Hi Ho Hi Ho Back to Work We Go!!

I haven't been the best blogger because I have failed to post about what I'll be doing starting in August.  Oh well. Better late than never!

(drum roll please!)

You can now say you know the newest 4th grade teacher at Kitsap Lake Elementary!! Y'all this is like my dream job.  It's a small school, I get to teach older kids, and I am so freaking excited! I can't wait! As far as Finn goes, he starts daycare on Monday!! I wanted him to have a few weeks to get used to it before I had to send him all day. Plus, this allows me to have some time to set up my classroom, do some back to school shopping, and just all sorts of other non-baby friendly things.

That being said, I am so sad to think that the majority of my days will be without Finn.  I was talking to my friend who recently went back to work about all of the struggles of being a working (out of the home because stay at home moms DEFINITELY work) mom vs. a stay at home mom.



For me, I am a better mom when I am working. I am more engaged with Finn when we are together because I value my time with him since I know it is limited.  I am not good at organizing play groups (asking people to hang out is this introvert's worst nightmare!) or coming up with educational activities to do.  It's just not me.  I'm also not on my phone (judge me but we all do it) as much and I am more willing to do fun things since we were apart all day.  My patience is greater and my energy is higher because we spent time apart. The saying distance makes the heart grow fonder is true for me.  I am a better mom when I am not with Finn all day.

I am also a better spouse when I am working.  I don't sit at home all day waiting for Mike to get home.  There have been countless nights where I have a long list of things for Mike to do when he gets home and then get upset when he doesn't do them right away because he wants five minutes to relax after being at work all day.  I mean, how DARE he want to relax after working 12 hours? 😉  When I have worked, I come home and there are tons of things that need to be done around the house, but I'm more willing to let the chores slide because I haven't been sitting around all day thinking about them.



I also know there is the risk of missing all of Finn's firsts and I'm so lucky to have witnessed all of his first milestones thus far (he took his first steps last night!!), but in the grand scheme of things, it's a sacrifice that I'm willing to make and something that I think will not be as big of a deal as it is in the moment.  Sure, I might not hear his first word, but I'll probably hear his third or fourth and it will be equally as cute (does anyone else melt over toddler speech impediments?  I ADORE them!) and exciting. 

I also know that being a mom is only one part of who I am.  Another part is a teacher.  Another part is a wife. Another part is a reader.  Another part is a friend. I make time to be a (somewhat good) wife, to read, and to be a good friend, so I need to make time to be a teacher as well.  I think it is important for Finn to see me as a person with my own interests.  I want him to see me as someone who is independent, a go getter, a hard worker and someone other than Mom.  I don't feel like he has that opportunity when I am not working.




I also think daycare can be a positive experience for Finn.  He needs peer role models and social interactions with kids his age.  It's good for him.  When he was in daycare in Groton, he thrived.  He hit all of his milestones early and loved being surrounded by other kids.  Here in Washington, he has plateaued.  I can't say for sure that it's because he wasn't in daycare, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.   Some people ask me how I can be comfortable with other people raising my child and if I worry about him feeling neglected by his parents.  I don't see it that way at all.  I know Finn knows that Mike and I love him.  I see it in Finn's smile when Mike comes through the door after being gone all day or the speedy crawl that greeted me after being gone for a weekend.  Instead, I see daycare as an opportunity for more people to love on Finn and what parent wouldn't want their child to get more love?

And last, I value gender equality.  I don't think that it is my responsibility to cook dinner and clean the house because I am a woman. It is my responsibility to do these things most of the time because I get home first or because Mike is doing other things, but it is not because I am woman.  On days that Mike gets home before me (the VERY rare day!), I would expect him to take on these responsibilities as well. I want Finn to grow up seeing women and men doing things other things than what traditional gender stereotypes tell him. 

