Category: Koç School

My Mother’s Day fete was a double-whammy: a birthday party for Carmen and Katrina (Canadians who’ve never lived in Canada). These darling twins are now a whopping FIVE years old! I was tickled to be included in their celebration, probably thanks to my little dog Libby, whom they love dearly.
I haven’t attended a five-year birthday party since my second son turned five, more years ago than I can count (well, maybe not THAT long, but I can hardly remember). I think I made Ross a fish-shaped cake, which apparently makes me the resident cake expert. (Actually, I offered to help.) A fish was a heck of a lot easier than two unicorns, let me tell you. Actually, Sue had done the research and baked and shaped the cakes; all I had to do was the icing: heads, ears, and manes. Sue added eyes and candy bridles, the crowning touch. We both did the sprinkles.

The Pink Unicorn Cakes:

The party was a sweet way to spend Mother’s Day. Serge (the dad) and I delivered the cakes before the children arrived, and I have to admit, I was unprepared for the difference between little boy parties (chaos) and little girl parties (cooperation). I was soon surrounded by princesses, mostly in pink. In fact, as I went through my photos, the overriding theme was clearly pinkness! Pink tablecloths, pink party hats, pink plates and napkins, pink cakes, and of course, pink dresses. Pink, pink, pink. (Faith, though, arrived in a traditional lavender Vietnamese costume, very princess-like.)

Lovely maidens: Carmen, Katrina, Faith, and Sarah:

And the Charming Birthday Girls:

Sue and Serge had planned the classic party, complete with musical chairs and pin the crown on the unicorn (a pink one). The children were darling as they skipped around the one-too-few chairs, and as each was left out, they were cheered and given a small candy bar. No problems with sportsmanship there!

Musical Chairs a la Children:

The children decided to run a musical chairs game for the adults, too, which was interesting. Everyone had a blast, but you have to understand that when adults play games, there’s an element of competition involved. We laughed derisively instead of cheering as each person was left out (I was the first), and things went fairly smoothly except for a few lapses in manners.

And…the Adult Version:

At the end of the game, however, one player pulled a fast one (actually, pulled the last chair out from under his opponent). Oops! Little error in judgment. Luckily, nursery chairs are low to the ground.

Soon Sue gathered the children around the display board for a game of Stick the Crown on the Unicorn (pink, of course). They were wonderful sports, watching each contestant as he or she strove to find the unicorn’s head. Katrina came the closest, but of course, EVERYBODY won.

Next came food, blowing out birthday candles, presents, and time on the playground. What a joy it was to share this exciting, sweet event.
(Libby would have loved it, but she wasn’t invited. She doesn’t do pink.)

I was pleasantly surprised when I first saw my lojman (apartment). In fact, I was actually charmed by it’s sunset balcony overlooking the distant hills of Istanbul. I was soon to learn that there were both ups and downs about life on campus, though I’ve been very happy here.

A lojman balcony sunset:

What do I like? Well, though my lojman is nowhere near as large as my home in Minnesota, the two bedrooms are very comfortable (I use the small one as an office), the storage space is more than adequate, the living room is bright and cheery, and the kitchen and bath facilities are fine. I got busy decorating immediately, though, to bring my lojman from serviceable to friendly. I found some posters and frames at Ikea, then scrounged for picture hangers at a hardware store, and within weeks my new home was not only comfortable but attractive as well. Add a few candles and a fan (it’s HOT here in August), and it was delightful. It doesn’t take long to amass Turkish brick-a-brack (and rugs) to make your lojman a home.

My lojman–living room, kitchen, and bedrooms…

The family lojmans are more than twice the size of the singles, with three bedrooms, two baths, a huge living room, a dining room, and a kitchen (as well as an upstairs balcony). Some of them even have a sunken living room—very cool!

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I was surprised to learn that we also have a social center in our little campus living complex—complete with a bartender five nights a week. The social center is open every night (it’s used for preschool classes on weekdays), and we often have social gatherings there: movie nights, game nights, baked potato night (a weekly potluck affair), and special events like music performances, wine tasting, and holiday gatherings. It’s a great way to connect with people, and on Wednesdays drinks are half price. Such a deal!

Game night at the Social Center:

(Don’t lose sleep anticipating the joys of Turkish wine. You’ll be disappointed.) By the way, the people here are delightful. Reach out to build friendships, and you’re sure to enjoy yourself.

Christmas Party at the Social Center–Mollie and company!

