Endings are just new beginnings

An ending is just a new beginning
It is hard to believe that I am writing my last note from Turkey…or perhaps I should say about Turkey as I am no longer there and have actually been gone for a month now. There are so many things that I still wanted to share with you, stories about the crazy wedding dress windows, my love/hate relationship with the airport close to school, the little princes preparing for their circumcision, the giant boots I found on campus….sadly it seems that those are stories which will remain untold. And so I will end my three years of messages with a list of some of the things that I will miss about living in Turkey.
10. Being able to pick up a grilled cheese sandwich from a small kiosk on the side of the road.
9. The goldfish guy on the road leading away from school, stacked up on the hood of his car shaded by an umbrella recently.
8. The large Trojan horse on campus…I still don’t understand why this needs to be in a playground, but it always makes me smile.
7. The crazy things that people sell on the road or the sidewalk…gummy supermen that flip down a wall, wind up chicks, chargers, blow up dalmatians,…I think if you watched long enough you could find almost anything.
6. Being able to surprise people because I can actually speak some Turkish. It doesn’t take must at all to impress the Turks…after all Turkish isn’t what you’d exactly call a common language.
5. The skyline, there is something about all of the minarets that just makes Istanbul seem like such an exotic place. It will take quite a bit to beat that.
4. Browsing the fruit and vegetable market in Kurtkoy, soaking up the cacophony of sounds and colors. It was a sad day when I realized it would be my last visit.
3. Walking downtown during the call to prayer and finding that as soon as I leave the sound of one mosque I enter the audible area for two more.
2. Riding the ferry across the Bosphorus. After three years this is still one of my favorite things to do.
1. The people of course. Friends and coworkers and strangers who are always willing to lend a helping hand and aid in whatever way they can, whether that means answering endless questions, telling me where to get off a bus, or just keeping me company in stressful times. I will dearly miss them all.

Practical Priest

Sunday when I went to mass I realized just how practical my priest (or church) is here. Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, and in a city where it would take 2 hours for someone to get to church by public transportation making a 7 am mass and still getting to work isn't exactly an option. When I am overseas I often resign myself to just missing the mid-week holy days. Well, shortly after the opening prayers on Sunday, the priest invited up anyone who had not had a chance to get ashes on Wednesday. Hooray! I actually got to have an official start to Lent (of course a few days late). I was a little confused when I went up and was given ashes on the top of my head. ?!? Then I thought about it. Perhaps (I'm speculating here) this too is a sign of how practical the priests are. Technically people are free to practice whatever religion they want here in Turkey. However, this freedom pretty much goes along with not talking about or making a show of being anything but Muslim. And surely walking around with ashes on one's forehead would be a clear indication of being Catholic. So I wonder if the priests were annointing the top of the head as a way of (sort of) protecting the congregation. Interesting to ponder...

Observations in the market

Last Friday I managed to get back to the Kurtkoy market on what ended up being a rather dreary and wet day. Very seldom do I need the full 1 1/4 hours allotted by the bus to do my shopping, and that day was not exception. The last half hour found me slowly sipping a glass of tea at the restaurant where I had ordered my take out for the evening (a cheese pide). With nothing else to distract me I found myself observing interactions in the market from the outside (or perhaps I should say from the inside?). During that time several things struck me. First, the major difference between the market in Turkey and the market I always went to in Guinea is that here, at least in the market I go to, the sellers are exclusively men. There are no women selling things. At all. I suspect this may be because the market does not quite function the same way. At least in Istanbul selling things in the market is a full time job. People buy goods to resell (it is not normal to sell their own produce)and it is a 7 day a week job. Every day these people set up their stall in a different weekly market. So on Friday they are in Kurtkoy, Saturday may find them in Pendik and the other days in some other area of the city. In Guinea the market was a much more personal thing. Men and women tended to sell the things that they had grown, made or harvested (although there were still people who sold dried goods which they had bought from somewhere else). And as life in Guinea was more about subsistence, the person who sold in the market was the person that was available. Sometimes the woman, sometimes the man, and sometimes the children.

The other thing that I noticed while starting through the window was that it is much more common to see women buying things here. That is not so different as anywhere, where the women are in charge of feeding a family. I was amused to watch several couples shopping together to notice that really all the man did was carry the bags. The women were even the ones who were dealing with the money (perhaps because it is the food budget?). The women here, though seem to look at going to the market as just a way to get food. There is not the same level of friendliness and visiting which took place in Guinea. I'm not sure if this is a Turkish-Guinean difference, or if it is just the difference between a weekly market and a daily one.