I also know that the working mom life isn't for everyone.  One of my best friends (her name may or may not be Anna...) is a stay at home mom and, y'all, she's amazing at it. She organizes playdates where they do educational activities and crafts, she has the patience of a saint and is just meant to be a stay at home mom. She finds ways to keep her identity while staying at home with the kids and surrounds them with lots of love.  She rocks the stay at home mom life.

I am so grateful that the teacher lifestyle allows me lots of time off with Finn.  I think the hardest job in the world is the job of a mom who works 9-5 (or more!) year round because you are filled with the responsibilities of the working world and the private world while never catching a break.  I definitely didn't mean for this blog post to become a huge debate about the stay at home vs. working mom lifestyle and I truly don't believe that there is a right answer.  There are some moms who would spend their whole day at work in tears, while others (like me) need to have something outside of the home.  Each woman is unique and there isn't a right or wrong answer.

Being a mom is tough.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done. It's also the best thing I've ever done. There is never a moment that I'm not grateful for the opportunity to be Finn's mom. It is, and always will be, my greatest joy.

Substitute Adventures

Well I have traded in my passport for a substitute teacher badge and have just as many stories to tell!  Here are a few.  I'm sure you'll be entertained!

• To get assigned a job, you log on to the sub website and you can see all of the jobs that are available.  It usually tells you the school, the teacher and the grade.  This job, though, only listed the teacher, but it was the only one available for that day, so I took it. When I showed up, they told me I would be in third grade in the morning and then doing In School Suspension with a first grader in the afternoon.  Not ideal, but okay.  The morning was fine and it came time for me to report to the ISS room.  When I arrived, there were four teachers huddled together and I asked what was going on.  They pointed to a shelf with cubbies and said "There he is." Sure enough, there were two little legs sticking out of the cubby.  One of the teachers told me they were letting him stay there because "at least he is safe" unlike when he decided to climb the shelves.  Three of the teachers had to leave so it was just me and another teacher who wasn't even in charge of ISS (it's in the same room as the academic interventions, so she has her desk in there). I sit down and a few minutes later, I see some movement.  All of a sudden, he comes out of the cubby, takes one look at me and realizes he doesn't know who I am and bolts out of the room.  The other teacher calls the office and I run after him.  Luckily, he only ran to his teacher, who instilled the fear of God in him.  He returned to our little room with some work to do and we actually had a great afternoon.  That being said, I don't think I'll be signing up for any jobs that don't list a grade level or are for In School Suspension. One time was enough.

• I was subbing in a kindergarten class and had forgotten how tired the little ones get, especially at the beginning of the year. We were reading a story after lunch and I noticed that two little girls had fallen asleep and one boy was sucking his thumb.  The little ones may be a handful, but they are pretty freaking cute. 

• In the same kindergarten class, I had them line up for art. Everyone was lined up and one little girl asked if she could hold my hand.  I told her no since I needed to be able to move around and make sure everyone was staying in line. She kept asking, even as we started moving, but I kept saying no. She refused to move and I told her that she was holding up the people behind her.   All of a sudden, she just yells at me "LEAVE ME ALONE!" and storms off to art.  I guess that's one way to solve the problem!

• I'm in another kindergarten class on the first really cold day, so all of the kids have cold weather accessories such as hats, coats, gloves, etc. The direction was to put them in their cubby because they can't bring them to the carpet.  One girl put away her coat, but had her hat on.  The teacher (I'm one of the paraprofessionals assigned to one of the children) asked the little girl to put away her hat and the girl's response was "But I look so cute!"  

I'm sure there will be more as the year passes, but it's definitely been a fun start to substituting!

Five Favorites: Teaching English

When we found out that we'd be moving to Turkey, I knew that I wanted to try and do something in the education field, but I wasn't sure what that would be.  I emailed a few elementary schools about substituting with no luck (Turkey is apparently pretty strict about who is allowed to teach), so I knew I'd probably have to look outside of the classroom teacher role.  When we arrived in Turkey, I found an English language school that needed native speakers and it seemed to work perfectly with my schedule and what I could do.  I miss working with children a lot, but this job has been perfect for me this year and has been a great way to get out of the house and continue teaching.  So, this week, my five favorite things (linking up with The Big White Farmhouse) are about teaching English.

