Is it an allergic reaction or EVIL EYE?

This year has been very busy and stressful for me. I'm part of the leadership team in the elementary which also means I'm part of the school-wide curriculum leadership team, I lead a whole elem. staff inservice at the beginning of the year, I coached boys high school volleyball, I'm assisting with girl's basketball, I'm searching for new jobs and I'm the social coordinator for my entire staff. Now, those of you who truly know me know that I THRIVE on being busy and close to the edge of maxed out. But it's been hard this year because I'm also struggling with one illness after another since volleyball ended. So in November, I returned from the volleyball trip to London with a little bit of a cold that after 2 weeks turned into a raging infection and cold. I finally dragged myself to the doctor who immediately put me on anti-biotics to clear up the infection and other meds to deal with the cold symptoms. Great... I began to feel better but then struggled with my back spasming (this I can handle pretty well) and some uncomfortable side-effects to the anti-biotics. Back to the pharmacy I went, got the meds I needed and started feeling better from that when I felt a cough and chest cold coming back. I prescribed myself with rest, relaxation and some Vicks Vapo-rub only to wake up with hives covering my body. Now I think it must be an allergic reaction, but my Turkish teaching partner says it's the Evil Eye.
I'm not entirely convinced but perhaps someone out there is jealous or wishing me ill-will and it's effecting my health. I sure hope not and I also hope that these hives fade into the background as does the cold so I can enjoy my winter break in Italy in a week's time.

One of My Favourite Things About BLIS

One of my favourite things about my current school (among a few others that are pretty awesome - including the people I work with and my ADORABLE students) is the CAS Project. Today I went to a brunch that our school and parents put on to raise money for the CAS Project. And, no, I can't remember what CAS stands for (something to do with community service though) but I do know what they do and that's what I love. This group (primarily high school students) works to make the world better.

One of their projects that I have participated in is the Sunday visits to the Ankara Center for Rehabilitation. Most of the children at the center aren't from Ankara, but from outlying villages where there is little help for the mental and/or physical difficulties that these children are challenged with. So they come to this center and stay for a prescribed period of time (the mothers come with them to care for them around the clock) to get help during the week. On the weekends they are permitted to stay there, but there is nothing for them to do. So the kids in CAS go out there and spend time with them, playing games, doing simple art projects and just bringing a little brightness to their weeks. I've been, I see the impact it makes and it's huge. I love it. I get way more from it than I give and I know that the kids feel the same.

Another one of the projects is to go to Romania or another country hosting the Habitat for Humanity project. They go there, bring their cheerful selves, build relationships and a house for a family in need. I haven't gone with them but I've seen their pictures and heard their stories and I know that as much help and sunshine as they bring with them, they take so much more away.

Yet another one of their projects (their biggest one) is to help a school in a village in Turkey. They raise the money to have proper bathrooms installed, then they go there and give the school a mild make-over (paint etc), establish a library for the children (sometimes there are none), and to spend a week loving on the kids at that school by sharing activities, smiles and hugs. Again, I haven't gone but I've seen the pictures and heard the stories. It's incredible.

And what I love most about it is that the parents, teachers, staff, students and whole school embraces the CAS project. We use it in my classroom to give the kids a goal of community service to shoot for, and I am sure it's like that in other classrooms too. How wonderful to try to instill these children at every level with the concept of social responsibility and to show them how much better they make the lives of others and themselves through it.

Today was a great reminder of all of that.

Bullying, what are we doing?

I don't know if you've seen this video from this boy named Jonah or not. I know it went viral and is still floating around cyberspace, causinhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifg a stir. I just saw it today for the first time and was so saddened by what this kid has had to endure. I was abused and bullied as a child and then just bullied as a teen. I never cut myself like Jonah did, I never felt as alone as he does in this video, but I've known that kind of pain and alienation.

Now I'm a teacher and as I watched that video I got to thinking about all my students past and present. How many of them were like Jonah? Did I do enough to make them feel protected and safe, loved and somewhat happy? I've never thought of teaching as just a job or a 9-5 occupation where my only responsibility was to impart practical skills and knowledge to my students. I've always viewed my students as my kids. I love them like they all live with me (thank God they don't, though... that'd be far too many kids for a 2 bedroom apartment!!) and like I am responsible for their happiness. But I know that I didn't connect with EVERY student (I don't think it's possible simply because of personalities being different) and I worry. I worry that they felt sad, that they felt afraid, that they felt alienated, that they felt like there was no one for them to turn to.

This video also makes me ask the question of what were his teacher's doing? What are we ALL doing to lessen bullying in our schools and in our student's lives? Are we working hard to make sure that these kids understand social responsibility? Are we ensuring that they understand the meaning of words like tolerance, acceptance, caring, responsibility and respect? Or are we just taking a hard line, no tolerance kind of attitude (I agree that we can't tolerate bullying, but I don't know if expelling every bully is the solution to the problem... feels like a bizarre kind of Band-Aid) that teaches kids the power of complaint rather than the desire to create solutions. I don't have all the answers, but I sure have a lot of questions about how to handle these kinds of situations. I know that one can't just DEMAND tolerance, kindness, respect, trust, integrity and so on from children. They need to be taught these things by example (and I am, by no means, a perfect example of any of these), with words, with actions, and with care.

To my students of the past and present, I hope you have always felt cared for and safe in the classrooms where I have taught and I hope none of you suffered a Jonah-like experience when I was your teacher. I hope and pray that I will be more vigilant about teaching my students the kind of characteristics it takes to be a truly good and productive citizen of the world and that I will be more aware and mindful of the experiences my students have at school.

