Meryem Ana Catholic Community

I remember as a small kid in Iliff, we lived not quite two blocks from St. Catherine's Catholic Church.  We would generally always drive those two blocks, so dad could smoke one more cigarette before going in.   It's a bit more difficult to get to Mass here in Ankara.  

That we know of, there are only two Catholic congregations in the city.  One is a small gathering spot in a nondescript building, which, it sounds like, only a couple of rooms.  The largest is at the Vatican Embassy grounds and is called Meryem Anna. Mass there on Sunday's is in English. 

Barbara, Steve, and Peggy.  The taxi stand is below.

Our neighbors, who are from Milwaukee by the way, Steve and Barbara Prust, have done lots for the new comers, including getting us to mass the past three weeks. The first Sunday, the free university bus never came so we took a taxi, (about 45 TL) and last week the high school principal drove his car, so today was the first day we traveled the way they generally get to mass. 

One of the university buses.  

The bus stop is right next to our lojman, so it takes less than 2 minutes to walk there.  The bus starts its route at our stop on the east campus at 20 minutes after the hours-9:20 this morning, then goes to main campus and stops until until 40 minutes after the hour.  The bus then makes a couple of stops at popular mall locations and near the giant city bus depot, and  goes downtown to the Tunis area bus stop.  

There was very little traffic today, so we made it to our stop by about 10:08.   From there we walked about 5-6 blocks to a city bus stop, moving at a pretty good pace.  We take either the 314 or 115 bus to within half a block of the Vatican Embassy. If we miss the 10:15 bus, it's another 10-15 minutes for the next bus, and walking in either just on time or a few minutes late.  A city bus stop is very near  the Vatican back gate and we actually were about 6 minutes early.  There are two security guards at the gate, both in plain clothes, greeting the congregants.  Neither looked like Joe Dolan. 

The Vatican back gate

Once on the Vatican grounds, there is a small gathering spot beneath the actual church that has a meeting room, very old volumes of official looking Catholic doctrine books, a bathroom (very important after a 1:10 commute), and a small room where they accept donations of clothing, etc.  

The main sanctuary holds about 150 people in the pews, and probably another 50 or so in chairs set up around the top walls. I would guess we're about 80-90% full the past three weeks.  There is a piano and choir that leads the rest of us, and the singing is actually pretty good, considering the many, many different languages spoken by the people there. 

Fr. Jean-Marc is from Belgium  and is new in the past couple of months. We very much enjoy his sermons, and his English is very good.  January 13 was a big day, as they started using the new mass, and then only partially, as the choir still sings using the old parts. They have, like back home, the cheat sheets to help along, but it's still a strong mixture of "and also with you," with the "and with your spirit."  (For you non-Catholics, the new mass changed the responses of the people and the parts the priest says.  In the US, we totally switched at the start of Advent, 2011)  As I'm writing this, it is warm enough to have the window open and I can hear the speakers blaring out the Call to Prayer to the Muslims. It's actually subdued this far away.  I don't really know the times, as I'm usually in the school, but I've heard it at 6:00 am, about 11:15 am, and here it is now about 2:45-the first time I've heard it in the afternoon, and then around 6:30 at night.  I think they're called to pray six times a day.  No one that I've talked to attends any of the mosques, but there are two within four miles.  There are many more around in the populated areas. After we visit our first mosque I'll get more specifics and blog. 

So, where was I?  The community is made up mostly of diplomats, teachers, and refugees.  They are every color, shape and size, as well as languages that I just don't recognize at Mass.  Our second reading is always in another language, this morning in Spanish. (their two, week day masses, are said in the language of the majority of the those attending!  I guess if we want English, we need to take a whole group there.)

The beauty of a Catholic liturgy is that it is the same around the world, and today we heard the very same readings the people in Iliff, Salida, Rome and Mexico City heard.  It is a good feeling when in such a strange place to know that you are still part of something much bigger.  The only difference that we've noticed here is that all take the communion bread and dip it into the chalice, like we were told we could no longer do 25 years ago.  I guess the Vatican can do what it wants!!