One challenge is that the campus is very isolated. There’s no place you can walk to for groceries or dinner or even coffee. Everything is too far, and the road is WAY too dangerous to walk or bike on. (The driving here is scary.) I’d had visions of biking to the Marmara (which is only 5K away—impossible ).

The Security Gate–you’re well protected!

The good side of the isolation issue is that Ilyen, our saintly liason, sets up service busses to get us off campus many times a week. There are grocery trips during the week, and on weekends there’s a street market bus, a Friday bus to the movies (or to do whatever you choose in the area of the city you visit), a Saturday bus into the city, and a Sunday church bus into Taksim. The options are varied, and if you took advantage of every service bus, you would seldom be on campus.

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If you choose to trek out on your own (which you will), public transportation will get you there, but it takes forever. A trip on public transport to the city entails:
1. a 10-minute walk to the road (through the security gate)
2. a 40-minute mini-bus ride to Pendik (after as much as a 20-minute wait)
3. a 35-minute train ride to Kadikoy, the end of the Asian side (after another wait)
4. a 30-minute ferry ride to the European side (after yet another wait)
5. a tram ride up to Sultanahmet or the Grand Bazaar or Taksim or wherever you choose.
In other words, you have to plan about 3 hours to get to or from town on your own. Of course, a taxi is an option if you’re feeling rich.

Istanbul ferries–you’ll love them!

We do have a nearby airport (Sabiha Gokcen), which has many bargain fares to places like Germany and London and all over Turkey (which you’ll want to explore). The ugly side of that is that Koc is in the flight path. The first night I thought my life was over when a plane skimmed the top of my lojman. I’ve gotten used to it, and I appreciate the convenience of Sabiha flights.

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Our saintly Ileyn is here to help with any problem that may arise, from medical emergencies to water delivery. Oh, yes. The tap water is pretty bad, so you buy huge 19-liter bottles for drinking water. My friend Terri even uses it for her pets. I’m not that nice. Libby gets tap water.

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Many of us walk the 3-K loop around campus every day, which I must admit gets old if you don’t have a walking buddy, and there’s now a fitness center in the new Student Social Center by the high school. Hopes spring eternal for a pool in the future. Hmmm…
Gosh–what else? If you have questions, feel free to email me: amershon@boreal.org. I’d be happy to answer whatever I can.

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I have to say, I’ve loved my time at Koc. As you know, nothing’s perfect, but this has been a wonderful adventure. I’ll leave still loving it. That’s a good thing.

Let me tell you about something important to me. Yesterday was the last day of class for my IB certificate seniors, kids I’ve taught for two years. I love each and every one of them.

I decided to make flourless chocolate cake, (two cakes, actually) and invite them to my lojman (apartment) to celebrate a rewarding two years together. As I raced out of the building at 1:40, four of them met me outside and walked with me to my lojman. I recruited them to whip up topping (the directions are in THEIR language, after all), slice strawberries, and serve my very favorite, bitter-chocolate-rich cake. They dove right in. Libby was excited to see them, but got a bit shy once all 20 of them had arrived. She spent the rest of the party under the bed.

I’ve never had a relationship like this with an entire class–I LOVE these kids,! All 20 of them. Of course, it hasn’t been perfect all the time. I’ve been frustrated with them on occasion, as I’m sure they have been with me. IB was new to all of us, and we had to feel our way through it. They showed their mettle with insightful class disscusions, analytical writing, and incredibly creative class presentations. Part of our Wednesday gathering was remembering the hilarious things some of them did this year: Zeynep as Paris Hilton, Iraz wandering the classroom as a homeless person, and Selim Can (John) as a Macbeth Mafioso. None was more hilarious, though, than the interview of Haluk, a poor African person, giving straight-faced gibberish answers to his interpreter, who translated them into English for his interviewer and audience. I can’t belive we didn’t wet our pants , we laughed so hard.

Together we’ve weathered comparative commentaries, mock orals, and individual oral presentations, and somehow we’ve bonded through it all. As I said, I LOVE these kids!

It makes me sad to hear that some senior English teachers are relieved to see their students leave. O.K. I admit that even my 20 proteges have been a challenge lately. They always have OSS workbooks in their laps. It takes me five or ten minutes to settle them down at the start of class. Sometimes one or two of them even fall asleep in class. (NEVER have I allowed that in my 32 years of teaching–these kids are WIPED.) They study non-stop,seldom getting to bed before midnight. Their lives are ruled by dershane classes (cram school) and the OSS. English class is mere fluff at this point. I’m sorry they have to go through this, but in spite of it all, I’ve done my best to prepare them for the IB exams in May. I think they’ll do well if they try. I hope they do.

