A Basic Week

This needs to begin by thanking my Outbound Counselor, Audie Spieler. Her prompting me to write this basic entry was also the outline which spurred me to continue revising the blog I’d been working on. Thank you also to Amy Boyd, whose most recent blog entry served as something between a reminder and a template for me to use.

My school day begins at 8:30 every morning. Because I’m the foreign exchange student it’s OK for me to be a little late to class any day except Monday. Every Turkish school has a ceremony where students stand with the rest of their respective grades outside next to the flagpole. When everyone is assembled and the teachers decide it’s time to begin the flag is raised from half-mast and the music teacher leads the students in singing the national anthem. Turkish people are very respectful of their anthem, and if one hears it while on the street the correct thing to do is to stand still until it ends. It’s interesting to watch on a crowded street next to a school. If there are awards or announcements they are either incorporated at the end, or an extra ceremony is given on a different day. Then the students filter into class by the teachers about two at a time so the administrators can check adherence to dress code.
It has been a failure on my part that I still do not know my class’s schedule. The different classes are organized by hours, for example, my class has 40 hours of English a week. This means my schedule is different every day and a class can be anywhere from one 45 minute period to four. The students are given a ten minute break between each class to wait for the next teacher or to pause between lessons. My class has the most…spirit so they’re a lot louder than most of the other classes who go talk to their friends or get a snack. Yesterday my class had a Frisbee and a pair of rollerblades. My school gets out at 4:15, with the exception of the Friday ceremony. I either walk home alone or with my neighbor, Selen, who’s in Prep year. Prep year students sometimes get off two periods earlier than the rest of the school depending on which day of the week it is.

The way I’ve learned most about what’s “normal: for a Turkish school is by asking other students what they like and dislike about Cihat Kora. I’ve been told my school is very modern. The facilities are good, students are permitted (to what extent I’m not sure) and the English programs are excellent. Students dislike hoe there aren’t any extracurricular and the kanten. Most schools have a kanten for snacks like cookies and a cafeteria for lunch. We have a large kanten and a offshoot next to my class. Until they opened it up in the third week of school I thought it was a closet. In Turkish schools the extracurriculars aren’t nearly as extensive as my American school, but Cihat Kora’s are scarce by Turkish standards as well. A common feature is a Scrabble team, because the schools across the city have a huge competition in English. Even though my school competes in things like that we don’t have a Scrabble team. I was asked if we really did have choirs in American school like on “Glee.”

Because my host mother is a teacher it’s hard for her to tell what time she can get home every night. Luckily, it’s the norm for the cook to make large quantities of a few dishes and then refrigerate them. Things like salad and bread are gotten more frequently. Being a vegetarian in very, very uncommon in Turkey, but my host brother is one. I try to help her cook or fix dinner, and I requested to do my own laundry. Wearing a uniform has made me more contentious of having clean clothes, but I’m still terrible at doing it early enough in the day.

Though I haven’t been converted to house-dresses I’ve changed my clothing habits. When I came to Turkey I knew people took off their shoes upon entering a home. I didn’t know they immediately changed their clothes as soon as they got there. They’re very casual so I made the compromise of some form of pajamas I can receive unexpected company or take the dog out in without being a total embarrassment to myself. People are really concerned that my feet will get cold if I decline slippers. Just not being in the habit meant I didn’t change for a month or two, but my dress-code changed that as well.

My time after school is usually very lax. It gets dark less than an hour after I get home so I usually need to convince myself into believing I’m not doing things at odd hours of the night, meaning around 7:30. Lately I’ve been doing a lot more Turkish after school. Other than the excellent book I got from a friend I have a book for 3-6 year olds titled Antonyms. Yesterday I went over to my friend’s house for a few hours and she help me translate the nasty sentences. She’s also trying to teach me how to “spell in Turkish.” For example, if someone asked in English how to spell the word “bread” we’d simply rattle off “B-R-E-A-D.” In Turkish if you ask someone to spell “soylemek” they go “soy-le-mek” and you’re expected to know what it means. I didn’t know this for the longest time, even though I knew the alphabet. It was driving me crazy. I’ve also been spending time with my friend Emily for Oregon. It’s unnerving to go to a Starbucks, but it’s the only place they sell filtered coffee. We talk, wander around and swap books. We’re also incredibly talented at getting lost and getting on the wrong ferry. I’ve been writing a lot, for myself, for letters, for Rotary and for college admissions.

Unless I’m on vacation or a rotary trip I spend my weekends with Rotary friends in Turkish class. Even if there are no lessons that week we usually all wind up downtown anyway. Last week we collided with all the AFS students.

Turkish people in Izmir are very sensitive to the cold. There has been a warm fall, so most days are in the 60s or 70s. They think of this as chilly and break out the winter coats and accessories as soon as it drops below 60. Mothers are notorious for forcing more and more layers on their children. Students here wear tan lace-up work boots to school as a precaution against the cold. I stick out even more on a “cold” day. Farther east the weather is blazingly hot in the summer and so cold you can’t drive on the roads from the snow, but the city where I live is too coastal.

I know my last blog was ended with a promise update soon and I failed miserably. However, I was working on a draft about education when I got a note from Audie. I’ll publish it in a few days, if not tomorrow, but I need to look over it because my feelings were harder to articulate. Once again, if anyone has any questions or comments please send them to me.