Click below for a funny article on Efes beer @ my new blog,
www.teachinginternational.blogspot.com
-Tim
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
A few more posts before getting started on Korea
Constantly behind on my blogging, that's what I am.
I've got a few posts left over from this spring in Turkey that I have to update here at nargileistan before I can switch over to a Korea blog.
I've got to keep this short, but the slideshow speaks for itself. I made the most of a shoulder injury by getting out and doing a bunch of activities I might not normally do because climbing would ordinarily trump them.
These photos include skiing around our school campus during a huge dump of snow we received in February (obviously, a week before my ski injury). Then they move on to an Easter spent celebrating the company of good friends, Christian, Muslim, and Atheist decorating eggs, hunting for chocolate, and eating some very rare bacon in Turkey. After Easter we went birding, yes, birding. On the hunt for migrating flamingos, all we found was a pink trash bag. From a distance though, you'd swear it was a solitary rebel. Actually, we saw quite a few birds, nothing as dramatic as flamingos, but the day was followed up by one of the most gorgeous spring days in Cappadocia, the land of giant phallus.
Wrapping up the photos, and the spring, was a giant Toga party hosted in the school's black box theater.
Looking back at these photos makes me miss my friends in Turkey, but also makes me excited for the new ones we will meet here in Korea. That's life, I suppose.
Next post? Italy Spring Break!!!
For those who can't see the slideshow: here is the link
https://picasaweb.google.com/henkelst/Spring2011TurkeyPP?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNuhiaGXq7f2Mw&feat=directlink
Monday, June 6, 2011
St. James Gate, Guiness!!!!!!!!!!
As part of our quick trip to Dublin this March for my Irish cousin Katie's wedding, we of course had to make a stop at the Guiness Factory, St. James Gate Brewery. It's the only touristy thing we did on our 72 hours in Ireland, but it was the obvious choice. Guiness may be my favorite large-batch beer, and it was one of the first real beers I ever tasted--my cousin Steve shipped a 4 pack to me for my 21st Birthday. See this article for an explanation of why I hadn't tried a Guiness before I was 21.
You don't actually get to tour the factory, instead it's a museum in the shape of a pint glass. The museum circles up something like 9 floors, culminating in a rooftop bar that looks out over the factory. My mother likened it to Disney World for adults, and I would have to agree. My favorite part was the memorabilia museum, which traced the iconic advertising and marketing of the brand over the years. That, and the pouring instruction. Somewhere up near the top we stopped in and received instruction in pouring the perfect Guiness, which we of course had to master before we were allowed to consume the glass we poured. I left with my very own Guiness pourers certificate. Think I can add that to my list of certifications on my vita?
More to come soon from Ireland, including the majestic wedding of my cousin Katie and her husband, Ben.
The 9,000 year lease....yeah, you'd love to get locked into those terms.
Somehow I bet the real yeast gets locked into a safe more secure than this one.
The water comes from the Warwick Mountains, not the polluted River Liffey as is commonly assumed.
My cousin Lacy, husband Drew, and my Dad before we learn the art of the perfect pint.
Nice pour Dad!
I just had shoulder surgery from a ski accident, so I was glad to see that my splint allowed me to still pour a pint.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Homecoming
Here we come! In just over two weeks we bid our farewell to Turkey, return to North America for a quick five weeks to visit friends and family, and then we are off to Korea. We'll be in Boone, Washington DC, Colorado, and Greenville. It's a quick trip to be trying to get to so many places, but since we haven't been home in 2 years (minus a long weekend for the spectacular wedding of Erin's brother Alan and his betrothed, Vanessa). And, from here on out, we get annual flights home with our school in Korea, so we won't have to go two years again without seeing everyone. Here's the itinerary, we hope we get to climb, run, drink beer, and listen to bluegrass with as many friends and family as possible. Get in touch on my Colorado #, 303-800-6476 and leave a message!
Arrive in Boone June 22
Stay in Boone (except for anniversary weekend of the 25th at Leatherwood) until July 1
Leave for DC July 1, driving with Rhett Baker
DC from July 1 to July 6
Leave for Denver (from DC) July 6
Colorado from July 6 to July 14 (for Erin) and July 19 (for Tim)
Erin arrives in Boone (from Denver) July 14
Tim arrives in Greenville (from Denver) July 19
Greenville/Asheville/Boone from July 19 to August 1
Leave for Korea August 1
Here's some photos from our last moments back home:
Glen "tons of fun" drops us off at Denver Airport
Here's all the baggage we took to Turkey, I hope we can get it all back!
One last, small Grand Marnier in the hot-tub before leaving for Turkey...
And one last Colorado Family portrait.
Arrive in Boone June 22
Stay in Boone (except for anniversary weekend of the 25th at Leatherwood) until July 1
Leave for DC July 1, driving with Rhett Baker
DC from July 1 to July 6
Leave for Denver (from DC) July 6
Colorado from July 6 to July 14 (for Erin) and July 19 (for Tim)
Erin arrives in Boone (from Denver) July 14
Tim arrives in Greenville (from Denver) July 19
Greenville/Asheville/Boone from July 19 to August 1
Leave for Korea August 1
Here's some photos from our last moments back home:
Glen "tons of fun" drops us off at Denver Airport
Here's all the baggage we took to Turkey, I hope we can get it all back!
One last, small Grand Marnier in the hot-tub before leaving for Turkey...