I’ll miss them all. I’ll miss them a lot.

Four of them are coming to the States next year–Zeynep to the University of Chicago, a mere 11 hours away. Denizhan will be at Middlebury, Iraz at Brandeis, and Haluk will be somewhere out East. I’m sure Selim Can will join them the following year, either at Harvard or Yale. I’m sure I’ll visit each of them.

Of course, I’ll return to visit the others in Turkey, maybe next winter. My ticket home this summer is a round-trip fare :).

As I said, I LOVE these kids! How lucky can one get?

_{Producing a play in Turkey is quite a different thing—at least at the Koc School. Oh, there are scripts, actors, music, choreography, costumes, rehearsals and set, of course, but everything is done quite differently. It’s been a real eye-opener for me. Perhaps it’s because we work with a privileged clientele. Perhaps it’s because our students travel great distances to school. Perhaps it’s because our juniors and seniors are obsessed with preparing for the OSS exam. Whatever the reasons, the Koc (“coach”) production of Leader of the Pack has been quite different from anything I’ve ever experienced.}

_{Director Larry Bent, Musical Director Dan Kapp, Choreographer / Costume Designer Lisa Kapp, and producer Marnie Paulus began the process last spring, recruiting actors, teachers, and staff for the production. Auditions were held in May for the gala 50’s musical based on the life of Ellie Greenwich, who composed many popular rock songs including “Chapel of Love,” and “Leader of the Pack” with husband Jeff Barry.}

_{Typical of high school productions, the girls outnumbered the boys ten to one. After weeks of recruiting, they decided to pare the script down to accommodate the primarily female cast. Good call.}

_{Rehearsals began in September for the March production—a seven-month rehearsal schedule! WOW! (My longest rehearsal schedule for a musical was eight weeks.) In spite of the fact that rehearsals were only held twice a week, attendance was abysmal and some cast members dropped out.}

_{“Our overall attendance was about 75%,” said director Larry Bent. “A few weeks before opening we’d never had the full cast for the group dance numbers.” He’d about had it a few times, but somehow the directors all hung in there.}

_{“I wanted to drop out, but my mom wouldn’t let me, and I’m GLAD!” said Lara Ankan of her experience. Turkish kids don’t often have opportunities to make a commitment like this one; their schedules are too tough, and even extracurricular sports mean a few practices a week. The 25 cast members who stuck out the year were jazzed about the production once they got onstage. The directors started smiling, too, those last few weeks when the show looked like it might pull together. It did, and then some.}

_{Beyond the 7-month rehearsal schedule, though, what was so different? Well…}

_{First off, the custodial staff built the set, a very sturdy affair that looked professional–in fact, it was a set of three record-disc platforms with professionally-screened labels on the records. The art department painted the scrim (obviously purchased) and flats for the backdrop, and students were excused from classes to do the work. At home, set construction happens on evenings and weekends, and it’s volunteer labor all the way.}

_{Dancing shoes were custom-made for each member of the cast, at a whopping cost of $30 each. (I ought to) That really alleviates the last-minute scramble for footwear. Gold lame vests for the musicians were custom made as well, at a whopping $3 each (fabric scrounged from the school’s very minimal costume loft, which is mostly graduation robes).}

_{Long before the performance, Dan Kapp hired a professional piano player to round out his volunteer orchestra, and they sounded GREAT! (My 9th grade musical protégé Ugur Kupeli played the drums.)}

_{During the last month of rehearsals, treats and meals were supplied for cast members. During the performances, a meal was served before the production, then healthy snacks, water, and sandwiches were provided backstage for everyone. Go figure! The school not only provided service bus transportation for the cast, but also for teachers and families who chose to attend the production. Now THERE’S a budget item!}

_{Another phenomenal difference was the volunteer help. More than 100 people were involved in this production, from actors to stage crew to musicians, costumers, stage crew, and supervisors. It was an incredible cooperative effort by many dedicated people.}

_{The Leader of the Pack budget of just under 20,000 New Turkish Lira (about $15,000) paid for scripts, royalties, costumes, and who-knows-what else.}

_{As always in the theater world, the production finally pulled together. Everyone started attending rehearsals (at the same time!), the ever-charming male lead finally learned his lines, and last-minute costume alterations were made. When opening night arrived, excitement was high. Bouffant hairdos and light pink lipstick were added to the mix, and the cast stormed the stage. The show was a smash—the first musical in years to be produced by the Koc School.}

_{I just have one question. How come these kids speak with a Turkish accent, but it disappears when they sing? I just don’ t get it. Maybe that’s why they have English teachers…}