It goes like this with a slap-slap--clap-clap rhythm, first one to mess up their number loses:
“Numbers! Whoo hoo! That’s the name of this fun game: num-bers.”
A: 11, 11, can I get a 13?
B: 13, 13, can I get a 21?
C: 21, 21, can I get a 4?
We covered exactly as much material as I'd hoped we would and I gave out a pre-assessment at the end of class. This pre-assessment and my observations during class gave me a lot of hope. My students showed much greater skill with English than I'd first guessed/worried. Tonight, I have much more confidence that we'll be able to meet in the middle and that I'll be able to teach them a lot.
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Before class this afternoon, I went to the University's convocation. It was a long one and all in Turkish, but an interesting cultural experience. I got to hear the national anthem sung for the first time, see Turkish academic robes (here they wear the robes of their current institution, not their alma mater), see the faces of a few Turkish MPs and their entourage of totally-unsubtle paparazzi, and marvel at the most ornate flower displays I've ever seen. There were these balls of ferns and lilies hanging above the corners of the stage, a large bouquet under an easel supporting a large confident-concerned-academic Ataturk portrait, and the whole stage-front supported a 2 foot trim of roses, lilies, palms, carnations, and I don't know what else--all in a tasteful white, purple and green (foliage). Nice work, local florists!
After class, I took care of a few errands downtown with Margot, then we walked on home, chatting about our first real days of work. Along the way, we stopped at a great nearby bakkal (corner grocery store) operated by two very sweet ladies. They helped me pick out the best honey (I'm getting a bit of a cold) and I also got some pasta and fruit juice. After getting home, I ended up eating some of the eggplant and tomato meze I'd cooked last night and then going downstairs to Mustafa Bey's for a kofte portion. A steal of a deal--7 TL got me dinner tonight and enough for lunch or most of dinner tomorrow. Plus, I got to introduce myself to the daughter of Mustafa Bey himself.
The rest of my evening was spent lesson planning, GoogleVideo chatting with Colin and working on my resume a bit for my next potential gig (no idea what it would be). --Probably a pretty typical evening for most nights from here on out.
Before I go, I wanted to share these pictures. Today was a crazy windy day--all afternoon and most of this evening it was blowing like there would be no tomorrow. This meant we had white caps on our little sea, a clear view of Istanbul's skyline (I've only ever seen the lights at night from here because of regular smog), and crazy hair. I hope they're the winds of change blowin' in to help me get creative and be an effective teacher!
Love you and miss you,
-Annika
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