And one last Colorado Family portrait.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Israel, Day 2--Shabbat Elevators, Falafel, and Rubens
Our second day in Israel was a Saturday, Shabbat, the Holy Day, Shomer Shabbos, and I sure as shit don't fucking roll.
We started the day off by first waiting for the elevator, and then riding it down, as it proceeded to visit and stop at every floor between ours and the lobby level. Strict Jews are forbidden from pressing buttons on the Holy Day. After a breakfast without coffee, because you can't operate a machine on the Holy Day, we loaded up into our heathen's Bus, and hit the empty roads...making the long haul over the mountains and down down down down, to the Dead Sea.
Of course, one has to eat...but as you can imagine, eats are hard to find in Israel. Strict observers will go so far as to leave their lights on at home all day and all night so that they won't need to turn off the switch. They SURE aren't getting up to make us some hoummous. Luckily, and here is why there should never be a 100% partition between the Arabs and the Jews, the Arabs can cook, drive, clean, and do just about everything else that needs done on Saturday. Hell, they just finished their Holy Day on Friday, so they're just getting started for the week! It's a perfect match. And, indeed, EVERYONE was at the Lebanese Falafel Sandwich shop and market grabbing their falafel, hoummous, and french-fry pitas for the day. The guy who owned the shop was from South Carolina, and spoke with a perfect Carolina accent. So, there you are. My start to our second day in Israel. Eating Arabic food along the formerly deadly Jerusalem to Tel Aviv highway, being served by a Palestinian South Carolinian.
The only thing more absurd, and this is where I take a serious turn, is the walls that divide the West Bank and Jerusalem along the drive between Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea. On one side, Jewish prosperity, exemplified in cute neighborhoods of pools and green grass lawns. On the other side, the dirty Arab towns of Ramallah and others. In-between are the poor Bedouin nomadic peoples, who must literally, feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.
We passed through quickly and quietly, as most do, taking care not to ask too many questions, and not to look too hard, for fear of having to confront the problem for what it is, a global one without any solutions on the horizon.
The land gets stark after Jerusalem, literally a desert, and so we did what countless others have done on the trek down the hill towards Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. We stopped at an Oasis. Literally. We spent the morning hiking around the palm fringed desert canyons of the water supply to Bethlehem, before continuing down-canyon to a Greek Monastery built into the canyon walls. The monastery was another example of just about every Abrahamic Religion claiming a piece of the Holy Land Pie.
After all that hiking, it was time for a soak in the world's lowest spot. The Dead Sea. At 420 meters, 1388 feet, below sea level...your ears actually pop as you drive down to it. We drove to a little resort, where we could lounge in beach chairs, cover ourselves in mud masks, and laugh as we floated with no effort--buoyed by the high salinity of the water. I'm a geek for nature shows, and this one was pretty cool. It's a wild feeling to float in water, with your feet stuck up and your hands crossed behind your head.
Having begun the day with Arabic food out of necessity, the sun had now gone down and the Shabbat was over. It was time to eat some Jewish food. And, is there anything more Jewish than a Reuben? Well, as it turns out, in Israel, yes, there is. In fact, it's pretty damn hard to find a Reuben--not to worry though, I did. At the creatively named Reuben Restaurant, several Jews served me up a steaming hot corned beef sandwich, and were delighted when I told them it was just like how you got them in New York. (It wasn't quite that good, but it wasn't half bad!).
The rest of our time in Israel was spent watching the students debate their Model United Nations resolutions, speaking with teachers from all over the world (Switzerland, Palestine, New York), and feasting on the food provided by our hosts at the Walworth Barbour American International School. They put on an excellent conference, and my students were able to broaden their horizons by engaging in respectful and intellectual debate with their mostly Israeli peers.
Considering that a Turkish charity may soon send another flotilla of aid to Gaza (8 Turks and 1 American were killed by Israelis the last time they tried to send aid supplied over International Waters), we may very well need the relationships these students built over our weekend in the Holy Land.
We started the day off by first waiting for the elevator, and then riding it down, as it proceeded to visit and stop at every floor between ours and the lobby level. Strict Jews are forbidden from pressing buttons on the Holy Day. After a breakfast without coffee, because you can't operate a machine on the Holy Day, we loaded up into our heathen's Bus, and hit the empty roads...making the long haul over the mountains and down down down down, to the Dead Sea.
Of course, one has to eat...but as you can imagine, eats are hard to find in Israel. Strict observers will go so far as to leave their lights on at home all day and all night so that they won't need to turn off the switch. They SURE aren't getting up to make us some hoummous. Luckily, and here is why there should never be a 100% partition between the Arabs and the Jews, the Arabs can cook, drive, clean, and do just about everything else that needs done on Saturday. Hell, they just finished their Holy Day on Friday, so they're just getting started for the week! It's a perfect match. And, indeed, EVERYONE was at the Lebanese Falafel Sandwich shop and market grabbing their falafel, hoummous, and french-fry pitas for the day. The guy who owned the shop was from South Carolina, and spoke with a perfect Carolina accent. So, there you are. My start to our second day in Israel. Eating Arabic food along the formerly deadly Jerusalem to Tel Aviv highway, being served by a Palestinian South Carolinian.
