"It has been a busy year thus far. Bo
and I both coached volleyball (Bo coached the boys and I coached the
girls) this fall. The boys did really well this year, and they placed
second in the end of the year tournament. I am sad to tell you that I
cannot say the same for the girls (it did not help them much having a
coach who had never played volleyball before and was researching the
proper way to hit a volleyball before the first practice). They had a
lot of fun though, and that counts for something. Bo has moved
straight into coaching girl's basketball, and thankfully I have a
little break before soccer season starts. He has only had a few
practices, but he says he likes coaching the girls and is enjoying
the less intense atmosphere. They have not played any games yet, but
I think they will have one before Christmas break.
I have also been busy taking Turkish
lessons with our old neighbor, Guley. She is the sweetest lady and
constantly calls me her daughter. She does not speak any English, so
that makes for a lot of acting out and looking up words. It has been
a lot of fun because I get to spend a few hours a week with her in
her home. She always has a lot of food made (and force feeds me if I
do not eat it all...which also makes for an interesting afternoon
because it is hard to practice Turkish with a mouth full of food).
She has a teenage daughter, Fatmunar, who speaks pretty good English,
so we have become friends since we are constantly asking her to
translate for us. She also has a teenage son, Alibar, who speaks some
English and also helps us out when we are lost in translation. It has
been a great experience so far, and I look forward to my lessons and
spending time with Guley. She is coming to our apartment next week to
teach me how to make Mercimek Corba (a kind of lentil soup and staple
food in Turkey).
It is beginning to get really cold
here, so I am trying to pep myself up for the long, dark days of
winter. Everyone keeps saying they do not think it will get as cold
as last year, and I tend to believe them because this fall has not
been near as cold as last year. But I also believed everyone last
year when they said we would only have one big snowfall. That did not
turn out to be the case. But I am choosing to be an optimist and
believe that this winter will not be too cold, snowy, or long. I can
at least try to will myself out of the winter blues.
I am enjoying this year a lot, and it
has been fun to see how different a year is with different students.
There is never a dull day in my classroom.
I
have been enjoying my class this year, but they are very different
from last years group. I know God is teaching me patience this year!
I have a lot of crazy kids (as in: one who eats everything he sees
literally, he even took sticky tac off my wall one time to eat it;
one who cannot sit down for more than 5 seconds, three who came into
school speaking no English, and one who only has one tone of voice,
SHOUTING). I love all of them and am very thankful for an energized
group who love to come to school. We are learning a lot from each
other, and I would not trade any of them (although I have thought
about it...just kidding...kind of).
Overall,
it has been a good year. I am excited to see my students grow
throughout our time together. We are nearly to Christmas and then
nearly half way through the school year. Time flies here, but I
cannot lie and say I am not at all happy about that. It just means I
am a little closer to getting to come home and to see everyone over
the summer. I love you all so much and am so thankful for all your
support. We could not do this without you!"
lots
of love,
Kendall
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