Alas! Yet another long period of time has passed since my last update. I guess that's just the way this blog is going to work until I become more disciplined (and find more time to organize my thoughts).
I've recently started my second semester of my second year at the university I work at here in Ankara, and this whole year has been quite different compared to last year. Last year I taught PIN (the second level of 5 proficiency levels, so relatively low-level), and all this year I've been teaching Pre-faculty (the most advanced level). It's quite a change, especially in terms of grammar and the language I actually use in the classroom, but I like it. I like both levels, in fact, because there are different, fun tasks and activities you can do at one level that you can't do at the other. I guess I don't really have a preference, but I do enjoy teaching essay writing :)
The policies and such of the school have changed considerable this year, and I would be lying if I said I was happy about it. But this post isn't going to be a bitch-fest, particularly because aside from all the politics and blahblahblahing going on here, I know I'm lucky. I'm in a new Teaching Unit this year, and I truly LOVE every single lady in that room. Additionally, my Head of Teaching unit (my boss) is an absolute angel, and seriously the best manager I've ever had at any job anywhere in the world at any time. I'll be sad to leave all of them when my contract ends. Additionally, I adore my students. My first PreFac class that I had last semester was a 16 week class, and they were probably the best class I've ever had in terms of having a great rapport with them and appreciating one another's abilities. They were a nightmare in terms of classroom management, however, but even this helped me learn and become a better teacher. I will miss that class and remember them forever, I bet. My very first class here in Turkey (my first PIN class) as well as this first PreFac class are quite special, and I actually still talk to many of the students from each. The experiences both in and out of the classroom that I've had with them as well as various other students from other classes I've taught here are the reason I teach. Yes, I love the English language, but I also enjoy that student-teacher relationship and seeing how they progress in the language as well as individuals. Fascinating stuff.
I'm also lucky because regardless of whatever may bother me about my current situation, the benefits FAR outweigh the negatives. I mean, since my last post I've traveled with Adam toPammukalle to experience the amazing travertines, Canakkale to explore the war history there (the Gallipoli Campaign), as well as to Troy to see the ruins of the city where the story of the Trojan Horse supposedly took place. I also traveled with Nicola to the Republic of Georgia, where I was able to cross off drinking from a traditional Georgian kvevri off my bucket list, ride a horse through the Caucusus Mountains, befriend my tour guides named Ilo and Oleg, and saw a whole different kind of living. I've visited Bursa with Nadia, Halil, and Rob Loomis and snowboarded for the first time as well as Kars with Nicola to visit Ani. Most recently, I traveled with Rob Lockwood to Israel and learned so much about what's actually going on there between the Israelis and the Palestinians, and I feel a lot more educated now, among other things, because of it. I even got my nose pierced while I was there! I have plans to visit the west coast when my mom visits in April and I'll be going to the Hardwell concert in Istanbul in May with Nadia and Halil (sooo excited for that!). I will eventually go to Kayseri to eat their famous Manti, Hatay to eat their famous Kunefe, and Cyprus just because I want to. I mean, not a lot of the people I know back home can say they've done these things. I've experienced incredible things and met so many amazing people from all around the world because of what I'm doing and where I'm at right now.
Even my current 16 week PreFac class is lovely. It's only our third week together, but they are by far the most respectful and motivated class I've ever had here. And they were so cute on my birthday! It was only the first day of week 2, but still one of the girls made muffins and brought them to the class to celebrate. They tried to fool me into thinking they had forgotten but then some of the girls came in "late" with a muffin with two tooth picks wrapped in napkins set ablaze because they had no candles. It was adorable and they were really sweet. In fact, I got a lot of love on my birthday from random friends (especially Halil) and old students. Even though I don't like the "birthday hype" that goes along with one's special day, it was a good day nonetheless.
Do I have some hard times and unhappy days? Sure. But I'd have those even if I were back in Orlando. It's difficult to think of my time here coming to an end in about 5 months, but I know I'm ready to continue on doing what I'm doing in a different location. I'm even taking master's courses now to try to ensure I'm qualified for better positions (I hope I get accepted the Applied Linguistics program I applied to! I should know in a few weeks...). I'm going to try to stay in Turkey (so far that's looking good), but I'm going to keep my options open, you know, because I'm in a lucky enough position that I can.
No, there's certainly nothing to bitch about here.
(PS - some of the Turkish words here are misspelled because I don't have a Turkish keyboard with Turkish characters!)
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Monday, September 16, 2013
Yes, It's Been Too Long...
Wow. I can't believe I let my whole first year abroad go without being documented all that well. So much has happened in the last year that I don't even know if I could ever properly update about it all, but I supposed I'll give it a short whirl now.
Well, just to recap from the beginning, I was a total nut my first course. There are 4 courses to an academic year at the university I work at (actually 5 courses if you count summer school), and the first (and probably the second) was really rough. I just felt like I didn't know what I was doing or that I wasn't doing something right. I had previous teaching experience, but I had no idea how to really plan for 5, sometimes 6 different 50 min. lessons to teach almost every day. Plus, there were other various factors involved, such as the Cambridge teaching certificate I was getting called ICELT, this being the first time I've ever lived outside my parents' house (yes, the first time I ever moved out was to another country), and other various firsts that you should try not to overcome alongside the three above mentioned obstacles. Let's just say I was a bit overwhelmed. But look at me, here I am standing strong and starting my second year with a whole new life perspective and a lot more experience than I had before. I'm proud of myself, actually. Last year I taught the Pre-intermediate (PIN) level the whole year, except in course 5 where I taught the COPE (advanced) practice group. I wasn't originally supposed to teach that, but I went to Mustak Bay, my HTU at the time, and volunteered myself. I'm sooo happy I did that, mainly because I also requested to change levels for my second year (for more variety and level experience) and now I'm teaching 16-week Pre-Faculty, which is the most advanced and academic level in the prep school. It'll be quite different from what I'm used to, but I'm hoping it'll be a positive 2 courses.