The only thing more absurd, and this is where I take a serious turn, is the walls that divide the West Bank and Jerusalem along the drive between Tel Aviv and the Dead Sea. On one side, Jewish prosperity, exemplified in cute neighborhoods of pools and green grass lawns. On the other side, the dirty Arab towns of Ramallah and others. In-between are the poor Bedouin nomadic peoples, who must literally, feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.
We passed through quickly and quietly, as most do, taking care not to ask too many questions, and not to look too hard, for fear of having to confront the problem for what it is, a global one without any solutions on the horizon.
The land gets stark after Jerusalem, literally a desert, and so we did what countless others have done on the trek down the hill towards Bethlehem and the Dead Sea. We stopped at an Oasis. Literally. We spent the morning hiking around the palm fringed desert canyons of the water supply to Bethlehem, before continuing down-canyon to a Greek Monastery built into the canyon walls. The monastery was another example of just about every Abrahamic Religion claiming a piece of the Holy Land Pie.
After all that hiking, it was time for a soak in the world's lowest spot. The Dead Sea. At 420 meters, 1388 feet, below sea level...your ears actually pop as you drive down to it. We drove to a little resort, where we could lounge in beach chairs, cover ourselves in mud masks, and laugh as we floated with no effort--buoyed by the high salinity of the water. I'm a geek for nature shows, and this one was pretty cool. It's a wild feeling to float in water, with your feet stuck up and your hands crossed behind your head.
Having begun the day with Arabic food out of necessity, the sun had now gone down and the Shabbat was over. It was time to eat some Jewish food. And, is there anything more Jewish than a Reuben? Well, as it turns out, in Israel, yes, there is. In fact, it's pretty damn hard to find a Reuben--not to worry though, I did. At the creatively named Reuben Restaurant, several Jews served me up a steaming hot corned beef sandwich, and were delighted when I told them it was just like how you got them in New York. (It wasn't quite that good, but it wasn't half bad!).
The rest of our time in Israel was spent watching the students debate their Model United Nations resolutions, speaking with teachers from all over the world (Switzerland, Palestine, New York), and feasting on the food provided by our hosts at the Walworth Barbour American International School. They put on an excellent conference, and my students were able to broaden their horizons by engaging in respectful and intellectual debate with their mostly Israeli peers.
Considering that a Turkish charity may soon send another flotilla of aid to Gaza (8 Turks and 1 American were killed by Israelis the last time they tried to send aid supplied over International Waters), we may very well need the relationships these students built over our weekend in the Holy Land.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
No Way, this is our housing?!?
Erin and I have been holding out on this, because we weren't absolutely sure if this was really our housing. But, apparently it is.
In Korea, we are getting a brand new apartment. Complete with three bedrooms, two baths (including a bathtub!?!), office, walk-in closet, balcony, and a "panic room" which is I suppose a feature unique to Korean Housing.
FUN!!!!!!!
http://www.wellcounty.co.kr/songdo3/
http://www.wellcounty.co.kr/songdo3/evr/html/101a/entrance.html
In Korea, we are getting a brand new apartment. Complete with three bedrooms, two baths (including a bathtub!?!), office, walk-in closet, balcony, and a "panic room" which is I suppose a feature unique to Korean Housing.
FUN!!!!!!!
http://www.wellcounty.co.kr/songdo3/
http://www.wellcounty.co.kr/songdo3/evr/html/101a/entrance.html
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Israel, Day One
One of the great pleasures of teaching at international schools is field trips. Most teachers cringe when they hear those words--field trips. The words conjure up thoughts of 24 hour work-days spent keeping track of students, their various medications, itineraries, and the general liability of it all.
Ooof. Most schools have stopped doing them, it's just too much to manage.
Of course it's not that it's a walk in the park, managing a field trip overseas. However, when you are staying at the Marriott in Qatar, it somehow coalesces into something infinitely more palatable. Or so said my wife, as she spent some of her daily stipend dining at Dean & Deluca this past February as her students wandered around the mall during their five day trip to Doha.
As Social Studies department members, Erin and I have the responsibility, and the pleasure of organizing trips for our Model United Nations club. MUN, for those who don't know, is a club for future politicians, lawyers, debaters, and schmoozer lobbyists. Every school goes to a conference, wherein they take on the role of any number of countries, representing the viewpoints of said country in debates on various committees. The kids who are involved love it. They dress up, prepare resolutions, network, debate, and form alliances to further the position of whatever country they are representing.
In February, I took a delegation of 14 students from Turkey to the Israel MUN conference.
Our "delegation?"
Iran.
That's right. Iran. In Israel. Represented by Muslim Turks (who were the only Muslims at the conference, besides a small contingent of Palestinians.)
Awkward.
We do this on purpose though, it pushes our students to ramp up their debate skills. And, to be honest, our school is so liberal, it is quite a stretch for them to represent Iran.
Though the conference itself is great fun, and an excellent model of student-oriented leadership opportunities, arguably the best part is the two to three days of "culture" tours we always include before the conference starts. Because, really, you aren't going to go all the way to Israel without checking out the sights, are you!?!
We had two and a half days before the conference started, and along with a local tour guide, and a bus, we loaded up the itinerary for my delegation of debaters. After checking in at our sea-side hotel next to the Mediterranean Sea, and just North of Tel Aviv (private rooms for the Chaperones, of course), we headed out to Jerusalem.
