Outings

I am sorry that it has been a while since I have posted anything.  I have started collecting lab reports which need grading, which isn't fun, and I have been getting out more, which is fun, and both of them take up time that I could spend writing.  I have been out today and I do have lab books to grade, but I am taking an hour or so to write about some of my adventures before I get back to work. 

Two weeks ago, on Thursday, October 6th, we had a school holiday in commemoration of Istanbul Liberation day.  I thought maybe there would be parades, fireworks, or at least barbeques, but no, really schools just aren't in session.  Everything else goes on pretty much as usual.  This is great for me, all the busses and museums were still running, but I wasnt teaching.  It wasn't that great for my students who lost a day of review for Friday's test, but they dont really need me to review.  A friend I had met a few times at the Union Church suggested we get together and even had some ideas for what we could do.  She is a science teacher (even taught at RC when it included a middle school) and when she found out I am not opposed to museums, but don't really like looking at art, she suggested the Koç Museum.  http://www.rmk-museum.org.tr/english/index.html  I thought it looked great and we arranged to meet.

I think the Koç museum was born out of Rahmi Koç's private collection of old cars and machinery, and it was eventually rounded out and opened up as a museum to the public.  The Koç family is very well known in Istanbul and they have been very generous with their money in the areas of education and arts in particular.  Kim and I started in the planetarium where we were the only patrons.  The story was about the Clarke Space Elevator up to geosynchronus orbit where the Einstein worm hole telescope is located, allowing scientists and lay folk alike to look back in time.  It was pretty well done if a bit far fetched.

We then went through the machinery wing, ending with the olive oil manufacturing room. 

Next came old cars.  Including the Turkish version of Knight Rider with their own version of KITT, but in not so nearly a sporty car and a copy of the flying car from Harry Potter.

 The also had old bicycles, boats, maps and airplanes.

 We ended the afternoon with an ice cream out on the patio.  It was a very nice way to spend a Thursday holiday!

My next outing was last Saturday to Minaturk.  There are about 180 residential students who live on campus in the dorms either for five nights a week or all seven, depending on how far away their families are.  The student activities director, Joe, coordinates many activities for these students on the weekends and evenings to events or attractions around Istanbul that they wouldn't otherwise have access to.  Apparently, these activities are posted in the dorms along with a brief description and the cost.  If students sign up and pay, they will find teachers to chaperone them.  Teachers in turn, volunteer to be on the Residential Live Activities mailing list and we can sign up to chaperone activities that look interesting to us.  I offered to be on the list, and the first event I signed up for was last Saturday.  Joe had ~25 students who wanted to go to Miniaturk.  I googled it and found out that it is many of the famous sights in Turkey in miniature.  http://www.miniaturk.com.tr/en/category.php?id=1 I had images of Lego Land in my mind when I met the bus and headed out there.  (One very nice thing we have access to is a fleet of buses - more later on how day students get too and from campus.  The school contracts with a bus compnay called Gursel which can be called on to take groups places even in off times.)

 We had three busses, but with only 23 students and two teachers we wouldn't even fill 2 of them (they hold 16 each).  Joe didn't want to send one away right away, apparently they dont like it if you call for three buses, but only need two, I don't know if that means one of the drivers doesn't get paid.  So we had to get some of the students off the second bus and on to the third.  I stepped on and asked if there were any 'cool kids' who wanted to join me on the third bus.  Half a dozen girls got up and came with me on the third bus.  They were all prep students (the year before 9th grade, but after 8th, which is intended to bring their English up to snuff and indoctrinate them into the RC way) so their English wasn't great, but I asked them where they were from.  Of course, I didn't know where any of the cities they mentioned were, but they generalized:  'in the south east' or 'on the sea coast' etc.  They were generally friendly and we got to the park without event. 

Joe dealt with the tickets and let the kids loose with a meet up time of 2:30, about an hour off.  He and I stuck together to look at the models.  At each one there was an electronic scanner which would read the bar code on your ticket and tell you about what you were seeing, much like the zoo key at the SF zoo about a million years ago.  The one we had at first made boxes speak in Turkish, but he went back and got us an English one.  The models were amazing but the recorded info was not all that interesting and often we had to wait for someone to finish listening to the Turkish before we could start it in English.

 We had listened to maybe 25% of them when the time was quickly approaching when we agreed to meet the kids on the other end of the park.  Joe didn't seem worried and he told some of the girls who were on the miniature train to move back the meeting time 30 minutes.  Even so this was not enough time and when we sauntered over to where they were dutifully waiting we were at least 20 minutes later than the pushed back deadline.  I guess this is what is called Turkish time, but it was hard for me, and I know if I was on the other side I would be annoyed at waiting.  We gave them 30 more minutes to make it back to the entrance side (a five minute walk if you didn't stop) and we went to the Istanbul part of the park before meeting them at the entrance, again late.  This was somewhat made up to them by letting them go on the go-karts if they wanted.  Only four of the boys did want to, so the other just had to wait some more.