whew!

Limited internet,  but three countries and two continents in less than 24 hours! More when I get back home.

Least You Think It's All Rose Colored Glasses

Dear Friend,

I seriously want to go HOME right now….I’m so frustrated I think I might cry. I'm feeling overwhelmed today. I don't have the energy to keep doing this job. 

My students are so disrespectful—there are some students who just do NOT know common courtesy or appropriate behavior no matter what you do to help them. I literally could not teach a lesson today.

I am sitting in my class and they are not here. I have no idea where they are….I checked my email messages and they are not scheduled for any activity that would take them from my class. I can’t leave the room because they might show up. And on top of all that, there are kids slamming doors in the hallway when I'm pretty sure they are supposed to be in class. 

Today, I want to book my ticked home for good. There are good parts about this job, but today it all just feels like too much. 

Newbie

Dear Newbie,

I’m so sorry. I was right there with you last week. Hang in there. Remember, it’s only a job. Yes, we know the importance of an education, but we are not in Kansas any more, so we don’t know the system which makes it that much harder. Breathe. That is all you need to do. Teach what you can and let the rest go. Let go of the disrespect, let go of the laissez-faire attitude, let go of the disorganization  You cannot change these things. The only thing you can do is show up for your job and do what you can. And, that my friend, will be enough. Promise.

As hard as teaching in a foreign country is, I do think we are all here to learn a lesson. Sometimes it’s patience, sometimes it’s to laugh at ourselves, sometimes it’s to appreciate the things we had at home. We took this big leap of faith knowing that it was going to be challenging, and we still said yes. I know I didn't know how hard it would be at times, but we are going to come out on the end stronger people and better teachers because of this experience.

I knew this year wasn't going to be my best year teaching; the first year at any job is never our best. But I guarantee that the kids will learn more than you think. Focus on the good kids. The ones we like, and who like us,  and the ones who are appreciative of our efforts. They are in our classrooms and our hallways, but it's easy to get caught up in the yuck so much so that we forget those goodies are out there! 

Hang in there! Let me know if you need anything. I have Patron at my house!:)

Talk to you later!!
Friend

It's the Little Things

I can tell it's nearing the end of the semester. Students are just now beginning to check their grades; it's good to know this scenario isn't specific to only students in the US. Only now do they magically become concerned about how they are doing. It's the little things like asking three weeks before the end of the semester, "What can I do to improve my grade?" that make teachers go crazy.

Today I went in search of a battery charger for my camera. If you didn't know, I lost my camera bag on one of my many flights within the first week of moving to Turkey. It's been a long time trying to get my new camera bag up to snuff. The school translator called several electronics stores, and she finally found one in Tarsus.

I had to psyche myself up to go in search of the store as I was uncertain of its location. Sometimes the daily stuff is the most taxing and easy to put off because I know the language is going to be challenging. However, when I found the store, the two ladies were the most helpful. My limited Turkish, one phone call to a bilingual friend, plus a few visits to Google translate, and, sadly, no charger was found. But they did point me in the right direction, and eventually, I was able to find one. It's the little things like people being willing to use Google translate to communicate
that make being in Turkey less challenging.

In my effort to find said new charger, I met a guy at the new technology store who helped me learn some new things about my camera. He actually works for Samsung, and he wanted to practice his English. It seems selfish, but it's always a relief to find someone who speaks English. It means my task won't be so daunting, and yes, there are plenty of times today when my Turkish wasn't enough, and I left not knowing what was being said. However, diligence did help me finally understand the if I make some really
great topping to go on my lahmacun, the bread guy will bake
 it right up in his stone oven. That was easily a 10 minute conversation.

This morning this was out my kitchen window this morning:
Sorry. I couldn't pick just one image. Yeah, it's the little things.

Finally, I have to thank all of you who commented, emailed, and Facebooked (yeah, I'm making it a verb). It was nice to hear from you. So far, as with most resolutions, we're off to a smashing start. I also have to applaud your commenting efforts. Not a single one of you told me that I needed to take some responsibility for my lack of blogging. I guess that proves that I'm the smart ass of my friends as that would have been my
reply to myself! Thanks for not being a smart ass.

Yeah, it really is the little things.

Just in case you missed the Facebook post from yesterday:

ten things that made me smile

• yoga with my new yoga cards
• listening to a podcast of The Splendid Table (I ♥ Lynne Rossetto Kasper)
• seeing two boys about 7 or 8 lift their little sister about 4 up and over a ledge
• a dog doing downward dog
• the smell of fresh bread from the bread cupboard in the market
• the smell of fresh carrots from the green grocer (yes, they do have a smell!)
• homemade chicken and rice soup
• two calls from home 
• Skype with my sister 
• going to bed early

 I hope you find all the little things you need today.





P.S. Make sure you check out the post titled Olive Oil if you want a good chuckle. :)