In two days, I'm leaving Little Rock for Turkey (the country, not a sandwich so magnificent that it's worthy of being capitalized). I'm somewhat of a nervous wreck. I just started packing in earnest today, although I always leave things like that until the last minute. My nervousness and apprehension don't come from the rigors of travel; in fact, I've become old hand enough at international travel that I'm not concerned about long flights, ridiculous security procedures or the horrors of delayed/cancelled flights.
Some very recent changes in my life have given rise to a small but naggingly persistent voice that says I shouldn't go, that I should stay here to see after things on the domestic home front. But all that's generally been silenced by intense wanderlust and the prospect of the thrill and excitement that will be Türkiye. My nervousness and apprehension are more directly about my own abilities and facing the unknown again, as I once did when traveling to Africa.
In Turkey, I'll be working at the Cebeli Summer School in a town called Gümüşhane, which is about an hour and a half south of the more famous city of Trabzon. The town is nestled in a mountainous area, and its name derives from the rich silver deposits in the surrounding mountains. The summer school is a sort of partnership with my university (University of Arkansas at Little Rock) thanks to one of our faculty members, Dr. Coskun Bayrak, and every summer a small group of university students travel to Turkey to teach at the school. The school focuses primarily on improving English language skills but also on technical and other instruction. I'll be teaching international studies/relations to three sets of students grouped by their command of English: beginners, intermediate and advanced.
And herein lies one source of my anxiety: I don't know how to "dumb down" the material to students with only a rudimentary grasp of the English language. I'm sure I'll figure it out as I go along. The good thing is that we're paired up with a Turkish instructor, so I'm hopeful that between the two of us we can work things out. In case you're curious, here's the outline I've created for my classes borrowing a bit heavily at points on my favorite instructors at UALR:
Week One: Introduction to International Studies/Relations; World Geography; the International System (United Nations, Regional Mechanisms [EU, Arab League, etc.])
Week Two: The Developed & Developing Worlds
Week Three: Energy Security; Poverty; and the Environment
Week Four: Israel-Palestine Issue; Conflict & International Security
Week Five: Turkey & the International Community; Turkey & the European Union; Turkey & the Middle East/North Africa
Week Six: Model United Nations Simulation
I arrive in Istanbul on Wednesday, June 23, and I have roughly five days before I need to catch a flight east to Trabzon (and thereafter a bus to Gümüşhane). I've booked a hostel room in the middle of the Sultanahmet neighborhood where most of the main sites are located, and I plan to make a day trip to the city of Edirne to see the House of Baha'u'llah there. I had planned to spend at least one day and evening in Edirne but it turns out my arrival coincides with the famous Kırkpınar Oil-Wrestling Championship. Yes, oil-wrestling - a bunch of oiled up men wrestling around and competing with one another (sounds like the Jersey shore, right?). Since all of the rooms are booked up, I'm going to have to day-trip it.
The summer school concludes on August 6, and I'll be traveling around until I leave Istanbul on August 24 to come back to the United States. I plan to visit at least Cappadocia and make a big circuit of the southern and western coasts of Turkey. If there's time remaining, I'd like to go to Bucharest, Romania by train via Sofia, Bulgaria. My brand new passport feels naked, so I've got to fill it up with visa after visa after visa!
[[ Note: You might be wondering about the name of the blog, Take Your Dishes to the Kitchen. I'm notorious for not taking my dishes to the kitchen, and this is a phrase my mother has repeated so much over my life that it's seared into my mind. I did it for you, ma! ]]
2 comments:
Bryan, perhaps if they offered Bacon in Turkey you'd be traveling to "Club." But then of course Naheed wouldn't want anything to do with this trip, this blog, hell, even with YOU Bryan. Then what sort of mess would we be in. That's right, one helluva mess, the type you refrain from bringing to the kitchen. Jerk. You just need some blue pants.
This sounds so exciting, especially the part about the oil wrestling. I'm so very excited that you'll be taking part in the oil wrestling. Have you thought of a good name yet? Tribbliss was the name of your line of men and women's perfumes, colognes, and body wash, so that name's taken. Going by 'Dr O'Tribble' may also be out of the question, considering that you have legal documents in certain North American countries other than the United States that indicate this as your legal name.
'Troublesome Tribble' is probably a bit too 'trekkie' for the good people of Turkey, and 'Tribal Tribble' is way to condescending for a white man such as yourself. Especially one such as yourself, I should add.
So, sorry I won't be there to cheer you on, help you decide on a flashy and intimidating name, and design a costume for your oil-wrestling domination. But I'll be there in spirit. Just picture me as you remember me best: elderly, bitter, clad only in sweat p'nts, and forcing you to train by body slamming sides of beef.
So, Mike, I've managed to circumvent the Turkish government's censors in order to fully appreciate your comment. I'm now on my way to Edirne for the oil-wrestling. I had a pair of spandex pants custom made in Istanbul - you're supposed to wear leather pants but I find them inflexible and confining. Since all the Ottoman Sultans had something after their name (i.e. Suleiman the Magnificant) I've decided to go with the name "Tribble the Terrible" after my personal hero, Ivan the Terrible.
Post a Comment