We started our tour at Mt. Olives, the worlds' most expensive cemetery. It pays to be here, (and to be Jewish), because when the Messiah arrives, he will scoop up all the souls from their graves, and lead them through the gates across the valley, and on through the Eastern Gates up to the Western Wall and up to Heaven for their resurrection. At least, that's how I understand it. No wonder Israel wrestled it back from Jordan during the six day war. The messiah is probably going to skip anyone staying at the Intercontinental Hotel that was built their while Jordan held control of the land.
From the Mount of Olives we moved down, into Jerusalem, splitting into the required male and female groups to visit the Western (Wailing) Wall. Not much crying going on when we visited, but, then again, I think that mostly comes from the female section--and possibly most of the crying comes from the fact that their part of the wall is probably a tenth the size of the dude's portion. It seemed crowded, while over on the MAN'S wall, we had plenty of room to stretch out and touch as much wall as we wanted. Besides the gender inequality, there is this little bit of controversy over the wall between the Jews and the Muslims. Each claim it as sacred. And each side says the other only considers it sacred to piss off the other side. Like the Mount of Olives, Israel gained access to the wall in the six day war of 1967, and judging by how much they love these bricks, it seems unlikely that they will give it back. Apparently, Obama has suggested that we might at least fly the flag of the United Nations, not of Israel, over this hotly contested piece of real estate. But, the Israeli-special operations units touring around in the square seemed to send the signal that this is quite unlikely. Apart from the controversy, it was stunning to see the devotion of the Jewish people to this wall which they consider to be the last remaining vestige of the original temple of God himself. It is a nice wall.
After all the excitement of touring the wall, we rounded up the womenfolk, and went to grab some eats. Arabic style. The Arabic Quarter of Jerusalem has the best food, hands down. My guide said to me, "Do we go to the fancy, clean place, with the okay food? Or, do we go the gritty place which will cost 8 dollars each, and has the world's best houmous and falafel.?"
Duh.
My students are lovely, but they are prissy. They live a life of chauffeurs, maids, malls, and five star hotels. They DO NOT eat at greasy Arab houmous joints. But, what the hell--it's my field trip, and it's my job to open their eyes. We had the most amazing meal of fried, blended, and spiced chick peas I have ever head in my life; and I spent most of the meal asking my students..."are you not going to finish that? Here, give it to me." They did like the fresh pomegranate juice, but that's because that is a very Turkish drink. It's funny to me--America's flavor lies in its variety, and so goes our tongues. But everywhere else, be it Ecuador, Italy, or Turkey--regionalism dominates the palate. Taste is found in nuances, not the noise of a totally different flavor. And if you dare to vary too far from the accepted norm, don't look for your food to find any acceptance. This loyalty to flavor is strange to me, but at the same time, I can appreciate it. Maybe we're too concerned in America with creating the latest Mango-Salmon-Almond-Encrusted-Balsmic-Tofu-Mandarin-Gorgonzola salad, and a simple plate of well made falafel, sans sauce, crust, or remoulade would be better?
Regardless, with lunch finished, it was time for more controversial religious monuments. This time, Christian. We wove our way through the Arab Quarter, occasionally running into Stations of The Cross...the actual ones, along with alleys full of Abercrombie and Fitch shorts and sweats, Chinese-made plastic Tupperware, DVD shops, and head-scarf outlets. Finally, we arrived at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is one complicated place. It's owned in part, by no less than four different denominations...but forget about it if you are Anglican or Protestant (though you can still go visit, you just don't get stock). Here no less than the rocks Jesus was crucified on, the spot where he was anointed and the shroud of Turin was placed over him, and then, (as if that wasn't enough) the cave where he was buried, and then rose. Maybe.
Religious scholars on all sides have debated the validity of all of this, to say nothing of the atheists. But, whatever your viewpoint, the passion and raw belief of the visitors for which this is a pilgrimage of life-changing dimensions, was in all respects perhaps more powerful to behold than the sites themselves. There was kissing of rocks, crossing of foreheads to shoulders, burning of candles, mumbling of prayers in a cacophony of languages, and tears tears tears. These pilgrims belief was raw, intense, and profound. It very much captivated me, and my students, who, are mostly Islam-a-atheists who won't admit as much.
Speaking of which, we must move on to our final stop, at least, for my kids who could call to mind an Islamic prayer or two. The Dome of the Rock, a Mosque, is one of the most holy sites in Islam, built on top of one of the Holiest Sites in Judaism, and on Friday (the Holy Day) you gotta be Muslim to get in and check out the place where Mohammad ascended to heaven. Israeli storm-troopers and an Arabic bounder prevented about half of my group of Turkish Muslim students from entering. They didn't have their ID cards on them, identifying them as Muslim, and they couldn't remember any prayers to prove it. On top of that, my girls had to cover their heads up--something antithetical to how they are raised in their homes. In all, it was a very awkward experience for our little secular group; but again, my students who went in were struck by the reverence that the Muslims had for this place.
If nothing else, visiting all of these places solidified, for all of us, the need--and the complications of, finding peace in this contested land. The purported goal of our MUN conference in Israel was to pave roads towards that peace in the future generations of this region's leaders; but our trip to Jerusalem may have done more for that than three days of debate within the politically correct walls and corridors of the American School. Perhaps some of our leaders should consider a walk through the streets of Jerusalem before pontificating in the halls of their governments?
Full slide show of my trip, here:
Ooof. Most schools have stopped doing them, it's just too much to manage.
