Ramazan is impacting me more and more -- generally in favorable ways.
Last night I went to an "iftar" at one of my student's homes. First, the house was gorgeous. This to remind us of how rich our students are. Besides that, though, her mother has a real sense of style and the place was beautifully decorated. She also proudly showed off her her lovely needlework and wowed us with her cooking. She and her husband are from the southeast of Turkey which has a different style of food and it was great. Also plentiful. We ate like the starvelings we were.
As they have 2 children in the school, there were three teachers invited, plus the students each brought friends and some of them brought parents. Altogether there were about 20 eating and there was plenty left over.
And she gave us each a necklace! I am liking this part of the season more and more.
Downsides:
Our school has a beautiful swimming pool. It is currently closed because a swimmer might get water in their mouth and break their fast! They did say that I could use it but then pointed out that they has turned the heater off for the month. It was cold enough with it on!
They have also stopped refilling the bottled water and have turned off the water fountains.
As my "infidels fast" does not include liquids, this leaves me with tap water to drink. Tap is safe to drink here but doesn't taste very good. It also doesn't get cold.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Food
Food is wonderful here. I have yet to have anything I don't like. Except that some of the sweets are a big "over the top" sweetness -wise, I could blissfully eat Turkish food forever. When this honeymoon period wears off, there are also lots of restaurants serving foreign food.
So far the best thing is the soup. Always the first course, always wonderful. Generally it's like a vegetable puree, bean, or pea or tomato. Usually served with the excellent bread for dipping, it is a meal in itself. In the school cafeteria (back when we were eating) they knew to give me two ladles full.
Vegetables are good. Very available and reasonable. I have already talked about the tomatoes, but others are also good. The cabbages are enormous -- like small pumpkins. Potatoes are good, onions, the lot. The only thing I haven't seen yet is celery.
Olives are very popular in Turkey, eaten at every meal and look marvelous. I wish I could acquire a taste for them.
The other thing they eat a lot of that I have never been wild about is cucumbers. I will say, though that they taste better here.
Meat and bread are what Turks eat the most of, oh, and cheese. Cheese is great, thousands of varieties but all white. No cheddar here. The bread is marvelous and meat is great. Heavy on lamb, beef and chicken. It's a long search for pork-based products!
Meat and cheese are both expensive, though, to buy. It is almost better to eat in a neighborhood restaurant than to try to buy meat and cook it yourself.
Diet Coke is available, the beer is okay. No wine that a poor teacher could afford but that's okay because they mostly only have red anyway.
Fruit is very good. Currently peaches, pears, watermelon and grapes are in season.
I will clearly not starve!
So far the best thing is the soup. Always the first course, always wonderful. Generally it's like a vegetable puree, bean, or pea or tomato. Usually served with the excellent bread for dipping, it is a meal in itself. In the school cafeteria (back when we were eating) they knew to give me two ladles full.
Vegetables are good. Very available and reasonable. I have already talked about the tomatoes, but others are also good. The cabbages are enormous -- like small pumpkins. Potatoes are good, onions, the lot. The only thing I haven't seen yet is celery.
Olives are very popular in Turkey, eaten at every meal and look marvelous. I wish I could acquire a taste for them.
The other thing they eat a lot of that I have never been wild about is cucumbers. I will say, though that they taste better here.
Meat and bread are what Turks eat the most of, oh, and cheese. Cheese is great, thousands of varieties but all white. No cheddar here. The bread is marvelous and meat is great. Heavy on lamb, beef and chicken. It's a long search for pork-based products!
Meat and cheese are both expensive, though, to buy. It is almost better to eat in a neighborhood restaurant than to try to buy meat and cook it yourself.
Diet Coke is available, the beer is okay. No wine that a poor teacher could afford but that's okay because they mostly only have red anyway.
Fruit is very good. Currently peaches, pears, watermelon and grapes are in season.
I will clearly not starve!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
More Ramadan
Somehow I had always gotten the impression that Ramadan is a subdued time. Wrong! Despite not eating OR drinking anything all day, the season is generally considered happy. There is a degree of grumbling, especially around 4 PM (by me too!) but 'iftar" is a big deal. People go to each others houses, restaurants have iftar specials, family members gather, etc.
The English teachers went downtown to Sultanahmet (the main tourist area) the other night for iftar. Turned out some teachers were taking students also so we were quite a big group. The whole are was decorated and full of vendors selling special food, souveniers, etc. It was also mobbed with people.
There are restaurants which are specially favored and those have lines starting at 5:30. Ours is famous for serving a special kind of sausage sandwich which is only available during Ramadan. Sunset is not until about 7:20 and you can't miss it because the imam announces it from the minaret of the famous Blue Mosque right next door. We were all seated by 6:00 and sitting staring at the table with stomachs rumbling until 7:05. Then, to accommodate the size of the crowd, they start to serve the soup. Then we all sit and stare at the soup and the water (remember they have not had anything to drink since dawn) until the imam sings. Then people fall on the food like they haven't eaten in a month.