Having the time to stare out the window and just observe really made me realize how many different variations there can be to the fairly common world wide practice of going to the market.

A couple of months ago I read a headline that said that Turkey was getting a new currency. Huh? I thought. How can that be? I sort of stored that information away in the back of my head, curious to see if it would actually happen while I was here. Well sure enough at the start of the new year the bank machine started spitting out new notes (It was fabulous for a while when all it would issue was 20 lira notes). In reality it hasn’t been as drastic of a change as it sounds. A few years before I arrived Turkey had taken steps to address the inflation problems they were having. They rescaled their currency moving from the Turkish lira to the New (yeni) Turkish lira (otherwise known as ytl) and chopping six zeros of the end. So 1,000,000 TL was worth 1 YTL. It was confusing enough when vendors in the market and some stores still priced goods using the old system. Now though, I guess that they’ve decided that the country will never go back to the old system. Or perhaps they just feel that it is no longer a new currency. So they’ve reissued all of the bills and coins and returned to calling it the Turkish lira. It seems to be a slow turnover…my wallet is a mix of ytl and tl. Although I am slightly amused be the fact that quite often in my change purse I can find the old tl, the ytl and the new tl. How many places do you know that have that many different versions of a currency circulating? I can also say that I’ve already been corrected several times by my students when I attempt to rephrase a question into something pertaining to them and use the ytl. Someone is always sure to speak up and say “Ms. C that no longer exists. You mean the tl, right?” So I’ll continue to slowly adjust to the new look and name, mourn the ending of bills with Kapadokya and Ephesus on them and enjoy that the new notes have a mathematician and a scientist. Above all I’ll just have to try to remember that it is now just the Turkish lira.

When politics enter school

Yesterday my study hall was interrupted by an explanation that immediately after following the morning exam we would have a school-wide minute of silence for all of the Palestinian students and children that had died recently. I thought this was interesting - seemed to be completely out of the blue. The merit? Well, maybe it will actually make our students think about how many people die when there is conflict. Maybe it will make them, at least for a minute, appreciate the safety and advantages they often take for granted. I did think it was a bit odd that we were only remembering the Palestinians...what about the other half of the blameless victims? I thought perhaps I had just misunderstood the Turkish (hey, it happens...and quite often). Today I found out that the whole thing had come down from the ministry of education and happened at all school across Turkey at the same time (theoretically - we managed at least to not disrupt our exams with it). That information made me sit back and question again. Clearly there is something bigger going on, and politics just pushed their way into my classroom - without me even being aware of it at the time. Definitely gives a teacher food for thought.

Turkey treats teachers terrific

One of the things I really appreciate about this country is the amount of respect that exists for teachers. It is a profession that is truly appreciated here. To show that appreciation every year there is a Teacher’s Day (November 24) set aside to recognize the contributions that teachers make to the future of the country by educating its children. As Ataturk said the "new generation will be created by teachers."

This year I received one carnation, two roses, a television (!?! Special gift from the school) and enjoyed myself at a special dinner. Another advantage of being a teacher here is that you get reduced admission or free admission to many of the sites. I’ve heard this might be changing across the country but it is still true in Istanbul. I have to admit I really appreciate being able to explore what the country has to offer without having to pay for it all (and I especially appreciate it the third time I go somewhere because I have to take my guests there). Mostly though, I just appreciate the recognition and thanks that the day brings.

I highly encourage any of you who have children, or who have teachers to thank them for the job they do. It doesn’t take much, but it will make their day just a little bit brighter.

Why it pays

Today I realized again why it pays to develop relationships with certain sellers in Turkey. When you consistently take people to them to buy things, not only do they like you and refrain from harassing you. They also give you good deals, and make sure your friends don't get ripped off. But better than that, sometimes you get free goodies! Today I managed to get my (second) free salt bag :) Isn't it pretty?

Ataturk Remembrance Day

At 9:05 on November 10, 1938 Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died (from cirrhosis of the liver). The founder of modern Turkey made an enormous impact on the shape and development of Turkey as a nation. It is in great part due to his ideals that Turkey currently bridges a bit of the gap between the west and the Middle East. There is no denying that he is a man whose legacy is clearly visible.

What amazes me is that 70 years after his death the country not only remembers him but publicly mourns him in unison (in unison!!)on the anniversary of his death. At 9:05 in the morning sirens and bells go off around the country and everyone (and I mean pretty much everyone) stops and stands still and silent for a minute. Cars on the road pull over and park and people emerge to stand on the shoulder. Classes stop and silence descends upon a normally roudy school. I haven't been in the countryside on this day, but from what I've heard the same happens there. The whole country holds its breath and remembers this man.