Of course it's not that it's a walk in the park, managing a field trip overseas. However, when you are staying at the Marriott in Qatar, it somehow coalesces into something infinitely more palatable. Or so said my wife, as she spent some of her daily stipend dining at Dean & Deluca this past February as her students wandered around the mall during their five day trip to Doha.
As Social Studies department members, Erin and I have the responsibility, and the pleasure of organizing trips for our Model United Nations club. MUN, for those who don't know, is a club for future politicians, lawyers, debaters, and schmoozer lobbyists. Every school goes to a conference, wherein they take on the role of any number of countries, representing the viewpoints of said country in debates on various committees. The kids who are involved love it. They dress up, prepare resolutions, network, debate, and form alliances to further the position of whatever country they are representing.
In February, I took a delegation of 14 students from Turkey to the Israel MUN conference.
Our "delegation?"
Iran.
That's right. Iran. In Israel. Represented by Muslim Turks (who were the only Muslims at the conference, besides a small contingent of Palestinians.)
Awkward.
We do this on purpose though, it pushes our students to ramp up their debate skills. And, to be honest, our school is so liberal, it is quite a stretch for them to represent Iran.
Though the conference itself is great fun, and an excellent model of student-oriented leadership opportunities, arguably the best part is the two to three days of "culture" tours we always include before the conference starts. Because, really, you aren't going to go all the way to Israel without checking out the sights, are you!?!
We had two and a half days before the conference started, and along with a local tour guide, and a bus, we loaded up the itinerary for my delegation of debaters. After checking in at our sea-side hotel next to the Mediterranean Sea, and just North of Tel Aviv (private rooms for the Chaperones, of course), we headed out to Jerusalem.
We started our tour at Mt. Olives, the worlds' most expensive cemetery. It pays to be here, (and to be Jewish), because when the Messiah arrives, he will scoop up all the souls from their graves, and lead them through the gates across the valley, and on through the Eastern Gates up to the Western Wall and up to Heaven for their resurrection. At least, that's how I understand it. No wonder Israel wrestled it back from Jordan during the six day war. The messiah is probably going to skip anyone staying at the Intercontinental Hotel that was built their while Jordan held control of the land.
From the Mount of Olives we moved down, into Jerusalem, splitting into the required male and female groups to visit the Western (Wailing) Wall. Not much crying going on when we visited, but, then again, I think that mostly comes from the female section--and possibly most of the crying comes from the fact that their part of the wall is probably a tenth the size of the dude's portion. It seemed crowded, while over on the MAN'S wall, we had plenty of room to stretch out and touch as much wall as we wanted. Besides the gender inequality, there is this little bit of controversy over the wall between the Jews and the Muslims. Each claim it as sacred. And each side says the other only considers it sacred to piss off the other side. Like the Mount of Olives, Israel gained access to the wall in the six day war of 1967, and judging by how much they love these bricks, it seems unlikely that they will give it back. Apparently, Obama has suggested that we might at least fly the flag of the United Nations, not of Israel, over this hotly contested piece of real estate. But, the Israeli-special operations units touring around in the square seemed to send the signal that this is quite unlikely. Apart from the controversy, it was stunning to see the devotion of the Jewish people to this wall which they consider to be the last remaining vestige of the original temple of God himself. It is a nice wall.
After all the excitement of touring the wall, we rounded up the womenfolk, and went to grab some eats. Arabic style. The Arabic Quarter of Jerusalem has the best food, hands down. My guide said to me, "Do we go to the fancy, clean place, with the okay food? Or, do we go the gritty place which will cost 8 dollars each, and has the world's best houmous and falafel.?"
Duh.
My students are lovely, but they are prissy. They live a life of chauffeurs, maids, malls, and five star hotels. They DO NOT eat at greasy Arab houmous joints. But, what the hell--it's my field trip, and it's my job to open their eyes. We had the most amazing meal of fried, blended, and spiced chick peas I have ever head in my life; and I spent most of the meal asking my students..."are you not going to finish that? Here, give it to me." They did like the fresh pomegranate juice, but that's because that is a very Turkish drink. It's funny to me--America's flavor lies in its variety, and so goes our tongues. But everywhere else, be it Ecuador, Italy, or Turkey--regionalism dominates the palate. Taste is found in nuances, not the noise of a totally different flavor. And if you dare to vary too far from the accepted norm, don't look for your food to find any acceptance. This loyalty to flavor is strange to me, but at the same time, I can appreciate it. Maybe we're too concerned in America with creating the latest Mango-Salmon-Almond-Encrusted-Balsmic-Tofu-Mandarin-Gorgonzola salad, and a simple plate of well made falafel, sans sauce, crust, or remoulade would be better?
Regardless, with lunch finished, it was time for more controversial religious monuments. This time, Christian. We wove our way through the Arab Quarter, occasionally running into Stations of The Cross...the actual ones, along with alleys full of Abercrombie and Fitch shorts and sweats, Chinese-made plastic Tupperware, DVD shops, and head-scarf outlets. Finally, we arrived at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is one complicated place. It's owned in part, by no less than four different denominations...but forget about it if you are Anglican or Protestant (though you can still go visit, you just don't get stock). Here no less than the rocks Jesus was crucified on, the spot where he was anointed and the shroud of Turin was placed over him, and then, (as if that wasn't enough) the cave where he was buried, and then rose. Maybe.
