Here is another project I was working on this fall. I made two blankets for a friend's cousins last weekend. I've also been having a lot of fun teaching some younger girls (ages 11-12) how to make blankets like this. We've been having a lot of fun together, talking about Hannah Montana and High School Musical!
Monday, November 19, 2007
Craft Project #2
Here is another project I was working on this fall. I made two blankets for a friend's cousins last weekend. I've also been having a lot of fun teaching some younger girls (ages 11-12) how to make blankets like this. We've been having a lot of fun together, talking about Hannah Montana and High School Musical!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Curiosity Killed the Class
Something that can frustrate me sometimes is people's curiosity at inopportune times. Minnesota is pretty infamous for this. I especially notice this during rush hour. A car accident is never the sole problem for stopping traffic. The real problem is when people slow down to see who probably hit whom, how bad the accident is, etc.
Since arriving in Turkey, I've seen my fair share of situations requiring an ambulance. Mostly, these situations involve car accidents, motorcyclists getting hit, etc. An interesting phenomenon that usually happens when an ambulance is called, is that people come out of the cracks to stand around the ambulance watching. Never once have I seen these people actually helping. They simply form a semi-circle around the back door of the ambulance, straining to see inside, waiting for a glimpse of what? I don't know, until the ambulance doors close and it drives away.
Yesterday during class, an ambulance pulled up right next to the window of our classroom. I had noticed it but didn't draw attention to it, knowing the interruption that it would cause for the class. A group of ten students had already formed outside our window, behind the ambulance. In the middle of an activity, the students realized something was happening outside, and all ran to the window to see what was going on. I tried to get them to sit down and continue working, but at all times, at least three people were at the window giving a play-by-play. By this time, at least fifty students were all huddled around the ambulance outside. I asked my students over and over to sit down. One girl finally said to me, "Aren't you curious? Aren't you worried that it is someone you know?" "If it is," I said, "I'll find out later!" She looked at me like I was the coldest, most heartless person she had ever met.
The class would not relax until the ambulance was out of sight and the crowd outside our window was gone. My class was ruined, my students thought me heartless, and we found out nothing about the accident by watching out the window. Whether it was my impatience with my students or impatience with this curiosity at inopportune times that upset me so much, I don't know. Either way, I guess I need more patience!
Since arriving in Turkey, I've seen my fair share of situations requiring an ambulance. Mostly, these situations involve car accidents, motorcyclists getting hit, etc. An interesting phenomenon that usually happens when an ambulance is called, is that people come out of the cracks to stand around the ambulance watching. Never once have I seen these people actually helping. They simply form a semi-circle around the back door of the ambulance, straining to see inside, waiting for a glimpse of what? I don't know, until the ambulance doors close and it drives away.
Yesterday during class, an ambulance pulled up right next to the window of our classroom. I had noticed it but didn't draw attention to it, knowing the interruption that it would cause for the class. A group of ten students had already formed outside our window, behind the ambulance. In the middle of an activity, the students realized something was happening outside, and all ran to the window to see what was going on. I tried to get them to sit down and continue working, but at all times, at least three people were at the window giving a play-by-play. By this time, at least fifty students were all huddled around the ambulance outside. I asked my students over and over to sit down. One girl finally said to me, "Aren't you curious? Aren't you worried that it is someone you know?" "If it is," I said, "I'll find out later!" She looked at me like I was the coldest, most heartless person she had ever met.
The class would not relax until the ambulance was out of sight and the crowd outside our window was gone. My class was ruined, my students thought me heartless, and we found out nothing about the accident by watching out the window. Whether it was my impatience with my students or impatience with this curiosity at inopportune times that upset me so much, I don't know. Either way, I guess I need more patience!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Turkish Home Remedies
I haven't been writing very regularly so far this semester. It is definitely not due to a lack of topics! It has been such a busy time and its taken me awhile to adjust to a new schedule. Hopefully I can share more with you about life in Adana in the coming weeks.
There is one story I've been dying to share. The other day, a friend and I were walking through a side street in Gazipasa (a nice neighborhood in Adana,) and we saw a man who was washing his car. As we approached him, I saw he was rubbing something on his car as if it were wax. At the same time, there was an overwhelming smell of gasoline. I said to my friend, "What is that man putting on his car?" "Gas, I guess," he said. "Do you mean wax or oil or something?" I asked. "No. Gas," he said. Let me tell you, it was no small amount of gas, either. I couldn't believe this guy was cleaning his vehicle using gasoline! Gas? Seriously??? We walked away discussing all of the normal, daily circumstances that could send that car up in flames!
I asked my friend if he had ever witnessed anything like that. I was glad to hear that he has never seen or heard of anyone else cleaning a car that way. I guess it was just one of those special Turkish home remedies.
There is one story I've been dying to share. The other day, a friend and I were walking through a side street in Gazipasa (a nice neighborhood in Adana,) and we saw a man who was washing his car. As we approached him, I saw he was rubbing something on his car as if it were wax. At the same time, there was an overwhelming smell of gasoline. I said to my friend, "What is that man putting on his car?" "Gas, I guess," he said. "Do you mean wax or oil or something?" I asked. "No. Gas," he said. Let me tell you, it was no small amount of gas, either. I couldn't believe this guy was cleaning his vehicle using gasoline! Gas? Seriously??? We walked away discussing all of the normal, daily circumstances that could send that car up in flames!
I asked my friend if he had ever witnessed anything like that. I was glad to hear that he has never seen or heard of anyone else cleaning a car that way. I guess it was just one of those special Turkish home remedies.
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