The First Week in Afyon!

We arrived in Afyon on Thursday afternoon and the days since then have been a crazy blur of apartment shopping and furnishing, mind-numbing waiting on paperwork, and slowly but surely adapting to my new surroundings.  We still don’t have internet in our apartment…so Skype tours are going to have to wait while I get a lot of reading done in the absence of internet L 

That said, WE HAVE AN APARTMENT!  It is a three-bedroom flat on the ground floor near the city center. We’re right next to our real estate office, across the street from the People’s Republican Party (The CHP, Ataturk’s party) and near a variety of stores, bakeries, and cell phone shops J  The campus is set apart from the town, so it will be a 15 minute bus ride to work in the morning, but I definitely appreciate the location and ability to be in an apartment over the accommodations (aka dorms) that were closer to Afyon Kocatepe University. 

On Monday I taught my first lesson!  I will be teaching 15 hours in Hazerlik (the preparatory year of English classes many students are required to take between high school and college) and 6 hours in the School of Veterinary Sciences.  The latter assignment will be two 3-hour classes of conversational English taught to freshman students on Monday and Wednesday afternoons.  I did preliminary classes (introductions and such) in both of my veterinary classes this week but Hazerlik classes don’t start until next week (and don’t REALLY get into the swing of things until the week after that). 

I was told that, as students generally don’t come to the first day of school after breaks, I should go to the classroom but not prepare any substantial lessons plans as I would only have two or three students.   On Monday, I had 26 attentive freshman awaiting my every word and on Wednesday I had even more (and less attentive) students J  It looks like the classrooms are designed to fit closer to 60 students…so it should definitely be an adventure!  Even though there is a lot that is still unsettled, I feel a little better now that I have seen the classes and know what I need to plan for as far as levels/expectations and such.  Hopefully I’ll get curriculum and a class list soon too J I’m excited to start planning some more fun activities to get them engaged during class time! 

Although Afyon is definitely bigger than I expected, it’s still a smaller and easily negotiable city.  I’ve enjoyed seeing different parts of the town through our trips to events at our colleague’s homes and random wanderings. I hiked up the Hittite fortress in the center of the city on Sunday, and it definitely afforded some nice views of the city.  Apparently the legend is that, if you hike the fortress, you will stay in Afyon for 7 years (or forever, depending on the version you believe).  So…you might all be coming to visit me here for a long while J 

There’s so much more that I want to share, but more routine/informative blog posts will probably have to wait until we have internet in our apartment J I’ll have some pictures to share soon too!  

A Bit About Afyonkarahisar?

This video apparently tells a little bit more about Afyonkarahisar, my soon-to-be-new-home for the next 9 months.  It's supposed to available in English translation but I couldn't find the link :(  Hopefully I can do more searching tomorrow!

Afyonkarahisar Video

Also, FYI, Afyonkarahisar means "Opium Black Fortress" in Turkish.  If nothing else, it's a pretty cool city name!

Jet Lag and Other Adventures

After spending most of yesterday feeling proud of myself for sleeping through the night and beating jet lag, karma got me last night and I ended up lying awake for 3 hours wishing that it really was the middle of the afternoon J  Whoops. 

Besides the nagging sleepiness, the last few days have been great!  Jam-packed full of information, lectures, and reminders of my need to learn Turkish FAST, but wonderful nonetheless.   We’ve had a lot of excellent politics/society/culture type lectures mixed in with some fast-paced Turkish lessons which, although I know I’m not acing, I feel like I’m not too bad at keeping up, and we jumped into some knew “How to Teach ESL”-type exercises today.  We’ll be doing most of our ESL teaching sessions next week. 

We also met our university representative yesterday and that was really reassuring.  Even if we don’t know the exact details on our living situation and other bits and pieces, having him as our guide makes me feel a lot better!  We’ll be starting to teach/observe in the classes on September 24^th, so that should give us a bit of time to get moved in and adjusted too.  I’ll be teaching mainly in Hazerlik, a preparatory year of English between high school and college, but I’ll also be teaching 3 hours a week in the veterinary school.  That should be quite the adventure! 

On Wednesday, we took a tour to Anit Kaber, the mausoleum/burial place of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the “Father of the Turkish Nation.”  As our guide explained, he is basically “The George Washington and Benjamin Franklin of Turkey in one person.”   He enacted a ton of modernizing reforms and even went so far as to completely rewrite the Turkish alphabet.  Needless to say, he’s pretty popular around here!  This was my second time to go and I really enjoyed it.  I did realize that twice is two times more than I’ve been to any American monument (or Washington DC)—definitely something I want to remedy when I get back to the states!   I think I had more contextual knowledge this time around and that helped me to be more relaxed and enjoy the experience.  It was also our first time to get out into the [HOT!] sunshine and leave our basement lecture halls J

Anit Kaber, Ataturk's Memorial

And...the group photo :)  

Yesterday we had the privilege of attending a reception by the US Embassy in honor of the Peace Corps 50-year anniversary of being in Turkey.  It was really fun to be there and chat with so many interesting people who have been invested in Turkey for SOO long.  The first lady I met had been placed in Afyon, so that was an exciting surprise!  As the first group in Turkey, they had been commissioned by President Kennedy and had been residing here in Turkey when he was assassinated.  You could tell that the experience had been a formative experience in all their lives and it was exciting to see their youthful enthusiasm even inside of their 50 years of maturity since the experience.  Tonight I went to another reception and got to see some of their pictures from their time in Turkey—quite interesting! 

Tomorrow we’re set for a morning of Turkish lessons before we go off for a tour of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.  Hopefully as we head into the weekend, I’ll find even more opportunities for exploring the city and engaging my Turkish knowledge!  Iyi geceler!  Good night!

Ankara! Ankara! Ankara!

