Pilates and a Cheer for Team Boudreau!

Week 17 (Feb.7^th-14^th)

On Tuesday Haley made the epic voyage out to Gaziemir  to come with me to an aerobics class. Before heading out, we finished the movie “But I’m a Cheerleader” --that we had started a few weeks before on a Turkish dance day--which was hilarious. After the film, we walked over to the community center and went to the floor that holds the aerobics classes. Once we got there,we were informed that classes were cancelled for the week because the teacher had gone on vacation. The lady that told us this, then explained that they did have a Pilates class one level down and that we were welcome to join in. Both Haley and I had never taken a Pilates class before so we jumped at the opportunity.

The class was insane. The teacher looked about 8 months pregnant so explained everything verbally. Haley and I had to watch all the other ladies before being able to figure out what exactly she wanted us to do.  The class used these huge balls and incorporated a lot of stretching and low body movement but after the class both Haley and I were aware that the next morning would hurt a wee bit.

On Thursday,  we went to all of our classes including drama class with the 7^th graders. They are getting ready to perform “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in April.  Haley and I have been able to help out quite a bit which has been fun. The play is in English, so we normally help out with pronunciation and, as well, we both have one line in the actually play. We get to be fairies and are dead set on being the best English speaking fairies the school has ever seen.

Thursday night, I spent making apple crisp for a sleepover at Annie’s house planned for Friday. Back home, I tend to bake quite a lot and now that I have finally gotten used to the oven and know where all the ingredients are, I am hoping to be able to do it more often.

My Anne making borek (light dough filled with spinach and cheese)

On Fridays, school gets out 40 mins early and we all head down to the main court yard and sing the national anthem. This is also the time that any important announcements and awards are giving out. Normally, Haley and I cannot understand a word of what is going on, so we were both completely taken aback when both our names were called to the front stage area. Susan quickly ran over to us and let us know it was for the soccer tournament. The other girls from our team came up too and we all stood up and got our medals for being the 1^st place team in the school.  I was also given a second medal for scoring the most goals and was named MVP, which honestly has never happened before so I was super ecstatic about it.

After school, I headed to Alsancak to catch the ferry and head over to Annie’s house. Once I got to Bostanli (which is the name of the ferry station on the other side) I found Annie and she said that the other students were meeting in Alsancak for coffee. So we headed back and met up with Emily (New York), Maggie (Oregon), Haley (Wisconsin), Alfonso (Mexico), Hannah (Indiana) and Diana (Mexico) at a café that serves the best hot chocolate in all of Izmir.

We brought out the apple crisp and spent a few hours just chatting before heading home and watching the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes. Annie has started to get all of the exchange students completely addicted to the series and honestly I must  say it is really not bad . 

On Saturday, we ended up sleeping till noon and then headed to the mall close to Annie’s house called Ege Park and had Subway for breakfast. I was super surprised to find a Subway in Turkey and although it’s a bit different , it tasted fantastic. After breakfast we went back to the house and watched more Sherlock Holmes (like I said, addicting). At around 5, we headed to Alsancak to meet up with the other students for dinner at the Hilton hotel to celebrate Emily’s 17^th birthday. I only ended up staying for a little while because I had to head back home to celebrate my host dad’s birthday as well.

We had all of our family over and had an amazing meal made by my Anne. After dinner, my host family Skyped their daughter, Ahenk ,and I Skyped my mum.

On Sunday, we had  my host dad’s brother and wife over for breakfast and then we spent the rest of the day relaxing at home. In the evening, we had our neighbors, Can, Nurgule and their little daughter Eylul over for dinner. We normally have  neighbors over for dinner at least once a week which is a lot of fun because we all get to talk and it makes our apartment building feel more like one big home.

Yesterday at school, I was able to see a different class that I normally don’t attend on my schedule. During a free block, we had the geography teacher come in and show us a movie. The class that Haley and I are in is considered to be the math and science focused class so we don’t get geography as a class. After the movie, I got to talk to the teacher and realized that I might actually be able to understand some of his class because I took geography last year and my Turkish is slowly improving. I asked him if I could sit in on one of his classes and he said I was welcome, so that is my plan for Wednesday afternoon.

After school I went to the gym and then came home and made cinnamon buns. Since today (Tuesday) is Valentines Day, I thought it would be nice to bring something special to school for Haley and I, as well as the other students.

Today, Haley and I have both been trying to catch up on our blogs and munching on cinnamon buns, which actually turned out pretty fantastic. Since our class has a big math test today, we are spending the afternoon in the canteen and planning on having a bit of a Valentines Day party with everyone there.

I would also like to send big positive thoughts to Jody Boudreau from everyone here in Turkey.

We’re all thinking of you today and hope for the best.

A Turkish Christmas and a Visit From Istanbul

Week 11 (Dec. 24-31^st)

The 24^th was a pretty busy day.  All exchange students still had to go to Turkish lessons in the morning and afterwards we all headed home to get ready for a Christmas dinner party that Rotary had organized. Besides the Thanksgiving party, this was the most formal event to happen so far, so it was actually a lot of fun getting ready.  It was a good opportunity for me to bond with my host mum ( in Turkish, “mum” is “Anne” pronounced Ah-Nay, so instead of calling her my host mum, I’m going to just start calling by that for my blog). As soon as she found out it was a formal event she decided she was going to be my personal makeup artist and even took me to a hair salon to style my hair.

All the exchange students met up in the city center and before heading to the Christmas party, we all went to a Christmas Eve service at one of the Catholic Churches in Alsancak. The Church was absolutely packed  with people and the service was conducted in about 5 different languages which was really different and interesting to hear. 