In an attempt to catch up as quick as possible, allow me to list some of the events that occurred during the last year (Aug. 2012-Aug.2013) as they come to me in no particular order: I visited eskisehir with Rimond, Rob Loomis, Michael, Sinead, and Rebecca White, and it has a lovely night life; I visited Istanbul with Rob Loomis, Michael, Matt, Michael's Finnish friend Paavo, and Rimond, and it's amazing city. The area I stayed in was where the protests occurred nearly 3 months later; I visited Kapadokya with Rimond and met some of the coolest people in the hostel we stayed in. An American/Russian couple who travel the world, and later a girl from Tunisia and a guy from Croatia who we rented motorcycles with. We visited a winery and had a blast! We trekked the amazing scenery of Goreme and e did things we never would've done if we hadn't met any of those people. I also rode in a hot air balloon!; Rimond and I flew to Antalya for a marathon they were having there (no, we didn't run it!). We explored a bit and spent a serious amount of time in the museum they have there...sooo interesting!; about a week after we got back from Antalya, I had the most unfortunate experience of bed bugs. For those of you who don't know, they are tiny little devils sent from the depths of hell to eat you in your sleep. And they creep me out big time. I spent almost two months in a temp apartment while they fumigated this one. It all worked out though, and now it makes for in interesting story, I guess!; I made one of my lifelong dreams come true and visited Egypt :) That trip could take up an entire post all on its own because it was AMAZING and truly the trip of a lifetime. I traveled with Michelle and was there for 9 days. Mostafa, Shaimaa, and Ahmet were just wonderful, and I know I have friends there if I ever go back. Drinking from the Nile supposedly means you will, so hopefully that'll hold true!; I traveled to Diyarbakir, Mardin, Hasankeyf, and Batman (I know, awesome name! And apparently the mayor or someone there tried to sue over the super hero Batman stealing their name or something? Interesting!) with Michelle the weekend after we went to Egypt. The travel bug bit us pretty hard! Those are all amazing places though, and I'm glad I got to experience a bit of the east of Turkey since it's considerably different from most other areas of the country; I traveled to Trabzon with Rimond and Katie Bingham from BLIS. We visited the monastery there and hung out in the city....what beautiful views!; attended a Katatonia concert with Rimond here in Ankara at Jolly Joker, which is this awesome concert hall that reminded me a bit of Hard Rock Cafe (my previous job of almost 3 years); Rimond had quite a few concerts of his own..2 basement shows and 1 gig at a steakhouse called The Crank with his band The Clementines. It was Rimond, Jake, Katie, and sometimes Katie's Turkish boyfriend Tamer on drums. I would sometimes go to their practices at Tamer's house, and it was really nice to be outside the university's bubble in that way; I went to lunch with my course 1 students on a few different occasions. We went as a class before the course ended, where I experienced my first meyhane (Traditional Turkish fish restaurant) and had a wonderful time with them. Then we went at the end of course two, and a few of the boys met up with me and Rimond at the end of course 4. Some of them randomly visit me, and it's so nice to see them when they come! Even though my course 1 was hard, they were the perfect class, and that really helped me; I visited Ireland with Rimond over the summer. We were there for 8 days and WOW is that country beautiful! I never had any desire to go there for some reason, but I was really glad I went! It was Rimond's dream to always go, so we both knocked out our dream spots in the same year; and I visited my family in the US for a bit after Ireland, which was sooo nice! I spent some time in Michigan and in Ft. Walton beach making my rounds and having a good time.
I think that's a pretty decent summary. Although no details are included, I'm sure I'll be able to look back in this post one day and remember with a smile.
As for this year (September 2013 onwards), I've visited Konya with Nicola and Nadia. We saw the Whirling Dervishes there and visited the Mevlana Museum, which were great! So glad I finally did that. I picked up one of my favorite magnets there :) Then last weekend I went to Pamukkale with Adam. We rented a car and drove there and stayed in this lovely hostel owned by a great little Turkish family. Pamukkale is such an interesting place, and the ruins of Hieropolis that are there are just awesome. I saw my first theater! It was a really good time. I've also gotten to know a few of the new people, and I must admit it feels really good to be a bit of a veteran where that is concerned. I remember what they are currently feeling, so I've been helping them whenever I can.
Classes started today, but unfortunately, I was UNBELIEVABLY sick this past weekend :( I probably should've gone to the hospital, but I don't like hospitals. Luckily the worst of it died down and I was just left exhausted and dizzy today. I went in and taught my first three classes, but they sent me home after that so now I have two classes to make up at some point. I didn't even get to meet my own class (I only taught my support class)! Oh well, hopefully this extra rest will do me some good and get me back to running at full speed tomorrow. In fact, I think I'll go take a nap now. I'm going to try to update this more though now that I have a bit more me-time (no ICELT and Rimond now living in the US), but we'll see what happens. I'm interested to see what this year will bring! ^_^
Well, just to recap from the beginning, I was a total nut my first course. There are 4 courses to an academic year at the university I work at (actually 5 courses if you count summer school), and the first (and probably the second) was really rough. I just felt like I didn't know what I was doing or that I wasn't doing something right. I had previous teaching experience, but I had no idea how to really plan for 5, sometimes 6 different 50 min. lessons to teach almost every day. Plus, there were other various factors involved, such as the Cambridge teaching certificate I was getting called ICELT, this being the first time I've ever lived outside my parents' house (yes, the first time I ever moved out was to another country), and other various firsts that you should try not to overcome alongside the three above mentioned obstacles. Let's just say I was a bit overwhelmed. But look at me, here I am standing strong and starting my second year with a whole new life perspective and a lot more experience than I had before. I'm proud of myself, actually. Last year I taught the Pre-intermediate (PIN) level the whole year, except in course 5 where I taught the COPE (advanced) practice group. I wasn't originally supposed to teach that, but I went to Mustak Bay, my HTU at the time, and volunteered myself. I'm sooo happy I did that, mainly because I also requested to change levels for my second year (for more variety and level experience) and now I'm teaching 16-week Pre-Faculty, which is the most advanced and academic level in the prep school. It'll be quite different from what I'm used to, but I'm hoping it'll be a positive 2 courses.
