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! ^_^
Monday, September 16, 2013
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
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