The Church

After the service, we all walked to the party which was being held at a restaurant in Kultur Parc, which is an area that has everything from a running track to restaurants. Once we all arrived, we were greeted my members of multiple Rotary clubs as well as our coordinators Zeynep and Goksin. Right away, we had dinner which was a makeshift Turkish Christmas dinner consisting of chicken, squash (which had everybody really excited) and even brussel sprouts. After dinner, all of the students decided it was time to give out our secret Santa gifts.

For secret Santa, I had Alfonso, one of the exchange students from Mexico.  Now buying gifts for boys can always be an issue, but Alfonso was actually kind of easy. While in Turkey, he is attending a French immersion school which honestly I am a little jealous of but the nice part was that with him learning French, I have had someone to chat with in French a little bit. So to help him learn, I went and got him a French/English dictionary. I wasn’t able to find a Spanish/French dictionary but his English is fantastic so it wasn’t an issue.

One of the exchange students from Brazil named Wendy had to buy me a gift and ended up getting me a Starbucks travel cup which I was over the moon about. In Turkey, not a lot of people take tea or coffee out of the house so to finally be able to was really exciting for me. Just when we thought that gift giving was over, Zeynep and Goksin came up and said that Rotary had gifts for all of us. I received a beautiful scarf which reminds of a peacock in colour and is so soft. All of the exchange students also pitched in to get gifts for all of the coordinators that have helped us so far. After gifts, we all went to the dance floor where a lady was playing a guitar and singing. We all danced for hours and near the end Haley and Hannah (an exchange student from Indiana) went up and sang Silent Night, which brought a little bit of home to everybody.

On Christmas Day, I made breakfast for my host family. The power went out so I couldn’t look up a recipe for pancakes but I ended up making bannock instead which finally gave them a reason to use some of the maple syrup I had brought. After breakfast, I went to Alsancak and met up with the other students for coffee at Starbucks and to just spend time together. All of our Turkish families didn’t really understand the big deal about Christmas, which was very understandable, but also a little bit hard so it was nice being with people that felt the same way.

When I got home, I found one of the sweetest surprises I have ever received. One of our neighbors Fatos, knew it was Christmas and went out of her way to bring me a tree and decorate it before I got home.

Right away, I went over to her apartment and gave her the biggest hug and probably said thank you about  fifty times. Later that night, I was able to Skype with my entire family back home while they were eating Christmas dinner. It was great seeing all of my extended family and although I’m far away it was like I was right there with them.  Since I had been up so late Skyping my family, my host mum let me stay home from school, which was a nice break and kind of added to the Christmas spirit since it was Boxing Day back home.

During that week, Haley and I, and a few of the other 11 class girls had our first intermural soccer game. This was the first year that girls were able to play and it was great getting back into it. Haley was our goalie for the first game and by the end we won 2-0 with myself scoring one goal and Istem ( a girl in our class) scoring another. The rest of the week was mellow with dance classes and hanging out with my host family.

For New Years, my host brother, a few of his friends and I all headed to Cesme, which is a city right on the sea side and is supposed to be breathtaking during the summer. We stayed at my host aunts summer house and went out to a café to celebrate the new year. After midnight, we noticed it was raining ridiculously hard and it turned out that my host brother had parked in the farthest place humanly possible so by the time we all got back to the van, we all looked like drowned rats, but other than that the entire night was a lot of fun.



Week 12 (Jan.1^st-7^th)

On the 3rd, Haley and I went with a few other students to a hospital in Bornova ( another part of Izmir) to give out gift to children with leukemia. Once we got there, we all went into a conference room where the children were sitting around a table with their parents. We all had tea and snacks, listened to music and then gave out the gifts to each child. It was an amazing experience to be able to be a part of that, but also to actually talk to and get to know some of the kids. With my broken Turkish and his broken English, I was able to have a good chat with a boy named Efe, who is fourteen years old, and has been fighting leukemia for the past year. We talked about soccer and school and I felt really privileged to be able to get to speak with him.

After the visit, I was really curious as to how the Turkish health care system works and after asking a few questions, I was told that it was almost the same as the United States system and that treatment is paid for by the children’s families and that some will have to stop their treatment due to the expense. This really broke my heart, but after talking with a few teachers at the school, they explained that the school does fundraisers throughout the year to help the children keep their treatment and that there will ways for all of us to help out in some way.

Later that week, my host mum left to go visit her parents in a village about 45 min away and to help them with olive picking. While she was away, my host grandmother (or babaanne) came to stay with us. My babaanne is a sweetheart and a very dedicated Muslim. My host family considers themselves Muslim but, unlike my Babaanne, they do not pray 5 times a day or go to the mosque, so being able to see her and talk to her was an amazing learning experience. It was great being able to learn about her beliefs and see how they play a role in her life and in the lives of the majority of Turks.

On Saturday, my host dad and I went to visit my Anne and help with olive picking. This was actually a lot of fun. My host mum gave me a pair of baggy pants and a bucket and we went out to the fields. There are two types of olive picking.  For one, you use a rake-like thing and take the olives right from the tree and the other where you get down on your hands and knees and pick up all the olives that have fallen on the ground. We did the ground picking which was fun except it had just rained for the past 3 days so we were crawling around in a fair bit of mud and puddles.

Week 13 & Week 14 (Jan.7th-21^st)

During that week, our soccer team had a tournament for 3 days and after all of the games and playing all of the other girl teams in the school, we came out undefeated.  The girls were so excited and it was great seeing them all enjoy a sport that isn’t considered for girls here so much. Also that week, Haley and I had Turkish dance, so instead of going to Agora we just went to her apartment and then walked over to the class since she lives so close.

