Land of OUR Sojourn

Let me begin this episode by saying how much  I adore my family. I have been SO incredibly blessed.

For my mom's fiftieth birthday, my aunt gave her a trip to come to Turkey. Together they would explore Istanbul and then make their way to Trabzon to see me...well that trip was this week. Earlier this afternoon I waved goodbye to their taxi to the airport, sobbing and hugging the woman who cleans the Koru Tesisleri, the hotel/guesthouse that may continue to be my semi-permanent housing for the near future. This woman is quite tiny, so the hug was awkward, and she truly doesn't speak a lick of English, but seeing a mother and daughter say their tearful goodbye doesn't need to be explained in any language. As the taxi pulled away, the woman pulled me back into the building to sit with her in the lobby until I collected myself and attempted to say something in my broken Turkish.

Mom and Aunt Anne were in Istanbul for four days, then they arrived in Trabzon on Thursday. I had night classes at 5:00 and 7:00, but Ali, being awesome, showed them around while I was teaching. Then we all had a bite at Koru Pizza downstairs from my room and discussed the next day's plan.

Though they're new to Turkey, and Turkey is a fascinating place, Mom and Aunt Anne really came for me. They came to make sure I'm adjusting and settling in, and also to force me to buy some real silverware...instead of using a broken plastic fork to eat my tuna mac. That, in and of itself, just blows me away. They came all this way to see me and to take care of me. It brings me to tears even now to think about it. I already miss them so MUCH!

I don't teach on Fridays, so that morning they came back to campus and Mom unpacked the things that she had brought me from the States. Highlights include an AWESOME Columbia coat, a raincoat, Bananagrams, ranch dressing packets, ballet flats, and a jug of New Hampshire maple syrup. Also peanut butter and plenty of other little treats...it was like an early Christmas. And, to a certain extent, it really was the "Christmas" or "birthday" that I'll get with my family this year. Aunt Anne brought some great ESL resources and printed-off Beatrix Potter stories...see already why they're the best?

After the exciting opening of Mom's carry-on full of stuff, we saw Naci Bey, the head of my department, and he invited us into his office for a nice chat. He also gave me permission to attend the International Studies Association conference in April (in San Diego), should I achieve the financial means to make it happen. We also ran into Evren and Fehmi Bey, other colleagues in my department, who informed me that there was NO way my mother could actually be my mother; "She is too young! She looks younger than you!" My mom actually got a LOT of that during her stay here...guess who gets those genes? Hurray! Evren and Fehmi Bey also said that they would arrange a trip to Uzungol for the three of us, and I never should have doubted that they would...haha!

Next we headed to the Meydan (city center), where we grabbed a bite to eat, some fun hamsi (anchovy) souvenir things, and some exciting Trabzonspor gear at the official TS Club store. Then we were off to Forum, the big old mall next to campus, to purchase homegoods to turn my hotel room into a home. I am now living large with an iron!!! After I asked my friend Bahar for help finding a dolmus to get to the Novotel where Mom and Aunt Anne were staying, she just told another colleague, Onur (who's hilarious), and he said he should probably just drive us...so he did! That evening we ate some good Western food in the hotel restaurant (I was jonesing for some salad dressing...) and registered me for the ISA conference. Yes, I'm going. And this has all been made possible by my aunt, who sees the conference as an important first step for my career...needless to say, I sort of wept. She is so good to me. March 31st I'll fly to San Diego, in the good ole US of A, and leave on April 3rd for a return on the 4th. It's still sinking in. Now I need to get on creating the paper itself from my thesis!

Yesterday Ali Bey drove the Ponder women contingent (Mom, Aunt Anne, and me) plus Ali up to Sumela Monastery, the most iconic attraction in the area. It SHOULD be...it's a monastery attached to a sheer rock face. And walking up there ain't no picnic...it was over a mile of uphills switchbacks. But was it worth it! Here are some pictures:

Not my picture, but the fog was so thick that WE didn't even see the monastery from the outside...but it's on the magnets that we bought. :D

A look at one of the many sections of pathway up to Sumela.....

Ali Bey, Aunt Anne, and Ali pause for a breather

Example of the thick fog that surrounded us all day. Spooky!

Can you read it? That's why I included it...

As we enter the monastery

Behind the walls

A look at the outside of the cave chapel - incredible frescoes

A look back towards the entrance

Inside of a room on the outside wall

At the base of the path; many tourists mill around, but few of them will attempt the walk. They'll drive to the upper parking lot.

