May 5th - Our third school visit

 Today we went to our third school visit on this trip, but the first time we went to a public school. We drove to a village school about 30 minutes outside of town called Serinyol Primary school. The differences were obvious right from the beginning. There was much less English spoken, and the facilities were much more basic. But what was the same was the genuine joy at having us visit. 

Turkish language teacher and me

There really was no plan for us as we entered the Turkish language class, so we had to initiate it all - sharing photo books, playing little games, having simple conversations, exchanging Facebook information.

 Isha, Grace and Sara with a Turkish student.

 There was a lot more non-verbal communication happening. Here, Meg is teaching the students this hand-clapping game.

 Basketball and soccer games together

 And then just a lot of picture taking

 Jacob and Turkish student

 Everyone wanted their picture taken with Andrew. 

 Someone else had a picture of this girl with a note which read, "Andrew, I love you."

 Once again we were treated to an amazing meal. this time all the food was made by parents of students.

 Emily's arm where turkish students wrote stuff.

 Lara in a primary classroom drawing a picture of a bunny.

 This school connection was amazing. So many students came up to me afterwards and said it was their favorite school visit. I think it was such a treat and an honor for this school to get American visitors. They treated us like rock stars. And our students really appreciated the genuine affection.

If you want to see more pictures from our school visit today, use this URL address:
https://plus.google.com/photos/117615349326644851974/albums/5738272994174758945?authkey=CMnosKOPsJj6lAE

 Our plan was to go to the beach, but it started pouring. So we headed to St. Peter's church - the first church in the world. Originally it was just a cave, founded in 47 CE. 

Earlier in the trip, one of the students complained that at Evergreen School, we honor every religion but Christianity. So we decided to use this first Christian church to have an "appreciation circle." Students shared what they appreciated about their trip in Turkey so far.

Student appreciations:

I appreciate being able to share something that I treasure (sports) with others.

I appreciate the moments.

I appreciate the chance to experience something new beyond what I’ve already experienced.

I appreciate being an outsider in a foreign country, because I know what it feels like to be different, in how I look and the language I speak. When I return home, I will appreciate the people I may consider outsiders.

I appreciate the effort the Turkish people put in when talking to us.

I appreciate talking to new people in the grade, not just my best friends.

I appreciate how hospitable, nice, kind, and welcoming the Turkish people are, though none of them may know you and may not initially feel welcome.

I appreciate the opportunity to take a trip with people I grew up with before we split up for high school.

I appreciate the opportunity to spend time with people you usually don’t hang out with.

I appreciate that we can all be here as a team.

I appreciate my pen pal, God, and random dinner groups.

I appreciate the open hearts of the Turks and those of Evergreen as well. It’s totally the open-hearted connections that make this trip.

I appreciate being able to connect with people that I couldn’t connect with at home.

I appreciate all the new friends I have made in Turkey.

I appreciate the way the Turks smile at you when you try to speak broken Turkish. I also appreciate forgetting what day of the week it is.

I appreciate the roommate system, because it lets me get to know my roommates better.

I appreciate freedom, because it makes the trip more fun.

I appreciate the lengths we and the Turkish people go to communicate.

I appreciate Evergreen school for giving us the opportunity to meet with kids like us.

I appreciate how kind and welcoming the Turkish people are and all of the chocolate I got today.

I appreciate being able to play badminton and laugh, even though we couldn’t understand each other.

I appreciate having this amount of independence and freedom.

I appreciate connecting with the Turkish students through sports and how welcoming and inclusive they are.

I appreciate the connections that I have made despite the language barrier.

I appreciate being part of the group, and that you shared your appreciations.

I appreciate the moments when you can feel a connection to the Turks – a smile, a hug – even though you can’t speak their language.

I appreciate the people in my class – the serious conversations and connections I’ve made with people I’ve never spoken to before this trip, and also the silly connections, bonding over games and long bus rides.

I appreciate that there is always someone to talk to no matter the situation. I also appreciate the amount of appreciation the Turks have, even when we have no clue what they are trying to say they stick around.

I appreciate the tour guides because they give us so much more depth and understanding.

I appreciate rain that isn’t freezing cold – nice weather in general.

I appreciate being able to make a fool of yourself with the Turkish people.

I appreciate sweetness and adorableness.

I appreciate how hospitable and patient the Turks are towards us outsiders. Because of this, we have been able to create relationships that defy the language/culture barrier. 

Quinn, with a strange Gray-like thing growing out of his shoulder

Eli (with his soccer scarf) with the Kofte makers for dinner

We found this little stand across the street from our hotel which makes a type of kofte (Turkish burrito). He have found a number of different types of kofte. My favorite is chi kofte, which is a cold vegetarian burrito-like dish with bulgur paste, greens and a spicy pomegranate sauce - so delicious and refreshing. This one was much spicier (YUM).

The late afternoons and evenings have become a little chaotic. The pen pal connections have grown and blossomed. Students have been making arrangements each afternoon and evening to meet with their pen pals. Sometimes it is to hangout for a few hours before dinner. Sometimes it is for dinner, or to watch the soccer games together (The Turkish league is heating up, close to the finals). It has been very exciting and satisfying that this school connection has worked so well for many of my students. But it has become a logistics nightmare. Well, not quite a nightmare. Maybe a logistics challenge.

It turns out we were in the paper again - our visit with the Mayor yesterday. This is at least the second time on this trip we have been in a local paper. The first time was after our first pen pal school visit in Antalya. There may have been two other times as well: suposedly we were in the paper after our participation in the Children's Day parade, and then again after our village visit outside Antalya, though we did not see the  articles of the last two mentioned. We are just like rock stars (but different).