Beykoz

Saturday I got the chance to explore another area of Istanbul with one of my Turkish colleagues. Technically we said we were going to take photos, but instead we ended up spending more time sitting, talking, and enjoying the cooler region of Istanbul. Beykoz is pretty far up the Bosphorus - what seems more like a smaller town then a part of the big Istanbul city. It is apparently a region which draws many of the immigrants from the Black Sea region because of its cooler temperatures and extra greenery. The houses are in that style (according to M - I wouldn't really know) and the streets were a lot of fun to wander. However, I enjoyed sitting along the side of the Bosphorus in a city run cafe the most. It probably didn't hurt that it is the middle of Ramazan either, as it means there weren't nearly as many people out at the cafe mid-day.

Public Exercise Machines

There is a new trend in Istanbul to install exercise equipment in some of the public parks. I find it a bit odd. I'll run in public, but I'm not so sure how comfortable I would be on a glider, back press or side swinger (ok, so I don't know the technical names for most of the machines I checked out the other day - but you should get an idea of what they do from my made up names) where anyone who was passing by could see me. Talking with a Turkish friend the point was made that most of your everyday Turks would never be able to experience these machines if they weren't in the public areas. They don't have enough money to join a gym, and Turks don't seem to be nearly as obsessed with exercising as many Americans I know. So perhaps the easy access to these machines will help them to exercise a bit more. I just don't know if I'll get used to seeing fully covered, head-scarved women exercising on machines in the park. I think I'll stick to running, myself.

Exams

Somehow it doesn't seem quite fair that classes haven't even started (students arrive tomorrow) and yet I have already had to give several different sets of exams. I came back to school a week early to help give the grade 10 transfer exams - which is exactly what it sounds like, an exam that gives interested students a chance to transfer into our school from an exam at the end of the summer. We did have to be a bit careful for some borderline grades as students have to earn at least a 55 in either math or science in order to enter the school - and as always these students still have the right to appeal a score in court (it's better for us not to even give a grade which may result in an appeal). This past week students had a second chance to take the grade-raising exams and the responsibility exams. Their first attempt was in June just after school ended. The grade-raising exam is again what it sounds like, a single exam which will get averaged with their end of year grade. It is a bit deceptive to call it a grade-raising exam as quite often it ends up lowering their average (a result the students never seem to anticipate). Responsibility exams are for those students who have failed a class during the normal school year (either for the just finished year or a previous year). They get a one exam shot (which will continue to get repeated semester after semester until they manage to pass or finally give up) to pass. All it takes is passing the single exam to retroactively pass them for the year. I still have my doubts about the educational value of these exams, but I do realize it is something that I have no control over. Its a Turkish Education Ministry decision.

Things I hate

Foreign Office
Originally uploaded by ccarlstead

While I quite enjoy living in Turkey there are certain things that drive me crazy here. The first few backs at the end of the summer always highlights what those things are. I guess once I"m back and in the grove, they don't bother me as much....although some of it is things I only have deal with once a year - which just makes me that less patient. Almost done with those at least.

Things I hate here:
1. The entire ordeal of going in person to renew my residence permit. It was bad enough Tuesday when it took us 7 hours to go apply for the extension. Today's 4 hour trip just to pick up the darn things just about drove me crazy. The ridiculous part is that really todays trip was 3 hours in of driving and around 40 minutes to actually pick up the residence permits. This is what happens when the foreign office clear on the other side of town.

2. Sitting in traffic. Although that isn't so bad. I'm just not used to again yet. It reminds me I'm in one of the largest cities in the world. What did throw me for a loop today was watching a line of traffic back up on the shoulder of the highway. Excuse me? You're supposed to be going forward. They just decided backwards was the quickest way out of the traffic. Of course there was one person who just turned completely around and drove forward amidst all those people who were backing up. There is a reason I don't drive here. I'll get used to it again once I've been back awhile. Its amazing your ability to ignore the things you really don't want to be seeing.

3. Transfer exams, Responsibility exams and Average Raising exams. Transfer exams actually weren't too bad. At least they only lasted 40 minutes. But I still don't understand why we have to give students a chance to increase their average if they didn't do the work during the course of the actual school year. Basically says it doesn't matter if they work during school or not. That goes double for the chance they have to pass a class they failed by passing a single exam (of course most won't succeed at that - still they shouldn't have the chance). It wouldn't even be so bad if it weren't for all the forms that have to be correctly filled out at the right time (before, during and after exam). Of course its all in Turkish. Sometimes I think I could be signing my life away and would never know it until its to late. You want my signature? Okay...