That weekend, Rotary organised another weekend trip for the students, this time to Denizli and Pamukkale. We took the 3 hour bus ride and instead of staying in a hotel we all stayed with Rotarian host families from the 2 clubs located in Denizli. The weekend was full of excitement and we also were lucky enough to welcome another exchange student to our group, Tove from South Africa.

The first day we got to Denizli, we all went with our different host families and took the night to get to know them. I stayed with the President of one of the clubs and he, his wife and daughter were all so kind to me. We went out for dinner and then we all talked and they asked me questions about everything to do with Canada and my life there. This was really nice and was something I wasn’t able to do with my host family in Izmir, partially because of the language barrier but also because no one really asks that often, mainly because I live with them full time so we have longer to ask questions and get to know each other in comparison to my Denzili family who I only have for a weekend. 

On Saturday, all of the students met up to go to Pamukkale.  Pamukkale means “Cotton Castle” in Turkish and is an ancient city that is home to natural hot springs and travertine and is also a UNESCO heritage site.  We all walked through the ruins and we were able to walk on the white travertine and then we were all able to swim in the hot pools that are supposed to be good for your health.  

 After dinner, my host sister Sena and I met up with a bunch of the other students at a café and then we all went to the house of a Rotarian who was having a party. It was a lot of fun and after a while we all started wondering why they didn’t have any inbound students.  Apparently, because Denizli is a quite a distance from izmir, they don’t normally host  since most students in our district end up living in Izmir, but we were all excited to hear that next year, they would be hosting a student from Brazil.

Denizli had a very mellow vibe to it and all of the host families seemed so excited to actually have students and treated all of us like gold. The city is surrounded by mountains and according to my host dad even has a lake nearby. On Sunday, it

was time for all of us to say goodbye to our new families and head back to Izmir. 

On Monday, Haley and I got to perform with the choir in front of our school and administration. We sang two songs which were both in Turkish and it was a lot of fun to feel like part of something.

Later that week, on Wednesday, Haley and I went with our English class to a restaurant for dinner. Once we got there we both felt severely under dressed because the restaurant kind of reminded me of the Banff Springs hotel and we were both in jeans and T-shirts.  No one really noticed (which was fantastic).

The food at the restaurant was amazing. Haley and I split Manti which is like Turkish tortellini but instead of a pasta sauce it is covered in yogurt and hot pepper flakes and calamari which came in a form I have never seen before. When the waiter brought it out, Haley and I both looked at each other and we started laughing because we were literally give a giant octopus tentacle. The rest of the night was a lot of fun.  All of the students and even the teacher started dancing and singing to the music that was playing.

On Thursday, while walking to my dance class, I had a very interesting experience that honestly took me kind of by surprise. In Gaziemir, there are a lot of military housing that are all surrounded by barbed wire fences and guarded 24/7. I have to pass them all the time when walking anywhere.  I was taken by surprise while walking past the housing when a group of men start yelling at me. All I could understand was that they were yelling about a bag and telling me to stop. I stopped and explained to them that my Turkish wasn’t very good and I didn’t understand what was going on. One of the men spoke English and explained to me that a bag had been left near the fence and that they were concerned that it could be something dangerous so they suggested I walk on the other side of the road. I thanked them.  As soon as I got to my dance class, I asked Merve if that was something that happens often. She explained that it was due to political terrorist attacks causing people to become very cautious.  While walking home I noticed that the bag had been removed-so dangerous or not -it had been taken care off.

Friday was the last day of school before a 2 week semester break and was only a half day so both Haley and I didn’t go.  Early Saturday, all of the students went to the Hilton Hotel to help out with a Rotary seminar about exchange students and how the entire process goes. It was interesting looking at how the process goes from a Rotary Clubs standpoint and they also covered the application process where at which point all of the exchange students gave a huge groan, remembering how long it was. During the seminar, we were all divided into groups with other students and Rotarians and we were told to explain some of the challenges and funny stories we have gained since arriving in Turkey, I talked about Bayram, Christina from Mexico talked about communication and Zoe from Washington talked about bonding with host families. After we all talked, the Rotarians in every group had to go up and act out all of our stories in front of the rest of seminar group. It was a lot fun and helped everyone get to know each other.

Week 15 ( Jan.22^st-29^th)

The first part of my break was really relaxing and mainly consisted of cooking lessons from my Anne, going to the gym and practicing for a Turkish exam planned for the 4th of February by Rotary and our Turkish teacher. On the 26, all of the girl exchange students were invited to go to Karshayka, to visit a Hamam ( Turkish bath house).  We all met up at the metro station and headed inside. Upon walking in the door, we were greeted by a lady who was standing in front of us completely nude. Right off the bat, we all knew this was going to be a very culturally enlightening afternoon.

First, we all changed into swim suits and then headed to a sauna. The sauna was completely dark but really warm and relaxing. After a few minutes they took us out in groups of two and took us to these shower stalls and told us to pour hot water over ourselves. The lady eventually came back and did the same thing to everyone. She first took a cloth that resembled sandpaper and scrubbed our entire bodies, sent us back to pour water over ourselves and then scrubbed us down with soap and body wash.  It was a really neat experience because apparently in smaller parts of the city, houses don’t have showers or bath tubs so people will go to a Hamam once a week to cleanup and scrub down.  It seemed like a bonding activity for the women there and for us it was a very different but neat cultural experience. Later that night, I went over to our neighbour Can’s house to learn how to make my favorite Turkish food called Cig Kofte. My host family normally has this with most meals. Its bulgar mixed with spices, tomato sauce and hot peppers and then you eat it by rolling it in a wrap with lettuce and pomegranate syrup. Now the words “Cig Kofte” literally mean raw meat, but in the stuff we have, there is no meat at all so I was a little surprised when Can dumped in a bunch of raw lamb into our mix. After it was all made, I was a little nervous about eating raw meat but it tasted the same as the vegetarian stuff.

