A Winter Hike

I joined a group on Facebook awhile back because I had heard this group plans group

bike rides and hikes in Turkey. About a week ago I got an "invite" to an event. I didn't know what the event was so I copied and pasted the text into Google translate and was able to figure out

that they had planned a hike departing at 7:30 a.m. this morning and I should bring 2 liters of water, some snacks, and eat breakfast before I come. Google translate also said to wear light clothing but it's a good thing I trusted my instinct to bring warm clothing...I'll explain later...

I arrived early to the meeting point and was immediately

intimidated because I was the only woman, the only person older than 30, and one of only a few without an ice ax. As everyone snapped on their gators and buttoned up their North Face jackets (where does one even find this stuff in Malatya?) I was happy that at least I had on my North Face hiking shoes, my North Face rain jacket and my ski mittens. I was wearing enough "technical" clothing to not be a total gumby, but I refused to put plastic baggies in my shoes praying that my wool socks would be sufficient.

Gradually more people trickled in including a healthy, fit woman (Turkish English teacher...can you imagine?) and her husband. We hit if off instantly and I knew the day was going

to be a success. About 23 of us boarded a mini bus decked out with lots of fringe and lace and headed off to the trail head. The bus drove until the mini bus started sliding backwards in the snow. We hopped out, zipped up our jackets, waited while about 2/3 of the group smoked their "last" cigarette before heading up the mountain.

Our "guides" were trained mountaineering/trekking guides with experience in Turkey,

Germany, the United States, etc. They were carrying walkie talkies, extra gear, etc. They also both work for the military which I think is a good thing because that's how we were able to hike up this mountain. In other words, I don't think it is necessarily "open to the public."

Malatya had gotten several inches of snow last night which meant the mountain had gotten much more than that. Top off the snow with a brisk wind and we were hiking through drifts sometimes up to our thighs. ..well, I should say the guide's thighs...He was packing

the trail for us. We stopped often which was a good thing for the winded smokers but a bad thing for my new friend Gunlar and me because we would get colder and colder every time we stopped.

The scenery was beautiful but the weather was freezing(-15C before the wind chill). I was having visions of freezing to death on Mt. Everest or frost bite on Red Mountain because I was wearing every layer I had brought (3 jackets, 2 shirts, 2 hats and a scarf) and I was freezing going uphill in thigh deep snow. How was I ever going to survive coming down when much less energy is being expended?

Luckily the problem was solved at the crest of a very windy saddle. With the wind howling and the snow blowing in our faces, the guides indicated that we would break the group into two: those wanting to reach the summit and those ready to head back down. I chose "down" which was actually really fun with the jumping, sliding, and rolling, but still very cold. I could have skipped the stop for the picnic lunch because I knew those next ten minutes would take my feet and hands from "very cold" to "numb". But I had to admit my pb&j tasted really good although it did not warm me up.

When we got to the bottom we knew we would have an hour wait for the rest of the group, so our leader suggested we drive into the little village of Konak and drink some tea. Being that there were no tea gardens open at this time of the year, I guess it's common knowledge to head to the city office and meet the mayor (I think that's the translation for the man dressed in the tan and brown

striped zoot suit and fedora) and have tea with him. So that's what we did. He even had space heaters cranked up high so I could defrost my fingers and toes.

In spite of the bone chilling cold, it was a great day with interesting, fun, active people. I can't wait for the next event.

The Gift of Time

One of the really nice opportunities that living in Turkey has provided is "guilt-free" time...time to think, time to research, time to read, time to write, time to learn new things. This morning, for example, I woke up at 6:30 a.m. with no pressure of a "to-do" list but rather time to sip coffee (still prefer a morning cup of Joe to the more culturally acceptable chai) and prepare a "would like to do" list. It's 11:30 a.m. and this is how I've spent my morning:

*reading and editing a graduate student paper titled "A State Accounting System in the Middle East in XIV Century: Example of Ilkahanid State (1256-1353). Although the writing has some serious editing problems, the idea that Turkish graduate students must write in English, even though most can't speak it, is pretty amazing to me. And although the topic appears quite dry, I found it fairly interesting. It appears those old empires including the Ottomans had some very sophisticated accounting and financial systems. They kept volumes of books that would amount to tax codes (laws) along with revisions as needed. The defense spending was divided into two categories, soldiers and officers, and when not enough taxes were collected the public housing projects and buildings were not finished.

