacks, dinner, a walk, tennis, a bike ride, shopping, a movie, a ferry ride, etc. I suspect that things will slow down once school starts, but as this is the last weekend before opening day, there is still plenty of time to cram in some more fun. Eric and I are heading off on a weekend bike ride to Cesme and an overnight at a beach resort. It will be 200 km round trip, so yes, we still like individual challenges/competitions as well.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

It's a Man's Place


The first stop on Sunday's blistering hot bike ride was for pastries at a local bakery and hot chai at the tea shop next door. Both stores were located on the frontage road of the local freeway on the way to the airport. Cars were wizzing by, horns were honking, and the ambiance of the breakfast place matched the scenery and serenity of the ride. It was hot, loud, and dirty. However, there was one good part to the bakery...the right-out-of-the-hot-brick-oven warm pocha, bread-like thing (I know I'm spelling this phonetically and not even close to Turkish) that was melting in my mouth.

There really was not best part to the tea house except that it matched most tea houses I've sat at. It is dominated by men reading newspapers or playing cards and drinking...you guessed it....tea. I washed down the bread with a steaming hot cup of bitter, brewed-to-long tea, the first of 3 cups for the day. I'm really getting a taste for piping hot drinks on scorching hot 95 degree days..yum...

The stop was brief and the group was getting ready to pack up but I needed to find a bathroom. Those 2 cups of early morning coffee plus the litter and a half of water (I told you it was hot!) and the recent addition of the tea were forcing me to speak Turkish. (Usually I just follow the women to the WC but I had'nt seen them make a move.) So, I approached the man at the copper tea machine.

Me: Tuvalet, (toilet) Lutfen.(please)
Man: (giving me the blank stare)
Me: (speaking slower and thinking my accent can't be that bad) Tu-va-let....Lut-fen.
Man: (pointing to the back of the building) Burada. (back there)

I walked in the direction he pointed but I didn't see any WC signs. I did, however, see the typical white door of a bathroom. I gently pushed open the door expecting the worst, a Turkish toilet perhaps. Unfortunately, not only was I not greeted with a toilet, I was greeted with a new "worst", a urinal, not even a Turkish toilet on the floor.

I stepped back and quickly closed the door thinking I'd missed the door for the Bayan. (women) but no. There was only one door.

This confirmed two things:
1) Tea houses are for men. Our male bike riding leaders don't notice how awkward they are for us women to enter.
2) My accent had nothing to do with the man's response to my question.

I'll bet I was the topic of the rest of the day's card tables.....you should have seen that foreign female bike rider....asking for a toilet at a tea house....ha, ha, ha.....that'll teach her from entering our space....





Saturday, September 1, 2012

Olives and cheese

On Friday, three buses full of teachers (about 120 of us) took a field trip to Ayvalik, a village on the Aegean Sea about 2 1/2 hours north of Izmir. I enjoyed talking non-stop to my high school English teacher colleagues so the drive passed quickly. In typical Turkish tour fashion, we stopped for a tea break both going and coming (I think it gives time to smoke as well..) and we arrived in Ayvalik at about noon.

I was anxious to explore the village known for it olives and olive oil. Turkey has lots of good olive oil, but the north Aegean is the best, according to my colleagues, and Ayvalik is the place to pay tourist prices for a good bottle. But my eagerness to put a dent in my first paycheck would have to wait. The first thing we did was find a place for tea and a smoke. That took 45 minutes so we had the last 15 minutes to shop. Shopping involved running in the opposite direction from the bus and locating THE shop that one teacher knew from a previous trip. About 10 minutes later, we stormed the store. I bought a liter of olive oil, a pint (or whatever measurement jars come in...probably more likely a 1/2 kilo) of olives and a tube of olive oil lotion. According to my Turkish friends, we paid "tourist prices" but I got all of the above for 35 tl or about $18 I didn't feel ripped off at all.

We raced back to the bus and climbed on just as he was closing the door. Our next stop was the island of Canda (pronounced Janda), an old Greek Island that is connected to Ayvalik by the first Turkish bridge across the Aegean. My Turkish isn't good enough to tell you when the bridge was built but it was a very short, flat bridge, so I'm thinking it was built a long time ago..

On Canda we ate a delicious fish lunch complete with a wide assortment of mezza plates (appetizers both hot and cold), salad, hamzi fish (they look like little fried sardines) beer, raki (Turkish liquor) and a dessert of a very soft cheese with cherry jam and nuts on top. I'm still trying to wrap my finger around the differences between last year and this, but this meal is kind of symbolic of the differences. Last year for example, it was difficult to even buy beer at the store. This year, we were drinking on a teachers' in-service day.

After lunch we were free to walk around the town. There were many old Greek houses, an old church that is being restored, and some beautiful old windmills at the top of the hill. I was introduced to some really good cheese at a peynir store and cookies made with mastik (not my favorite).

All in all, the teacher field trip idea beats most in-service meetings I've ever attended. I could really enjoy a monthly excursion to help us be "lifelong learners".