That weekend, all of the exchange students from Istanbul came down for a day. We were all so excited to meet them and show them around our city. The students from Istanbul were all so nice and, unlike our group, had a fairly even girl-to-guy ratio and had a bit more a cultural variety by having students from Taiwan, Japan and Germany. They also had two Canadian students--Alana who I flew here with-- and Kyle who lives in Alberta and spoke French which made me completely ecstatic because it gave me an excuse to practice.

After introducing ourselves, we showed the Istanbul students all around Konak and Kordon and then settled down at a café for Kahve and tea. We all swapped stories and compared the differences between Istanbul and Izmir and got to know each other which was great. After the café, Haley and I were invited to have dinner with the Istanbul students and their Rotex before meeting up with everyone else to go out dancing.  The Rotex’s talked about Istanbul and how we all must visit before leaving Turkey. After dinner we all headed to a café that had a space for dancing and spent the rest of the night dancing, listening to music and just bonding as exchange students.

Week 16 (Jan.30th – Feb.6^th)

On Monday, I met up with Maggie (Oregon), Emily (New York), Morgan (Kentucky) and Christina (Mexico) at Agora for lunch and a little shopping and then Maggie, Emily and I went to see “The Devil Inside” at the Cinema.  Just so everyone knows, horror movies are still creepy even if you can only understand half of the content. The rest of the week I spent getting ready for the Turkish exam and enjoying the last week of break.

On Friday, I went to Alsancak with my host mum to learn how to make a Turkish food called Borek. They are pretty much sausage rolls but instead of meat they are stuffed with spinach and cheese. I’m starting to keep track of the recipes that my Anne uses because when I go back to Canada, I know I’ll be asked somewhere along the line to make Turkish food and I want to be able to.

After cooking, I went home and headed to Alsancak to meet up with a bunch of the exchange students as well as the rebound student Can, who was living in Kelowna last year. I took the metro because I thought it would be faster, but between Alsancak and the second to last stop, the power on the train shut down and we were stuck in the middle of the tracks for about 45 min. By the time I got to Alsancak, all of the students had left the place we were supposed to me and I had no way to contact them and just went home. When I got home by host brother Ahmet was there and we actually got to spend some time  together which was nice. We ended up watching “50/50” and got to know each other a little bit better. Even though I live with him, I’m at school 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and he works a lot so it’s a rare thing when I actually get to hang out with him but it’s really great when I do.

On the 4, all of the exchange students had Turkish exams given out by our Turkish

 course that we have had since I got here. The test included writing, reading and even an oral part and in the end, I think everybody did their best and did well. After the exam, we all went for lunch and then Haley, Hannah and I walked around and went into shops and tried on some of the weirdest clothes I’ve seen in a while. Apparently in Turkey retro patterns and 70’s looks are really in style which is neat but also a little funny to see.

On Sunday, my Anne and I spent the entire day vegging out around the house and sleeping. She had been busy the day before and I wasn’t feeling too great, so a full day to relax was great. Later in the evening we went to Can and his wife’s house for Kahve and watched a football game.

Yesterday was the first day back at school. Haley and I went to all of our classes in the morning and in the afternoon went to sit in the canteen and go over of Turkish notes and practice conversation skills. Haley and I tend to spend a fair bit of time in the canteen and everyone that works there is so kind to us it is unbelievable. They always bring us tea and give us fruit and treat us like we actually belong there. A lot of the teachers here don’t really know what to do with us which is understandable since they don’t speak English and our Turkish is still coming slowly, but it makes it hard to participate when you feel ignored and sadly we can’t learn Turkish through osmosis so Haley and I end up either in the canteen or library to try and learn as best as we can on our own.

After school, I went straight to the gym since I had failed to set foot through the door since Thursday. At the gym, there is trainer who has made me somewhat of her personal project because she wants to learn English and I want to learn Turkish so we get along quite well with the exercise/teach/learn combo.

Today (Tuesday), Haley and I have spent most of the day in the canteen going over the Turkish lessons online that my Rotary District had given to all outbounds as a gift. It has been really handy and I am really thankful for having it. Today is actually the first day that I have brought my laptop because I wanted to be as involved as possible in school but having it here today has given me the opportunity to work on the Turkish course as well as update my blog, which I don’t do nearly enough.

After school today, Haley is coming with me to Gaziemir for the first time and is joining me for one of the aerobics classes offered at the community centre. Because I live a bit of a bus ride away from all the other students , no one has ever come out here before except for Amanda for family dinners.  It is always easier to meet up in Alsancak as it is central to everyone, but it is kind of exciting to have someone come out to the boonies with me.



School & Settling In

Week 9 (Dec.12th-19^th)

While in the process of trying to find a gym, I ended up finding more things than I knew what to do with. I found a dance studio that is owned by a past Rotary exchange student who had spent a year in Japan and was very understanding about the need to go out and try new things, so she allowed me to try out a Latin/Zumba class. Now, I have two left feet and have never taken an actual dance class so this was a pretty cool experience for me.

Everybody in the class got a good kick out of me being uncoordinated and only partially understanding the directions but all in all it was a lot of fun.  At the class, I met a first year university student named Merve. Like me, she doesn’t know a lot of young people around Gaziemir since most of her friends live in other parts of the city, so her and I have started to hang out a bit.