After mass people gather outside for quite some time, just like Iliff, and visit.  Most will not see each other again until next Sunday, so it's pretty neat.  The priest's homily today was based on the second reading, and he encouraged us, to be a larger part "of the body" and mentioned our very mixed community, so it was fun to witness the interactions. 

It is a seven minute taxi ride back to the Tunis stop for the return ride on the 12:00 bus.  These buses leave on the hour, so to take the city bus would get us back to Tunis too late and would mean waiting for the 1:00 bus.  This bus will take us all the way back to our stop, but we jumped off at Real' very close to here and did our shopping for the week and taxied home, arriving back here at 1:10.  So, the round trip transports/transfers, etc, take longer than the mass.  

That's all for now.  Peggy's at another lojman, as a group of women teachers got together for lunch at 2:00.  When she returns we're going to go to the east campus gym and exercise.   We had hoped to go for a walk instead, but it's looking pretty cloudy and may snow tonight.   

Lojman F 11, Home Sweet Home

Lojman (lowzh mon) is the name for apartments.  This is one of the few universal Turkish words I hear the international teachers always use.  No one says, "I'm going to my apartment."  It is, "I'm going to my lojman."  

Lojman to the South of us up the hill

BLIS is located on the east campus of Bilkent University.  There are 12 lojman (no "s" to pluralize words here) built on a hill just south of the school, with the exception of buildings 93 and 97, which can be converted into a lojman and are just west of us.  The 12 lojman are mostly all the same, a basement with locked storage areas for each flat (what they call the individual apartments) along with a room with 8 washing machines.  The machines are front loaders with the super fast spin cycle to remove most of the water from the washed garments.  There are three floors of living space, again in most buildings, 4 flats per level. There are one or two buildings where the administrators live that have only three flats per level, as their lojman are larger than the worker bee's quarters.  Damn administrators.  

Lojman F.  Our living room balcony in upper left.

Our lojman is closest to the school entrance gate on the south.  There is also another gate to the northeast.  There are guards in guard shacks (my word, as they're actually nice little buildings) at each school gate, as well as an electronic gate that is always manned with another shack at the entrance to the lojman from the street, dogu kampus (east campus street-very creative)  There are also guards occasionally in the entrances to the buildings. All entrances to the university are guarded.  This will either worry you or give you peace-the presence of guards- however,  they are not armed, not even with a radio.  There are phones in the shacks.  When riding the university buses back onto the campus, a guard does walk through the bus and  all show their university ID cards. I think they even look at some of them!  

So, our lojman is closest to the school entrance and is known as lojman F flat 11.  Our living room and bedroom face the south and each has a small walk out balcony.  The spare bedroom has a balcony as well that looks west.  It is small, but larger than what I lived in while at UNC and definitely larger than the student apartment we lived in at Western State. The floors in the living room and bedrooms are wood, and the kitchen and bathroom are tiled.  They are totally furnished, with the hardest cushions I've ever experienced on the sofa.  The chairs are a little better. The sofa folds into a bed, which we used when we got up at 2:15 AM last Sunday to watch the last quarter (and overtimes) of the Broncos.  Then, the firmness wasn't a problem as it was actually pretty comfortable.  The Bronco's defense should have been so firm! 

New sheets and cover after IKEA next week!

Spare bedroom

The queen sized bed in our room is very comfortable, which was one of my worries given my back. There are also built in closets in each bedroom with just enough room.   All the bedding, a set of towels, and all drapery were here, washed and waiting for us. Someone must have gotten a deal on bright print sheet sets, as there's nothing simply white.  

Don't spend time looking for the dishwasher.  One took the picture and the other one is teaching across the street.