In an attempt to catch up as quick as possible, allow me to list some of the events that occurred during the last year (Aug. 2012-Aug.2013) as they come to me in no particular order: I visited eskisehir with Rimond, Rob Loomis, Michael, Sinead, and Rebecca White, and it has a lovely night life; I visited Istanbul with Rob Loomis, Michael, Matt, Michael's Finnish friend Paavo, and Rimond, and it's amazing city. The area I stayed in was where the protests occurred nearly 3 months later; I visited Kapadokya with Rimond and met some of the coolest people in the hostel we stayed in. An American/Russian couple who travel the world, and later a girl from Tunisia and a guy from Croatia who we rented motorcycles with. We visited a winery and had a blast! We trekked the amazing scenery of Goreme and e did things we never would've done if we hadn't met any of those people. I also rode in a hot air balloon!; Rimond and I flew to Antalya for a marathon they were having there (no, we didn't run it!). We explored a bit and spent a serious amount of time in the museum they have there...sooo interesting!; about a week after we got back from Antalya, I had the most unfortunate experience of bed bugs. For those of you who don't know, they are tiny little devils sent from the depths of hell to eat you in your sleep. And they creep me out big time. I spent almost two months in a temp apartment while they fumigated this one. It all worked out though, and now it makes for in interesting story, I guess!; I made one of my lifelong dreams come true and visited Egypt :) That trip could take up an entire post all on its own because it was AMAZING and truly the trip of a lifetime. I traveled with Michelle and was there for 9 days. Mostafa, Shaimaa, and Ahmet were just wonderful, and I know I have friends there if I ever go back. Drinking from the Nile supposedly means you will, so hopefully that'll hold true!; I traveled to Diyarbakir, Mardin, Hasankeyf, and Batman (I know, awesome name! And apparently the mayor or someone there tried to sue over the super hero Batman stealing their name or something? Interesting!) with Michelle the weekend after we went to Egypt. The travel bug bit us pretty hard! Those are all amazing places though, and I'm glad I got to experience a bit of the east of Turkey since it's considerably different from most other areas of the country; I traveled to Trabzon with Rimond and Katie Bingham from BLIS. We visited the monastery there and hung out in the city....what beautiful views!; attended a Katatonia concert with Rimond here in Ankara at Jolly Joker, which is this awesome concert hall that reminded me a bit of Hard Rock Cafe (my previous job of almost 3 years); Rimond had quite a few concerts of his own..2 basement shows and 1 gig at a steakhouse called The Crank with his band The Clementines. It was Rimond, Jake, Katie, and sometimes Katie's Turkish boyfriend Tamer on drums. I would sometimes go to their practices at Tamer's house, and it was really nice to be outside the university's bubble in that way; I went to lunch with my course 1 students on a few different occasions. We went as a class before the course ended, where I experienced my first meyhane (Traditional Turkish fish restaurant) and had a wonderful time with them. Then we went at the end of course two, and a few of the boys met up with me and Rimond at the end of course 4. Some of them randomly visit me, and it's so nice to see them when they come! Even though my course 1 was hard, they were the perfect class, and that really helped me; I visited Ireland with Rimond over the summer. We were there for 8 days and WOW is that country beautiful! I never had any desire to go there for some reason, but I was really glad I went! It was Rimond's dream to always go, so we both knocked out our dream spots in the same year; and I visited my family in the US for a bit after Ireland, which was sooo nice! I spent some time in Michigan and in Ft. Walton beach making my rounds and having a good time.
I think that's a pretty decent summary. Although no details are included, I'm sure I'll be able to look back in this post one day and remember with a smile.
As for this year (September 2013 onwards), I've visited Konya with Nicola and Nadia. We saw the Whirling Dervishes there and visited the Mevlana Museum, which were great! So glad I finally did that. I picked up one of my favorite magnets there :) Then last weekend I went to Pamukkale with Adam. We rented a car and drove there and stayed in this lovely hostel owned by a great little Turkish family. Pamukkale is such an interesting place, and the ruins of Hieropolis that are there are just awesome. I saw my first theater! It was a really good time. I've also gotten to know a few of the new people, and I must admit it feels really good to be a bit of a veteran where that is concerned. I remember what they are currently feeling, so I've been helping them whenever I can.
Classes started today, but unfortunately, I was UNBELIEVABLY sick this past weekend :( I probably should've gone to the hospital, but I don't like hospitals. Luckily the worst of it died down and I was just left exhausted and dizzy today. I went in and taught my first three classes, but they sent me home after that so now I have two classes to make up at some point. I didn't even get to meet my own class (I only taught my support class)! Oh well, hopefully this extra rest will do me some good and get me back to running at full speed tomorrow. In fact, I think I'll go take a nap now. I'm going to try to update this more though now that I have a bit more me-time (no ICELT and Rimond now living in the US), but we'll see what happens. I'm interested to see what this year will bring! ^_^
Friday, March 8, 2013
How Time Flies...