Religious scholars on all sides have debated the validity of all of this, to say nothing of the atheists. But, whatever your viewpoint, the passion and raw belief of the visitors for which this is a pilgrimage of life-changing dimensions, was in all respects perhaps more powerful to behold than the sites themselves. There was kissing of rocks, crossing of foreheads to shoulders, burning of candles, mumbling of prayers in a cacophony of languages, and tears tears tears. These pilgrims belief was raw, intense, and profound. It very much captivated me, and my students, who, are mostly Islam-a-atheists who won't admit as much.
Speaking of which, we must move on to our final stop, at least, for my kids who could call to mind an Islamic prayer or two. The Dome of the Rock, a Mosque, is one of the most holy sites in Islam, built on top of one of the Holiest Sites in Judaism, and on Friday (the Holy Day) you gotta be Muslim to get in and check out the place where Mohammad ascended to heaven. Israeli storm-troopers and an Arabic bounder prevented about half of my group of Turkish Muslim students from entering. They didn't have their ID cards on them, identifying them as Muslim, and they couldn't remember any prayers to prove it. On top of that, my girls had to cover their heads up--something antithetical to how they are raised in their homes. In all, it was a very awkward experience for our little secular group; but again, my students who went in were struck by the reverence that the Muslims had for this place.
If nothing else, visiting all of these places solidified, for all of us, the need--and the complications of, finding peace in this contested land. The purported goal of our MUN conference in Israel was to pave roads towards that peace in the future generations of this region's leaders; but our trip to Jerusalem may have done more for that than three days of debate within the politically correct walls and corridors of the American School. Perhaps some of our leaders should consider a walk through the streets of Jerusalem before pontificating in the halls of their governments?
Full slide show of my trip, here:
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
It's time to make it public
As international teachers, Erin and I spend a good bit of time moving from school to school. Typically, these gigs run for a two year contract period before you have the option to renew, or move on.
Because of these nomadic tendencies, and because we want out current students to feel that we are 100% committed to them until our last day of school (because we are!), we try to keep our plans for next year under wraps. Which, would include not mentioning anything on this public blog.
However, the cat is out of the bag. Today, Erin found out that several students have discovered our plans, and so tomorrow we will be officially announcing that we will not be in Turkey next year.
We'll be in (drum roll.........) St. Martin!
Nope, just kidding.
It's actually a place and school that excites us even more than the French Caribbean. We are extremely pleased to have accepted positions in South Korea with the Chadwick International School.
Chadwick Int. is a brand new school located in Songdo City, about 45 minutes outside of Seoul. The school itself is a 2nd campus of a school that is located in California, in Palos Verdes. Chadwick in California is a school that I have known about for many years; many Outward Bound staff work in their well respected and accredited outdoor education program during the slow seasons at OB. They have an excellent reputation as being a leader in outdoor education, character education, and experiential education. Additionally, they have been around for a 75 years, and have an outstanding academic record.
Over the past few years, I've often said to myself, "Man, teaching overseas is great, but I really want to be at a school that embraces outdoor/experiential education. Like, a Chadwick Overseas school, would be great. But, alas, they only operate in California, and I'm just not ready to be back in the states." So, it was with the utmost care that I picked up my jaw as it had fallen to the floor last December when I read the postings for a brand new campus of Chadwick, that was opening in Korea.
Applications were quickly sent, interviews were conducted over Skype (where we did less interviewing and more finishing of each others' thoughts with the admin), jobs were offered, contracts negotiated, and today we sent off our requests for our flights from Atlanta to Seoul, August 1!!!!
Erin will be teaching 8th grade English, and I will be teaching 7th grade History. The school will be in it's second year next year, and will have just added the 8th grade, as it slowly adds one grade a year until reaching K-12 status. This fact is another very exciting one, we get to be a part of something new. We get to create a new school (but with the help of 75 years of experience from our campus in CA). Perfect. Not only that, but this is a a place where character education is of MORE importance that academic performance. The Assistant Head, in our interview, said something to the extent of...Yeah, it's great if our kids get into Ivy League schools, and they do...but it's even better when they graduate as good people.
Bingo. That's where we want to be.
So, that's it. It will be sad to say goodbye to Turkey, as it was to say goodbye to Ecuador. But, we know we have made the best decision for us as professionals. For now, if you are interested, here are a couple of links of interest that will preview our new lives in Korea.
Start booking your tickets, it's Asia time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
An introduction to Chadwick on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/18453777
Articles from all over the press about Songdo, the world's first and largest "Green" city, and our new home:
http://www.songdo.com/songdo-international-business-district/news/in-the-news.aspx
An animated fly-over of Songdo...watch for the school!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2uzo-xzta0
Finally, Erin would be very mad if I didn't mention her new favorite blog, Eat Your Kimchi. If you don't know what Kimchi is, then don't bother visiting us!
http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/
Because of these nomadic tendencies, and because we want out current students to feel that we are 100% committed to them until our last day of school (because we are!), we try to keep our plans for next year under wraps. Which, would include not mentioning anything on this public blog.
However, the cat is out of the bag. Today, Erin found out that several students have discovered our plans, and so tomorrow we will be officially announcing that we will not be in Turkey next year.
We'll be in (drum roll.........) St. Martin!
Nope, just kidding.
