Well, for those of you who don't know, Chris and I both finished our CELTA course last Friday. We both passed, thank goodness! Even though I am VERY happy to not be stressed, losing sleep, and trying to plan lessons until late at night, I miss my students and other teachers a lot! It's weird how quiet the dorm is now: we all used to meet in the hall to let off steam, laugh, and go a little crazy when needed. Now, it's just silence :( But it looks like our students want to stay in touch with us teachers just as much as we want to keep in touch with them, so hopefully we'll get together soon.
So the last day of the course the teachers (us, whoa) planned a farewell party for the students. Some students offered to bring a couple things, so we of course accepted. Well, turns out "a couple" really means "massive quantities" and we had 3 tables of food! I will post pictures on here later, but safe to say we all had a blast. And I got to have dolma (stuffed grape leaves), one of my favorite! When students found out how much i liked them, I had about 3 offers from them to teach me how to do it. Sweethearts, all of them.
One of the students, Mesut, organized a bus to take whoever wanted to go to Çeşme (remember, the awesome place we have pictures of on here?) and for us all to go on a boat trip. First, let me explain these boat trips. You get on in the last morning, it leaves, plays dance music, and people just relax on big pillows strewn all over the deck, which varies in number, but ours was 3 decks. You go to 4 different islands and swim there, or stay on the boat and relax/suntan/sleep. They also include a lunch. These trips usually last for 6-7 hours. and it's all of this for under $20. Can we say AWESOME!!!!! So yes, a bunch of the students went, and quite a few of the teachers as well. (Again, I'll have pictures up for this too. Or Chris will. :D ) Chris and I both got really sunburned, but since the students told us this was predicted to be one of the hottest days (and it HAD to be well over 100 in Izmir!), we were certainly glad to be on the water! And one of the students took us to a drugstore and arranged for us to get some sunburn lotion that worked BEAUTIFULLY! No pain at all, which was awesome.
Sunday we slept and didn't leave the room except for breakfast/lunch. The sun was unbearably hot, and I just couldn't stand to be out in it. Instant headache. So a rather unproductive day, to say the least.
Monday we went job hunting with 2 of our dorm-mates. A little cooler, so it was bearable. We dropped off CVs (resumés) at 5 different places. At each one, we ended up talking to the directors, who basically gave us mini-interviews! Craziness. However, it sounds like most of them already have teachers for the upcoming semester. There were a few promising ones though. We'll follow up.
Yesterday Chris and I went to Ephasis to meet up with Yvonne, the woman who stayed in the dorm next door to ours, and who we went to downtown Izmir with before the course started. Ok, first, I should tell you that it's weird but I found someone who isn't related to me but who is almost exactly like me. To say that we clicked and had a blast with each other is an understatement. So, we planned to meet up with her and her bf who is in town now from England. By the time we got to Ephasis, they had already been through it twice, so they headed to the hotel while we went through it. Very cool, but to be honest, it was so hot and crowded that all I could think about was being DONE. We're planning on going back in the off-season, which will be cooler AND less crowded. We then met up with Yvonne and hung out with them for awhile (as usual, having a blast) before heading back here.
Whew! I think that's the rundown! Now my back is hurting from sitting here for so long, so I'll just plan on writing more later. As usual, miss you all!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Three Weeks Down, One more to Go!
Wow, it's been awhile since we've posted! Well, maybe for you all it doesn't seem that way, but it seems like FOREVER for me. I swear, a month has never felt so long in my life! I really don't have a lot of interesting news, but felt that I needed to let everyone know that we're still doing pretty well and that we haven't forgotten anyone :)
As most of you know, I have been teaching intermediate-level English students, and Chris has been teaching beginner-level. Well, this past week they switched us to the opposite group. I have a whole new appreciation for the hard work Chris did in the first two weeks; this is HARD! I like to talk, and they don't understand most of what I say, even when it's simplified and spoken slowly. They are also a much younger group. Birth dates came up the first day and most of the class was born in the 1990s! OMG, I felt so old! Although I guess it does help with the whole teacher-student relationship. In the intermediate class, most of the students were my age-I'm friends on Facebook with half the class. I miss my students though, they were so much fun! We've tentatively planned a boat trip after the class is over. More practice for their English, and maybe I can finally pick up some Turkish!
I really can't believe that we're almost done with the course. I mean, it feels like yesterday was a week ago, and last week was a month ago, but still- a week from today I will be certified to teach, and be expected to come up with lesson plans every day and teach all day. whoa. can we say UNPREPARED?! On the other hand though, I couldn't take much more of the intensity of this course.
Homesickness is really kicking in for me. I'm sure it's exacerbated by exhaustion, stress, and the fact that it's hitting 100 degrees almost every day. But I really miss everyone a lot. The first time I get home to visit, we all need to get together for a wine party. You know who you are! :D Chris has been great with all my whining and crying though, bless him. A more patient man I couldn't have found...