I can't believe it's been so long since my last update! I've been so busy trying to adjust and get situated that I guess I just haven't found the time.
Anyway, a lot has happened in the past few months. My second class has come and gone. They were a bit weaker and much rowdier than my first class, but they had good hearts. This course I'm a support teacher instead of a main class teacher, and I actually really like it. I see two different PIN level repeat classes. Even though it's difficult to create a real relationship with one of the classes because I only see them for 5 hours a week (one day), it's still nice to have a variety in that way. All of the kids I've had so far have been nice, but nothing beats the first class I had. They were exactly what I needed them to be at the time, and the class profile and dynamic was like a dream. I still talk to most of them and randomly do lunch with them, so it's nice to know I made an impact on them considering I'm a noob teacher (even though they don't know that!).
I won't lie, I've had a difficult time adjusting here. I know a lot of the new teachers have, but I've been having a difficult time hiding it, I guess. But alas, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! I haven't reached it just yet, but at least I can see it now :) The ICELT (In-service Certificate in English Language Teaching) I'm getting through the Cambridge course they offer here has been really intense, but I'm more than half way done now. It's difficult to keep my head above water some days, but I never forget how lucky I am to be here and how great this opportunity is for me. I just need to try to be more upbeat and focus on the positive things!
My fiance and I went to Antalya last weekend. It was AWESOME to be near the sea again. Ankara is smack dab in the middle of the country and the nearest beach is like 5 or 6 hours away by bus (my main means of transportation). The weather was a bit chilly, so we couldn't swim, but it was great to be on a mini-vacation. We spend like 3 or so hours at the museum they have there which is actually really impressive. The only thing that absolutely sucks about vacations is the ending!
It's the weekend again here. I go and go and go all the time during the week, and even though I do work on the weekends, I still feel like I live for them. They're really healing for me. The thought of the coming weekend gets me through the week! It's only been about 6ish months since I first arrived, and although I feel I've adjusted quite a bit, I know I haven't settled in just yet.
This isn't much of an update, but I supposed it's better than nothin'! I need to make more of an effort with this!
Until next time <3
Anyway, a lot has happened in the past few months. My second class has come and gone. They were a bit weaker and much rowdier than my first class, but they had good hearts. This course I'm a support teacher instead of a main class teacher, and I actually really like it. I see two different PIN level repeat classes. Even though it's difficult to create a real relationship with one of the classes because I only see them for 5 hours a week (one day), it's still nice to have a variety in that way. All of the kids I've had so far have been nice, but nothing beats the first class I had. They were exactly what I needed them to be at the time, and the class profile and dynamic was like a dream. I still talk to most of them and randomly do lunch with them, so it's nice to know I made an impact on them considering I'm a noob teacher (even though they don't know that!).
I won't lie, I've had a difficult time adjusting here. I know a lot of the new teachers have, but I've been having a difficult time hiding it, I guess. But alas, there is a light at the end of the tunnel! I haven't reached it just yet, but at least I can see it now :) The ICELT (In-service Certificate in English Language Teaching) I'm getting through the Cambridge course they offer here has been really intense, but I'm more than half way done now. It's difficult to keep my head above water some days, but I never forget how lucky I am to be here and how great this opportunity is for me. I just need to try to be more upbeat and focus on the positive things!
My fiance and I went to Antalya last weekend. It was AWESOME to be near the sea again. Ankara is smack dab in the middle of the country and the nearest beach is like 5 or 6 hours away by bus (my main means of transportation). The weather was a bit chilly, so we couldn't swim, but it was great to be on a mini-vacation. We spend like 3 or so hours at the museum they have there which is actually really impressive. The only thing that absolutely sucks about vacations is the ending!
It's the weekend again here. I go and go and go all the time during the week, and even though I do work on the weekends, I still feel like I live for them. They're really healing for me. The thought of the coming weekend gets me through the week! It's only been about 6ish months since I first arrived, and although I feel I've adjusted quite a bit, I know I haven't settled in just yet.
This isn't much of an update, but I supposed it's better than nothin'! I need to make more of an effort with this!
Until next time <3
Friday, November 23, 2012
One Day at a Time Really Works
Things have been getting better here. I'm becoming more used to the system and the way things are in Turkey (as well as how Turkish people are) and I'm getting more comfortable. I finished my first course and met my new students yesterday. I'm also pleased to report that all but one of my students from my first course passed PIN and are now Intermediate students. I'm so proud of them! They were a great first class...I think I got really lucky with them. They were exactly what I needed them to be with everything else that was goin' on. I went out to dinner with them right before the course ended and genuinely had a good time. And one of my students gifted me a bottle of Georgian wine and some homemade wine her father's dad makes. All my students knew how I felt about wine, mainly because I usually always used it in my grammar examples (First conditional question form: Will Heather die if she never drinks wine again?). So screw the apple, nothing beats this gift!
I'm a little nervous to start a new class, but I'm also a little excited to see how different things will be. I think this class will be much weaker than my last class and I'll really have to develop as a teacher to be able to meet their specific needs. I just hope everything goes smoothly and I have a better course overall this time around. Aside from my great students course one was horrible. But everyone says they get easier as they go and that the next year (after ICELT) is even better, so I'm really glad I stuck it out and made it work.