At this rate I'm quite looking forward to having students again. At least then I'll be immersed in the craziness I'm familiar with and should theoretically be able to control.

Euro 2008

Last night when I finally made it back to my lojman I flipped my television on because I knew that Turkey was playing in the quarterfinals of the European Cup against Croatia. I thought that as it was nearing midnight I might just be able to catch the final score before I headed off to bed. It turns out that while I did miss the first 89 minutes of the game, I did manage to watch the most exciting 40 minutes of the game. Yes, it was tied 0-0 at the end of regulation play and so went on to overtime. During the overtime period Croatia scored and I almost turned of the TV, but there was only 2 minutes left so I thought I might as well hang on a few more minutes. Good thing I did, as Turkey managed to pull of yet another late game score (their pattern all tournament) to tie up the game again. So on to penalty kicks and a win for Turkey! I hadn’t realized that I was that invested in the spirit of football here, but I guess I have been caught up in some of the nationalistic pride that is accompanying the Turkish national football team on their tournament play. A unifying force that is sorely needed in the country right now as a counterpart to all the other political tensions that exist. I had to laugh as I headed to bed and heard car horns blaring and shots being fired in the air. Yep, Turkey is celebrating their win loudly!

Race Fever

Decked out for race day
Originally uploaded by ccarlstead

About a week ago I was very confused as to why I couldn’t find a hotel room in the city for a night. Yes it’s nearing tourist time in Istanbul, but its still a bit early for everything to be full. It turns out that the city was full this weekend because of the Turkish Grand Prix. Racing fans flocked to Istanbul to watch the race, and since school is located so close to the race track, Istanbul Park, I couldn’t very well avoid the realization that it was going on. Saturday morning when I opened my door I could hear a faint drone in the background – the race was already on, and yes – we’re close enough to hear it. My mom got a glimpse of the track on Friday when a colleague’s wife took her out to a road that overlooks the park. As she said, “we were still pretty far away, the cars looked more like ants – but it gives an idea of the course.” Of course, if you’re really interested in the race course I discovered that there is a website all about Istanbul Park. Other than the background noise and a definite increase in traffic (thank goodness we were always going the opposite way this weekend) the only thing I noticed was that all the gas stations out by school were well decorated with checkered flags and one even had a giant helmet on top of its roof. For those of you interested the Brazilian Felipe Massa won the race.

Yedikule

A short glimpse
Originally uploaded by ccarlstead

Yesterday I went off an adventure. But then that’s what I call it any time I try to take a bus to someplace new, I only end up at my desired destination about 50% of the time – hence the adventure. Luckily yesterday was one of those times. I took a bus to Yedikule, which is a fort from 1457 that is still in remarkable good shape. As I was riding the bus I kept pondering the name Yedikule…partly to make sure that I knew where I wanted to get off the bus, partly to see if I could pronounce it correctly…then it hit me. Yedi kule. Yedi means seven, kule tower. I was going to a fort with seven towers. It all makes sense. It is the only “inland” fort that I know of – although you can still see the Marmara Sea from the top of the ramparts. It is inland in the sense that it was built into a section of the formidable city walls that surrounded the ancient city of Byzantine. It was lovely! Not in the least because it was almost empty (I think I only saw maybe five people the entire time I was there – including the guardian). After trudging up a long and steep staircase on the side of the walls (with nothing to keep one from falling off the edge!) I was able to explore the ramparts and towers to my heart’s content. Climbing up into the towers I followed dark turning stairwells that would suddenly expel me onto the top of the tower (a flashlight would have been nice). The views were stunning – along the city walls one way, over the Marmara Sea and the waiting ships another, over an overgrown old cemetery, and over a city neighborhood. I felt on top of the world being able to see so many different aspects of Istanbul that I usually am only down among.

Taste Test

One of the best bits about living and traveling in a foreign country is that you get to explore the food. I’m always amazed at the different dishes that are fixed using the same old ingredients I can find at home (mostly). It never fails that I always come away with some new favorite, comfort food when I leave a country I’ve spent any amount of time in. Last night after wandering around Kadikoy for a bit I ended up at a restaurant with some friends that actually had an entire vegetarian section on their menu (!?! Almost unheard of here). I was excited to see what is rapidly turning into my favorite dish: mercimek koftesi (lentil “meat”balls for those of you who need it in English). I was a bit shocked to find that I actually think I prefer the version that is served in our school cafeteria over what I had at the restaurant (I didn’t think that happened with anything!). I’ve been promised a hands-on cooking lesson from the cleaning lady of a friend, but I thought I’d share a recipe I’ve found now, with a promise to follow up with what she really does. I hope you enjoy it if you ever get around to trying it.