It's actually a place and school that excites us even more than the French Caribbean. We are extremely pleased to have accepted positions in South Korea with the Chadwick International School.
Chadwick Int. is a brand new school located in Songdo City, about 45 minutes outside of Seoul. The school itself is a 2nd campus of a school that is located in California, in Palos Verdes. Chadwick in California is a school that I have known about for many years; many Outward Bound staff work in their well respected and accredited outdoor education program during the slow seasons at OB. They have an excellent reputation as being a leader in outdoor education, character education, and experiential education. Additionally, they have been around for a 75 years, and have an outstanding academic record.
Over the past few years, I've often said to myself, "Man, teaching overseas is great, but I really want to be at a school that embraces outdoor/experiential education. Like, a Chadwick Overseas school, would be great. But, alas, they only operate in California, and I'm just not ready to be back in the states." So, it was with the utmost care that I picked up my jaw as it had fallen to the floor last December when I read the postings for a brand new campus of Chadwick, that was opening in Korea.
Applications were quickly sent, interviews were conducted over Skype (where we did less interviewing and more finishing of each others' thoughts with the admin), jobs were offered, contracts negotiated, and today we sent off our requests for our flights from Atlanta to Seoul, August 1!!!!
Erin will be teaching 8th grade English, and I will be teaching 7th grade History. The school will be in it's second year next year, and will have just added the 8th grade, as it slowly adds one grade a year until reaching K-12 status. This fact is another very exciting one, we get to be a part of something new. We get to create a new school (but with the help of 75 years of experience from our campus in CA). Perfect. Not only that, but this is a a place where character education is of MORE importance that academic performance. The Assistant Head, in our interview, said something to the extent of...Yeah, it's great if our kids get into Ivy League schools, and they do...but it's even better when they graduate as good people.
Bingo. That's where we want to be.
So, that's it. It will be sad to say goodbye to Turkey, as it was to say goodbye to Ecuador. But, we know we have made the best decision for us as professionals. For now, if you are interested, here are a couple of links of interest that will preview our new lives in Korea.
Start booking your tickets, it's Asia time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
An introduction to Chadwick on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/18453777
Chadwick International from Chadwick International on Vimeo.
A tour of Chadwick International on Vimeo:
School Tour from Chadwick International on Vimeo.
Our city of the future, Songdo: (it will open in 2015...obviously, a school is one of the first things you want built, hence, well...US!)
Articles from all over the press about Songdo, the world's first and largest "Green" city, and our new home:
http://www.songdo.com/songdo-international-business-district/news/in-the-news.aspx
An animated fly-over of Songdo...watch for the school!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2uzo-xzta0
Finally, Erin would be very mad if I didn't mention her new favorite blog, Eat Your Kimchi. If you don't know what Kimchi is, then don't bother visiting us!
http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Turkish climbing, skiing, and celebrating.
As the chronology of the past year spent NOT blogging continues, we move on to the early part of this year's winter and the latter end of fall. Winter seemed to drag its feet getting here, and my climbing partners and I were able to take advantage of the prolonged climbing season to milk a couple of last trips before the Anatolian winter made it's presence felt.
My friend from France, Alex, and I ventured one day out to Sirvashahir, a trad rock climbing area not too far out of Ankara. We found some cold temps, good cracks, and not a soul in sight for miles. Except for the hunters. But, they seemed friendly enough. It's always eerie climbing at these far-flung Turkish crags, when the call to prayer echoes through the air. I perhaps could blame my spooked nerves for the reasoning behind why I left my entire rack of climbing gear at the base of the crag, but when Alex and I returned the next day, it was luckily still there.
We also had a chance to further develop the Bilkent Boulders, a boulderfield behind our house here in Ankara. Several good sessions were had cleaning and sending on these, most convenient boulders.
Over Christmas, Erin and I took a trip to see my cousin in France and to ski the French Alps, but that will need its own post. We did do some skiing in Turkey, again, out near the Iranian border near Palandoken. The bummer of this trip was that the slopes essentially weren't open. The ski area was preparing to host the Collegiate Olympics, and so they weren't too keen on directing any of their snow making prowess to the slopes that we were on. They were having a hard enough time getting coverage on the slopes that would host the competition one week later. If only the hotel hadn't replied with the ambiguously worded "Yes, you may ski on our slopes," we might have known better, and perhaps would have canceled our trip. But, of course, once there, we DID have fun--even if we only had one slope to ski on.
If I may take a moment to get on a soapbox. This ski problem embodies what is often wrong in developing countries. They spent lots (millions) of money outfitting this ski area for the collegiate olympics. New Poma lifts all over the mountain. Snowmaking guns rigged every 10 meters down the slopes. A fleet of brand new snowcats specifically outfitted with equipment to make half pipes. Promotional materials. Advertising. You name it. However, and this is really classic---they forgot to dig a well to get water to make snow with. Only in Turkey do you spend millions of dollars on the surface, to make something look nice, without considering the foundational items, in this case, WATER. So, the lifts sat empty. The snowguns operated at 10%. The snow groomers perfected a half pipe made of dirt. And we wasted our money to travel across Turkey to ski on the one single run they had managed to cover with snow.