Example of the incredible frescoes painted onto the ceiling and walls of the cave chapel

The sign at the beginning of the pathway up

So we saw Sumela, and it was really wonderful. My camera ran out of battery about halfway, but my mom and Ali were able to take a lot more. These are just some highlights, but they do cover most of what we saw. Then Ali Bey took us to a restaurant for some authentic local cuisine (best kuymak I've had yet), which was delicious, and then drove us back into Trabzon. Ali hung out with us and we had dinner at the hotel again (featuring wine...something I haven't had since Ankara, and sometimes forget exists), then got back to campus. This morning Mom and Aunt Anne helped me unpack completely and organize/clean. Aunt Anne calls it "nesting." They helped me nest.

You know how, when rockets are launched, they get an initial boost to get them out of the atmosphere? That's what my mom and aunt provided for me over the past three days. I was treading water, but they came in here and helped me get organized, helped me to get out of survival mode and into living mode. I feel like I own my space now. Also, whereas I thought I had learned no Turkish since I've been here, helping my mom and aunt get around helped me to realize that I've come an incredibly long way, even if I can't hold extended conversations. They helped me to feel competent, to feel secure. I miss them already so much...but I feel rejuvenated and ready for what's to come. I can't thank them enough for coming to see me, or for their generosity both to me and to Ali. The Big Guy's looking out for me, has so blessed me. Starting this week off with some serious optimism.

Ode to a Good Disc

Ladies and gentlemen, did you ever hear
the tale 'bout a disc that saved his owner dear
from the rodent menace of the year
in a Turkish town called Trabzon?

If you haven't heard, you unlucky fool,
recall Alexis who taught English at that school
called KTU with an Olympic pool...
Yes, she's the one it's based on.

The disc wasn't young, but it wasn't old
used for Ultimate Frisbee in warm or cold
at least its end was rather bold
...squashed a mouse when it was stepped on.

The post for this past week (and a half) would be incomplete without some words about the mouse that used to live in Ali's room. I say "used to" because a few nights ago, one of her precious Ultimate Frisbee discs was sacrificed to eliminate the menace.

This mouse was discovered by Ali about a week or so after we moved in...so it's been there a while. We actually nicknamed this mouse Houdini and Mighty Mouse because, on numerous occasions, it did the impossible:

1. Disappeared from being cornered under a suitcase
2. Survived for over a week with NO FOOD when locked in Ali's bathroom
3. Ate copious quantities of rat poison and DID NOT DIE
4. Avoided stepping on sticky traps for over a week

For weeks, Ali has been plagued by this little guy. She kept every smidgen of food in her refrigerator and would have to come to my room to eat. She also came to my room to sleep in the extra bed when the mouse would make ridiculous amounts of noise at night. We developed a knocking system on the wall between our rooms for "mouse alerts," and responding to these calls could happen at any time of day. Well, the point of all of this is that even Houdini met his end...and so did this mouse.

A couple of nights ago, Ali used her room phone to call mine in the middle of the night. I immediately responded to this most urgent of mouse alerts. When I arrived in her room, she told me that the mouse had finally made a mistake, stepping on the very edge of a sticky trap, but he had almost gotten free. So, she had covered the mouse and the paper with one of her precious flying discs and was weighing it down with a water bottle. Had I been more coherent at this time, I would have thought to have taken a picture, because it would look really good right about now. You'll just have to use your imagination.

The mouse was under there, all right, squeaking every once in a while. Ali asked if I would watch the disc and its prisoner while she went to get the night shift guy at the reception desk. I said, of course, and dutifully waited until she returned with him. He doesn't speak English, but he's super sweet and had helped us before with the rat poison issue. With our broken Turkish and many charades, we communicated where the mouse was. The question now was what to do with it. It would escape if he just took the disc off, he gestured to us. And then he made the fatal inquiry.

Could he squash the mouse by stepping on the disc?

I'll spare you the gruesome details, but after a deep breath, we respectfully turned our backs. Afterward, that mouse was definitely deceased. An ex-mouse, like an ex-parrot, Monty Python style. But the glue of the sticky trap was all over the disc...as was....well, you get it.

And, thus, a good disc gave its life for the life of Ali. She now lives in a mouse-free zone. And that disc, from her summer in Cleveland, lives on in our hearts. Cleveland disc...we salute you.