Influence

Sometimes I look around and I think, “Where am I?”
Then I remember, “Oh yeah, I’m in Istanbul.”
And then I just have to wonder if this is really what the United States wants to share with other countries. Aren’t there better things to pass on? Why is this our most visible contribution to the global world?

New smoking ban in Turkey

As I was strolling through the airport in Istanbul I walked through the food court. I had to make a very quick pass due to how smoky the entire area was. During that brief time I noticed that the seating had a special non-smoking area, set aside by a barricade, and holding perhaps eight tables. It struck me as being the polar opposite of what one would see at home (if there would even be a smoking section). Not that it really surprised me as so many Turks smoke (what was surprising for me and my colleagues was to realize how few of the teachers in my office smoke). What is interesting about it is that this visual representation of the acceptance of smoking in Turkey is directly contradicted by a new law that was passed banning smoking in public places (with a fine) come next year. What I want to know is if they are really going to be successful enforcing the law when I’ve noticed Turks smoking directly under non-smoking signs (most frequently on the ferries) multiple times since arriving here. It should be interesting to see what type of protests come from this, and if they will be able to successfully implement the new law.

For more you can check out this article.

A different type of mall

Modern
Originally uploaded by ccarlstead

Friday evening found me heading over to the European side of the city with friends for an evening out. I didn’t have any idea where we were going, or what our plan was. I was just content to be along for the ride and get off campus. I didn’t expect the sight that greeted me when we got out of the car at Kanyon Mall. Think modern architecture meets the Jetsons. Picture a central, rounded, tall business park with a four story mall swirling around the bottom. All curved lines and openness. It was so modern it made everything I’ve seen in Texas look old and boring. You could tell we were in a ritzy part of town by the shops that were there (and the number of students that we saw flitting around relaxing after three days of exams) and just the general atmosphere. I was surprised to find this was one place in Turkey where when you enter a store a salesperson didn’t immediately attach themselves to you and follow you around (I’ve been working on convincing myself this occurs because they get paid a commission, not because they are concerned you will shop lift). Frankly with the increased price of things here (we were looking at dresses in the 2000ytl range) I was surprised that we were left alone. Perhaps because they figure very few people actually buy things here, and I’m sure they are much better at reading who those people would be. Even the movie theater was impressive. Large undulating walls with messages and movie times scrolling past, small screens showing ads and trailers in the bathroom, and by far the most spacious seating I have yet to experience in Turkey. When you throw in the lighted tree sculptures out front, the ice rink and even a fake river with light swans floating around it really felt like I was somewhere completely unknown. It is images like this that continue to befuddle me and make me question just how Turkey is developing. It’s hard to reconcile this level of development with the situation I know exists in smaller towns farther east. Istanbul continues to be a fascination mix of Europeans and Asian, developed and developing.

New Year's Superstitions

When I arrived back in Turkey Christmas Trees were lit, people were busy thinking about presents and in some households Santa was getting ready to visit. Confused yet? No, Turkey does not celebrate Christmas, but they have whole-heartedly embraced many Christmas traditions and incorporated them into their New Year’s celebration. Returning to my office to discover a bag full of New Year’s good luck, including a pomegranate and some black-eyed peas (in honor of those of us Americans who understand that Southern tradition), made me start wondering about what some of the other New Year’s superstitions are in this country. I began asking, and heard more then I ever dreamed.

From the package at school I discovered that:
You should smash a pomegranate on the threshold of your door as soon after midnight as possible in order to invite luck into your home.

You should turn on all of your facets; the flowing water will make “the New Year flow smoothly, without any problems.”

Turning on all your lights as soon as you get back from your celebration will insure you have a bright and happy New Year.

For those who love to travel and what more of it in the next year you should get out and take a walk to the nearest street right after the start of the New Year.

Talking with friends I heard a few more superstitions:

Patting your pockets will encourage the accumulation of wealth for the New Year.

You should wear new red underwear to meet the New Year, and experience good luck in the New Year.

It is important to celebrate the New Year with friends and family if you want to continue to experience their company the following year.

Whatever your beliefs I hope that you celebrated a good start to the New Year and that you’ll find many blessings and happiness.