Winter is upon us and my oh my is it cold. I need to go out into town and get a better coat. When it got really cold back in Florida I would just hop into a warm bath and soak. I really wish I had a bathtub here. Oh wait....I DO! Totally had one installed and indulged in my first bath last night. Poured a glass of wine and read my book while soaking up to the neck. Talk about simple pleasures. I honestly and truly believe I will be much happier here for this reason alone! It's the best 350 TL I've spent so far.
Thanksgiving was lovely. I made a homemade dinner for me and my fiance and it was amazing. Played volleyball before I started cooking, and even though I hurt my wrist, it was great to have all the things I love on Turkey Day: my favorite sport, a bathtub, homemade dinner (literally, everything from scratch, stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy), my fiance, and an episode of The Walking Dead. It was lame I had to work earlier that day as well as the next day, but it was the next best thing to being home with my family. And I even got to chat with them a bit, too. Good stuff all around.
I have a lot of planning to do this weekend, but overall I think it'll be nice to just relax and clean house a bit. Maybe I'll go out and buy that coat today. Lazy days are my favorite days :)
I'm a little nervous to start a new class, but I'm also a little excited to see how different things will be. I think this class will be much weaker than my last class and I'll really have to develop as a teacher to be able to meet their specific needs. I just hope everything goes smoothly and I have a better course overall this time around. Aside from my great students course one was horrible. But everyone says they get easier as they go and that the next year (after ICELT) is even better, so I'm really glad I stuck it out and made it work.
Winter is upon us and my oh my is it cold. I need to go out into town and get a better coat. When it got really cold back in Florida I would just hop into a warm bath and soak. I really wish I had a bathtub here. Oh wait....I DO! Totally had one installed and indulged in my first bath last night. Poured a glass of wine and read my book while soaking up to the neck. Talk about simple pleasures. I honestly and truly believe I will be much happier here for this reason alone! It's the best 350 TL I've spent so far.
Thanksgiving was lovely. I made a homemade dinner for me and my fiance and it was amazing. Played volleyball before I started cooking, and even though I hurt my wrist, it was great to have all the things I love on Turkey Day: my favorite sport, a bathtub, homemade dinner (literally, everything from scratch, stuffing, turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy), my fiance, and an episode of The Walking Dead. It was lame I had to work earlier that day as well as the next day, but it was the next best thing to being home with my family. And I even got to chat with them a bit, too. Good stuff all around.
I have a lot of planning to do this weekend, but overall I think it'll be nice to just relax and clean house a bit. Maybe I'll go out and buy that coat today. Lazy days are my favorite days :)
Saturday, November 3, 2012
How shocking!
Ohhh, so that's what culture shock is. Or at least I think that's what this is.
I'm feeling it pretty intensely, I'd say. Thing have been rough lately. I'm really overwhelmed and I have so much anxiety, and I don't really know what to do about it. It's in times like these that I miss my family terribly and thank the high heavens that my fiance is here with me. Because I'm so close with my family, I think being away from them is the hardest part. I also miss being able to talk to my friends on a more regular basis. Not to mention, the internet hasn't exactly been dependable. There's just not enough hours in the day. Or rather, not enough of those hours are spent relaxing or doing something other than work for school.
I knew it would be difficult to come here and that it would be a hard job, but I didn't really expect it to be like this. I mean, once you get your head wrapped around things and just accept that this is the way it is and just deal with it, you'll be ok. Doing so has been difficult for me though. I can feel myself fighting it and just yearning for the comfort of my old life, and I think that's part of my problem. Maybe that's what culture shock it overall. It's not so much that things are really different, it's just a different way of thinking, I guess. I can't quite explain it because it's really an internal thing, but yeah, it sucks. I literally just take it a day at a time and when I think even a week ahead I start to cry. I know in the end I'll be stronger though. Rimond says it's like learning to drive in New York City. If you can drive in New York City, you can drive anywhere. I just gotta stick it out and try to get through it and I'll be a better person and teacher for it. I need to be more positive! Everyone is really understanding and empathetic and says it'll get better, and I just hope they're right.
I did a bit of traveling over the Bayram holiday and that was really nice. Rimond and I went to Kapadokya (Cappadocia) for three days and met some really great people from all over the world. We went hiking the first day with a couple named Marina and Ag who spoke Russian, and after they left we met a group and hung out with two people named Houyem from Tunisia and Igor from Croatia. It was really wonderful to interact with all different types of people and see new and different things. I think traveling will be very healing for me, and I really wish I had more time to do it. The next holiday isn't until the end of January, so now I'm just trying to get my head wrapped around that. I don't know if I can wait that long for another break. The weekends aren't much of a break for me at all considering I still do so much work, so I don't really know what's gunna happen there. Hopefully something works itself out in that regard.
One step at a time, one day at a time.
I'm feeling it pretty intensely, I'd say. Thing have been rough lately. I'm really overwhelmed and I have so much anxiety, and I don't really know what to do about it. It's in times like these that I miss my family terribly and thank the high heavens that my fiance is here with me. Because I'm so close with my family, I think being away from them is the hardest part. I also miss being able to talk to my friends on a more regular basis. Not to mention, the internet hasn't exactly been dependable. There's just not enough hours in the day. Or rather, not enough of those hours are spent relaxing or doing something other than work for school.
