Rough Patch
I am going to start with today and move backward.
Today is January 22, 2022 and it is 11:30 AM in Istanbul. I should be 4 hours into a flight home. But instead I am writing for my blog.
The word “positive” is such a good word. But, unfortunately, yesterday I got it and I did not want it! I tested positive for Covid. My suitcase packed, my apartment clean, my work in order, I waved good-bye to friends and colleagues wishing them a happy 2-week holiday. The end of first semester. The school doctor arranged PCR tests for those traveling abroad. I got the result 8 hours later. Positive. I feel fine, other than a slight sniffle. I am in total disbelief!
I have hit a rough patch in my teaching adventure in Istanbul, Turkey. It has nothing to do with Istanbul – except maybe its tortuous hills. On Christmas Eve I was walking to my friend, and IB Coordinator, Talie’s apartment which is close to mine for some Christmas cheer. My left leg had been giving me pain, but I assumed it was arthritis. Half way to Talie’s my leg became so painful it could not bear any weight. I had cut through the courtyard of a mosque between our apartment complexes and it was dark. The pain was horrible; I could hardly move. Since Talie was preparing for company, I called another friend, and my department head, Nurcan, who lives near Talie. Nurcan has a car and came to my rescue.
Nurcan returned me to my apartment. I iced, put my leg up, took ibuprofen; yet, the pain continued. The next day, Christmas Day, I spent in the American Hospital. (Another blog on that later) and discovered I have a torn meniscus. This is where my rough patch started.
The next four weeks were a challenge. School was approaching 1st semester exams and the pressure was great for teachers and students alike. I have blogged about this: the testing system in Turkey is grueling and (I think) unnecessarily harsh. I endured the pressure of grading, moderating grades with other teachers, and returning grades to upset students. All this while walking on a crutch, making physical therapy sessions and medicating through the pain.
Utmost in my mind was to be well enough to handle traveling home on January 22. I stayed away from New Year celebrations and exploring new restaurants and shopping trips. I focused on recovery and school work.
Immediately, after semester testing, I had to conduct FINAL INDIVIDUAL ORAL assessments for my IB students. Long story short, two of my students expressed concern to Talie that they were not given the same instructions about timing and content of their IO as another class. A complaint against me. It caused a big hullabaloo. My students were allowed a few extra days to address their IO plan and make changes. To say I was hurt is an understatement. Plus, I felt I failed them. I made a judgement in my instruction deemed unwise. A mistake.
What got me through a “crisis” of confidence was knowing I would soon be flying home to Jim who would help me see the situation in an entire new light. I would feel better. Plus, I am homesick for my children. Seeing them would give me the right perspective. I could come back to second semester and regain my confidence.
Then I tested positive for Covid. The patch got rougher and I am struggling over it today.
I will have time - a whole week, maybe two - to blog, read a book, work on planning for the next semester. There's a few positives I will have to live with.
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