The Joy of Photography

April 23 is Children's Day in Turkey. It was started because Ataturk did something special for children on that day in the 1920's. I have found that most holidays in Turkey have something to do with Ataturk at some point. On this day there is no school, and people go out of their way to make children feel appreciated in special ways. For example, the week before Children's Day, I went with a friend and her Rotaract group to the local orphanage, to paint faces, make balloon animals, and spend time with the kids. (As a side note, I have had the opportunity to use the face paints that I bought here 6 times in the last 8 months. That's a lot of face painting!)

On the actual day though, I got to be a part of a project that Ben and Verna worked to put on with some other volunteers here, both Turkish and ex-pat, for students with special needs. A masters student from Northwestern, in Seattle, led the project as part of her degree. Students with special needs, mostly down syndrome, were each given a digital camera, and were paired up with typical high school students. The goal of the project was for the special needs students to learn about photography, but mostly to give these students a voice, a way to express themselves. On the first day of the project the students went on a photo scavenger hunt to practice using the cameras. On the second day, they were asked to take pictures of what they thought was beautiful, and what they thought was ugly. The pictures they took will be on display in some public format later this month in Antalya, and at some point at Northwestern as well.

This was a fabulous project, and I know that Pam, one of the volunteers here, plans to continue with different groups of students in the future. It was such a joy to see these students with cameras in their hands. Their eyes lit up as they realized that they got to hold the camera and take pictures of whatever they wanted. Someone trusted them enough to give them a camera, and appreciates their photos. It was also great to see the bonding between each set of partners. I know that projects like this will go a long way towards the inclusion of people with special needs into Turkish community. Everyone seemed to have lots of fun, and the kids took great pictures. I can't wait to see what they saw that day through the lens of a camera.

For the next two weeks, James (pastor at SPCC) and his wife Renata are in Thailand, and I get to stay with their twelve year-old daughter Talya. We are having great fun together, and so far, it has been a really productive time for me.

Talya and I are having a "movie education week" to expand Talya's movie repertoire. I was shocked that she hasn't seen Singing in the Rain, and I intend to remedy that this week. Princess Bride and The Little Mermaid (her choice!) have also been included.

We are also baking up a storm! So far we've made peanut butter oatmeal bars, banana pancakes (complete with Jack Johnson running through my head), and lemon curd (YUM!) which will soon be made into a lemon tart, if it doesn't get eaten first. Next on the list are strawberry cream cheese muffins, and some sort of sesame-ginger salad. The Bultemas have a fabulous selection of cookbooks, including one completely about chocolate, and another about lemons. So good!

I've been very productive in applying for jobs and catching up on emails for several reasons. The wireless here reaches into my room (it doesn't at Ben and Verna's) so I can sit on my bed and read emails. There's nothing better! Second, there are fewer distractions, so while Talya does homework, I can work on job applications, something which I would rather skip, but absolutely need to do. It's hard to fill out some of these applications when I don't have any of my files with me in the country. I spent hours today tracking down the names and phone numbers of all the teachers I have worked with over the last 5 years, and it was actually impossible. My list of student teaching experiences is slightly shorter than it might otherwise be because I couldn't remember a name, or find a phone number for a cooperating teacher. Thank goodness for the Internet though, because the list would be non-existent without it!

Kopek Terapi

Life at the new rehab center is great. I have been observing consistently here, but I am learning a lot, and it is actually marvelous experience for life (including my resume). With the exception of a couple group classes, all the education here is done as one-on-ones, something that is just getting started in the states. Most of the students I work with here have autism, which is the population at home that also get one-on-one therapy. I have been consistently impressed with the amount of one-on-one that goes on in Turkey. In the different "one-on-one" settings that I worked in the states, the ratio was actually more like 2 or 3 students per teacher. I think the difference is due to how we choose to spend our minimal funding (a little one-on-one for everyone vs. a lot of one-on-one for a few).

This week however, I got to observe something a little different from my normal one-on-ones. The center is one of the few to pioneer the concept of "dog therapy", which I think sounds much better when said in Turkish (kopek terapi). I have heard of the idea, but I don't really know what it entails in the states, other than to use a dog as a reward in the classroom.

The two dogs at our center are used in physical therapy, in a couple different ways. The first is to use the dog instead of a pillow or cushion to physically support the student during therapy. I was amazed that Komur (the dog) was able to lay completely still for almost half an hour while the therapist was working on leg extension with the student. The student loved having a dog for a pillow (I admit I have tried with Alex, and he won't stay still and complains horribly!), and was in a better mood because of the dog's presence.

The next way seems like the most fun for the dog and the student, and the observer as well. The therapist helped the student cover his hands or feet in yogurt (yes, yogurt) and then Komur got to lick it off! I am not a physical therapist, so I don't know all the great benefits behind this, but I do know that it helped with sensory issues and cross-lateral movement in particular. Plus, education (and physical therapy) should always be fun!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! While I was away from my family in Seattle, I spent the day with wonderful people here in Antalya who have become my surrogate family!

The day began somewhat early with a "sunrise" (8:30) service on the new property that the church owns and is planning to expand onto within the next year. Apparently this was a very appropriate and special time, because St. Paul's was started exactly 10 years ago to the day. It was nice to sort of break ground with another Easter service on another new property. And the first song we sang was "Christ the Lord is Risen Today", one that I was hoping we would sing. It's one that we always sing at UPC, so it was a nice reminder of home. This was followed by a delightful potluck breakfast in the church courtyard, and then the regular 11:00 service. I sang in the Easter choir, which was a lot of fun. Besides the Christmas choir, it has been a very long time since I last looked at music and tried to sightread... far too long!

The service I attend is the International (meaning English) service, and afterwards we quickly clear the sanctuary for the Turkish service. Ben and Karn attend Turkish church, so after that we all gathered for an early dinner at one of Verna's favorite restaurants. It's in the new marina, right on the water, so we got to enjoy the sun and the breezes off the water while looking at huge yachts. It was a really fun group of people, and once again, I felt really loved and included. Ben and Verna are such a blessing - they take such great care of me! It was a delightful Easter Sunday.