On a happy note, those of us CELTA students staying the dorms have been having a blast together. Pretty much only on weekends, since the rest of the time we're too busy to even eat, but wow, weekends and Friday nights when we're over-tired are too much fun! I am beginning to think I should have been born in Britain, I LOVE their sense of humor. Very sarcastic.
Anyways, I am hoping that after next week I can get back to sending people personal emails and not just communicate through this blog. Thank you for all of you who have left comments and encouragement though, it's meant a lot to both of us.
Anyways, bedtime for me. Iyi Akşamlar (Good evenings, a common greeting long past evening, and one that I manage to slaughter every time I try to use it :D I also probably mis-spelled it, so feel free to correct it, Chris)
As most of you know, I have been teaching intermediate-level English students, and Chris has been teaching beginner-level. Well, this past week they switched us to the opposite group. I have a whole new appreciation for the hard work Chris did in the first two weeks; this is HARD! I like to talk, and they don't understand most of what I say, even when it's simplified and spoken slowly. They are also a much younger group. Birth dates came up the first day and most of the class was born in the 1990s! OMG, I felt so old! Although I guess it does help with the whole teacher-student relationship. In the intermediate class, most of the students were my age-I'm friends on Facebook with half the class. I miss my students though, they were so much fun! We've tentatively planned a boat trip after the class is over. More practice for their English, and maybe I can finally pick up some Turkish!
I really can't believe that we're almost done with the course. I mean, it feels like yesterday was a week ago, and last week was a month ago, but still- a week from today I will be certified to teach, and be expected to come up with lesson plans every day and teach all day. whoa. can we say UNPREPARED?! On the other hand though, I couldn't take much more of the intensity of this course.
Homesickness is really kicking in for me. I'm sure it's exacerbated by exhaustion, stress, and the fact that it's hitting 100 degrees almost every day. But I really miss everyone a lot. The first time I get home to visit, we all need to get together for a wine party. You know who you are! :D Chris has been great with all my whining and crying though, bless him. A more patient man I couldn't have found...
On a happy note, those of us CELTA students staying the dorms have been having a blast together. Pretty much only on weekends, since the rest of the time we're too busy to even eat, but wow, weekends and Friday nights when we're over-tired are too much fun! I am beginning to think I should have been born in Britain, I LOVE their sense of humor. Very sarcastic.
Anyways, I am hoping that after next week I can get back to sending people personal emails and not just communicate through this blog. Thank you for all of you who have left comments and encouragement though, it's meant a lot to both of us.
Anyways, bedtime for me. Iyi Akşamlar (Good evenings, a common greeting long past evening, and one that I manage to slaughter every time I try to use it :D I also probably mis-spelled it, so feel free to correct it, Chris)
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Çeşme and Alaçatı
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Çeşme
Ooooh, that last post was BITTER! Sorry about that. I think anyone who knows me well will be able to figure out that last week was not my best week. Completely and utterly overwhelmed, I did waaaaaay too much crying. I’m much better now though, since we had a weekend off and I spent it in one of the prettiest places I’ve seen yet! (I’m sure you’ll get a chance to agree w/ me after Chris posts pictures J )
So, we went to Çeşme (pronounced Chesh-may) for the weekend, thank to a classmate of ours and her and her boyfriend’s generous invitations! Çeşme is a very popular summer destination, and for good reason! Beautiful warm Caribbean-like water, lots of shops, restaurants, and events, and lovely weather with constant breezes, it’s definitely a place I’d like to be too! We took a bus there on Saturday afternoon and stayed until late this afternoon. We went to the bazaar that they have there on Saturdays, and I bought 4 dresses, one long one and 3 shorter ones. Jeans and even capris are just too hot when it’s mid-90s. Bazaars are fun though; I really like the variety of things to see in them! Anything from fruits and veggies to window squeegees to clothes to textiles to shoes to kitchen items. It was hot, but the breeze was nice and made it a little more comfortable. We then headed to the pansion to drop off our things and head to dinner. Dinner was ABSOLUTELY amazing, but unfortunately I can’t even really tell you what it was, since we had so many new things and I didn’t do any of the ordering. All I can say is lots of meat, Turkish pizza, thick yogurt, pita bread, and pure deliciousness.
We then headed to a little village on the outskirts of Çeşme. Again, I can’t really remember the name of it, I will see if I can find out. Anyways, it was gorgeous, lots of stone buildings and little boutiques! Chris took pictures, so even if I don’t know the name of it, you can see how cool it was. Anyways, then we were running late to the concert, so we headed there.