1. It makes you think about what you're saying and how you're saying it.  I feel like my grammar and enunciation has gotten so much better since teaching English. I am a better English speaker because I am teaching English. If I use improper grammar, the students won't understand, so I really have to pay attention to what I'm saying and how I'm saying it.  Sometimes, if they don't understand a sentence, I have to think of another way to say something, which, in turn, makes me really think about what I'm saying and what meaning I want them to understand.  I've also started to notice that when I go home and speak to Mike after class, I speak slower and clearer than I normally do.  I think he's even told me once or twice that I don't need to speak quite as slow :)
2. The social interaction is so nice!!  Y'all, we have a lot of great things going for us over here, but our social life is not one of them. Turkish classes are great, but they don't allow for a lot of chit chat and socializing (read: I must focus all of my attention on Turkish, otherwise I get lost).  Unlike Turkish classes, teaching English allows for so much socialization because the point is to get the students talking.   Plus, the majority of my students are around my age, so we just hang out, talk and occasionally play games like Taboo. It's fun and it's a great way for me to socialize.
3. I get to learn about Turkey.  There are so many things I want to know about Turkish culture, from the food to the customs.  Whenever Mike and I have a question about something cultural, I always ask my class. Half the time, they look at me like I'm crazy, but they usually provide some sort of insight into the custom or tradition.  I probably learn as much as they do!
4. I feel like I am becoming a better classroom teacher because of this experience of teaching outside of the traditional classroom.  I am really seeing and understanding the struggles that English Language Learners have.  I am constantly realizing how much of an impact this has on little things.  For example, I was talking about a quilt the other day and my students had no idea what the word quilt meant, even though they know what a quilt is.  This type of word is often used in math problems when learning perimeter and area.  How are students supposed to solve the question if they don't understand what the question is asking?  I feel like, when I return to the classroom, I'll have a deeper understanding of how to explain directions, problems and every day tasks because of this experience. 
5. This last one is not necessarily for teaching English, but just for teaching in general. I love to watch a student struggle and work through something.  It's almost like you can see what they're thinking inside their head as they work through something out loud.  When they finish and realize they've gotten it right, they feel so accomplished and it's incredible.  Language is like math and it is easy to watch them work through forming a sentence, which makes teaching languages so rewarding.  It's definitely my favorite part of teaching!

So, there you have it! My five favorite things about teaching English! I'm sure that this list could be extended to be five of my favorite things about teaching, but I could probably add about a million more to that list.  Happy Wednesday!

End of Semester Recap

Mike has officially entered finals week for graduate school and we have both started another month of Turkish lessons.  Since there's not much else going on in the Hogan Household, I figured this was the perfect time to give a little recap of how our classes are going.

First, let's talk about Mike's grad school  since that's the whole reason we're here.  When the semester started, Mike was unsure of how the workload would be and only registered for three classes + Turkish classes every day. His classes included Balkan Politics, Research Methods in International Relations and Theories of International Relations. It ended up being quite manageable (it helps that he's the only native English speaker!), although I think he was a little disappointed in some of the classes. He's done quite well so far and I think he's excited for some of the classes that are being offered next semester.

While Mike was taking his grad school classes, we both were taking Turkish lessons. Mike took the month of December off, but I kept going.  When I first started, there was one class for beginners, but there were so many people they split us into two classes on the third or fourth day.  My new teacher seemed great, but a lot of people were frustrated with her after the first month and asked to switch back to the other teacher.  I didn't for a multitude of reasons, but after the second month, our classes were combined back into one big class with the original teacher and I wish I hadn't waited so long to be in his class.  He incorporates speaking into the class so much more than my old teacher.  There is also a significant gap between the students who have been with him for a while and those of us who were with the other teacher.  There is talk of splitting us up again since my class keeps growing, but I hope I get to stay with my teacher. I can tell I'm getting better after just a week of being in his class. You know I'll keep you posted.