The kitchen is just large enough for two people to walk around in, if you keep your hands at your side.  I can reach across it and touch both walls, so it is less than 6x8 feet. The university supplied, and I'm serious: 2 large glasses, 2 small glasses, 2 forks, 2 spoons, 2 butter knives, one tea pot, one baking dish, one frying pan and one larger pot.  They very carefully inventoried all this so that we don't get greedy and swipe stuff when we leave.  Fortunately we purchased a lot of items from the guy who left in December, so there are most basics in the kitchen.  We bought a microwave from Real, and from him got a toaster, electric hot water heater, and extra dishes, pots and pans, etc.  Still its very sparse, but the school is taking a bus to IKEA a week from Saturday, so Peggy's excited.  We also pay 5 TL for a 19 liter water bottle and bought from the teacher Peggy is replacing a water cooler.  The water guys deliver water here every Friday.  You put the used bottle out your flat with the cash and by noon you have a new bottle outside your door.  Everyone drinks bottled water, with the same coolers in the school buildings.  We've heard two stories:  the water is filled with too many minerals, and the water is not purified well and has too much bacteria.  Either way, it's bottled water for us.  The housing guys also pick up your trash, 3 times a day during the week and 2x on weekends, and we just have to set it in the hall on our floor.  

The heat is all hot water radiators, just like Edgar and I fought with for years in the old building at Cotopaxi, except these actually work.  Two knobs, one on top and on on the bottom open/close to allow the water to circulate.  We leave all off except in the bathroom and spare bedroom.  If it is cold, they warm up pretty quickly, but it takes a long time to cool off.  

Lastly the bathroom is really pretty roomy, but it only has a curved shower stall.  I won't complain about my small shower in Howard again!  There is always plenty of hot water, and so far everything is working out just fine. We bought/brought electrical adapters, but most everything in here is wired for the local outlets.  The computers, and Peggy's curling iron are about the only items that need converting.    

Our dryer??

Remember those super fast spinning washing machines mentioned earlier?  Well they spin so fast to remove moisture because there are no dryers here.  Seriously, every kid and adult have smart phones and laptops, but drying racks are still being used? This was the same in both Italy and Hungary when Tyler and Sam studied overseas.  I really didn't appreciate their complaints until now.  So, the heat is up in the spare bedroom and the rack is brought in from the balcony.  Fortunately, we bought a floor fan on a stand from the previous guy, and with the door mostly closed and the fan running, clothes dry in just a few hours.  And, they have that nice crunchy feeling I like when we hang our clothes outside at home! Peggy is not as big a fan.  

Well, it will take you 5 times longer to read this than to tour the place, should you decide to visit. But it's very comfortable, minus the sofa, and will really be nice after going to IKEA.  

Bilkent Laboratory and International School

Well, we've been at work now for 8 days and starting to get into the routine.  Peggy leaves for school at about 7:50 and arrives two minutes later.  I leave about 7:55 and it takes me all of 3 minutes to get to the high school.

Bilkent Laboratory and International School was established in 1993, and is known everywhere as BLIS. It is a private tuition school, so only middle and upper class parents can afford to send their kids here.  BLIS started with 43 middle school students.  The 8th grade class became the first high school class the next year, when they also started a preschool.  They continued to add classes as the previous class advanced until they had a full school.  The first school building was constructed in 1993 and the next in 1997.  They didn't call the buildings "Elementary School" or "Middle School," but instead ,"Building '93" for the year the building was constructed.  So, first through fourth grades are in buildings 93 and 97.  There are two building for the kindergarten classes, and a high school and middle school that are connected via hallways.  

Peggy's building '97 from one of our apartment balconies

There are 18 kids in her class, and she shares teaching duties with Saadet Zoraoglu, in her second year of teaching.  She's only 23 or 24 and also working on her MA degree at nights!  They don't actually team teach, as much as take turns teaching.  The Turkish Ministry of Education has many, many rules regarding what kids are taught and what schools can do.  So, Peggy teaches an English writing lesson, and then Saadet will teach a Turkish language lesson, in Turkish!  It seems confusing to me, but it works for the kids. The entire school is utilizing the International Baccalaureate program and their Primary Years Program for the elementary school (K-4).  The schedule affords lots of planning, and the 5 international first grade teachers plan together (including a Syrian 1st grade teacher), the 5 Turkish first grade teachers plan together, and they also all get together and plan.  Plus, the PYP coordinator meets with them as a group. So, there is very little need to do planning on nights or weekends.

