Skiing in Turkey

                                                                     Skiing in Turkey

My host uncle is a middle school teacher in my city and he plans the school activities and field trips for the classes. He’d talked about this trip to a ski hill for a while and was finally able to get his school to invite me and the other Americans in my city. I haven’t been skiing since last winter and on our way to the mountain I realized how much I missed it and how excited I was to make some turns. Davraz is the name of the mountain and it is near Isparta in the south western part of Turkey. We traveled by chartered bus to the mountain and a bus filled with screaming Turkish middle schoolers can make the trip feel a lot longer than it actually is but it was actually quite entertaining. They acted as most middle schoolers in this country do when they meet us, they scream all the English words they know. They had the opportunity to practice English with us and the whole way up we spent time talking with all the kids. 

As we arrived all the kids including myself where gazing in awe at the snow because we hadn’t seen snow all winter and were surrounded by it at the base of the mountain. It was a great day filled with playing in the snow, skiing, and cooking out a Turkish BBQ with all the students. I wasn’t expecting the skiing to be quite as good as the U.S.  I just assumed Turkey couldn’t have mountains and skiing like the U.S or Europe but I was certainly mistaken. There were three consecutive lifts that went up the mountain and the snow and landscape reminded me of the back bowls in Vail, Colorado except that I would see olive trees on the hill side and Turkish music blasting at the ski lifts.               

 After lunch we headed to a large mountain lake, Eğirdir Gölü, and toured around the famous Island, Yeşil Ada. We walked around the small island and saw an old Byzantine church, fishermen on the lake, and the sun setting over the mountains. We later ate some fresh fish straight from the lake for dinner. The whole evening we took pictures with the kids and answered all their questions about America. We were the first Americans most of the kids had ever met and it makes you realize the importance of what you are telling them about the U.S and yourself. What you say and how you portray yourself to them will provide them with the image of what Americans are for many years to come. This is the true challenge of being an exchange student and Youth Ambassador.

The Archeologists of Laodicea

The whole group: Professors, Archeologists, and Myself

Standing along the Pillars of a Laodicean Temple

My host Mother who is a professor at the Pamukkale University, the local university in my city, had helped organize a national health sciences conference hosted by the University. The meeting involved several professors around the country in which they discussed the education system of the health science programs at each represented university throughout Turkey. Professors would discuss the education of the students, the methods of teaching and the research topics their students were taking part.

Standing with a Professor from Van

 On the last day of this 3 day seminar all of the professors were invited to go tour the archeological projects near the University in the ancient cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis. My mother invited me to join her and her colleagues on this day. I arrived that morning and as I expected was immediately overwhelmed by meeting all these new people. They’re were professors from all over the country; Izmir, Adana, Van, Istanbul, Kayseri to name a few. I had the opportunity to eat in the faculty restaurant that morning before we left where I really enjoyed talking with them all about their cities and what they taught and the similarities and differences between American universities and Turkish universities.

The huge doorway to the most famous Roman Temple

Touring these ancient cities with the archeologists and the historical architects that work there made me more interested in the history of my current home than I ever have before. We had the opportunity to enter areas and sites that were closed off to the public. I was able to tour through the most ancient church of the city which was mentioned in the book of Revelations and Colossians and is one of the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse. I observed archeologists brush of the dirt over top the ancient floor murals in this church that won’t be opened to the public until 2017.

Listening to an Archeologist speak. He has been living and working in the ancient city for 7 years now.

 This was also the first time where I had encountered guests in my own city. The professors didn’t know much about my city and some had never been before. So when I was teaching these Turks about my city, recommending restaurants and places of interest and helping with directions I really felt like I could call this my home.

One of the closed off Archeological digs I was able to peruse

Some Archeologists who yelled at me for taking pictures in the closed off areas

YES Abroad Article

This article I wrote for YES Abroad was put on their website today as an Impact Story. Here is the link below:

Dancing in Denizli

Learning More than One Language

I knew this year would be filled with new challenges and experiences. However, before I left I was only thinking of how incredible this year will be and seemed to just dismiss the fact that there actually will be some difficulties. I was blinded by my excitement and I quickly realized once I arrived there were some challenges to overcome.The biggest challenge  arrived right when I stepped off the plane and it was the fact that I didn't know the language. I obviously recognized this beforehand but I guess I just assumed I would just magically absorb it throughout the year. Little did I know that being completely surrounded by non-English speakers every hour of every day may be the toughest challenge I have ever undertaken. It definitely takes a toll on your brain. It's not uncommon for me to lie awake at night mumbling common Turkish phrases, or to forget simple English words. For instance, I spent about 30 minutes one day trying to recall what a bottle cap was in English. The worst is the wave of fatigue that hits me at night when my Turkish brain turns off. This can be especially tough because Turkish families generally talk and drink tea late into the night. Some may think one who stares at bottle caps and talks to themselves may be mentally insane, however I assure you: they are probably just immersed in a foreign language.