After dinner, we walked around the square sampling sweets, some were buying books (a special buy during this season) , or just enjoying the crowd. I have been told that teachers will be invited to students' houses but that hasn't happened yet.
We have a late night school bus to take us home at 9:30 so I can get home . Yesterday, I must admit, when I did not have an iftar to attend, I ate dinner at 5:30! My other offense is that I do drink water all day. But, since I don't get up at 3:30 with the drummers to eat breakfast, I think I am entitled.
The English teachers went downtown to Sultanahmet (the main tourist area) the other night for iftar. Turned out some teachers were taking students also so we were quite a big group. The whole are was decorated and full of vendors selling special food, souveniers, etc. It was also mobbed with people.
There are restaurants which are specially favored and those have lines starting at 5:30. Ours is famous for serving a special kind of sausage sandwich which is only available during Ramadan. Sunset is not until about 7:20 and you can't miss it because the imam announces it from the minaret of the famous Blue Mosque right next door. We were all seated by 6:00 and sitting staring at the table with stomachs rumbling until 7:05. Then, to accommodate the size of the crowd, they start to serve the soup. Then we all sit and stare at the soup and the water (remember they have not had anything to drink since dawn) until the imam sings. Then people fall on the food like they haven't eaten in a month.
After dinner, we walked around the square sampling sweets, some were buying books (a special buy during this season) , or just enjoying the crowd. I have been told that teachers will be invited to students' houses but that hasn't happened yet.
We have a late night school bus to take us home at 9:30 so I can get home . Yesterday, I must admit, when I did not have an iftar to attend, I ate dinner at 5:30! My other offense is that I do drink water all day. But, since I don't get up at 3:30 with the drummers to eat breakfast, I think I am entitled.
Monday, September 17, 2007
School starts
Since I have an internet connection, I'm going to take advantage of it. Still none at home and here at school it is unstable. There is an internet cafe not far away but it has Turkish keyboards. These are such pains to use that I won't do a blog post on one. Turkish has two "i"s -- one with a dot and one without. The one without is in the usual "i" place and the dotted "i" is the last key on the right of the center row. Too easy to make a mistake. Also the apostrophe is up over the 2, I can never find the comma, etc.
Anyway, today is the first day of school. I have a total of 11 classes each one for two periods. I had hoped that would be twice a week but instead, they are back to back, once a week. We started with a nifty program outside in the courtyard with singing and folk dancing -- very nicely done.
So far, I have met 3 of my classes. Despite warnings, I was unprepared for how badly behaved they are. Good heavens! They make my Taiwanese students look like model students. The good news is that the classes are small, between 18 and 22 students per class. Their English is pretty spread out but tomorrow they will take an exam and be "streamed" by their English ability. That will make them easier to tackle but will result in at least one class of really low level ones in each class. This often also turns into a discipline problem class -- oh well.
I would also have to say that so far their English is nowhere near as good as I had been led to believe. Oh well, I didn't believe it anyway. This will be a challenge.
Anyway, today is the first day of school. I have a total of 11 classes each one for two periods. I had hoped that would be twice a week but instead, they are back to back, once a week. We started with a nifty program outside in the courtyard with singing and folk dancing -- very nicely done.
So far, I have met 3 of my classes. Despite warnings, I was unprepared for how badly behaved they are. Good heavens! They make my Taiwanese students look like model students. The good news is that the classes are small, between 18 and 22 students per class. Their English is pretty spread out but tomorrow they will take an exam and be "streamed" by their English ability. That will make them easier to tackle but will result in at least one class of really low level ones in each class. This often also turns into a discipline problem class -- oh well.
I would also have to say that so far their English is nowhere near as good as I had been led to believe. Oh well, I didn't believe it anyway. This will be a challenge.
Ramadan
Ramadan (or Ramazan, as it is pronounced in Turkish) began last week. So far, it hasn't had much impact on me. I guess the majority of the adults fast and some young kids as young as 8 refrain from eating from sunup to sundown. I could eat with the little kids in the cafeteria but I'd feel bad so I'm giving it a go also.
The funny difference is that at 4:30 AM there is a big flatbed truck which drives around the neighborhood with a bunch of guys beating big drums. This is to wake people up so that they can eat a big breakfast before dawn, then catch another nap until they have to get up. For me, it is already starting to fit into a dream.
Today was the first day of school (more about that later) and we will stay around the school until 6:30 when the school is sponsoring an "iftar". Iftars are the dinners that break the fast so they mostly involve heavy eating. The one t the school tonight will also have a little student show to entertain us while we gorge ourselves. The hard part is that we got out at 2:30 PM (first day) and must sit around for 4 hours waiting for it since the bus won't take us home until 9:30!
