This post is dedicated to my
Turkish class.
Alex and I attend Turkish
classes five hours a day, five days a week, for a total of 25 hours per week.
We are grateful to Akdeniz University for allowing us to take this “A1
Beginner” course for free. From talking to our Fulbright peers placed in
different cities, we know that they are not receiving anywhere near the same
amount of instruction as we are, so for this reason alone, we feel very blessed.
These classes are in addition to our
packed teaching schedule, which sometimes goes until 7:30pm in the evening.
I love being a student and
learning new things, and as such, I am very enthusiastic in class. I actively
participate in class: I like to raise my hand and answer the Hocam’s questions.
I enjoy going to the board and filling out conjugation tables. And I especially
enjoy making jokes with my peers and our teachers. I learn best when I
recognize patterns and apply my knowledge, which is why I often have high
energy in class despite the fact that I skip breakfast every morning. I thrive
when I receive positive reinforcement from my Hocams. It’s also nice being a
student in the mornings, because it gives me the perspective of my own students
when I stand up and teach. Sometimes, the long days do take a toll on us
though; after Turkish lessons, we eat lunch, then hold speaking clubs, and are
sometimes called to susbstite for classes that go until 6:30pm.
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My wordly Turkish class! Muzaffer Hocam in the front, Burcak Hocam in a white shirt on the right. |
Muzaffer Hocam and Burcak
Hocam are our two lovely teachers, and they take turns teaching us at different
hours and days. Muzaffer Hocam likes to tease me, so arguing with him in class
is fun. The classes are taught in Turkish, which is an opportunity and a
challenge for obvious reasons; an opportunity because it forces us to use our
Turkish and a challenge because it can be hard to understand grammar concepts. This
does not discourage me from asking clarifying questions, however, even if I get
scolded for using English, ha.
What I love about my Turkish
class is that it is truly worldly. There are students from across the globe!
Our class is composed of students from Azerbaijan,
Kazakhstan, Libya, Syria, Morocco, Mexico, United States of America (us, hehe),
the Netherlands, Russia, Belarus, Iraq and Afghanistan. What a blessing to be
in such a worldly classroom!
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