On Tuesday, my host mum and I went to an aerobics course held at the community centre down the street from our apartment. My host mum wasn’t too interested in staying so it was me and a room full of middle aged Turkish women. The first part of the class was honestly a version of “Sweatin’ to the Oldies” that would have made Richard Simmons so proud. Then suddenly, LMFAO’s  “I’m sexy and I know it” comes on and all the women start going into high gear with their crazy Tae Bo kicks and arm lifts. The last part of the class was spent doing stretches and sit-ups. The music turned really mellow and after the class I asked the teacher what had been playing. She looked at me and quietly said “The Twilight soundtrack, it’s my favorite”. Even in Turkey, Twilight still has a following.

Agora Mall

On Wednesday, Haley and I went to Agora in Balcova and met up with a few of the other exchange students to eat before heading to a Turkish dance lesson.  After eating, we all headed to Christina’s (exchange student from Mexico) host mum’s office to get a ride to the lesson. One of the great things about Turkey is that you can somehow fit 9 people into a four seat car without anyone turning a head.

 New Year's tree at Agora

The lesson was a gong show. Both Haley and I had never gone before and we were both lost within the first five minutes. Turkish dance has a lot of foot work and arm actions, and although slow it was a bit difficult to keep up with; however with all the help from the other exchange students and both teachers, we were able to start picking it up.

On Thursday, Haley and I got to school and found out that everyone in our classes had gone to Istanbul for 2 days to look at universities and forgot to tell us, so when we got to school, our entire floor was completely empty and none of the teachers were planning on teaching until the next week. So with no students and no teachers to teach us, we spent the day practicing the Turkish we had learnt from our lesson on Saturday and making Christmas decorations.

Making paper snow flakes!

About halfway through the day, Susan (an English teacher from England who is also our school counselor during our stay) came and asked if we wanted to decorate one of the schools New Year’s Trees.

Haley and our beautiful festive creation

Christmas is not widely celebrated in Turkey; however New Year’s is quite big. Turkish families spend time together, get a tree to decorate and give gifts. The concept is similar to Christmas minus the religious aspect and typical Christmas traditions (Snow, Carols, Baking, Cards, etc.). We decorated the tree and attached little hearts with Turkish writing on them. Susan explained to us that each heart had the name of a child with leukemia and a gift that they wanted for New Years. Different students in the school would buy the gifts and Susan asked if we would like to be the ones to bring the gifts to the hospital and hand them out. Haley and I were both ecstatic and said yes right away.

After school, I went to another Latin/Zumba class and I decided it was something I enjoyed enough to keep doing. The owner had also asked me to come back and try her modern/R&B class the next day.

On Friday, Haley and I had our first Turkish lesson in school. Susan and a primary school teacher gave us a lesson on the alphabet and sounds of the letters, which was a bit harder than it actually sounds but definitely helped some things become a bit clearer.

After school, I met up with Merve and we went to her house so I could meet her family. Her mother is an English teacher so communication wasn’t much of a problem. Back onto food playing a big role, within five minutes of me getting through the door, Merve’s mum had iced tea and cake sitting in front of both of us. Their hospitality was incredible and made me feel so welcome.

After, Merve and I went to the R+B dance class and bottom line, it took more coordination then my body was capable of, so I decided to stick with the Latin dance classes. Saturday morning all of the exchange students got together after Turkish lessons and decided to go to one of the busiest streets in Alsancak and sing Christmas carols. Throughout the time we were there, we got all sorts of looks. Some were happy, others surprised and some just looked confused as to why we were there. Apparently no one has ever caroled there before so we ended up drawing in quite the crowd which included the local news.

On Sunday, I went back to the Anglican/International Church and ended up meeting 3 other exchange students, one from Belgium, one from Germany and one from Finland. They were all in university and were part of a 5 month exchange. That night, the church had a carol service which included a choir, opera singers and a boy singing Ave Maria in notes that even Mariah Carrie can’t reach. All in all it was a great experience.

Week 10 ( Dec.19^th-23^rd)

While in Turkey, I am attending a private school which is located in a part of Izmir called Hatay. For me, getting to school is a 45 min adventure on a good day but normally closer to an hour and a bit each way. To get to school most students take the service buses which are similar to an average school bus except that each school has their own with one bus for every district in Izmir. The buses are about the size of a van and seat about 15 people.

"Parts of the Body" Christmas style

Depending on what country an exchange student goes to and the current situation of schools in the area, a student can be sent to either a college or a high school, but mostly students are sent to high school. Haley and I go to a school that has students from K-12 and we have been placed in the 11^th grade class; however our classes have us bouncing between grades 7,9,10 and 11 depending on the day of the week. Every day there are 8 lessons, each 40 min long and unlike in high schools back home, the students stay in the same classroom all day and the teachers move between them. School starts at 9 and goes until 4:15. Because Haley and I are still trying to pick up the language, Susan has put us into some interactive classes that are supposed to help us pick it up like music, art and drama. As well, Haley and I have Spanish lessons five times a week.

Konak

Monday after school, Merve and I got together for coffee and then headed to our dance class. Normally we have a female teacher but for some reason or another we had a male teacher that night, Now, this class is all girls with Merve and I being the youngest, so when the 30’some male Latin dancer walked into the room, a few of the older ladies got quite excited. Personally I just liked the fact that he did all of the steps really slow and translated his instructions so I could understand. Different priorities between ladies, I guess.

On Tuesday, I skipped my aerobics class so Anil could show me where the post office was in Gaziemir. I had letters that had been sitting on my desk for a while that desperately needed to go. After, I made Christmas cookies for my host family and the people that live in our apartment building. Although my free-handed star looked more like a blob than anything else, I was told they tasted fine.

