Week One

Our first week of class is over, and we have come home from work every evening completely exhausted.  We haven't started classes in the Montana Program yet, because most of the students haven't arrived.  I think we'll have 4 or 5 students total in the program this semester.  Hazarlik is going well, though the students are so young and immature it is often difficult to ensure they're internalizing everything that is presented to them.   Both classes seem to love me however, and once we settle into the rhythm of the year, I won't be teaching grammar (like I am now), I'll be teaching speaking and listening.  I think that will also help to keep the kids focused in class.

EB in Sille -- Photo credit: Adnan

Friday is supposed to be my marathon day-- 7 hours of class!  However, three of those hours are with the Montana Program, which hasn't started, and the other 4 are in the Faculty of Literature, and no one will show up during the first week anyway.  I went to class this morning at 8:30 am knowing this and just wrote on the board "No class today" in case somebody bothered to show up.  Also: I'm no longer teaching "Advanced Writing."  It is apparently "Advanced Reading."  No one bothered to tell me, however; and I'd already made a syllabus and needs assessment for the writing class!  I have to use a textbook, but no one has any suggestions for one, and I cannot assign grades for anything but a midterm and a final.  For an advanced class, the students are certainly not forced to work (or even show up to class more than 60% of the time).  But- enough about school, I've been writing a lot about the boring, technical side of my daily grind but haven't really been doing a good job about the fun part of living abroad.

Me in Sille -- Photo credit: Adnan

Since arriving in Konya, Andan, EB, and I have been slowly exploring the city and trying to mix fun and excitement into our daily lives sparingly (so we don't run out of fun places to visit too quickly-- they're limited in Konya).  We've spent numerous hours in the city center, drinking samovars of cay and watching people stroll by on Alaaddin Tepesi.  Gulbun Hanim's son took us to the lovely town of Sille, just 45 minutes outside Konya.  It reminded me of Mustafapasa, the formerly Greek city now mostly deserted, but incredibly beautiful.  We've visited the lovely Karatay and Incere Minaret Medrese Museums, which hold well curated collections of Selcuk and Ottoman ceramics, and ornate stone/wood carvings respectively.  They are both housed in old medreses and their monumental Selcuk doorways are well preserved.  We've been twice to the Mystic Music festival-- we saw Indian classical music and an African American gospel quintet.  The gospel guys were hilarious and I think EB and I were the only native English speakers in the entire audience.  We've had dinner with Aundreta (a Fulbright ETA from 2009-2010) and her husband Micheal, who are now full time professors at nearby (private) Mevlana University.  Aundreta also showed us some of her favorite stores around the city center, and once I start getting my paychecks, I will be doing a little shopping-- finally getting that carpet (or three) I've been waiting to buy since my semester in Istanbul.  Aundreta and Michael also showed us a wonderful restaurant specializing in Konya cuisine, which is pretty delicious; as well as a meyhane in the city center which serves meze/raki and alcohol.  Two very good places to know in conservative, boring Konya!  For Adnan's birthday, we enjoyed some El Beyk (the Turkish Spelling) fried chicken, apparently a staple of many a Hajji's trip to Mecca, and relaxed in beautiful, new Kultur Park.

Feltmaking workshop -- Aundreta's pick

This weekend, we're heading to Ankara to stay with Zuhal Hanim's daughter, Canay, who is studying for her Masters Degree in communications.  It has been a tough and exhausting week, so it will be nice to go into Ankara, which is much less conservative, and unwind.  I'm going to indulge in all things "western"-- get some coffee beans at Starbucks to bring back with me, drink some beer publicly at a cafe outside without shame or harassment, and enjoy being removed from the campus environment for a few days.  I'm also hoping to head back to Ankara at the end of October for a frisbee tournament.  My last Ankara frisbee tournament experience was a great one, so I'm excited to play again!

Monumental gateway of the Incere Minare Museum

We've received news that our living situation in the Yabanci Sarayi is permanent, though they've supposedly gotten us a kitchen and dorm room to use as a communal space, which will make life a bit easier.  Still, the malodorous scents continue to waft on the third floor of the boy's side, and the IKEA showroom "suit" I inhabit is depressingly cheap.  Whatever.  We're still not paying rent, and we have internet.  It is frustrating to have all of our requests met only halfheartedly, but I've come to expect disappointment when dealing with bureaucracy in Turkey.  At least we learned about this development during a lovely (2.5 hour long) dinner at the rectory with the Vice-Rector, Gulbun Hanim, and her husband (Nezih Bey- who also teaches at Selcuk).  The food was decent, there was wine, and the company was good.  I greatly enjoyed chatting with Nezih Bey, listening to a poem composed by the Vice-Rector, and getting a tipple with a home-style meal (with vegetables[!]- maybe you remember veggies are impossible to find at restaurants in Turkey).

Soon we will have our own kitchen, so I can cook and eat all the veggies I want.  Yesterday after dinner, we went to a mall near the bus station and began furnishing the kitchen.  I'm looking forward to getting settled in to life here, despite the frustrating living situation, and stressful teaching environment.  At least I can start making real coffee in the morning soon.