I am enjoying myself. This city is beautiful and most people don't seem to recognize it. Whatever street you're on, you have a crazy awesome view of some mountain towering over the city. There are parks everywhere taking advantage of said fact. Also, the short time I've been here, I can't shake the feeling that the soul of this place is very much alive with the spirit of Damascus and Syria more generally. If you were to wipe out all the signs and billboards and maybe spruce up a few of the male specimens, it would be like being back in the homeland. The constant bustle and ubiquitous use of the common greeting "hos geldiniz" are reminders that though Turkey straddles the boundary between East and West, it retains the eastern hospitality that demands your affection; you have no choice but to love this place.
A week and a day into teaching, I realize how blessed I am with the batch of students I was assigned; 8 middle school age girls that are driven, intelligent, and sweet as honey. I can't say the same of the boys in the same school, but they are admirable (and adorable) in their own right. Our school sponsors activities three times a week and the other two days in the afternoon, we have off (in addition to Saturdays and Sundays). Thus far, we have had a picnic in the park, gone bowling, been paintballing, and visited a local private girls high school where two other FEBA teachers have been assigned. I had no idea there were other girls in this city aside from me and one other person until we made the trip to the girl's high school. You think you know a place...
I am staying with a host "mom" (mom in quotes because she is single and has no babies). She is a teacher at the same school where I teach. It has taken a week, but I think we have managed to find our comfort zones and have successfully moved past the pleasantries phase of our coexistence. She teaches me Turkish, usually at my annoying prodding, and I help her practice her English. Cultural exchange for the win.
More to come, insha'Allah.
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