On Wednesdays in school, Haley and I have film club for the last two classes of the day. We go to the school’s theatre and watch some of the randomest movies. I must say I was a little surprised when the teacher showed “Shaun of the Dead” and called it “classic American film making”. Since then we’ve watched a few others; however they all have been in English with Turkish subtitles.

That day, we spent most of the class looking up trailers and looking through the lists of movies to choose new ones to start. As Haley and I were looking through the list we saw “Schindler’s List” and “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”. Having seen both, Haley and I started talking about them and asked others in the class if they had seen them. After a pause and an explanation from the teacher, we learnt that no one in the class had seen the films and the teacher also explained that the Holocaust is not taught in school and the students did not know what it was. This was something that I was really shocked to hear but the teacher explained that in school, Turkish history and European history that affects Turkey is all that is really taught to students.

Haley and I with the grade 7 students

I found this a bit difficult to grasp and had to keep reminding myself that each country is different and has different priorities as to what is important; however since it was something greatly covered in my high school, as well as Haley’s in Wisconsin, we asked if it was possible to watch both of the films sometime during the year. The teacher said of course and we ended up watching “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” the next few days.

Bottle tree made by the Gr.7's for the city centre

Thursday was my host mum’s birthday, so after school, I went and bought her some flowers and made a card out of one of the BC post cards I brought with me from back home. When I got to the apartment, my host mum had all of her friends over for what looked like the Turkish equivalent of a Mary Kay party. After the party I went to my dance class but when I got home the power was out due to the down pour that had been going on for the last few days. My host brother and host dad gave my host mum a birthday cake and we spent the night talking and watching my host dad attempt to make shadow puppets.

On Friday, Haley and I got a surprise from Susan. She brought us into the canteen part of the school and set up a Christmas tea party including snowman cookies and presents. Both Haley and I got slippers and a coin purse, as well as a beautiful card. Susan explained that she understood that being away from home for the holidays is one of the hardest times during an exchange, and that she wanted to bring a bit of Christmas to us. It was so kind of her and Haley and I are more than lucky to have her there for us. 

After school, I met up with Merve to go to Agora to finish my Christmas shopping. All of the exchange students were doing a Secret Santa as well as at the school we were doing a Secret New Year’s Santa. I also wanted to get a few things for my host family. I was surprised at how fast we went but after just over an hour in Agora we were back on the bus and all set for New Years and Christmas.

 

Catch up!

First off, I want to apologize for it taking me so long to actually start my blog.  Things have been mildly hectic since arriving and lacking Wi-Fi made trying to blog a little difficult. Since things have started to settle a little bit and Wi-Fi has now been found, I am hoping to be more consistent with my updates.

I have now been living in Izmir, Turkey for 8 weeks and so far, so good.  Here is a bit of what has gone on in last little while.

Week 1 (Oct.14th-21^st)

After a bit of a delay with my visa, I left for Turkey on October 14^th from Kelowna. I didn’t exactly have the most direct flight but it was kinda cool checking out all the different airports. I flew Kelowna-Vancouver-Seattle-Frankfurt-Munich-Izmir, grand total of just over 24 hours travel time. I ended up meeting up with another Canadian student from Castlegar in Seattle, who was on her way to Istanbul so we got to fly to Frankfurt together, which was nice in the way of having someone just as nervous and excited as I was to talk to. I arrived in Izmir at around 11:30 at night and my first adventure was trying to find a bathroom. I walked into the stall and right away had my first “nothing is better or worse, just different” experience cause all that was there was a porcelain hole in the ground with a plastic blue bucket full of water. Needless to say, it was an experience.

At the airport I was greeted by a swarm of people. My host parents, host cousins, who are also Rotary exchange students (Amanda from Brazil and Emily from New York), host aunts and uncles, Anil (friend of my host sister Ahenk who is on exchange in New York) and my Rotary coordinators all came to meet me. It was a tad overwhelming, but also really nice knowing there were so many people that were happy for me to be there. I met my host brother Ahmet, who is twenty-five years old, once we got to my host parents’ apartment.



Emily, Amanda, Me and Anil at the airport

 Bright and early the next morning, I was picked up by a bus to join all the other exchange students for a weekend in Kușadasi to see Ephesus and Mother Mary’s House; both of which are major historical landmarks in Turkey. Mother Mary’s house was really neat and had a very relaxed atmosphere throughout the gardens and the actual house. It is said that the water in the garden has healing powers.  As well, the garden has a wishing wall which allows visitors to write down their wishes to Mary on a piece of paper and attach it to the wall. 

 The following day we went to Ephesus, which honestly is a highlight of Turkey that may be tough to beat. We walked throughout the ruins and although most of the info signs were in Turkish, I was able to catch some of the tours that were being given in English, which was a major help. My favorite part was the Library of Celsus, which apparently used to hold over 12,000 scrolls during ancient times.

The rest of my first week was a bit foggy and mainly consisted of sleeping and attending my first day of school. I am attending a private school (which means I get to wear an epic uniform) along with one of the American exchange students, Haley. I’ll explain a bit more about school later on.

Week 2 & 3 (Oct. 21^st – Nov.4th)

My second and third weeks were mainly spent trying to get used to the area and the general fact that I was Turkey. Every Saturday, all the exchange students get together for Turkish lessons that are sponsored by Rotary and after we normally go out for lunch and explore the city a little bit. Anil spent a day showing me around Gaziemir, which is the part of Izmir I am currently living in. It is a little far from the city center and about 45 minutes from my school, but it seems like a close knit community and is apparently one of the safest in Izmir, so to me, I think it’s perfect. We walked around and tried different Turkish foods like sheep intestines (really chewy) and mussels stuffed with rice (super random). Interesting experience for my taste buds, I must say.