I knew it would be difficult to come here and that it would be a hard job, but I didn't really expect it to be like this. I mean, once you get your head wrapped around things and just accept that this is the way it is and just deal with it, you'll be ok. Doing so has been difficult for me though. I can feel myself fighting it and just yearning for the comfort of my old life, and I think that's part of my problem. Maybe that's what culture shock it overall. It's not so much that things are really different, it's just a different way of thinking, I guess. I can't quite explain it because it's really an internal thing, but yeah, it sucks. I literally just take it a day at a time and when I think even a week ahead I start to cry. I know in the end I'll be stronger though. Rimond says it's like learning to drive in New York City. If you can drive in New York City, you can drive anywhere. I just gotta stick it out and try to get through it and I'll be a better person and teacher for it. I need to be more positive! Everyone is really understanding and empathetic and says it'll get better, and I just hope they're right.
I did a bit of traveling over the Bayram holiday and that was really nice. Rimond and I went to Kapadokya (Cappadocia) for three days and met some really great people from all over the world. We went hiking the first day with a couple named Marina and Ag who spoke Russian, and after they left we met a group and hung out with two people named Houyem from Tunisia and Igor from Croatia. It was really wonderful to interact with all different types of people and see new and different things. I think traveling will be very healing for me, and I really wish I had more time to do it. The next holiday isn't until the end of January, so now I'm just trying to get my head wrapped around that. I don't know if I can wait that long for another break. The weekends aren't much of a break for me at all considering I still do so much work, so I don't really know what's gunna happen there. Hopefully something works itself out in that regard.
One step at a time, one day at a time.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
I Promise I'm Still Alive
I know it's been a while since I last updated. I've been so overwhelmed with everything that I haven't even had time to think about this blog. This post actually won't even be very long because I have a paper I need to go write for my ICELT (the Cambridge teaching certificate I'm getting here).
It's been a long two weeks. Being a noob is difficult here because you have no true experience to pull from as a reference if you don't know what to do, so I spend a lot more time than I'd like to on lesson planning and stuff. Not to mention, the first week was what everyone was calling "rediculously abnormal" in terms of all the chaos; the level I'm teaching, Pre-Intermediate (PIN), didn't have the right books. So basically, all the teachers planned from the third edition book and all the students had the fourth edition, and they're pretty much nothing alike. Sooo, all that time and effort in planning was scrapped....the day before classes started. You can imagine my frustration here. Needless to say, I was having a really rough time, but my ICELT tutor and some of the other teachers in my unit have been really helpful. Not to mention I've made a few friends who have my back in a few different ways, so that's been a lifesaver, too.
Rimond is here, too, and it's so nice :) I honestly don't know how I'd be making this journey without him. And that's not because it's an impossible journey (though it has seemed like it sometimes), but moreso because I just love him so much ;-) He's made friends with a lot of my friends and he often introduces ME to people while I'm off at work and he's off exploring the area. We make a good team here.
I love the language, too. It's hard to learn, but it seems like once you figure out the grammar you can definitely get a better handle on everything. Some of the sounds are difficult for me to make, but people usually understand what you're trying to say (plus, as I've learned, a great way to start an English pronunciation lesson is by attempting to speak some Turkish so students can correct/laugh at you. When they see you struggling in their language and try to help you, it makes them a little more understanding and open to the fact that I know they're struggling with my language and that I want to help them, too. Yes, I'm your teacher, but I'm also human). I wish I had more time to devote to learning Turkish, but right now it's just not possible. I'll take what I can get and practice where I can.
My students are nice. They're quiet and a little reserved, and only recently have they started to open up to me and actually talk during discussions and speaking lessons. I think I'm really lucky in a lot of different ways with this group, especially because they're really patient with me and they don't really try to push me or test me. At least not yet, anyway. It is only the end of week 2. I just can't help but feel I'm doing my students some sort of injustice in terms of my inexperience, and I'm worried that if some of them don't do well on their exams that it'll be my fault because I'm not the best teacher they could've had. I dunno. I guess we'll see what happens.
I have my first unassessed teaching practice (TP) next week. I'm teaching quantifiers and I'm unbelievably overwhelmed with the material and how to present it. This is a very sensitive subject in my opinion, and teaching it ineffectively can lead to a lot of confusion for my students. I guess I'm happy it's an unassessed observation, but still, I'm not looking forward to all the time I'm going to be putting in to one 50 minute session. I guess that's the reality of things though.
I knew it would be a lot of work coming here. I know what I signed up for. Now that it's all thrown in front of me, it seems a little unrealistic, but I really don't want to quit. I've cried a lot because I feel lost a lot of the time but I'm not the only person in this boat. Though that sounds really selfish, it's comforting to know I have good people around me who are also going through what I'm going through. I just wish I had more hours in the day. I think once I get a routine going and understand the system and the way things work, I'll feel a bajillion times better. They say course 1 is always the most difficult for noobs, so I really hope it'll just be a seemingly sort of downhill from then on. I'm trying to stay positive. There really is a lot of support here, you just need to know when to ask for (or beg) for it.
I think one of the reasons I hadn't updated in so long, too, is because I didn't want to just bitch bitch bitch. I'm a very lucky individual to have this opportunity here. When you look at the statistics of how many people got chosen vs. how many people applied for my position, it's somewhere along the lines of 7 vs. 200 or something like that. I don't want to seem ungrateful or negative, and because I knew my chaotic situation would be temporary (at least I hope it is), I didn't want to say anything at all. Bayram, a Turkish holiday, is coming up at the end of October. I'll have anywhere from 4 to 10 days off. I think having that time to just free my mind and not feel any pressure will do me some good. Plus me and Rym really wanna go get lost in the city. We were thinking about traveling, but instead we'll probably just explore our local surroundings and visit some stuff here before we venture out. We'll be able to save some money that way, and when the holiday in February comes around, maybe we'll be able to travel around then. We'll see. I just need to get a little more comfortable here first, and that hasn't been something that's been easy as of yet.