Finally, Winter bade goodbye to our good friend Aygun Dalby, who left us to attend graduate school in Ankara. Aygun had no less than four going away parties, and why not!?! Wouldn't you? On one of his trips I vaguely remember meeting a group of Turkish students who were also celebrating a going away party for their friend, but he was beginning the mandatory military service required of all Turkish men. Let's just say that the evening became fuzzy after meeting these hard partiers, but I do remember, at one point, being tossed up in the air by a group of men, while that nasal-sounding middle eastern pipe played in the background.
Luckily, nobody had a viper stored in a basket.
(If you are reading this on facebook, and want to see the pictures, including my run-in with the militarily-sequestered Turks, go to www.nargileistan.blogspot.com)
My friend from France, Alex, and I ventured one day out to Sirvashahir, a trad rock climbing area not too far out of Ankara. We found some cold temps, good cracks, and not a soul in sight for miles. Except for the hunters. But, they seemed friendly enough. It's always eerie climbing at these far-flung Turkish crags, when the call to prayer echoes through the air. I perhaps could blame my spooked nerves for the reasoning behind why I left my entire rack of climbing gear at the base of the crag, but when Alex and I returned the next day, it was luckily still there.
We also had a chance to further develop the Bilkent Boulders, a boulderfield behind our house here in Ankara. Several good sessions were had cleaning and sending on these, most convenient boulders.
Over Christmas, Erin and I took a trip to see my cousin in France and to ski the French Alps, but that will need its own post. We did do some skiing in Turkey, again, out near the Iranian border near Palandoken. The bummer of this trip was that the slopes essentially weren't open. The ski area was preparing to host the Collegiate Olympics, and so they weren't too keen on directing any of their snow making prowess to the slopes that we were on. They were having a hard enough time getting coverage on the slopes that would host the competition one week later. If only the hotel hadn't replied with the ambiguously worded "Yes, you may ski on our slopes," we might have known better, and perhaps would have canceled our trip. But, of course, once there, we DID have fun--even if we only had one slope to ski on.
If I may take a moment to get on a soapbox. This ski problem embodies what is often wrong in developing countries. They spent lots (millions) of money outfitting this ski area for the collegiate olympics. New Poma lifts all over the mountain. Snowmaking guns rigged every 10 meters down the slopes. A fleet of brand new snowcats specifically outfitted with equipment to make half pipes. Promotional materials. Advertising. You name it. However, and this is really classic---they forgot to dig a well to get water to make snow with. Only in Turkey do you spend millions of dollars on the surface, to make something look nice, without considering the foundational items, in this case, WATER. So, the lifts sat empty. The snowguns operated at 10%. The snow groomers perfected a half pipe made of dirt. And we wasted our money to travel across Turkey to ski on the one single run they had managed to cover with snow.
Finally, Winter bade goodbye to our good friend Aygun Dalby, who left us to attend graduate school in Ankara. Aygun had no less than four going away parties, and why not!?! Wouldn't you? On one of his trips I vaguely remember meeting a group of Turkish students who were also celebrating a going away party for their friend, but he was beginning the mandatory military service required of all Turkish men. Let's just say that the evening became fuzzy after meeting these hard partiers, but I do remember, at one point, being tossed up in the air by a group of men, while that nasal-sounding middle eastern pipe played in the background.
Luckily, nobody had a viper stored in a basket.
(If you are reading this on facebook, and want to see the pictures, including my run-in with the militarily-sequestered Turks, go to www.nargileistan.blogspot.com)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Shameful
A good blogger is a regular blogger, and I have been anything but that. I can't say why I haven't posted here much while in Turkey, but the sad reality is that I just have failed in my blogging duties. On the plus side, though, I've spent lots of time taking and editing photos; many of which I am very proud. So, here's my first attempt to catch up, albeit, mostly photographically with the past fall in Ankara, Turkey.
We had a spectacular fall here. It was a long one, lasting right up into December. We started things off with a trip to Florida for Erin's brother's wedding--detailed in my last post. Having injured my finger during the summer, a ruptured finger pulley, climbing was pretty much out for most of the fall. We did take a few trips down to the Med., and out to our favorite local crag, Karakaya. Mostly, fall was about friends. Oktoberfest at the German Embassy. Cappadocia field trips with my students. Learning to brew beer and wine at home. Attending the glamorous Marine Ball at the American Embassy. Discovering a new world of bouldering potential behind the house, and...waiting for the ski season.
It was, I suppose, a mostly uneventful fall. We work hard here at BLIS, the days are long, and the work continues at home and on the weekends. Time flew by. Winter had a few more adventures, and I'm going to leave it here with a slideshow of some of my favorite photos from the fall so that I can move on to the more recent winter adventures.
We had a spectacular fall here. It was a long one, lasting right up into December. We started things off with a trip to Florida for Erin's brother's wedding--detailed in my last post. Having injured my finger during the summer, a ruptured finger pulley, climbing was pretty much out for most of the fall. We did take a few trips down to the Med., and out to our favorite local crag, Karakaya. Mostly, fall was about friends. Oktoberfest at the German Embassy. Cappadocia field trips with my students. Learning to brew beer and wine at home. Attending the glamorous Marine Ball at the American Embassy. Discovering a new world of bouldering potential behind the house, and...waiting for the ski season.
It was, I suppose, a mostly uneventful fall. We work hard here at BLIS, the days are long, and the work continues at home and on the weekends. Time flew by. Winter had a few more adventures, and I'm going to leave it here with a slideshow of some of my favorite photos from the fall so that I can move on to the more recent winter adventures.
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