For Halloween, all of the exchange students got together at the Ataturk Museum in Alsancak (major part of the city) for a party. We all dressed up and just ate, danced and got to know each other a little better.

Weeks 4 and 5 (Nov.4th – Nov.18^th)

The weekend of the 4^th-6^th of November consisted of a major Muslim holiday/ festival called Bayram, which is a holiday that celebrates the story of Isaac and Abraham and how Abraham sacrificed a sheep instead of his son.  The main purpose is to visit with old friends and relatives, as well as pay respect to relatives that have passed away. My host family and I went to a Muslim cemetery, for which I had to wear a scarf. It was nice to be able to experience the religious part of Turkish culture first hand; however the scarf was a little bit difficult to keep on properly. While at the cemetery, visitors go to the graves of their loved ones, wash the headstone, lay flowers and pour water all over the grave. They then read from the Koran and pray.

After that, we drove to a village about 30 min from Izmir to visit with my host mum’s parents. The village looked smaller than it actually was because apparently it has a population nearly three times that of Salmon Arm. It was really pretty and surrounded by hills and olive trees; a welcome change to the hustle and bustle of the city.

Part of the celebration of Bayram is that families sacrifice a sheep and then eat it later in the day. Needless to say this was a very new and interesting concept for me and, although very culturally enlightening, it taught me to never pet my dinner beforehand because it makes it almost impossible to eat later.

After the sacrifice, my host brother, host dad and other extended family went for a walk around the village and near the mountains. The area reminded me a bit of Kamloops mixed with Osoyoos and was quite relaxing in a way. When we got back, we had lunch which consisted of bread (of course), salad and a stew of sheep lung and tail.  I tried it and it tasted really irony, almost like when you bite your lip or tongue and it isn’t bleeding but it tastes like it might be. I couldn’t finish the entire bowl, and I honestly felt bad, but my stomach couldn’t hack it.

During those weeks, Anil and I went to a part of the city called Balçova, which has a major shopping center called Agora. We ended up seeing Paranormal Activity, which sadly was in English but had Turkish subtitles.  We also walked around the mall and to my surprise I was able to find a few stores that are also back home, such as La Senza, Starbucks, Banana Republic and even Claire’s. I was also able to find a book store that carried a few classics which was a great end to the whole day.

Week 6 and 7 (Nov.18th – Dec.1^st)

These 2 weeks were extremely busy. Rotary had organized a trip to Ankara from the 18^th-20^th and a trip to Cappadocia from the 24^th-27^th. The trip to Ankara was an interesting yet enriching experience. We left Izmir in the evening and boarded a train to Ankara with a travel time of about 17 hours. On the train were all of the exchange students living in Izmir as well as about 80 other Turkish students who were sponsored by Rotary to go to the capital as well.

 The train we were on was a little retro and allowed us to experience the beauty of Turkish toilets on a moving train. All of the exchange students sat in the back of one train car and throughout the trip there we all scattered out and talked about anything and everything and eventually crashed literally everywhere. We had people stretched out across seats and even people sprawled out on the aisle of the car. Once we arrived in Ankara we were all on a pretty strict schedule.  We first went to the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.   We were lucky to be able to participate in a wreath bearing ceremony which involved the soldiers guarding the mausoleum, laying a wreath donated by Rotary below the tomb of Atatürk and having a moment of silence. It was a somber event but it allowed all of the students to get a sense of how important Atatürk truly was and still is to the people of Turkey.

After, we went and visited the National Turkish Assembly as well as another building that was its previous location.

After a few more stops that expanded our knowledge of Turkish history and the life of Atatürk, our tour guide took us to a mall so we could all just relax and grab some food for the train ride back. After an epic hunt for fresh fruit, converse shoes and a last minute Starbucks run, we made it back to the bus just in time to head to the station. One thing that I have learned while in Turkey is to always carry spare change, because in a lot of public buildings such as train stations and rest stops, you have to pay to use the washroom. I’m currently still getting used to that.

Once we got back on to the train, all of the students were trying to find ways to pass the 17hr trip for the second time around. After much deliberation, and being the creative exchange students we all are, we decided to take hold of our entire train car and have a mock wedding. All of the exchange students played a role, with everything from a pastor to a rabbi and even an eccentric mother-of-the-bride. We had the Turkish students as an audience and although we were blocking the aisle, I think the train staff got a pretty good kick out of our ingenuity.

Once we got back to Izmir, everyone was absolutely beat; however for me and Emily, the day wasn’t over yet. Amanda, Emily and I were all picked up from the station by Amanda’s host dad and after Amanda was dropped off, he told us that since her birthday had been while we were away, we were all getting together later in the day to celebrate. He ended up taking us to Emily’s host family’s house, because it was the closest. We both got to relax and actually ended up falling asleep on the floor for a while.

Amanda’s birthday party was pretty big, with almost every member of all 3 of our host families and all of the Brazilian exchange students attending. Although being exhausted from the weekend, it was nice meeting the family and spending the afternoon together.

The next weekend was the Cappadocia trip.  Now I want everyone to know that this was one of the most anticipated trips for me and many of the other exchange students. Cappadocia is about a 16-17 hour bus ride from Izmir and is an area that is not only full of incredible history and stories but also a bright and captivating culture that was an exciting reminder to all of us why we chose to come to Turkey.

We left Izmir late Thursday night and drove the whole way through, stopping every two hours for breaks. On the trip, we had one of our Rotary district coordinators, as well as an amazing tour guide that truly made the trip amazing. Once we got to the area we were going, which is in eastern Anatolia near the city of Nevșehir, we had breakfast and then went straight to our first stop, Ihlara Vadisi Orenyeri or the Ihlara Valley.