The funny difference is that at 4:30 AM there is a big flatbed truck which drives around the neighborhood with a bunch of guys beating big drums. This is to wake people up so that they can eat a big breakfast before dawn, then catch another nap until they have to get up. For me, it is already starting to fit into a dream.
Today was the first day of school (more about that later) and we will stay around the school until 6:30 when the school is sponsoring an "iftar". Iftars are the dinners that break the fast so they mostly involve heavy eating. The one t the school tonight will also have a little student show to entertain us while we gorge ourselves. The hard part is that we got out at 2:30 PM (first day) and must sit around for 4 hours waiting for it since the bus won't take us home until 9:30!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Prices
Istanbul is an expensive place to live. It is especially expensive compared to Taiwan where it was pretty much impossible to spend as much as I made. First, I have to get used to the exchange rate. In Taiwan, one automatically divided quoted prices by 3. Here the YTL (New Turkish Lira) trades at just less than 1:1, so when I see something for 15 L, my brain thinks $5 but it is more like $14. Sometimes this is not realized until after the purchase. Also, since they just recently created the YTL by dropping 6 zeros off the old money, many people still quote prices in millions.
There are very nice stores here but I suspect no teachers shop there. Even with "end of the season" sales, I can't afford to buy anything in them. I am told that things will improve when I try different neighborhoods. But even food is kind of pricey. Toilet paper is about .75 a roll, vinegar was $4 for a small bottle, milk is $3 for a liter box of UHT. Diet Coke may become my biggest investment of the year. Tomatoes, however, are cheap! The number I am eating, I'm afraid I may break out in a rash.
I did find my way downtown by myself over the weekend, making me feel much more independent and "closer to the action". Transportation is not cheap either, though. For me to take a bus to the subway and the subway onward is easy and convenient. It takes between an hour and an hour and a half and costs $3 each way -- so even if I don't buy anything, just to go where there is any fun costs $6.
Traffic is appalling and the main topic of every morning conversation. To solve that problem, many schools and many large corporations, provide minibus pickup for their employees. For my school there are several who drive around and pick up their teachers. It is very prompt and convenient (and free!) but it also means that there is no flexibility in when I come or go -- no putting off your xeroxing to the morning! Also, since teachers are able to bring their small children to the school-provided nursery, my "servis" has as many crabby babies as adults! It does give me my pick of babies to adopt as grandchildren, however, and one little girl (9 months) has already decided that my lap is acceptable.
There are very nice stores here but I suspect no teachers shop there. Even with "end of the season" sales, I can't afford to buy anything in them. I am told that things will improve when I try different neighborhoods. But even food is kind of pricey. Toilet paper is about .75 a roll, vinegar was $4 for a small bottle, milk is $3 for a liter box of UHT. Diet Coke may become my biggest investment of the year. Tomatoes, however, are cheap! The number I am eating, I'm afraid I may break out in a rash.
I did find my way downtown by myself over the weekend, making me feel much more independent and "closer to the action". Transportation is not cheap either, though. For me to take a bus to the subway and the subway onward is easy and convenient. It takes between an hour and an hour and a half and costs $3 each way -- so even if I don't buy anything, just to go where there is any fun costs $6.
Traffic is appalling and the main topic of every morning conversation. To solve that problem, many schools and many large corporations, provide minibus pickup for their employees. For my school there are several who drive around and pick up their teachers. It is very prompt and convenient (and free!) but it also means that there is no flexibility in when I come or go -- no putting off your xeroxing to the morning! Also, since teachers are able to bring their small children to the school-provided nursery, my "servis" has as many crabby babies as adults! It does give me my pick of babies to adopt as grandchildren, however, and one little girl (9 months) has already decided that my lap is acceptable.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Men and Women
Turkey bills itself as a "secular Muslim" country. This is to separate themselves from the rest of the more religious Muslim world, especially now in their quest for inclusion in the European Union. For example, it is unlawful for women to wear a veil, or even a head scarf. Public schools are mixed sex and men and women teach at all levels. It is very unusual to see a woman dressed in black, and only rarely do you see women in a head scarf.
I, however, teach in a private school. The Fatih schools (they are a chain in several countries, are more conservative. Here men and women sit separately in the lunch room (separated by a screen), women wear traditional clothes if they choose, and a place is set aside for prayer. Out of the 10 English teachers in my school, there are 9 women and one man -- he, of course, is the department chair. He also has a separate office. He would even if he wasn't the department chair. Of the nine, 6 wear head scarfs and traditional dress. The clothes involve a long dress or pants and an ankle length coat of some kind which is never opened so I don't know what is underneath. There is no animosity, however, between the scarf wearers and the non-scarf wearers, it is purely a matter of choice.