It's a pretty long school day, as the kids get here about 8:10 and don't leave until 4:15.  I'd guess about 60-70% ride the school buses, that are 15 passenger types and operated by a company that is contracted by the school.  Most Turkish teachers ride the buses to work as well.  The other 30% or so are dropped off and picked up.  Many students have the family driver doing the duties of drop off and pick up.  Yesterday after exams, I had two students ask if they could use their cell phones to call their drivers to tell them what time to come and get them!  Different than Cotopaxi!! There are lots of Mercedes, Audis, Puegeot, Volvo, etc., and an occasional VW, Fiat, or Ford.

Peggy and Saadet in their classroom

The University Board has determined that this school of 600 should double in size, so they are adding classes one grade level at at time until they have 6 sections of each grade. There are 6 kindergarten classes this year, 5 first grade classes, 4 second grade classes, and all the rest have 3 sections.  Next year, the numbers will all move up one level with 6 in K and 1, and so on.  They are building a new elementary school, breaking ground in the next 6 months.  It will be attached to the north end of the middle school.  They are planning for the 6 sections, but will need to build more rooms in the middle school, which is only a couple of years old, and then the high school.  

High School south entrance

Things remind me of Cotopaxi in that you enter a building at ground level, but because it's built into a hill, you end up on the third floor if you enter from another door.  The above high school building has 2 levels below these entrance doors, and they are at ground level to the north.  The new middle school is to the north.  

I'm still playing substitute teacher for the economics classes and doing some subbing in the middle school as well.  The instructor they have hired is waiting, like we did, for the Turkish government to approve his work permit so that he can then get his work visa from a Turkish consulate or its embassy in the U.S. The good thing is that my 1/2 time, 15 hours per week is really like 22 hours a week, so I don't mind hiking back to the apartment when I'm done, rather than hang out in the classroom.  (That's why I'm doing this at 3:30 in the afternoon.

The 12th grade kids are waiting for college admissions.  Last Friday 2 seniors found out they were accepted to Penn State and very excited.  About 75% of the graduates attend college in the US or Great Britain.  

Geez, this is long and you may have already stopped reading.  I'll let you know about the apartment, lojman, next.  Can't wait, huh!   

   

We're here!  And, we're exhausted.

The trip from Denver to DC to Munich to Ankara took  about 20 hours.  We left DIA on Friday morning and landed here the next afternoon.  We got to Ankara on Saturday afternoon and it was much easier to get through their immigration than either Mexico or the US.  A 30 second visit with our passport at immigration and two stamps later we were exiting the airport.  The school director, Chris, and Jan, our friend from Fairplay, were waiting for us.  

We got to our lojman-apartment and unloaded our 8 bags from the van.  We are on the 3rd floor, with 3 balconies:  one off the living room, and one from each bedroom.  The school had shopped for us so we had basics in the refrigerator and fruits and cereals to get us going without a trip the very first day to the store.  

But, we did make a trip down the hill to the Real' Store-much bigger than the Walmart in Salida, and it carries everything.  The Real is in a mall type setting with restaurants and shops also in the building.  So we only "looked" at Real, and had dinner with Jan and her friend and 4th grade teacher, Fran.  We had great food- I had beef kabobs while Peggy had a spicy chicken dish.  

We were very tired after dinner, having each slept only about 5 hours the previous night, but got a second wind and moved the queen sized bed into the bigger bedroom and switched the twin into the smaller one.  We then moved these huge bookshelves around and around and finally put two back where we started and left one in our bedroom.  We finally stopped about 10:30.  