While Mike was at grad school classes, I was teaching at night.  I really enjoy it, despite the fact that I complain every night about having to go.  It's hard to leave the house at 7:00 after rushing through dinner!  I miss working with kids...a lot, but I feel like I'm learning a lot about working with English Language Learners that will help me be a better teacher when I get back home. I promise I like it though.  My students are a lot of fun and it's nice to have some social interaction besides Mike (love you, but really....).  Tonight (and I'll probably continue this all week), they told me the story of Little Red Riding Hood in English.  I wrote it on the board as they narrated and by the end, they had filled up the entire board.  They were super excited and were taking pictures to post on Instagram! ha! I am constantly looking for topics to talk about with them, so if you have any suggestions, send them my way!

It's been a great first semester for both of us.  Next semester, I'll continue teaching and taking Turkish, while Mike will up his grad school game to five classes, but no Turkish. Wish us luck!!

Thinking Out Loud

A lot of little things have happened in the past few days/weeks that I definitely wanted to document, so here's a run down of a lot of little things!  I'm linking up with Running With Spoons today, too, so that's just an extra bonus!

1.  We were talking about guilty pleasures.  People seemed to understand what the meaning of a guilty pleasure was and were naming all sorts of things from Candy Crush to different TV shows.  All of a sudden, one of the students was like "Hanukkah!"  I was SO confused, but figured it could be some weird obsession with Hanukkah.  As he kept talking, I realized that he didn't mean Hanukkah, he meant hookah, which is extremely popular in Turkey.  Maybe he's planning on celebrating eight nights of hookah?

2. We were talking about Turkish culture, which I think is interesting to hear from them.  They were coming up with great stuff and I was soaking it all up.  Finally, they ran out of ideas, but one girl decided to search "Turkish culture" on Google.  She starts sounding out the word with a confused look on her face...

"Cir-"

"Circum-"

"Circumcision?"

Nope. Not talking about that here! Sorry!


3.  Izmir has decorated for Christmas.  At first, we just noticed a few lights shaped like snowflakes, which gave it a winter-y feel.  Then, we started noticing lights shaped like angels and things just got weird. A few days after the angels appeared, I was walking to work and I noticed two guys setting up a light display at the end of a no drive street.  When I was walking back home at the end of the night when it was dark out, I realized that it was a straight up nativity scene.  Turkey is 90% Muslim.  Why is there a nativity?  They didn't get it quite right because, even though there was a baby, there were four angels looking at him.   So so weird.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas decorations, but I think it's kind of strange how obsessed they are with Christmas decorations, despite the fact that they don't celebrate Christmas.  Maybe that's just me...

4.  I finally got my haircut.  I got my haircut before we moved here.  Yup, in June.  I've needed a haircut for months, but between traveling and the language barrier, I just haven't done it.  There is a small barber on base, but Mike and I had been talking about going to get my haircut out in the real world, so I hadn't done it.  Finally, it got to the point where I couldn't stand it anymore and I broke down and went to the guy on base.  I am definitely not ready to try to speak Turkish to get my haircut, but maybe by the time I'm due again, I'll be ready.

5.  Mike's friend (and groomsman) Ben came to visit this weekend on his way to Israel for work.  While I was getting my haircut/manicure and pedicure, they were out exploring Ephesus and Izmir and seeing Star Wars.  I told them if they took a picture, they'd make the blog, so this is what I got.  Love it!

6. Our Goddaughter, Emma, was baptized on Sunday and, while we weren't able to be there physically, we were able to participate through FaceTime.  Thanks to Emma's parents for arranging it for us and to our lovely videographer Karen! Emma was a gem and was wide awake and quiet throughout the entire baptism and then promptly fell asleep for the entire church service.  She woke up just in time for the last hymn and then pictures with anyone and everyone. What a smart little lady!