Denizli Local Newspaper Headline

Although when I decided to join my community's traditional dance group I had no idea it would be like learning an additional language. Unfortunately, as I grew up I tended to distance myself from the arts. I've always been on the baseball field rather than the stage. So when I found out about this dance class through my parents I knew it was a ludicrous idea for me considering I have zero experience in the field of dance. But of course I jumped on it, because that's why I am here: to broaden my boundaries. So I fell right into it and as expected I had no idea what I was doing. These foreign movements to foreign music with directions in a foreign language were almost near impossible to deal with. I started realizing that I was having the same difficulties that I have with learning and speaking Turkish. For instance, a lot of the time I forget about what my arms are doing and only focus on my legs which causes everyone to stop and stare at me. It occurred to me that this is the same stare I get when I mix up the words "Aunt" and "rug" in school.

Learning from the Saz Master

The third and most difficult language I find myself learning this year is the language of Turkish music. The last time I played an instrument I was eight years old and running away from my piano teacher's house. I've always had a great appreciation for traditional music, and I just assumed it was for me to listen to not to make. So when presented with the opportunity to take saz lessons (an ancient Turkish string instrument) I was pretty apprehensive. However throughout this year I've developed a motto that can apply to all the different cultural situations I find myself in. For instance, when handed cow stomach soup complimented with pickle juice as the beverage, you just gotta shrug your shoulders and say why not. I treated this situation in the same way and dove right in. Understanding the oriental beats and rhythms is no different than learning Turkish or traditional dance. So when my saz teacher tells me to relax my fıngers (which is impossible to do) it is no different than trying to pronounce Turkish words like "muvakaffassızlaştıramadakilarımız."

The beauty of being here is that I have the opportunities to explore different areas of learning that I never would have in America. This year is fostering new life long interests and the wider range of interests I develop while here the more I learn about myself. 

Saz: Week 1

I have been playing the Saz a traditional Turkish string instrument for about 3 weeks now. My host parents provide for an in home Saz lesson every Sunday from this awesome old Saz master. He drives 30 minutes from his village into Denizli every Sunday. I want to track and show my progress over the next 7 months so I will post an update video of my the new songs I learn every few weeks or so.

A Day in My Host Family's Village

I’ve been here long enough to notice the many small, one mosque villages set back in the huge valley’s that I’ve driven through. But to actually go into one, to meet the average people living there is a different story. I traveled to Baklan a rural village about an hour outside of Denizli with my host mom, sister, two cousins and uncle. My uncle grew up here and was really excited to share his village with me. 

He picked us up bright an early and we headed out. In small villages like this one of course everyone knows each other and many people in the village gathered to greet us as we arrived. The first thing my uncle did was head straight for the poppy seed and sesame seed shop. I followed him into this hand built wooden shack and was greeted by two old women hand grinding poppy seeds and sesame seeds. They even let me mix the seeds roasting in a large pot over an open fire. This was my first real look at some of the traditional living in rural Turkey. Stocked up with fresh ground sesame and poppy seeds we headed over to home where my uncle grew up. His house is a two story complex housing most of the extended family and there was a small plot of farm land behind the house where my uncle’s father made living. 

After meeting my extended family and many hugs, kisses, and cheek squeezes all the men headed down to the village café. It was filled with old men sitting on old plastic chairs, drinking tea and thumbing prayer beads. I really enjoyed watching these old men discuss topics from politics to farming, just as if I was sitting at a diner in Loveland, Nebraska. The village was set right up against a mountain front and some of the older parts of the village reach up into the mountains. We hiked up toward the old mosque which was built by the Ottomans in the 1700’s. Here we looked at the old mosque and explored the old Ottoman cemeteries nearby. 

Our appetites began to grow as we hiked through these steep stone roads so we retreated to the family bread-baking building behind the house. I walk in to find seven old Turkish women covered in traditional village clothing, a head scarf and huge pants usually covered in flower patterns. They were all sitting down and rolling dough and baking it on the large circular iron stove. They would sometimes fill this dough with seasoned zucchini or spinach. I sat in there for a while listening to the old women chatter about the gossip in the village while they fed me all of the fresh pastries they were making. 

 

This trip had a very profound effect on me considering that my family comes from villages just like this one. Throughout the day I felt that I had some sort connection or bond with these villagers and made this a day I will never forget.

The welcoming atmosphere from everyone in the village and their desire to share their customs and their ways with a foreigner like me is something I am very grateful for. Many of the villagers asked me when I will come back to see them. I certainly will never forget some of the people I met and I can’t wait to visit again.