The concert was in an ampetheater (sorry, no idea how to spell that and I’m not getting any suggestions from the dictionary) and was apparently one of the most famous pop stars in Turkey. We were so fortunate to get to go! And I can see why he’s so popular; I’m a fan now too! I got excited when I kept hearing his songs on the way back to Izmir today! We had an absolute blast there though; it was such a fun performance and so cool to be outside and feel the breeze and see the city! A definite highlight for me! We snacked a bit after the concert (I got to try stuffed mussels w/ lemon and a new flavor of ice cream, it was gum flavored, like the real gum. can’t really describe it b/c we have nothing remotely similar to it in the US), and suddenly it was 1:30AM! Sleepy time for the lazy Americans…
This morning was another fun day. We woke up and had breakfast provided by the hotel. We then got a tour of Çeşme from our classmate and her boyfriend. We got to see both of their summer homes, and go wading in the Aegean. Beautifully warm water (although she thought it was cold, I thought it was so much warmer than Lake Michigan or Lake Huron!) and crystal clear. We got to eat (is anyone besides me seeing a pattern here?) at a place known for their burgers: milk-fed calves’ meat. Can we say delicious? Then it was time to catch the bus back.
We found out the hard way that we should get tickets for the bus back WELL in advance. We stopped at the ticket office at 2 before we went to eat and were told all buses were full until 10! Whoa, popular place. Keep in mind, this is just buses going back to Izmir, not any other cities around here! We were lucky and able to finagle 3 seats on a 5:00 bus (again, thanks to our classmate!) so we got back at a decent time.
Anyways, an absolute FABULOUS weekend with some much-needed relaxation and distance from homework. However, I DO have lesson planning to do, so I need to wrap this up. I will try to blog again next weekend, but right now we’re just too busy during the week to keep up with this. Plus, the stuff we do during the week is boring. Lesson planning, observation, and class time for us, in addition to some written assignments and such. Blah blah blah. Hope everyone had a happy 4th!
btw, I'm posting this under Chris' name, but it's really Barb. Sorry about the confusion!
So, we went to Çeşme (pronounced Chesh-may) for the weekend, thank to a classmate of ours and her and her boyfriend’s generous invitations! Çeşme is a very popular summer destination, and for good reason! Beautiful warm Caribbean-like water, lots of shops, restaurants, and events, and lovely weather with constant breezes, it’s definitely a place I’d like to be too! We took a bus there on Saturday afternoon and stayed until late this afternoon. We went to the bazaar that they have there on Saturdays, and I bought 4 dresses, one long one and 3 shorter ones. Jeans and even capris are just too hot when it’s mid-90s. Bazaars are fun though; I really like the variety of things to see in them! Anything from fruits and veggies to window squeegees to clothes to textiles to shoes to kitchen items. It was hot, but the breeze was nice and made it a little more comfortable. We then headed to the pansion to drop off our things and head to dinner. Dinner was ABSOLUTELY amazing, but unfortunately I can’t even really tell you what it was, since we had so many new things and I didn’t do any of the ordering. All I can say is lots of meat, Turkish pizza, thick yogurt, pita bread, and pure deliciousness.
We then headed to a little village on the outskirts of Çeşme. Again, I can’t really remember the name of it, I will see if I can find out. Anyways, it was gorgeous, lots of stone buildings and little boutiques! Chris took pictures, so even if I don’t know the name of it, you can see how cool it was. Anyways, then we were running late to the concert, so we headed there.
The concert was in an ampetheater (sorry, no idea how to spell that and I’m not getting any suggestions from the dictionary) and was apparently one of the most famous pop stars in Turkey. We were so fortunate to get to go! And I can see why he’s so popular; I’m a fan now too! I got excited when I kept hearing his songs on the way back to Izmir today! We had an absolute blast there though; it was such a fun performance and so cool to be outside and feel the breeze and see the city! A definite highlight for me! We snacked a bit after the concert (I got to try stuffed mussels w/ lemon and a new flavor of ice cream, it was gum flavored, like the real gum. can’t really describe it b/c we have nothing remotely similar to it in the US), and suddenly it was 1:30AM! Sleepy time for the lazy Americans…
This morning was another fun day. We woke up and had breakfast provided by the hotel. We then got a tour of Çeşme from our classmate and her boyfriend. We got to see both of their summer homes, and go wading in the Aegean. Beautifully warm water (although she thought it was cold, I thought it was so much warmer than Lake Michigan or Lake Huron!) and crystal clear. We got to eat (is anyone besides me seeing a pattern here?) at a place known for their burgers: milk-fed calves’ meat. Can we say delicious? Then it was time to catch the bus back.
We found out the hard way that we should get tickets for the bus back WELL in advance. We stopped at the ticket office at 2 before we went to eat and were told all buses were full until 10! Whoa, popular place. Keep in mind, this is just buses going back to Izmir, not any other cities around here! We were lucky and able to finagle 3 seats on a 5:00 bus (again, thanks to our classmate!) so we got back at a decent time.
Anyways, an absolute FABULOUS weekend with some much-needed relaxation and distance from homework. However, I DO have lesson planning to do, so I need to wrap this up. I will try to blog again next weekend, but right now we’re just too busy during the week to keep up with this. Plus, the stuff we do during the week is boring. Lesson planning, observation, and class time for us, in addition to some written assignments and such. Blah blah blah. Hope everyone had a happy 4th!
btw, I'm posting this under Chris' name, but it's really Barb. Sorry about the confusion!
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