I miss everyone very much! I need to find more time for Skype and stuff. My Magic Jack has been a miracle, too. I recommend one to anyone who will be going overseas and will have access to a stable internet connection. Anyway, more to come later! :)
(So much for not having a long post, eh? I guess I'm just procrastinating my paper!)
It's been a long two weeks. Being a noob is difficult here because you have no true experience to pull from as a reference if you don't know what to do, so I spend a lot more time than I'd like to on lesson planning and stuff. Not to mention, the first week was what everyone was calling "rediculously abnormal" in terms of all the chaos; the level I'm teaching, Pre-Intermediate (PIN), didn't have the right books. So basically, all the teachers planned from the third edition book and all the students had the fourth edition, and they're pretty much nothing alike. Sooo, all that time and effort in planning was scrapped....the day before classes started. You can imagine my frustration here. Needless to say, I was having a really rough time, but my ICELT tutor and some of the other teachers in my unit have been really helpful. Not to mention I've made a few friends who have my back in a few different ways, so that's been a lifesaver, too.
Rimond is here, too, and it's so nice :) I honestly don't know how I'd be making this journey without him. And that's not because it's an impossible journey (though it has seemed like it sometimes), but moreso because I just love him so much ;-) He's made friends with a lot of my friends and he often introduces ME to people while I'm off at work and he's off exploring the area. We make a good team here.
I love the language, too. It's hard to learn, but it seems like once you figure out the grammar you can definitely get a better handle on everything. Some of the sounds are difficult for me to make, but people usually understand what you're trying to say (plus, as I've learned, a great way to start an English pronunciation lesson is by attempting to speak some Turkish so students can correct/laugh at you. When they see you struggling in their language and try to help you, it makes them a little more understanding and open to the fact that I know they're struggling with my language and that I want to help them, too. Yes, I'm your teacher, but I'm also human). I wish I had more time to devote to learning Turkish, but right now it's just not possible. I'll take what I can get and practice where I can.
My students are nice. They're quiet and a little reserved, and only recently have they started to open up to me and actually talk during discussions and speaking lessons. I think I'm really lucky in a lot of different ways with this group, especially because they're really patient with me and they don't really try to push me or test me. At least not yet, anyway. It is only the end of week 2. I just can't help but feel I'm doing my students some sort of injustice in terms of my inexperience, and I'm worried that if some of them don't do well on their exams that it'll be my fault because I'm not the best teacher they could've had. I dunno. I guess we'll see what happens.
I have my first unassessed teaching practice (TP) next week. I'm teaching quantifiers and I'm unbelievably overwhelmed with the material and how to present it. This is a very sensitive subject in my opinion, and teaching it ineffectively can lead to a lot of confusion for my students. I guess I'm happy it's an unassessed observation, but still, I'm not looking forward to all the time I'm going to be putting in to one 50 minute session. I guess that's the reality of things though.
I knew it would be a lot of work coming here. I know what I signed up for. Now that it's all thrown in front of me, it seems a little unrealistic, but I really don't want to quit. I've cried a lot because I feel lost a lot of the time but I'm not the only person in this boat. Though that sounds really selfish, it's comforting to know I have good people around me who are also going through what I'm going through. I just wish I had more hours in the day. I think once I get a routine going and understand the system and the way things work, I'll feel a bajillion times better. They say course 1 is always the most difficult for noobs, so I really hope it'll just be a seemingly sort of downhill from then on. I'm trying to stay positive. There really is a lot of support here, you just need to know when to ask for (or beg) for it.
I think one of the reasons I hadn't updated in so long, too, is because I didn't want to just bitch bitch bitch. I'm a very lucky individual to have this opportunity here. When you look at the statistics of how many people got chosen vs. how many people applied for my position, it's somewhere along the lines of 7 vs. 200 or something like that. I don't want to seem ungrateful or negative, and because I knew my chaotic situation would be temporary (at least I hope it is), I didn't want to say anything at all. Bayram, a Turkish holiday, is coming up at the end of October. I'll have anywhere from 4 to 10 days off. I think having that time to just free my mind and not feel any pressure will do me some good. Plus me and Rym really wanna go get lost in the city. We were thinking about traveling, but instead we'll probably just explore our local surroundings and visit some stuff here before we venture out. We'll be able to save some money that way, and when the holiday in February comes around, maybe we'll be able to travel around then. We'll see. I just need to get a little more comfortable here first, and that hasn't been something that's been easy as of yet.
I miss everyone very much! I need to find more time for Skype and stuff. My Magic Jack has been a miracle, too. I recommend one to anyone who will be going overseas and will have access to a stable internet connection. Anyway, more to come later! :)
(So much for not having a long post, eh? I guess I'm just procrastinating my paper!)
Sunday, September 2, 2012
First Week Survived
It's been a week since I got here, and so far so good. I've met a lot of great people from all over the world, so not only will I learn about Turkey but I'll also be getting some new perspective from other places, too.
I had an 11 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany, so I went out into the city and explored a bit. There was a festival going on down by the river so I enjoyed myself there, but then I got a little lost. Some German lady cussed me out when I politely asked her if she spoke English so I could get directions. She said it all in German, but I understand what she said, which was, "No, I don't speak English. We're in Germany, we speak German." Even though it actually hurt my feelings a little and was extremely rude, I was glad she said it because in my head this was a very "American" thing to say. It was almost like, "Ok, this doesn't just happen in the US, maybe we're not so bad" type of thing, because I know the reputation Americans have sometimes. What I mean is, it's not about where you're from or what language you speak, it all boils down to what kind of person you are; if you're an asshole, you're an asshole. Real simple. She was one of those people who wore a permanent frown, so really I should have known better than to say anything to her anyway. I ended up calling the tour driver who I had befriended on our drive into the city and he came and got me and we hung out for a bit before he showed me how to take the metro back to the airport. His name was Ingo, and he was my savior! I'll definitely hit him up when I'm in Frankfurt again. Bless his soul.
