July 11, 2009

We had a wonderful anniversary meal on Thursday nıght. Laura, Liam and I went out to a place called Abdulla Habacci. I am not sure of the spelling. However, the food was amazing. Tastes that I have never experienced! I had lamb kebab and stuffed peppers with various meats and rice wrapped in grape leaves. What an extraordinary experience!

Well I have just finished a great week of teaching. However it has only been about an hour each day in the afternoon. They have put me to use teachıng mathematics while Laura teaches Engish and an Iraqui friend (and teacher) named Basim teaches computers. This way we can break the kids up into three different groups. Some kids are very quick and work very hard. Others struggle with the language and with simply being a student. I can already picture that ones that will go far when they get to the U.S. and the ones that will really struggle.

I have had some very interesting discussıons with many Iraqis. In fact I feel like I know the people of Iraq better than the Turks. They have been very well educated in Baghdad. Education through university was free over there. However, now it is unsafe for the professors and scientists. Most of them have needed to flee.

When we are not teaching we are visiting the most remarkable museums, mosques, bridges, obelısks, and palaces. These are ancient places that remind me of how great this civilization was centuries ago. No wonder so much math and algebra came out of this region.

Well, I seem to keep drawing the vendors to me. On the way over here to the internet cafe a shoeshine man was walking in front of me. He dropped one of his brushes. So I called out to him Auf Idarsinus (Forgive my spelling, I only know the pronunciation) which means excuse me. When he noticed that he had dropped his brush he was extremely grateful for me for bringing it to his attention. He immediately began asking me questions as we walked and I told hım that I was American. Before we parted he insisted on shining my sandals. I admit they have gotten rather salty and dirty from walking all over the city and from last weeks trip to the Princes Islands. So I reluctantly agreed. While he shines my sandals he tells me that he is from Ankara and that he or his elderly mother, I was not sure which, had really bad heart trouble and that he was in Istanbul just long enough to earn some money so he could go back to Ankara. So after the sixty second shoe shine I gave him a Turkısh Lıra. Then he says that normally this shine costs eight lira. So I told him that that was a trick. Then he begins urging me to give him some more coins. I explained to him that I only had a few coins (which was true) and they were needed to contact my family. I found myself arguing with him and then another elderly turk came by. I recognized him as the local water salesman on the corner. Finally he gestured for me to go and they both laughed. They seem to be ruthless in their tactics for a sale.

Bill