April 15th through 18th: Goodbye and Hello

April 15th: Severance

The Global Studies Program at Evergreen School has for years provided students with the opportunity to expand their perspectives on their reality by exposed them to a variety of diverse ideas and experiences. I have had students come to me more than 20 years later, still talking about how significant this program has been in shaping their their lives.

One of the most consistent responses I have heard over the years is how difficult it is for the students to return to the US. From the parents' perspective, the students have been gone for 4 weeks and the parents are very excited to have their children back and return to their normal family routine. But for the students, they had just had a life-changing experience, and they no longer fit in the "box" that they were in before they left. Therefore, in order to ease this transition, this year the global studies program trip leaders have been much more intentional about using this program as a rite of passage. Above was our farewell ceremony at Evergreen School - honoring the students' separation from their parents.

Parents were asked to write on a slip of paper one to three things they would "let go of" to help enable the growth and independence of their child. Students were asked to write one to three responsibilities they were willing to take on, acknowledging that privilege comes with responsibility. Students and parents could volunteer to read their commitments, then burn the slips of paper in the fire. It was very powerful to hear parents and students working together to help redefine their relationship upon their return.

Parents were also asked to find an object that symbolically represented something they wanted to share with their child. This could be a wish, a lesson, or an acknowledgement of who they see their child becoming. They then took a moment to give their object to their child and explain its significance.

April 16th: Departure

Ryan and Jacob at the airport in Seattle

We all met at the airport at 10AM to do final preparations for our 1PM flight to Frankfurt, Germany.

Grace and Andrew

Eli, one of the trip leaders, on our first flight - Seattle to Frankfurt, Germany

April 17th - The Journey Continues

We arrived in Frankfurt around 9AM, then after a 4-hour layover, we caught a flight to Istanbul.

Isha, on our second flight, from Frankfurt to Istanbul

After hours on the plane and in transit, the students and chaperone are not so peppy any more.

Lara, not wanting to be photographed

At the Istanbul airport, waiting for our third flight - Istanbul to Antalya

After arriving in Istanbul at 5PM, we met our national guide Yavuz, who accompanied us on our last leg, a one-hour flight to Antalya.

26 hours after we arrived at the airport in Seattle, we landed in Antalya, in the southwest of Turkey. Even though the students ate about 7 meals on the planes, many were still hungry. So at midnight, after we checked into our hotel, we went out to eat once again. Here, Zamir is being taught how to cut the meat off of the skewer.

One group of students with their first Turkish meal - donor kabab, a traditional Turkish meat sandwich.

Another group of students at their post-midnight meal.

A Turkish man, sitting at the next table, showing our students a math trick.

April 18th: Day Two, but the First Real Day of the Trip

Students, coping with the time change (Turkey is 10 hours later), slept late, had a late breakfast, and then we held our first "class" in Turkey. Some had more difficulty staying awake than others.

Our first day of exploring was a scavenger hunt in the old city of Antalya. Here, we were invited in to a 400-year-old mosque.

Men drinking tea and playing backgammon at a street-side tea shop.

Our students will participate in the National Children's Day parade in just a few days. We will visit a school for the deaf the day before, then march in the parade with the deaf school students. Together we will sing a Turkish song before the Governor. Selma, our Turkish language teacher, spent a few days teaching the students the song. As part of the scavenger hunt, students needed to sing the song in front of an historic site, then get a "review" from a Turkish person as to how well they did.

My group today

We did not only get a review from a Turkish person, but we got him to sing the song with us. When asked how good was our performance, he replied, "A little bit good."

Hadrian's Gate was built for the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the year 130 C.E.

Rooftop of a mosque

Doug, one of the parent chaperones, with the nut seller.

Antalya's old harbor

Wikipedia says that Antalya was the third most visited city by number of international travelers in 2011, displacing New York. The city is said to have been founded in 150 BCE by Attalos II, king of Pergamon. It was a major city during the Byzantine Empire.

Pickled stuff

My fish sandwich

After a an evening group meeting of sharing the results of their scavenger hunt (we are traveling this year with 40 laptops, a mini projector, and mini speakers for presentations) and telling stories of their adventures, we went out in small groups for dinner. Here I am with my 4 students at a tea house, where I taught them the game of backgammon.