I promise I'm not crying in this screen shot, but I mean, she's just so cute, I could understand if I was!

Emma's baptism gown was made from Anna's wedding dress which makes it extra beautiful!

The camera really makes us look great, don't you think? I also love how excited Emma is in this picture! Can't you just see all of the joy and excitement? Ha!

We are so honored to be Emma's Godparents and we were so happy to watch from afar.

As Mike and I were discussing the baptism that morning beforehand, he decided he should practice his lines and just goes "I pledge allegiance, to the Emma..."   He had me laughing at that one.

7.  I made Christmas cookies the other day, thanks to the package from my mom, and brought them to my Turkish class and then to my students.  Y'all, they went nuts and thought they were the greatest thing! It was so fun! The students in my Turkish class were taking pictures of all of the different shapes (Santa, snowflake, Christmas Tree, etc) and then in my other class later that night, they just kept talking about how delicious they were.  I didn't have the heart to tell them they were just a mix with store bought icing.  I loved it!

Residence Permit

In order to be a legal residence in Turkey, you must apply and obtain a residence permit. This allows you to be legally in the country, as well as come and go without a visa. You cannot apply online; it requires a meeting in person at a government office where you present all of the required documents listed online. We began this process in July to get my residence permit (Mike doesn't need one since he has military orders).  Here's the order of events.

Meeting Number One
Mike had been trying to make an appointment online to get my residence permit ever since we got here. Every time he checked the website, the calendar said that there were no appointments available for the next three months.  We thought that sounded ridiculous, so we decided to go to the office to see if they had any openings. When we showed up, we told the person at the front desk and she referred us to a woman who spoke English (who'd we get to know VERY well).  Mike explained to her that the website said that there were no appointments available for three months and she said that was not true.  She said that we needed to go to a internet cafe and try.  If Mike tells this story, he describes it as essentially being called a liar. Dramatic? Yes. True? Pretty much.

Meeting Number Two
After that disaster, we went home baffled.  On a  whim, we tried the website on my computer.  We used the same browser (shoutout to all the Chrome users of the world!) and it worked! Don't ask me why.  Don't ask me how.  Just shake your head and say "because...Turkey."  So, after we were able make an appointment, we once again gathered all of the materials listed on the website, filled out the application, and headed out. When we got there, we were greeted by the same delightful woman. When we were shown to her desk, she continued to talk to another woman and look at pictures on her phone.  Great customer service, right? I was willing to overlook that, but it was obvious she was not going to be bothered with us. She took one look at our documents and said they were not right.  Apparently, even though they are all same ones listed on the website, they weren't right.

Meeting Number Three
Mike was fuming and neither of us really knew what to do.  Luckily, there is a lawyer who works for the Air Force base and she was willing to write a letter (in Turkish) explaining our situation. We were hopeful that this would be the key. We made the appointment and crossed our fingers.  We scheduled it for the week after we got back from Oktoberfest, but thanks to Bayram, it was cancelled the week before our appointment.  We still went, hopeful that since we had an appointment, we'd still be able to get in, but we were wrong.  Not only was our appointment cancelled, there were no instructions on if the appointment would be rescheduled.

Meeting Number Four
Once we recovered from the frustration of that whole fiasco, we scheduled yet another appointment.  There were no holidays and we had our letter, as well as all of the documents listed on the website.  We met with our same friend from before, but this time, she was actually somewhat pleasant. She read the letter and began to look through the paper work.  One of the required documents is a criminal background check. It was actually a lot of trouble to get this because we had to print off a form and mail it back to the US, as well as an envelope stamped and addressed for our house in Turkey. When she looked at my criminal record, she looked confused. She looked at Mike and said "Why do you have her criminal record?  We need your criminal record."  Ummmm....what?!?!? That makes no sense.  Mike asked why he needed to provide his criminal record and her response was just that since I am here with him, they need to make sure he is not a criminal.  THAT MAKES NO SENSE! Unable to do anything without this background check, we were once again turned away.