The Ministry of Education, however, forbids the wearing of hijab (scarf) in front of students so the teachers wear it to school and at 9:00 remove the scarf and put it back on at 4:00. The MoE also require ALL teachers to wear white lab coats in class. Presumably this is for immediate identification of the teacher in the room but it serves the double purpose of making sure that you are modestly dressed.
I, however, teach in a private school. The Fatih schools (they are a chain in several countries, are more conservative. Here men and women sit separately in the lunch room (separated by a screen), women wear traditional clothes if they choose, and a place is set aside for prayer. Out of the 10 English teachers in my school, there are 9 women and one man -- he, of course, is the department chair. He also has a separate office. He would even if he wasn't the department chair. Of the nine, 6 wear head scarfs and traditional dress. The clothes involve a long dress or pants and an ankle length coat of some kind which is never opened so I don't know what is underneath. There is no animosity, however, between the scarf wearers and the non-scarf wearers, it is purely a matter of choice.
The Ministry of Education, however, forbids the wearing of hijab (scarf) in front of students so the teachers wear it to school and at 9:00 remove the scarf and put it back on at 4:00. The MoE also require ALL teachers to wear white lab coats in class. Presumably this is for immediate identification of the teacher in the room but it serves the double purpose of making sure that you are modestly dressed.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Turkey at last
There is an old adage that says to becareful what you wish for because you just might get it. Well, I worked so hard to make this Turkey thing come through, now I wonder if that was a good thing.
I am trying to be positive about it all so let's start with the good things: my roommate is very nice. She is a young (23!) woman from Buffalo. Our apartment is HUGE -- got to be 1800 sq. ft. minimum. There is talk about a 3rd roommate but no one has appeared. The weather has been fantastic. Warm, not hot, sunny days and cool nights with a wonderful strong breeze up on the 8th floor that makes sleeping excellent. The food is fabulous! I haven't eaten anything that I haven't just loved beginning with the tomatoes. I always love tomatoes but these are the best anywhere and they eat them at all meals. My school is very attractive, new, very well equipped, great teachers who have been very friendly, and a great principal who promises us that we will always have the best food in the system.
On the other hand -- my apartment is way the hell away from downtown. Technically part of Istanbul, Belikduzu is about 1-1 1/2 hours from downtown. I live in a ghetto of 10 story high rise buildings grouped into some sort of compound. Ours is one of the oldest at 8 years, and we have 6 buildings around a nicely landscaped courtyard. It's a nice place, just not the "urban experience" I was expecting. There are like complexes everywhere you look for miles. Sort of like living in Ashburn and trying to enjoy DC nightlife.
Second, I was hired to teach high school. When I got here it was determined that since I was experienced with 7th and 8th grade, maybe I could help with those too. This did not thrill me, but I'm here now. Yesterday, they said that 8th grade will not be spending much time on English since they have to prepare for their Big Test which has no English questions on it so maybe I could teach 5-6-7! 5th grade!?! I think this will be a one-year stint.
This is just an introduction. I have so much to tell but I keep getting warning emails from people so I thought I'd better get something out there. More tomorrow.
I am trying to be positive about it all so let's start with the good things: my roommate is very nice. She is a young (23!) woman from Buffalo. Our apartment is HUGE -- got to be 1800 sq. ft. minimum. There is talk about a 3rd roommate but no one has appeared. The weather has been fantastic. Warm, not hot, sunny days and cool nights with a wonderful strong breeze up on the 8th floor that makes sleeping excellent. The food is fabulous! I haven't eaten anything that I haven't just loved beginning with the tomatoes. I always love tomatoes but these are the best anywhere and they eat them at all meals. My school is very attractive, new, very well equipped, great teachers who have been very friendly, and a great principal who promises us that we will always have the best food in the system.
On the other hand -- my apartment is way the hell away from downtown. Technically part of Istanbul, Belikduzu is about 1-1 1/2 hours from downtown. I live in a ghetto of 10 story high rise buildings grouped into some sort of compound. Ours is one of the oldest at 8 years, and we have 6 buildings around a nicely landscaped courtyard. It's a nice place, just not the "urban experience" I was expecting. There are like complexes everywhere you look for miles. Sort of like living in Ashburn and trying to enjoy DC nightlife.
Second, I was hired to teach high school. When I got here it was determined that since I was experienced with 7th and 8th grade, maybe I could help with those too. This did not thrill me, but I'm here now. Yesterday, they said that 8th grade will not be spending much time on English since they have to prepare for their Big Test which has no English questions on it so maybe I could teach 5-6-7! 5th grade!?! I think this will be a one-year stint.
This is just an introduction. I have so much to tell but I keep getting warning emails from people so I thought I'd better get something out there. More tomorrow.
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