The Ihlara Valley is considered a very important religious location as it once was a safe haven for early Christians and was also the home of multiple monasteries during the 4^th century.  We ended up walking down a set of stairs that led to the bottom of the valley and walking along the trails while visiting the remains of the ancient churches. Inside many of the churches, ancient art remained visible and the structures were still in beautiful condition.  We walked to the end of the valley which took us to an area with a pond and a surprisingly large population of ducks. We stopped and had an amazing cup of apple tea and then headed back up the set of stairs.

After lunch we went to one of the many underground cities that are located in Cappadocia. The City went down about 4 stories and proved that the people that used to live there, were much shorter then all of us.  The caves were incredibly well built and included areas once used for wine making, cooking and storage. There were air ventilation systems as well as ways to access water and resources that were above the surface.

The next day, four of the Brazilian exchange students, Amanda, Karine, Guilia, Leticia and I woke up at five to go on a hot air balloon. This was an amazing opportunity and really was a great start to our last day in Cappadocia. We all got up in the balloon and, although it was a bit chilly, the views of the area were stunning. 

Once we got back to the hotel and met up with the rest of the students, we set off for the Goreme Open Air Museum. This outdoor museum is home to volcanic rock formations that up until the late 1950’s were home to many eastern Turkish groups. Like the Ihlara Valley, this place played a large role in protecting early Christians from prosecution.

 The walls of the insides of the formations are covered in different works of art dating back to ancient times, the Ottoman Empire and then a touch of modern art, left by visitors over the years.

The rest of the day was left to exploring the area and before heading back to the hotel, we all went to a traditional Turkish potter and watched how everything was created. All of the pieces were incredible works of art and it was easy to see just how much effort and time was put into creating such beautiful pieces.

Early Sunday morning we began our trek back to Izmir. We left early because our tour guide had wanted us to make a few stops along the way. The first was an old rest stop for caravans that used to travel between the east and western parts of the Turkey.  The second was Mevlana Muzesi or the Mevlana Museum which was in the city of Konya. The museum is the mausoleum of Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi, a Sufi mystic also known as Mevlâna or Rumi. The area is also famous for being the training area and home of Dervish or whirling dervishes.

After our stop, we went for lunch and were lucky enough to see part of a Turkish wedding reception. The bride was dressed in a very poufy wedding dress and just before entering the building she threw a pot on the ground. Now this was not just a gentle toss. This was a hardcore, determined, “I’m- going –to- break- this- thing-into-a -million pieces” kind of toss. Once we were all on the bus, our Rotary coordinator explained that in many small villages in Turkey it is a tradition to break a pot and the number of pieces that it breaks into represents how happy the couple will be.  With that kind of pressure, I understood why the bride gave the pot a solid heave.

Week 8 (Dec.2^nd – 12^th)

After both trips, I took the week after pretty easy. On the 2^nd of December, all of the exchange students got together to celebrate American Thanksgiving. I was lucky enough to be able to spend my thanksgiving back home, but having it a second time with everyone here was incredibly fun. We all made different foods that were popular in our home country or something we ate at thanksgiving. I made apple crisp, some of the Mexican students made a casserole, some of the Brazilians made a special kind of bread and Maggie, a student from Oregon, had the big job of making the turkey. It was a very special evening and really brought us all closer together. We have all begun to see ourselves as having 3 families: our Turkish family, our family back home and our exchange student family.

On December 7th, I went to my first Rotary meeting.  The meetings are about half an hour away from my house and like back home are held in a hotel. There are two other students in my club, Christina from Mexico and Morgan from Kentucky.  However, on that day, we also had Amanda visiting so that she could give a presentation on Brazil. The Rotary club was very welcoming and although communication was a little bit of an issue, I felt very comfortable with everyone. I asked if it was possible to attend meetings more often and one of the club members said that after January 15^th, I will be able to attend as often as I would like.

So this leads us to this past weekend. On Friday, my host mum and I went on a search for a gym. As much as I love being in Turkey, food plays a big role and not being as active as normal was starting to drive me a bit nuts. Since finding a soccer team has proven rather difficult and since most girls at school are not really into athletics, I decided that a gym or something would be a good idea. Turns out there are three gyms close to my house, a dance studio as well as an aerobics class. Needless to say, I think I am pretty well set. Friday night, Anil and I went to Agora and saw a movie and then wondered around as I searched everywhere for a copy of A Christmas Carol, which sadly, I never did find.

  Saturday consisted of Turkish lessons and on Sunday I went on a bit of a search for more ways to get involved around Izmir. I went to Alsancak early in the morning and ended up checking out a church. It is the oldest church in all of Izmir and the building is home to an Anglican Church as well as an International Church.  Since I had nothing else planned, I decided to check both out and maybe meet a few new people.  After the Anglican service, I ended up meeting a few adults that have been living in Turkey for many years. One of the ladies, who is originally from Tennessee, actually took me out for lunch and we chatted about cultural differences between Turkey and North America and shared some funny experiences we have both had so far.  It turns out that she helps out with a wheelchair tennis program in the city and asked if I might be interested in helping out later on in the year. Right off the bat, I answered yes, and I am greatly hoping that it all works out.

At the International Church, I ended up meeting a few more people closer to my age. I met Joelle who has been in Turkey for 14 months on a mission trip, and a few others who live in Izmir for work, school or just for a cultural experience like I am.

Well that concludes my epic long first blog entry. I promise to not make another entry this long while I am here in Turkey cause eight weeks can get a little wordy.

Left to Right: Mujdat (my host dad), Amanda's host dad (uncle), Amanda and Emily.