Induction has been going pretty well so far. A lot of information about the school and what's to be expected has been covered, and I've also started my survival Turkish lessons. I like the language but it's all suffixes and there's a different word order, so I know I'll have to practice a lot. At least I can order a glass of red wine, that's what's important here.
The group has been introduced to a few nice bars and restaurants on or near campus and we did the city tour yesterday. Thursday was a holiday so Emily and Nadia and I took the bus and metro to Kizilay and Bachelievler (spelled the way is sounds because I don't have the Turkish letters on my keyboard) walked around and ate lunch. Emily has been here for two years teaching in a different city, so it's helpful to explore with someone who has a decent grasp on the language. I've been to a few malls and stuff nearby, too. Their regular malls are like our Mall of America, minus the rollercoasters (although there is a small fair outside one of them!). I've been spending a lot of money because I've been piecing together my apartment with things I need that you never really knew you used a lot until you don't have one. I also don't have a dryer, and you can't drink the tap water. Little things like this will take some getting used to, along with the dry weather. Being from Florida, it's always humid. Here the air is really dry, so my nose has been bleeding a little bit and my lips were really chapped for a while, but you adjust in time. I like the weather difference so far, actually, I just don't like the process of adjusting!
Next week starts more training as well as the ICELT course. I'm looking forward to that but not really at the same time because I've been told it's really overwhelming and time consuming. My fiance will arrive on Friday afternoon though so I'll be happy to have him here and it'll be a nice beginning to the weekend. The internet has been out though and will be all next week, which majorly sucks, but there's a Starbuck's close by (it's everywhere, actually) so I've been using their internet and Skyping with my family and fiance.
It's only been a week, but it's still hard to believe I live in Turkey now. Not having the internet to Skype with people or anything has also made me feel really removed from my "old life" in the states. I've felt a little lonely because of it, but thank the Universe for Starbuck's because being able to talk to my mom and fiance and a few friends from home has been the highlight of my day today. I hope I'll be able to better balance my time with all that as everything continues to develop here. Even though it's all a little overwhelming, I'm really excited to experience everything this next year will bring!
I had an 11 hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany, so I went out into the city and explored a bit. There was a festival going on down by the river so I enjoyed myself there, but then I got a little lost. Some German lady cussed me out when I politely asked her if she spoke English so I could get directions. She said it all in German, but I understand what she said, which was, "No, I don't speak English. We're in Germany, we speak German." Even though it actually hurt my feelings a little and was extremely rude, I was glad she said it because in my head this was a very "American" thing to say. It was almost like, "Ok, this doesn't just happen in the US, maybe we're not so bad" type of thing, because I know the reputation Americans have sometimes. What I mean is, it's not about where you're from or what language you speak, it all boils down to what kind of person you are; if you're an asshole, you're an asshole. Real simple. She was one of those people who wore a permanent frown, so really I should have known better than to say anything to her anyway. I ended up calling the tour driver who I had befriended on our drive into the city and he came and got me and we hung out for a bit before he showed me how to take the metro back to the airport. His name was Ingo, and he was my savior! I'll definitely hit him up when I'm in Frankfurt again. Bless his soul.
Induction has been going pretty well so far. A lot of information about the school and what's to be expected has been covered, and I've also started my survival Turkish lessons. I like the language but it's all suffixes and there's a different word order, so I know I'll have to practice a lot. At least I can order a glass of red wine, that's what's important here.
The group has been introduced to a few nice bars and restaurants on or near campus and we did the city tour yesterday. Thursday was a holiday so Emily and Nadia and I took the bus and metro to Kizilay and Bachelievler (spelled the way is sounds because I don't have the Turkish letters on my keyboard) walked around and ate lunch. Emily has been here for two years teaching in a different city, so it's helpful to explore with someone who has a decent grasp on the language. I've been to a few malls and stuff nearby, too. Their regular malls are like our Mall of America, minus the rollercoasters (although there is a small fair outside one of them!). I've been spending a lot of money because I've been piecing together my apartment with things I need that you never really knew you used a lot until you don't have one. I also don't have a dryer, and you can't drink the tap water. Little things like this will take some getting used to, along with the dry weather. Being from Florida, it's always humid. Here the air is really dry, so my nose has been bleeding a little bit and my lips were really chapped for a while, but you adjust in time. I like the weather difference so far, actually, I just don't like the process of adjusting!
Next week starts more training as well as the ICELT course. I'm looking forward to that but not really at the same time because I've been told it's really overwhelming and time consuming. My fiance will arrive on Friday afternoon though so I'll be happy to have him here and it'll be a nice beginning to the weekend. The internet has been out though and will be all next week, which majorly sucks, but there's a Starbuck's close by (it's everywhere, actually) so I've been using their internet and Skyping with my family and fiance.
It's only been a week, but it's still hard to believe I live in Turkey now. Not having the internet to Skype with people or anything has also made me feel really removed from my "old life" in the states. I've felt a little lonely because of it, but thank the Universe for Starbuck's because being able to talk to my mom and fiance and a few friends from home has been the highlight of my day today. I hope I'll be able to better balance my time with all that as everything continues to develop here. Even though it's all a little overwhelming, I'm really excited to experience everything this next year will bring!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)