Back in the Swing of It!!

That's what it finally feels like. We are nearing the end of the 3rd week of school and I am finally beginning to feel like I am getting back into the swing of it. At my school, there is just a feeling that the year doesn't really settle in and begin until after Curriculum Night with the parents (which was tonight), and I have to agree. After meeting all the parents en mass, it felt like the year was really beginning. Sometimes I wonder if we should move Curriculum Night up so that the start is earlier, but then I think about how much I already know about my kids because I've been with them for the last 3 weeks and I think that I couldn't possibly be as comfortable talking about them with their parents any earlier. And can I just say how wonderful the Turkish parents are?! For the second year in a row, my teaching partner and I were able to deliver our presentation in record time and have parents more than happy with the information we gave. They listened well, asked great questions, laughed at our cheesy jokes and were just KIND, KIND, KIND!! Maybe that's part of feeling like I am finally back in the swing of things... anyway... here we go and let me leave you with another funny from another student as told to me by the mom:

At the end of a presentation, a mom came to me and told me that her child was very happy in our class (I am thrilled to hear this always), but then she told me that the child was thrilled because (get this...) I wasn't preggers!!!! hahaha She said that her child was happy that I wouldn't be leaving part way through the year like the kindergarten teacher did the year before. I guess her child gets pretty attached pretty quickly!!! LOVE IT!!

Another New Year, Another New Class, Another Funny Student

One of the things I love best about teaching little kids is that they simply speak their minds and have a natural sense of timing when it comes to comedy. Every year that I have taught I have had one or two students that are just better at this than most. This year I have one such student. This child is calm, cool, collected and simply funny. As my teacher friend commented when I told her the story: this kid has a big person's sense of humour in a little body!

Here is what happened today with my little straight-faced comedian:

Kid: Can I ask you something?

Me: Of course.

Kid: CAN you have kids? (this comes DAYS after my class asked me if I had any children of my own)

Me: Sure, I can if I want them and maybe if I have a husband. (Turkish society is a little more conservative)

Kid: Do you WANT a husband?

Me: Sure... that would be nice...

Kid: Well... are you even TRYING to find one?!

Me: uh... HAHAHAHAHA

I couldn't keep it together... this kid cracks me up on the daily, but this one had me in tears... I love my job on days like this!!!!

Vancouver Pride Parade

This post is a little (okay, a lot) late in it's arrival. But in my defense, I just haven't been blogging as much as I could or should be... wait, that's not much of a defense, is it? Basically, I've been busy being lazy and now I feel like I've missed posting some great things.

Part of the joy of being a teacher is having the summer months off to recuperate, rejuvenate, and re-open your mind to what life has to offer. And because I am international, I get the special joy of coming home and reconnecting with friends and family.

One of the days that I chose to go into the city of Vancouver turned out to be the date for the Vancouver Pride Parade. My friends and I hadn't thought about it in advance when we scheduled to meet downtown on Robson St. for brunch but what a happy coincidence! Myself and one other of my friends had never been to or seen a pride parade before and were more than happy to have window seats along the beginning of the parade route. All I can say is that it was a wonderful celebration of life and whatever your religious leanings or beliefs may be, you just can't deny how much fun these people were having and how much they were loving life!

Here are a few pictures that I got from our restaurant seats... enjoy!!

Made me think of Carnivale time... very cool.

Requisite tighty-whitey dancers...although, those are tighty-purplies... hehehehe

The belle of the ball, so to speak. Lots of fantastic drag going on on those streets.

Lots of great support for HIV/AIDS causes... loved the red feather boas!!

And, yes, there were Trojans... hehehe

All in all, it was a lot of fun and there were apparently over 600,000 people viewing the parade and all crowds were on their best behaviour... the city was electric with a Mardi Gras type atmosphere (they even threw beads). It was great!

Summer Coming to a Close

Even though it doesn't officially end for a little while, my summer vacation is coming to a close and so, by very definition, summer is coming to a close for me. Today I am doing that final load of laundry with a dryer (I don't have a dryer in Turkey, so the luxury of soft jeans is pretty amazing) as I am packing. I've become genius at fitting a maximum amount of things in a smallish space. I did purchase another bag for the return trip (I bought a ton of classroom things that I missed last year, treats for my teaching team and myself, some clothes, 4 pairs of shoes and I went through some of my stuff in storage and tossed that in too). So far one bag weighs in at about 42 pounds and the other remains to be seen as those last pairs of jeans are getting their dryer time right now.

At this time of year, I am usually stressed with packing and making sure that I am not overweight in my bags (as it is, I will most likely need to pay for the second bag) and that I have what I seem to feel is absolutely necessary for me to be successful in the coming year. Typically this leads to at least one spaz attack and a few tears (depending on the time of the month, of course). However, this year I feel blessed to have more than I thought I could take back in my bags already. I feel relaxed and organized. I'm super pleased with my purchases and with my packing. I am sure that once I get to Turkey I will realize that I've forgotten one of the most important items, but for the moment, I feel like I have it in control.

So that is the first sign that vacation and summer is coming to a close, the second is putting myself on the scale. Five whole pounds have been added to my weight as I gorged myself on all the things I don't typically get while in Turkey (REAL maple syrup, BACON, meat - I tend not to buy a lot of meat- Coffee Crisp, KD!!! and the list goes on). So I know the end is near when those dryer dried jeans feel a little (HA, try A LOT) tighter than they did when I arrived in Canada.

The next sign that summer is coming to a close is that I begin to get excited about the coming year. My brain begins to go crazy thinking of all the things I could be making and prepping for my students and fellow teachers. And I start to get bored with my endless days of reading, sun bathing and chatting with friends. (Don't worry... I am aware of how WEIRD that is.)

With that said, I need to get back to laundry, cleaning and packing... in 48 hours I will be hanging out in Turkey again (takes more than 24 hours to get there... you lose 10 hours with time change alone)! Look for start of the year blog posts coming soon...

Santa? Demre, Turkey

Demre, Turkey is considered to be the original home of what we now know as Santa Claus. It is part of the area of Myra (see my previous post) and has multiple shops and museums dealing with Saint Nicholas. It's an interesting little town and great because you can stop there for a couple of hours, have lunch and see the museums, sites and shop in the little bizarre. Have a look:

Myra, Turkey

As we were on our way to one location or another, we decided to take a little detour to see this ancient Lycian site. For more information about the Lycians and the actual site, check out this website. I will say that it is a must see in Turkey. It is simply amazing and worth the crowds and the summer heat. Here is a quick look at what we saw there:


The amazing arena/theatre.

The tombs carved into the cliffs.

An ornate carving that is just sitting on a rock.


Me and antiquity... I LOVE history.

Kaş, Turkey

Kaş is an amazing location in the south of Turkey. It's on the Mediterranean coast and is about 3 hours or so outside of Antalya. The roads getting there are windy and run along the coastline so you get some pretty amazing views while you drive, but they are narrow roads with little room for passing (especially since there was a lot of road work going on when I drove through). Kaş is also famous for the tombs that are there (some are carved into the cliffs and some are just out in the streets). The market there is small but beautiful and even better at night. Lots of fresh seafood is available and it's a great location to just relax. We only spent a couple of nights there and didn't make use of the tiny cove-like beaches but enjoyed it nonetheless. Here is a look:

The famous house tombs, this one is in the market.

The Lycian tombs that are carved into the dramatic cliff sides.

The view from our hotel room. We were lucky enough to get the top floor (although we weren't lucky enough to have an elevator!!).

The harbour as seen from the end of the breakwater.

hehehe.... this is what we came home to after our first day there. We all cracked up as we found the beds decorated.