I’m officially here and, as per my promises, I’ve started a blog in less than 24 hours of arriving!  Almost like I’m setting a new record on my usually dismal blogging abilities or something… 

For those of you who don’t know, I am in Ankara (and eventually Afyon) Turkey for the next 10 months completing a Fulbright Grant as an ETA (English Teaching Assistant) at Afyon Kocatepe University.  I’ll be teaching English speaking classes part time and hopefully finding enough time to travel, engage, explore, and be an excellent cultural ambassador! I still am a little (all right, maybe a lot) up in the air about exactly what my position will look like, but I’m excited to get to Afyon and find out!  In the meantime, we’re spending the next 10 days doing orientation in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, and learning all about Turkish politics, social issues, and language—and a little about how to teach English along the way as well J 

So far, orientation has been going well—I didn’t get to the hotel last night until around 10 at night Turkish time, so getting through the lectures would be a bit more fun on a little more sleep and a lot less jet lag, but I’m sure that’s something I’ll get over soon!  We had our first introductory Turkish lesson today and talked a lot about the background and history of Turkey and how that ties into the education system and youth culture.  It’s definitely interesting to hear about some of the struggles facing the school systems and Turkish youth today and compare them to issues people my age discuss in the United States.  Some of them are a lot more similar than many people realize J 

Anyway, that’s about all the excitement around here J  They’ve been feeding us excellently and I’m about ready to head down for another good Turkish dinner.  Stay posted for more adventures!

Cle Elum.

Now, you see, the inspiration for my sudden burst of creative blogging activity should probably be shared. I was on my way home from home (to Sandpoint from Seattle) and I left last night. Over twenty-four hours ago.  On the first shot I made it about fifteen miles.  On the second shot, today, I made it 60 miles-- over a 300% improvement! Ha.  I've discovered that I hate cars (particularly one white Subaru Outback), that I dislike towns without Starbucks (and grassy green parks in which to sit, read, contemplate, and nap), and that being a single women in a car without coolant (even if you do have some idea of what you're talking about) carries a stigma of incompetency and cluelessness.

Anyways, I should be home (with my favorite car on the back of a trailer) sometime in the early morning hours tonight.  In other news, I loveloveloveLOVE my AWESOME Dad.

"Interesting" fact of the day:  Cle Elum's phone service was not switched from manual dial to automatic dialing until 1966.  Fascinating, I know :)

Life. Travels. Wonderlust.

I want to be a blogger (and a journal-er, and a creative singer-songwriter, and a thoughtful, caring and kind person.  and a pirate. and a cowboy.).  So, with that in mind, I am going to re-start my Egypt (almost)blog and try to find thoughtful comments, stories, and life experiences to share.  I like the idea of travel, exploration and wonder-seeking so I am going to continue recording my life in this way.  Summer, my first in Seattle, has been quite a fulfilling adventure and I can't believe that it's August already.  More updates to come!

Also, I've started collecting postcards written by nuns.  Maybe I'll get around to sharing a few of those to brighten dull days :)  

Halloween in Turkey.

Good Morning from Istanbul!  I know I’ve been one of the worlds worst bloggers so far but, hopefully, Insha Allah, I’ll become much more competent now that we’re on travel component.  We’ll be traveling through Turkey, Syria, Damascus, and Istanbul before returning back to Egypt for a few weeks.  A friend reminded me that I will pretty much be living out of a suitcase for the next two months.  A daunting idea to be sure, but I’m excited to see what kinds of adventures are in store! 

            Istanbul is gorgeous!  It rained the first few days we were here, which was almost a welcome change from the heat and pollution of Cairo.  We’re staying in Taksim Square, a very central part of Istanbul, so walking down the rainy streets with coffee and watching the chestnut roasters and storefront windows felt a bit like Christmas.  Yesterday it cleared up and we went to this gorgeous “castle” with outdoor grassy and leafy courtyards.  Walking through there, jumping in leaves, and playing a midnight game of tag on the playground were a perfect reminder of fall.  Basically, I think we are all in love with Istanbul- it reminds me of Seattle with random European, Ottoman, and Byzantine buildings scattered around. 

            We’ve had really interesting speakers too- so far we’ve visited the US Consulate, the ruling AK (Justice and Development) party, and spoken to a couple really interesting journalists.  I feel like Turkey is really interesting and significant in the modern state system and is kind of unrecognized in general US sentiment.  The interactions between religion, secularism, and the state as well as the actual workings between the government and military are somewhat foreign and very exciting to observe and seek to understand.  We’re leaving for Ankara on Tuesday, and, while I’ll miss Istanbul, it will be interesting to see another face of Turkey. 

            Besides all the “academic” stuff we’ve had pretty ample time to explore as a group and on our own.  It’s kind of restrictive being forced to always be with someone else and to travel with such a large group, but it is totally worth it.  When we got here we took a wonderful rainy boat tour along the Bosporus.  We’ve toured the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and adventured around the city.  In addition, I’ve wondered through the Grand Bazaar, enjoyed Turkish tea in the park, and found a multitude of quant café’s and coffee shops.

            So…I wasn’t able to post this directly after I wrote it, but I think that, due to current events, it was a good thing.  If you haven’t heard, there was a suicide bombing in Taksim Square on the 31^st.  Thankfully, Sunday was our free day and we were all safely away from the square.  However, it is pretty sobering to recognize that it happened in an area where I was walking a mere hour before.  Turkey is one of the “safest” places we travel to, so it’s eye-opening that this happened here and has really helped us step up our attention to safety procedures.  We’re all completely safe though and counting our blessings that we are all doing well. 

If you’re curious about the details, here is a link to a Turkish news article explaining the situation: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=istanbul-officials-identify-attacker-in-taksim-square-bombing-2010-11-02