Sunday, September 26, 2010

My first 24 hours.

After arriving in Tekirdag yesterday evening quite composed and reenergized from my afternoon with Selen, I met Hakan, one of my supervisors here who took me briskly to the school's hotel. The facilities, while not quite the Ritz, are spacious, largely clean and modern (I have internet after all.) I went down to the Migros (the closest thing I've experienced to a Wal-Mart) to get some real-sized shampoo and body lotion, etc. and as I'm mindlessly wandering around working to get my bearings I hear a loud commotion to my right.

The Migros is set up as a kind of CVS/Sears/Staples on the ground floor with a supermarket in the basement. You take a kind of escalator-moving sidewalk combination contraption down and back up again. Well, somehow a small child of about five had fallen down while trying to step off the escalator and was wedged under her father's shopping cart. He was desperately trying to move backwards so as not to crush her, but there were people behind him and he was being pulled forward on top of his daughter. Everyone was just kind of staring at the situation as this poor little girl came closer and closer to being scalped by the escalator so I ran over and yanked her out from underneath the shopping cart. Speaking next to no Turkish I kind of patted her off and stood there awkwardly while her father tried to calm himself down. Props to the little girl--she didn't even cry. And, more strangely than that, her father just kind of took her by the hand and walked off... no word of thanks to me. All in all, very strange.

When I went to check out, the cashier was the nicest girl ever. She is probably around my age and her name was something that sounded like Cheetah. I think its Çitam but somehow pronounced otherwise. I've seen her twice and she still remembers my name. She calls out, "Ah-leks-ahn-dah-rah! Hohv ahhre yu!" It makes me feel warm and welcome.

Speaking of warm and welcome, I feel so fortunate to be here with these people. And, while my arrival was a bit rushed, two of my colleagues came by today to show us around. They are kind and helpful and I feel so lucky. That said, not all of my new friends are feeling quite as warm and welcome. Before leaving Ankara the brilliant Kate started a google group for all of us ETAs. Its meant to be a private message board as well as a forum for English teaching/classroom management ideas. Today's hot topic is regarding arrival to our new homes. Where some are currently settling in their two-bedroom apartments and having dinner with their new colleagues, others are significantly less comfortable. One individual has yet to meet anybody from her school and is still unclear who it was that picked her up from the bus station. Nobody seems to know why she is there and the soonest she will be able to speak to anyone will not be until Tuesday. Two others seem to have moved into an occupied apartment where they found slippers, sewing supplies and prescription drugs.

Our own university does not seem to be clear on our housing situation but we were assured that the vice rector is a kind man we are sure to love. They have assured us that we can speak to him and he will help us sort it out. All are agreed that staying in the hotel until June is a bad idea.

I am teaching tomorrow morning at 8:45 am. I don't know who or where and rumor has it the classrooms are still under construction. But somehow, I think it will all be okay.




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