Benim Öğrenci!

This has been my first week with students, and so far I am very happy to be teaching them. They have names like Onur, Murat, Gökhan, Buse, Yuşra and Mehmet, and though about 90% are from Ankara and points west, there are some from all different parts of Turkey. They are also preparing to enter many different disciplines, though economics and engineering are by far the most popular. Most are very proud to be at Bilkent and widely regard it as the best university in Turkey. Basketball is the most popular American sport here, followed by baseball and football, though of course none of those compare to Turkish soccer. I have been delighted at their levels of enthusiasm and participation so far. Some have much better English than others, but the overall effort is encourgaing, and I believe the speaking skills program will truly improve BUSEL as an English prep program over the next year.

The students come to us once a week for two hours, and we see ten groups of 4-6 students. Right now I have introduced myself about 8 times and still have a couple more to go. Good times. I am so good at "2 truths and a lie" it's not fair anymore, like me versus a Friends Camper in rock, paper, scissors (for all the times I used that this summer, Allegra Atkinson was the only person to beat me). Luckily, the comprehension of the students is much better than their expressive abilities most of the time, so explaining worksheets and other activities is doable. Each class also usually has one or two students with very good comprehension who can explain things to their classmates when needed. I promise I won't actually use that strategy all semester.

Peace and leblebli (the sesame-covered chickpeas that are my favorite food here so far),
Bucky