Meeting Number Five
Luckily, the NATO base here was able to do a background check for Mike, so we didn't have to worry about trying to mail things back to the US.  The last time we were went to get the residence permit, the woman told us that if we brought the criminal background check, we didn't need to make an appointment, so we just went and let the front desk person that we were here.  We probably should have just made an appointment because we ended up waiting like 45 minutes. Once we got in, we were surprised that we weren't meeting with our friend, but instead met with a younger woman who didn't really speak English.  We presented her with all of the papers and at one point she said we didn't have the right type of pictures (biometric, like on the passport) but after Mike raised his voice a little and told her we had been to two different photo shops to get biometric photos, she let us move along. We sat there for a good ten or fifteen minutes where she asked us random questions such as my blood type and an American phone number. I thought things were going well since we had never been asked these questions and, sure enough, I was right!  Twenty minutes later, we walked out with my (temporary) residence permit in our hand.  I'll get the official one in the mail within the next three months, but this temporary one will do the job! Hooray! It's good for a year, but we have heard that the renewal process is a lot easier and some people said you can do it online.  I won't hold my breath for that, but I don't have to worry about it for a year.

This whole process was a complete mess and so unnecessarily complicated.  Luckily, Mike and I have pretty flexible schedules and are able to dedicate five afternoons to this whole process, but many people don't.  If Mike or I had a nine to five job, we'd be screwed.   I'm just so glad it's over and I never have to step foot in that office again....at least for a year!


Oh, and on a completely different subject, I taught my students the word "hangry."  One of them was describing their favorite television show and she said the character was very angry, except the way she said it was hangry.  I took that opportunity to teach them some American slang, so I just wrote "HANGRY = HUNGRY + ANGRY" on the board.  They laughed and one girl goes "When I am hungry, I am mean." YES!! That's hangry! YES! YES! YES!

Teaching English

I was video chatting with Emma and Anna and Anna had all sorts of questions about teaching and what my classes were like.  I realized that, while I've mentioned a few things here and there, I haven't really described what it's like.

In Europe, language schools are broken up into six levels.  A1 and A2 are the beginner levels, B1 and B2 are intermediate, and C1 and C2 are advanced.  Supposedly, by the time you finish C2, you'll be fluent, which I don't really believe, but C2 students should be able to read, write and speak English pretty well.  This is how Mike's Turkish lessons are categorized, as well as my English classes.

At the school I teach at, each level meets three times a week.  Twice a week is grammar/vocabulary instruction and then the third day is the conversation class with the native speaker (me!).   So, since I teach three nights a week, I have three different class levels (C2, C1, and B1).  The difference between the C2 class and the B1 class is like night and day.

In the C2 class, it is all discussion based. My first night was a little rough since I had no idea what their skill level would be or what their interests were, but now I think I've gotten a little bit better at figuring out what they want to talk about. I usually think of topics that make for a good discussion and then let them discuss.  We've talked about everything from the bombings in Ankara to whether everyone should learn English. These students know basic vocabulary, so the point of these conversations are for them to learn and use more advanced vocabulary. There are a few students who are more talkative than others, but they're a pretty good class and most of them seem to enjoy talking.  They even come up to me during the breaks and talk, which is nice because I know how exhausting it is to try and speak another language.

The B1 class is almost the opposite.  They still struggle with vocabulary and being able to speak without planning out what they are going to say.  I try to stick to more basic conversation topics, such as your dream vacation. Even with that, most of them have to prepare what they are going to say if they want to say more than a sentence or two.  They also have a hard time understanding me, so I have to speak slowly.  I also play games with them, such as Scattergories and Taboo, to help them just get thinking and talking in English.  They're a fun class though and very eager to learn, so I think that with lots of practice they'll be able to master basic conversations.