We woke and went to Real on Sunday morning-this time to shop.  We bought a TV, microwave, and food.  The produce here is so fresh-all grown in Turkey- this time of year from their massive greenhouses, so it was a fun experience.  Jan, who owns a car with Fran, drove us to the Real, and then to a Home Depot type place and back to the lojam where we now unpacked the 8 bags and tried to make the place into our home.  Three of Peggy's fellow 1st grade teachers, Jan, and our neighbors in this building, Steve and Barbara, took the free bus from the campus to downtown late in the afternoon and then walked around for about an hour.  We crossed John F. Kennedy Blvd, and saw the US Embassy a block away.  After a while we ate dinner at a traditional Turkish cafe.  The food was good, but the smoking was tough-giant hooka contraptions everywhere-plus regular cigarette smoke.  We found out that sitting inside is smoke free, but outside with the plastic walls and heaters, is smoker friendly.  It was probably more fun there rather than inside with the non-smokers. In this Muslem country we drank beer with all the locals drinking too. 

The director said to meet him in his office at 8:00 this morning so we went ready to spend the day, and we did.  Peggy taught most of the day with the teacher she's replacing, Lara, and her Turkish co-teacher, Saadett.  She had a blast and the kids were real fun.  I acted as substitute for the economics teacher, who left, and whose replacement won't get here until the 20th or so.  The 11th and 12th grade (not juniors and seniors) are taking their IB semester tests in blocks later this week and early next week.  So, fortunately for the kids, the director was in and out of the classroom helping with questions.  During the supply and demand discussion I was able to marvel them with my accounts of my brother in law and how ethanol and a drought has helped push the price of corn way up, and how much money he made! 

We also had a driver today take us to the university health center, which is free for us to use as well, and get our pictures taken in another university building for our ID cards.  Then it was back to the Real center to a phone shop to get cell phones.  He was sent along to help us translate, but when I first got in the car and said, "Wow, you're a driver and translator too,"  and he got confused with my comment, Peggy said from that back seat, "maybe just a driver!"   He was a little helpful with the phone salesman as he definitely got after the salesperson who I think was trying to take advantage of us.  We actually had to have our passports to be able to get the phones, like its a state secret, the use of these Nokia phones that we had about 5 contracts ago in Salida.  So, we weathered the language barrier, not, I'm sure for the last time, and got back to school in time to teach the last 1 1/2 hours.  It started to snow when school let out at 4:15 and we've had about 3-4 inches of snowfall so far.  The high school kids were all talking about a snow day, just like they'd do in Cotopaxi at the first hint of snow.  

We've been able of Skype with the boys and Skype call both mom's so the important people know we're find.  

So, I've taken a few pictures and we really have laughed a lot about different things, but I'll have to save those for the weekend or another post later.  We just wanted to touch base, as some of you have emailed wondering if we made it.  We did.

Just practicing

Well, we are almost packed and ready to go. Peggy spent 4-5 hours yesterday picking out winter, spring, and summer clothes, and I spent 30 minutes this morning doing the same!  To be fair, she also packed a bunch of stuff for Goodwill in Canon City.  

So, yesterday Tyler helped us with our IPods and music, Sam downloaded lots of movies on Peggy's computer, and Mitch then got them set up for her.  Now Tyler's helping me with this blog. This is really a "practice" post, so I have little news.   

We're on our way to Denver Thursday night and then leave DIA at 10:20 Friday morning.  We leave Dulles in Washington DC at 5:30 east coast time, and arrive in Munich at 7:25 the next morning.  We leave Munich at 11:20 and land in Ankara at 3:10.  We've been told that folks from the school will be there waiting for us.  If not I have a list of about 20 Turkish words (bathroom, help, police), the school address, and its phone number, just in case.
    
 So, hopefully life won't get in the way of posting on here every once in a while-and its exciting enough to find something to post, and hopefully you will look forward to reading this and be so excited you'll pee in your pants (for Finn, Jenna, Elizabeth, Little Nick and Jackson)

Gee, Ankara looks a lot like Chicago!