Whene'er they say, "No heroes left!"
When of good the world seems so bereft
whether your throwing hand is right or left
Remember...Cleveland disc is number one.

A Week by the Seat of Its Pants

Well, friends, the wait is over.

That's right. School is in session.

For weeks this has been all I've been waiting for. Just get me started, I would think to myself. The time has come and I want to be productive! Well, you know the old adage. Careful what you wish for!

On Tuesday I received my class schedule. This was awesome. My new colleague and friend, Evren, helped me to procure said schedule, and then most graciously explained it to me. So far so good! Well, next I discussed these classes (4 sections of English Speaking, each meeting twice a week, and 2 sections of American Culture and Literature, each meeting once a week) with the appropriate colleagues in charge. I was informed that there was no set curriculum for either course--I was completely free to teach what I thought was appropriate. This surprised me, as Ali and John, both teaching with the School of Basic English while I am teaching in the English (Literature) Department, have set curriculums and books that they are to follow. In many ways, I envy them for how straightforward their requirements are, but this does present an exciting opportunity for me to take true ownership of my teaching.

Set free with this information, I was suddenly raring to go. Good thing, too, because after I was shown my new office (in which I am alone...a big luxury in many ways, but also a wee bit lonely), I was told that I should probably go to my 7:00 class, which was meeting right then, and say hi.

Ah, yes, a word about my schedule: I teach daytime and nighttime classes. WACKY!

M: Speaking (10:00-12:00), American Cul. and Lit. (1:00-3:00), American Cul. and Lit. (7:00-9:00)
T: Speaking (3:00-5:00), Speaking (5:00-7:00), Speaking (7:00-9:00)
W: Speaking (10:00-12:00)
Th: Speaking (10:00-12:00), Speaking (5:00-7:00), Speaking (7:00-9:00)
F: No Classes

So it's kind of a weird schedule, at least to my Sweet Briar sensibilities, but it's how things get done around here, so I'm on board! And the office really is a great space...even had my first meeting with a  student in it! Worked very nicely, and I am quite pleased.

That first night was pretty nervewracking/slightly awkward since I was also rushing off to the Trabzonspor v. Lille match for their Champions League group, but I made it through in one piece, and as of now I've had at least one class with each section I teach except for the American Culture and Lit kids, who I'll see on Monday. I'm majorly breaking the "don't smile until the third week" rule, but the students seem to respond to my intense energy, over-the-top body language and examples (how else will they understand me?), and well-balanced seriousness. If you've ever heard me talk about my thesis, with the occasional ridiculous joke and/or face thrown in, then you can guess at the tone/persona that I assume.

So, the other big item of business this week, besides quite abruptly beginning my job for the year (I'm still working on the Syllabus project x2...so wish me luck in getting seriously academic! This is my chosen life path, post-graduate school!), was this crazy Trabzonspor match. Jimmy Fryar wasn't kidding: the atmosphere was so worth it. The game itself, unfortunately, was just pretty scrappy and full of players making terrible decisions, particularly with regards to holding onto the ball too long. But overall the experience was just one crazy fun ride. We got free flags walking in, and we waved them with the rest of the hooligans, doing our best to sing along with the chants by imitating vowel sounds and jumping up and down like we knew what we were doing. Turkish football culture is so great and intense! Though, there is the obvious downside that that culture associates football with what it means to be masculine (according to my colleague, Mustafa, with whom I have great philosophical discussions about literature and academia), so you don't have the same involvement on the part of women. But, as I said in my previous post, I am on the hunt for the Trabzonspor women's club! They're out there somewhere, just waiting to be found by me, and then I'm going to be their biggest fan and beg them to let me play with them.

This is what I daydream about...besides tacos and barbeque.

Speaking of tacos and barbeque...well, really food in general...Ali and I have made the decision to just go ahead and get a hot plate. We're still waiting on permanent housing (one day, this dream, too, shall come true), and without kitchens in our rooms at the guest house (which is like a hotel), eating out is becoming both tiresome and expensive. So tomorrow we shall purchase a hot plate that we have already scoped out (hellllooo Arzum, supermarket extraordinaire on a nearby street) and suddenly become incredibly resourceful and just like Iron Chefs...who make quesadillas and omelettes and little toasty sandwiches. Wish us luck in our culinary endeavors! And in finding a long-term place to stay.

Sorry that there aren't any pictures this week...as I obtain a few from the Trabzonspor game (Ali and John had their cameras, but I left mine at home), I'll try to put them up. Cheers for now!