I am meeting with the C1 class this week for the first time, so we'll see where they are.  I miss teaching children a lot.  I miss teaching actual lessons and information, but this is an interesting experience. I have worked with students who are English Language Learners (ELL) before, but most of them were basically fluent in English, so this is definitely different.  It is also good to watch adults learn a different language because I think that will give me confidence when I start Turkish lessons. Plus, my students told me they would help me with my homework, so there's that..... :)

PS my students taught me a Turkish term.  The "Ottoman Slap" is when you slap someone so hard that they fall to the ground.  I don't ask questions about how they know this...


Oh and how cute is this little one?  She's gotten so much bigger since we last video chatted and is a squishy little baby and not a newborn anymore.  Plus, she's opening her eyes and focusing so much more, which is super cute, especially when she just stares at Anna forever.  Swoon.

Tummy time: baby's first work out.  PS oh, heyyyyy Kare Bear!

Look, Mom! I figured out how to use my arms!

Being two months old is exhausting.  Naps on naps on naps.

First week of school

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Well, we survived!! We can both officially say that we made it through our first week of school! I only had one day of teaching, but Mike had a full week of both Master's classes and Turkish classes.  

Starting on Monday, Mike began Turkish lessons.  He goes every morning from 9:00 until 1:00.  This is through a different school than we took lessons before.  Then, in the afternoons on Tuesday and Thursday, as well as Monday mornings (instead of Turkish class), he goes to his Master's classes.   Mike's first week of Master's classes got off to kind of a bumpy start. He missed the first class because he wasn't registered yet, but luckily got the syllabus for that class.  Then, on Tuesday, he went to his second class (each class only meets once a week) only to find out it was cancelled. Finally, on Thursday, he was hoping to finally go to class.  When he showed up, he found a note on the door to say that the class was going to start an hour late.  It did eventually start and he met a few people from his program (there are only five or six).  

He is definitely a busy guy now and I think we're both worried that it might be  a little too much.  Each section of the Turkish class is a month long, so we figured that he can just reevaluate at the end of the month if he wants to keep taking Turkish lessons.  He would like to eventually be fluent in Turkish, but we also want him to be able to enjoy his Master's classes and focus on those.  Plus, he is finding that the classes aren't quite as helpful as he was hoping. They focus on grammar, when he needs more vocabulary instruction. So, he's just taking it day by day and we'll see what he decides at the end of the month.

Traditional first day of school picture.  I think he was imitating Josh Rehak's first day of school picture :)

This is how he really wanted to pose 

The syllabus for the one class Mike actually attended.  Jealous is not one word I would use to describe how I feel about that!

My schedule is definitely not as strenuous, thank goodness! I taught my first class on Thursday to the most advanced students.  I knew the skills that they were supposed to have, but had been told they weren't quite there yet.  I also didn't have many guidelines on what to do with them.  My only instructions were to keep them talking in English. Since I didn't know what their vocabulary was like or what kind of grammar skills they had, I kept it simple.  We spent the first hour just getting to know each other and asking questions.  They were pretty interested in hearing about what I thought of Turkey.

Over the next hour and a half, we did debates.  I kept it simple since I didn't really know what their vocabulary and grammar levels were.  We did things like cats vs. dogs, Twitter vs. Facebook, computers vs mobile phones, etc.  I thought that was pretty on target with where they were with their vocabulary, but when I asked them at the end of the class what we should do next week (I'll meet with them once a week I think), they said to make it more advanced.  I guess, in the past, they've had more philosophical discussions. It was kind of disappointing, but I guess I can't feel too bad since I really had no idea what to expect.

Overall, it was a rocky start to the semester, but I think we're both feeling better about how the semester is looking and what we'll actually be doing here. Hopefully, Mike can find a balance of Turkish lessons and Master's classes and I can find ways to get the students talking while helping them learn the vocabulary and grammar.  Here's to hoping!

Flowers from Mike for my first day of teaching.  I guess he's a keeper ;)