*making a leek soup. The leeks here are plentiful...maybe even one of the staple vegetables this time of year...and very inexpensive...So I've got lunch and dinner for the next few days.

*studying Turkish. I try to complete 3-4 lessons a week each taking about an hour. I'm really good at translating Turkish into English but I'm terrible going from English to Turkish. I try not to cheat and look at the answers, but after awhile my brain gets tired of thinking and so I usually give myself a little help. I'm at the point now where I think I will hire a teacher for a weekly lesson because I think there may be several ways to say things but my book only gives one answer.

*talking to Eric. We usually talk once or twice a day but on the weekends it's nice because we aren't rushed by the pressure of me trying to catch a school bus or him trying to get to bed early enough for his 4:30 a.m. exercise class.

Now it's time to get dressed for the day, make my weekly 45 minute walk to the mall, see a graphic art exhibit produced by one of my colleagues, meet a parent for weekly English conversation practice (hopefully hers, not mine although sometimes I wonder after speaking in one syllable words all week), and buy snacks for the hike I'm going to join tomorrow with the Malatya Sports and Nature Club.

...and all this because I have the gift of time.

Movie Reward Day

I think the 1st and 2nd graders were rewarded with a movie afternoon yesterday...either that or their teachers needed some extra tea time. In any event, I was notified that I would not be teaching two of my classes and could enjoy the extra free time.."drink some chai or coffee," they urged. Because I'd already drunk my second cup of coffee for the day, had worked through my three planning periods (Wednesdays are my easy day) and am really trying to improve my Turkish, I decided to join the students in the Sinema Salon for a movie instead.

I brought along my notebook to jot down words that I might want to learn and ideas for future classes. I plopped myself down next to an annoying, (one with no friends who runs around behind my back and then freezes when I turn around and thinks I don't see him...Ellen knows of whom I speak..)but extremely intelligent 2nd grade student. He was delighted to have a companion and was even more impressed that I was taking notes. Maybe I earned some "good behavior" points from him and modeled more appropriate uses for his unchecked ADHD.

Eventually the 160 or more students took their places; they never did stop talking or settle down, and the movie began. All of the classroom teachers left the salon (presumably to drink tea) and I sat as the lone white jacket amid the sea of orange plaid uniforms. I tried to ignore the chaos (it's actually fairly easy because I can't understand their tattle-telling) and focused on the movie, "The Extraordinary Adventures of Samy the Sea Turtle." The movie was in black and white, probably a pirated version because, as I read later on the internet, the original was in 3-D. Fortunately the animation was really good even though the Turkish words didn't quite match up to the lips. (This is another "voice-over" film which tends to be a problem for me because my brain attempts to lip read the English and forgets to listen to the Turkish.)

Anyway, I was really interested in this movie and wanted to see where Samy's life would take him over a course of 50 years with all the oil tankers sinking and global warming and what not. Unfortunately about 35 minutes into the movie, one of the 1st grade teachers entered the room and was not happy about the noise and activity level of the students. I think he asked them if they liked the film or if they would like a different film. (Here's where my teaching style and their teaching styles diverge. My question would have been something like this, "Would you like me to stop the movie right now and we can go back to class and take a spelling test, or would you like to zip your lips, sit on your hands, and watch the movie?")

Unfortunately the students responded with a "hayir [no]", they didn't like the movie. They wanted a different film. The teacher then inserted "Open Season 2", a stupid animated film, where the animation has little relevance to the words. For example, I, for the life of me, cannot figure out why the bear was using live rabbits as balls to throw at a target...Luckily, the pirated version of this film was not working very well so several of the teachers finally figured out this was a waste of time and took their students back to class. Unfortunately for me, it meant I had to teach the infamous 2C...At least now I know their reprehensible behavior, and yesterday was no exception, is not about me.