Farewell ENKA teachers

 

Farewell ENKA teachers

June 28, 2022

This may be my final post from Istanbul, but may not the last of my Turkish teaching experience.

My colleagues prepared the BEST farewell I could hope for.  First a lovely gift of a crescent moon and star necklace and bracelet.  They gave many hugs and best wishes with sentiments that I impacted their lives, the lives of ENKA students and I will be remembered!  Finally, my last day at ENKA, a video of memories and farewells was presented. I could not imagine getting a better tribute to my 24 years of teaching and my mere 2 years here in Istanbul.

With time rushing by, and the almost impossibility of packing two years of shopping, work and memories, I am only able to write about a few special people. For now and for the future.

The Brits

I appreciate the hilarity and wit of the British people.  In ENKA English department we had 3 – Simon, Christina and Nida. All great colleagues.  Two special people from the UK I want to write about are Talie and Simon.

My dear friend Natalie Parker – known to everyone as Talie – is the IB Coordinator at Enka.  She was also a neighbor and gave me “a lift” many days to my apartment.  Talie has authority at Enka.  Detail-oriented.  Time manager deluxe.  Keen observer.  She is truly an IB professional.  However. When Talie gets behind the wheel of her rented Clio at the end of the work day, she transforms into an irreverent critic of every driver on the road.  With sharp sarcasm - in her most charming British accent – Talie tells other drives she isn’t a mind reader, she has all day to wait for them to decide which way to turn, and she, of course, will allow them to go in front of her or to block her way.  Everyone is a “twat”!  Plus other creative names only a true Brit could conceive. Talie had me chuckling most every trip to my sitesi gate!

Simon Field is British, but has lived in Turkey for 20 years.  When I first arrived at Enka, Simon mocked my  accent and mistakenly thought I was from  Alabama.  I quickly corrected him saying “his queen” had visited my state of Kentucky to see its fine horses.  Nonetheless, he kept “mistakenly” referring to my home in Alabama because he knew it annoyed me.  Simon loved to say “ya’ll” in his British accent. He was a pro at telling a joke.  Skillfully, he’d begin as if telling about something that happened during the normal course of his day, then with a wink he’d segue into a joke and catch the listener completely off guard.  Such a good storyteller! And Simon is warm and sweet.  A good listener.  His “canim!” melts my heart and I just love him

Australians

There are two women in the English department whose parents are Turkish, but immigrated to Australia.  When they grew up, Melike and Nurcan, wanted to return to their parents’ home – Turkey.  Melike is a special 9^th grade teacher who taught me how to manage 9^th graders my first year.  Nurcan is not only the head of the middle and high school English departments, but a member of the 10^th grade team of which I was a part the past two years. 

Nurcan Uysal is a creative teacher, a natural in front of students.  She was also my neighbor in the next sitesi and good friend.  When invited to her home she gave me the best meals and meze.  I enjoyed her dog, Mia, and of course her fiancé Sedat!   I never met a more patient, kind, good-natured, smart and funny person as Nurcan.   So fair about all issues, whether a matter concerning students, parents or administration.   Nurcan put a positive spin on even the worst of situations.  We would “sort it out” and then it was “done and dusted”!  She was the catalyst behind my farewell video, my teacher of all things ENKA my first year, my rescuer when I tore my meniscus, and my encourager when I was sick and needed to go to yet another doctor.  “Anything for you Nurcan” became my mantra when she asked us to complete yet another datasheet for ENKA, because I knew she’d do anything for me.

Zimbabweans

Emily Van de Ruit – now Özoğul.   My Zimbabwe daughter.  Even though she was the age of my daughters, Emily became a close friend.  She and her husband, Mert, took me on my first “tour” of old Istanbul on a rainy day in the fall of 2020.  From there we had many dinners together, great conversations, and spirited celebrations. I was one of the witnesses for their wedding.  What a thrill!   I will miss her so very much.  When she and Mert become parents, this may entice me to return to Istanbul!

Tholiwe Dube was one of the most brilliant teachers of literature I ever met.   As well as being lovers of literature, we found mutual understanding in both being from Catholic backgrounds.  Her work with Enka IB students prepared them for the rigors of IB exams which they take in their second language.  She is a no nonsense teacher who has students shaking the first days in her classroom, but by the end they adore her because she teaches them so well.   She will long be admired and respected by her students and by me. 

Fellow Americans. 

There were three Americans on the English faculty besides myself.  Rick Hummel, English and Film Studies teacher who lived in Istanbul for years,  Annalise who was one of the kindest, gentlest  individuals I have had the pleasure to know  and Suzanne.

Suzanne Holman joined the ENKA English staff this year. She read my blog before arriving and we exchanged emails.  So, when Suzanne arrived, we already “knew” each other.   Suzanne has ambition for travel adventure and she began taking advantage of Istanbul’s close proximity to Europe, plus Turkish sites, as soon as she got here.  We enjoyed sharing plans for travel and sharing what to do in Istanbul with our out-of-town guests…which we both had!  Suzanne makes friends easily, so it was no surprise when she got a boyfriend within her first weeks in Istanbul!  Semih became a part of plans with Suzanne and he was a welcome addition to dinner gatherings.  Suzanne and I discovered that her mother lives in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, just a few miles from my sister, Lorrie.  We plan to meet next summer!  So no good-byes.  Just see you later!

A Korean who lived in Mexico and attended a British School. 

Joan Park arrived from teaching in Uzbekistan, and before that, Mexico.  With her international background, it was amazing how clear and articulate she spoke English.  I worked with Joan on the 11^th and  10^th grade teams. She was a technology queen, efficient and organized, plus she had the best ideas.  She was quiet and a bit reserved at first, but soon her work spoke volumes!  Then we started to discover her humor. I wish I could have worked with Joan longer.  What a gift to ENKA’s English department! 

A Costa Rican man who became my “work husband.”                                                                                                                                                     There were some nights the first months at ENKA, that Sergio Chaves and I were on the phone for two hours trying to understand the “ENKA way.”  Plus, we were both teaching IB in an extremely stressful environment – online, during COVID!   I love Sergio’s laid back demeanor.  When he’d leave my room after a chat, he’d nod his head and say: “We’ll talk.”  Always a promise in that sentiment.  I plan to see him again when he visits the United States.  He believes we will visit someday so “we’ll talk!”

This post is getting extremely long but I must mention a few more people.  Teachers who are Turkish, who teach English.   There was Begum, Didem, Esra, Ekmel and Alper.  All had strong English skills and were well read in English literature.  I was so impressed by them all.

Other members of our team who came from English speaking countries included:  Helen from South Africa, Will and Dave (2020-2021) from New Zealand. Daniela originally from Italy, who lived in South Africa.  Our department definitely was a tossed salad of English speakers!

I want to mention Roisin McHale from Ireland who also left ENKA this year.  She had been here 3 years.   Clever girl with the stereotypical Irish spirit!  She was one of the first to take me out to a bar and restaurant in Istanbul.  I wish her the best!

It is a rainy morning in Istanbul.  In two hours I leave for the airport and home to Lexington, Kentucky.  My son Eric joined me for my final two weeks.  Having him with me as a reminder of the love and family waiting for me, helps me let go of Istanbul.   I will hold my breath as my checked bags are weighed, as I go through security checkpoints and as I buckle in for the 11 hour flight back to America.  I will let my breath out when I see Jim waiting for me at the bottom of the escalator at Bluegrass Airport to take me home.