Weekend in Review

Well, its Sunday night here in Antalya, and things are good. This has been a fast weekend, but lately they all seem to be flying by.

On Friday night I went out for drinks with some of the teachers at the new center, and that was a fun bonding time. In terms of culture, I think it was important to be able to spend time together outside of work. The teachers there are constantly surprising me with how much English they speak. Unfortunately, I don't think they can say the same about my Turkish, but I'm trying. Right now I can understand a lot of words, especially when they are spoken slowly, but I sometimes still have difficulty understanding the thought the words convey. I am really enjoying being at this new center. I'm still just observing, and I think I will for one more week, but then I'll find a regular routine after that. Next week I will observe more of the group classes as well as dog therapy! One of the physical therapists tried to explain to me how that works, but I think I need to see it in action. I'll let you know more when I've seen it! After next week I will find a regular routine, getting to know specific students, so that I can start to offer suggestions (hopefully helpful ones) to the teachers. So far I have observed a lot of one-on-ones, which, get this, are actually one-on-one! Most of the "one-on-ones" that I taught in the states last year were actually one(teacher)-on-two/three(students). Its been such a good experience here, that I am much more open to the thought of doing something similar in the states next fall.

Today was a day of luxury. Karn had a friend in town for the weekend, so with Ben and Verna we all went out to breakfast in Chakirlar, a small village outside of town. Chakirlar is quickly becoming one of my favorite Sunday breakfast spots. Think great Turkish breakfast in all its glory, with fresh baslama and gozleme. (Baslama is served hot, shaped like a pizza, with a ice cream scoop of butter on the top, filled with feta-like cheese. So good, and so terrible!) One of my favorite parts of the Turkish breakfast is the walnuts, which are best eaten dipped in honey, as my friend Funda showed me. The crumbly cheese, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, fig and quince jams, olives, and eggs are pretty great too. Chakirlar is full of these gozleme places, where all meals are eaten in little wooden huts, usually on stilts. Shoes are left at the door, and you sit on pillows and mats around a low table. Tea comes by the pot, with its own little home-made camp stove to keep it hot during the long breakfast. The hut we sat in today actually had a bed in it as well, perfect for the Sunday afternoon nap after a big brunch. The sun was shining brightly, and it was an absolutely perfect way to spend the morning. After wandering through the market in Chakirlar, we took the meandering drive back into town. Karn, her friend Kim, and I then went to the hamam (the Turkish bath - I've described that before, right?). I am definitely going to miss the hamam when I go home! My favorite part is being covered in soap suds - I feel like I'm floating in a cloud!

Then I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on emails, planning my teaching for the week, and looking for jobs for the summer and next year. I know its early for schools to post job openings for next year, but I'd love to get a head start. I'm also trying to find summer employment, and trying to decide if it will be easier found in the States, or here in Turkey. I have a few possible options in Antalya, but I'm feeling like I want to be home for the summer. I know that the economy is not great, and that everyone else is looking for jobs too, but if anyone knows of a great summer job (somewhere along the teacher/counselor/nanny lines) in the Seattle-ish area, please let me know! The economy is not looking great here in Turkey either, and its taking its toll on the kreshes in Antalya, as childcare is the first thing to be cut out of budgets. The kresh that I am teaching English at is on rocky ground, and the owner is only taking things two weeks at a time because of financial stress. Please pray that she will have wisdom to make smart business decisions and be able to continue to support her family. I would appreciate it!

Pictures

Hey friends! Well, supposedly a picture says a thousand words, so here's a few that say a lot about my life right now.

The water was particularly gorgeous on my walk home the other day.

Saying goodbye to one of my classes at the old center.

Spring has come!

Catch All

I'm sorry that its been such a long time since I've posted, or at least it feels that way. I feel like these last two weeks have been a huge whirlwind of people, places, and events. I declined a trip out to visit a ranch this afternoon because I just need some time to pull my thoughts together, plan for the week, and catch up with all those important things that seem to get pushed aside when life gets busy. Like writing letters, blog updates, exercising, napping, enjoying the sun, etc! Where to start? Let's see...

Last Sunday Izehi, Ashley and I participated in RunTalya, an annual run through the city that draws people from all over the world. We just did the 10k (6 miles), but there were also options to do the full or half marathon, and a lot of families from the church did the 4k. The whole experience reminded me a lot of Bloomsday in Spokane, mostly because that is the only other running event I have to compare it to. It was awesome! The weather was perfect - sunny and calm, not too hot. When we decided to do this a few months ago, I started training, and it definitely paid off. I am still not a "runner" but I ran much more of the 10k than I thought I would, and I was really proud of myself. It was great! And it was fun to do together, with the three of us, as sort of a final farewell bash with Izehi, who went returned home to Texas on Friday. I will miss her a ton, but I am so thankful that Ashley is still here, and that we continue to support each other! Friends are such an incredible blessing.

The week after I got back from Greece was my last week at the center that I have been at for the last 6 months. (I know, can you believe it?? I've already been here 6 months! Man, time flies.) It was sad to leave my friends there, but it is really good to move on, and to experience other schools in Antalya. I had begun to think that the first center was typical of all special education in Turkey, and that was a depressing thought. Now, having had a week of observations at this new center, I realize that the old center might be typical, but it is not the best education that Turkey can offer, which is a huge relief for me. What I have found is that, not surprisingly, there are not enough special ed. teachers in Turkey, nor is there enough funding for the students, or education of teachers. Sounds familiar.

So far, the solution has been to start schools with regular ed. teachers, who have no idea how to go about teaching students with special needs, because it makes great money for the owners, and the parents are just relieved to have somewhere to take their children. At my new center, the teachers are all certified in special education, and some of them even have masters degrees in special ed. It is incredibly encouraging to me to see that these teachers who have had the education that Turkey has to offer are using the some of the same techniques and programs that I have learned. This tells me that given time and money, Turkey can improve special education, that they do have the current and up-to-date information. There is hope! All that to say, I am excited to spend more time at this new center, and to see how they use the same techniques that I know and use at home. My role has definitely been shaped to work with teachers, rather than directly with the students, which is what I thought I would be doing originally. I'm okay with this for now, but I'm getting more and more excited to start a job at home next year where I get to work directly with the students.

This weekend there was a women's conference at the church. It was good to meet with women of all ages from around western Turkey, and to worship and have fun together. By a random string of last minute events, I ended up teaching a craft session on card making! This was really fun, because I got to put out a ton of awesome supplies, and say "Go!" to a group of women eager to make cards. So great! Most of you know how life-giving card making is for me, and when I packed to come here, I stupidly thought I could go the nine months without it, so I didn't bring any supplies. It's funny (and awesome!) to see how many times and in different ways God has put card making back into my life here.

Spring has definitely come to Antalya! The weather is warm again (though still cold in the shade) and birds are chirping! For those of you who have recently had snow, sorry to make you jealous. I've brought out my sandals and capris once again!

Pictures Galore!

Okay, I promised that I would post more pictures, but there are way too many to choose from! Here is a small selection of some of my favorites. If you want to see more, all of my photos from this trip are on Flickr, http://www.flickr.com/photos/erinnoodle/.

Shadow of a church in Santorini.

Beautiful building in Athens.

(This is Katelyn's photo, mine still being locked away on film.)

Oia, Santorini. Yes, Santorini really does look like all those pictures you've seen!


Cool railing outside a hotel in Oia, Santorini.

Before we ditched our bags at the bus station for the day in Izmir, we ate lunch on the wharf.

Katelyn and I at the black sand beach in Perissa, Santorini.