(Alli and I in the Old City, part of Antalya)
Yesterday we had our first full day at the center, and it was intense! I don't think I realized quite how much the language barrier was going to impact me. We took the teacher service bus to the school, which will be a great resource. Once we got there though, there was just about no one who spoke English. There happened to be a woman in the office who was just starting her first day as a teacher, and she spoke some English, so she translated to get us situated. I went with a teacher who did one-on-one therapy, but she spoke close to no English. We attepted some conversation, but mostly just laughed a whole lot, because we couldn't really say anything! My head keeps reverting to Spanish, because at least in Spanish I have the words to give a general idea of what I mean, or to explain around something. In Turkish, I have nothing. it was comical at times, because the teachers would slow down what they were saying, and say it very clearly and loudly. At this point, no matter how much they slow it down or raise the volume, I still don't understand. I spent most of the day with a dumb, apologetic smile on my face. Verna reminded me though, that this is the worst it will ever be, because we are steadily picking up more and more. We had a day at home today, and I will spend most of this afternoon trying to learn more.
I finally put some pictures onto my computer, so here are a few to give a small idea of what we are seeing! 
This is the Old City. Not all of Antalya is as picturesque as this, but it sure is beautiful! The church is in this area of town too. There are fountains all over Antalya, and one in the Old City happened to have fun ceramic birds in it!
The water is the most ridiculous blue!! I could stare at it for hours! 
This is the harbor in the Old City. We wanted to take a tour of the bay, and ended up on a boat with several tour groups of elderly German tourists. That was an adventure!
P.S. Sorry about the crazy format and layout of this blog. I am still figuring it out!
2 comments:
What great photos, Erin!! I love the swimming pool one and the... whatever that first one is. It must be so frustrating not to be able to communicate with these people :( You can do it!
I know the feeling of trying to formulate answers in another language even if the language you are translating into is not the language being spoken. When I Mexico I wanted to reply in French. You'll catch on!
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