And finally, to my fellow professional educators, let's try to find solutions to this bullying situation together. Let's be examples of tolerance and acceptance, kindness and caring to our students on a daily basis. It won't be easy (especially on cold winter Mondays... speaking from my own experience) but it will be worth it if one less child feels the need to cut or consider suicide. It will be worth it if one more child learns to accept that kid who just isn't like all the others. It. Will. Be. Worth. It.

Turkish Doctors, Take 2

You of the faithful few that read this blog will remember the absolute craziness of the last time I was at the doctors when they tried to give me a topical cream for an internal injury... *sigh* So for the past 2 weeks I've been battling a cold/sinus infection/chest infection/whatever else phlegm-based that could be going on in my body. Today, I finally admitted that I had lost the battle and trudged down to the campus health clinic wondering what could be the diagnosis or how on earth they would decide to treat me... After much fawning over the fabulous purse that Raymond gave me a couple of years ago, they sent me off to see a doctor. His English was great, he asked the right questions, gave the lungs a listen and then proposed some antibiotics to fight the infections and a sinus cold medicine for some more immediate relief. He also took one look at me and said that if I wanted he could write a doctor's note that would excuse me from the next 2 days of school! WOW!! So different from the last experience! YAH!!! Just goes to show... consistency is so not the name of the game in Turkey! ;)

Soho in London... the land of dead Barbies and fun times

Yup, you read right... the land of dead Barbies and fun times. When I was in London, I was able to have most of my evenings free. This was great because I got to spend some time with family, so good to see Donna and Mike. I also got to hang out with one of my great friends who is a little CRAZY!! He decided that I needed to see the famous Soho of London and off we went for dinner and a couple of drinks. The streets were full of people getting ready to go to dinners, shows and parties. It was alive with energy and life. I loved it. First we went to a great restaurant that I can't remember the name of. After that we headed off to one small pub and then another. The last place was the one that caught my eye. We walked up to the door that was guarded by a very dapper and gorgeous man dressed in a black suit. I was nervous that the place was too posh for me, until I went downstairs that is. Downstairs was dark, the music was bumping and the ceiling was covered with dead Barbies and Troll dolls. You'd think this would be uber disturbing, but on the contrary, it was just plain funny. So, thanks, Taljit, for showing me the land of dead Barbies and fun times. Miss you much, my friend!
The wild and crazy streets of Soho

Yup... dead Barbies lining the ceiling... I took this leaning backwards and upside down... super fun!!


Me and Taljit...

Traveling with Teenage Boys

It's not the first time and I am sure it won't be the last, but traveling with students presents a special challenge. It's a challenge to get them to meet you at 3:30 am so you can make your early flight. It's a challenge to get them to remember that their passports need to be in their carry-on bags and not left in the seat pocket of the plane you just exited. It's a challenge to get them to stop asking you ridiculous questions. It's a challenge to convince them to sleep on the late night return flight. It's a challenge to get them to walk from one place to the next without complaints. And it's a challenge not to adore them all by the end of the trip!

What's this all about, you ask? Well, a couple of weeks ago I traveled with my boys volleyball team from Ankara to London to participate in a volleyball tournament. It was the first tournament for this team and they ranged in age from 14 to 17. They were nervous and a little scared to be in a big gym with some very established teams, but they sucked it up, went in there and did their best. We didn't win a lot of games but we pushed some of the best teams to perform better and we made a lot of friends along the way. And, they stole my heart. Everyone of those boys did me proud with their play and their teamwork and with the way that they found love for a sport that many started to play just to travel to the tournament.

Here are some pics of our trip and my boys:

Playing their new "brothers" at the German School of London.

Getting ready to let the world know that we are BLIS! A timeout...

Warming up for a game.

How The Mighty Have Fallen

Not too long ago, I rated my favourite and least favourite airports. Some are ridiculous with the security measures they take (but, hey, at least you have some sense of security, right?), others had nothing to offer outside of the plane right and a nasty bench to wait on. At the top of my least favourite list was London Heathrow. It always seemed disorganized and like a zoo when I had been there. That is until last summer when I sailed through transfers there like never before and the shopping etc had risen to the level of amazing. I cautiously moved it from my least favourite list, but it's BACK! I was traveling with students and tried to do a group check in. The grounds staff seemed a little confused at first but got on board and had a supervisor usher is forward to someone who would "help" us. I guess the forgot to tell her that as she proceeded to tell me that ONE at a TIME was all she was doing. Okay... that's fine. Then she was rude and grumpy with the students when they were fairly polite to her. However, others stepped in and got our kids processed VERY quickly and efficiently and even managed to organize it so that we were sitting together. We breezed through security (these kids are pretty seasoned travelers themselves so it was easy) and split up to spend our 2 hours of free time shopping etc. Sounds fine, right? Well, typical to Heathrow, our gate wasn't listed on our boarding cards. We told the kids to continually check the boards and to give themselves plenty of time to get to the gate. The gate was listed to close at 2:55pm. At said time, the boards still listed our flight as please wait. Also not unusual but we asked an attendant and he informed us we'd be boarding at gate 21. So off we went, hoping it wouldn't change (which it didn't, so that was great). Once we FINALLY boarded the plane (well after our departure time) we found out that the reason for the delay was that Heathrow wasn't fully staffed that day for some reason and couldn't accommodate the volume of traffic (uh... people, millions go through this airport on the regular and have done so for AGES... you'd think you'd know that you need a butt-load of people to make it work). Fail, Heathrow... not epic, but enough to shift you back to the yucky list! ;)