The Language Barrier - Still A Barrier

Sigh. After being here almost five months, the issues that I have with language are still present, but they have changed. I know enough Turkish to get around, and do the bare minimum with most things. I'm at the stage where I can usually guess/partially understand enough to know what a conversation is vaguely about, but not enough to completely understand or even actively participate. I can sort of teach a lesson without a dictionary on hand, but I rely heavily on the help of the classroom aids to translate my hand motions and facial expressions. Fortunately, this every-day stuff is no longer as frustrating to me.
Now the problem is that I know enough to understand, but not enough to be a part of things. I feel this specifically during lunch when I play volleyball with some of the physical therapists, teachers, and aids at the center. I feel very alone and on the outside of things, because there is so much friendly conversation going on, and I can catch the occasional word, but I am not really a part of the group, not really involved. This is frustrating for me because I am physically included, but not socially, which is what I long for. It's like being with a group of people who talk near you, but not with you. Grr.
The same issue of knowing some but not enough Turkish was played out this evening when I went out to see a movie. Towards the end of the movie, a young girl sitting with her family beside me somehow became unconscious. I was quickly aware that medical help was needed, but I don't know how to say "Somebody come quick, and call an ambulance!" in Turkish. Again frustrating, because all I could do was pray. Someone else went to get help, and the family left the theatre. At some point one of the kids came back to grab a forgotten sweater, which I took as a sign that things were okay (if they can think clearly enough to remember a sweater, she must be alright).
I guess the point is that there are holes in my Turkish (obviously, I've only been studying the language for about 3 months!) and I wish there weren't. It's a good thing I have a Turkish lesson tomorrow!

New Friends and New Centers

I just spent an awesome Friday night with good friends, and had a blast! Most of you know that I am a community-oriented person, and I thrive when I have a close group of friends surrounding me. Even here in Antalya, where previously I knew two people, God has provided a community and some wonderful friends. I would even venture so far as to say that I have a social life! It feels so good.

This week I visited two different rehabilitation centers, both closer to the center of town. Since I first started at the center I am at now, I have been trying to understand how representative it is of special education in Turkey. I thought it was pretty normal, from what I could tell. After visiting these two other centers though, I realize that even if it my center is representative, it is not the best possible education that Turkey has to offer. From what I understand, Turkey has a huge lack of special education teachers, so almost all the teachers at my center are regular ed. teachers. The two new centers that I visited are staffed by teachers trained in special education, which makes a huge difference. It was really exciting for me to see that special education as I know it (and teach it) does exist in Turkey! Right now the plan is to change centers in March, so that I can experience other places, and work with other people. At this point, I just have to decide which center to go to, and they could both be really exciting! One of the centers even has two therapy dogs, which would be awesome to see!



P.S I want to say a huge thank you to whoever the anonymous donor is! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for the huge encouragement and the vote of confidence. It is appreciated more than you can know.

School Life

Things are going well at the schools. Its been an adjustment to plan by myself, to think about the fact that it will just me teaching it now, not Alli and me, and other things along that nature. We started a new month, which brings new (and familiar) concepts to study at the kresh. This month we are taking a closer look at shapes, and last week I taught the shape heart (to be re-visited in February). When I showed a picture of a heart, I put my hand over my heart, to indicate that it was the same as the one there, and said that everyone has one. One little boy, Chagan (which is deceptively pronounced like John), felt around his chest for a minute with a worried look on his face, then looked at his teacher and said "Kalp yok!" which means, "There's no heart!" So cute! His teacher explained in Turkish that it's the thing inside that goes thump thump, and that he does in fact, have a heart.

At the center I have started something that I've been meaning to do for a long time, but just now finally felt comfortable enough and well-established enough to do. At the EEU (the preschool I worked at last year) we use a program called the AEPS, which is an evaluation tool for preschoolers, and helps provide some possible educational goals for individual students. This is an area where teachers could use some help at the center, so I finally brought in a small section of the AEPS to use with Funda, the one-on-one therapist that I work with who speaks English. She is fabulous at encouraging me to use my Turkish as well. Interestingly enough, when I showed it to her, she said that the center has a similar tool in Turkish. I have been asking if something like that existed for the past 4 months, so apparently it is not widely-used or well-known by the teachers.

It has been really great to work with Funda on something concrete, that I think can really make a difference. She is also new to teaching, so she is open to trying new things. After evaluating one of the students, and choosing some goals together, I made a data sheet, and have been teaching Funda how to do discrete trials and to take data on the session with this student. This feels really good. It is also a great thing for the student's mom, because Funda speaks with her after every session about how things went. On Friday we spent a long time with the mom talking about goals to work on at home and how to actually teach her son. This is what I got a Masters degree in special education for - now I feel like I am actually using what I learned. The conversation came naturally, and I felt like I had some really good tips to offer her, that came easily to my mind. This was one of those rare moments when I felt like I was really using what I learned in my Masters to a full extent. It makes me really excited to have my own classroom next year!

Observations of a Yabanci Living in Antalya

1. When walking on sidewalks, beware of motorcycles and cars (also on the sidewalk). They will not move around you.
2. Americans are just not creative enough with parking, so it's no wonder we have problems. For example, the middle of the street is a perfectly acceptable place to leave your car for a few minutes.
3. Families are meant for loving on kids. Teachers are meant for educating and disciplining children.
4. Nescafe should be accepted and drunk whenever possible. After all, it's NESCAFE.
5. All traffic rules are mere suggestions. These include helpful safeguards like speed limits, lane lines, stop signs and turn-lanes.
6. You are not a hip and cool teenage girl unless you wear high-top Converse All Stars with rolled ankle socks and tights with your plaid school uniform skirt.
7. Trees are important. It is much better to split a road around a tree than to take down the tree. Hence - many roads have random tree-islands in the middle.
8. As in many countries, buses should not be relied upon to arrive anywhere at a specific time. It is perfectly normal for the driver of the bus to pull over during the scheduled route to get tea, cigarettes, or to use the bathroom. Drivers are also the only person not held to the no-smoking-on-the-bus rule.
9. On a whole, Turks are incredible helpful. Put a confused look on your face and attempt a few words in Turkish, and they will instantly try to help you.
10. Tea comes after a meal, not with or before it. To put milk in your tea is sacrilege.
11. In schools, lighting and heating are good places to start when trying to reduce school expenses. There is also no need to provide toilet paper or towels.
12. Youth gladly and quickly give up their seats on the bus to their elders and those with small children.
13. Exercise equipment is provided in any outdoor park worth its money. While it looks like strange children's play structures, the equipment is intended for adult usage.
14. Tourists stand out in many ways. They are usually wearing sandals (like tevas or chacos) or sensible shoes, backpacks, may carry a map, are frequently blond, and often have a look of complete wonder on their faces at the beauty of Antalya. (In that respect, I hope I never stop being a tourist.)