Birthday.

My 2nd birthday in Turkey was great! I got to celebrate with friends over 2 different weekends :) Two of my good friends were going to be gone on my actual birthday so we celebrated the weekend before. Some girls came over Friday night after school for a sleepover and game night - it felt like I was back in High School, but it was so fun! Saturday morning my friends fixed breakfast and then we headed over to the European side for a late lunch at Rain Forest Cafe. It took us over 2 hours to get there, and several modes of transportation (bus, boat, and taxi). But it was totally worth it and so yummy!

The next weekend (my actual birthday) I road a Red Double Decker Tour Bus with a few of my friends here. I have used these buses in NYC and Paris, and they are a great way to get around the city and see things. I wanted to ride one here just to see where it would take me and what it would say about the places I go. It was really neat to be a tourist for the day and just enjoy this city I live in. I learned some neat stuff too. After the tour we went to my favorite Starbucks - it is right on the Bosphorus Strait - I just love being on the water. That evening I skyped with my family and then watched Baby Mama with a few teacher friends. It was a good day :)

Fun Things at School

The month of May was full of fun activities at school. We ended our SS Unit on the Roman Empire and I decided to take them on a field trip to the Archeological Museum here. It was great and I had several parents and a few friends join us. After the museum, we had a picnic lunch near the Hippodrome (an area they believe was the location of an old chariot racing stadium). Then we headed to Krispy Kreme for a tour and some delicious donuts! The next week we had a Roman Banquet in our classroom. With the help of a few wonderful parents we pulled it off. The kids wore togas while reclining on the floor eating fruit, veggies, eggs, nuts, and olives. We then went outside for some Roman Games – javelin throw, disc throw, chariot race, and foot race. It was a great day and I think the kids really enjoyed it. Hopefully it helped them to understand a little more what must have been like to live in the Roman Empire.

Pay it Forward

Over the last month or so, my class has had to opportunity to be involved in a really neat project. The 2nd grade teacher at my school told me about this “Pay it Forward” project that her teacher friend in the states was heading up and asked if I wanted to be involved. They got a $500 grant to send Pay It Forward boxes to other third grade classes and asked if we wanted to be involved. I told them absolutely!

A few weeks ago my class received the Pay it Forward box in the mail from the 3rd grade class in New York. Inside the box was:
-A letter explaining everything
-Copy of the book, Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed
-Envelope with $20 (to help with our class pay it forward project)
-Snack for our class (there was not room in the box to send 20 blueberry muffins, so they sent a little cash and I bought Krispy Kreme donuts for the kids!)
-Pay it Forward cards

I had never heard of the book before, but it was so cute and did a wonderful job of explaining the idea of pay it forward. It is about a little girl named Mary who picks some blueberries and randomly gives them to 5 people. One of those 5 people is a nice lady who uses them to bake some blueberry muffins and gives them to 5 different people. One of those five people is a paper boy who says “Good Morning” to each of his customers on his paper route. And the cycle just keeps going.

Most of my kids had never heard of the concept of Pay it Forward. So it was really cool to discuss the idea with them of paying a kindness forward to people and encouraging them to do the same. As a class we brainstormed ways that we could Pay it Forward individually, as well as Pay it Forward as a class. We decided we would use our $20 to buy flowers for our school secretary and treat her to lunch one day off of campus. It was so fun to watch my kids get excited about doing something kind for someone else. We talked a lot about how we are called to spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Last week, at assembly we took the opportunity to share with the elementary school about Pay it Forward. We sang some fun songs about love, I read the book, and each of the kids shared about their individual Pay it Forwards. Then they performed a song I had taught them by Amy Grant. On one of her hymns CDs, she does a Medley of Jesus Loves Me/They’ll Know We Are Christians/Helping Hand. All 3 are great songs that beautifully present the joy of Christ’s love and importance of sharing that love with others.

Kindness

I experienced the kindness of my Father today in a real and simple way. My morning started off kinda hectic (like most mornings). I overslept just a bit and didn’t get my QT in. I was going to wear these new shoes I bought last week but the clasp broke as I was putting them on. I ran out of my apartment in a whirlwind, ready to start the day.

Then I got to school.

I turned on my classroom computer and logged in. A message popped up welcoming me to the “New Windows XP” and congratulating me on the upgrade. I didn’t think much of it, until I opened Internet Explorer and the homepage was different. I then noticed that my desktop looked very empty and the background picture was gone. And when I opened up My Documents, I found nothing. All my documents were gone - lesson plans, worksheets, year plan, and most importantly all the stuff I have been working on for my school’s accreditation. I have spent hours and hours writing curriculum, creating unit plans, etc. All gone.

I just sat there staring at my computer. Frustrated and confused. It was almost like someone had come in and wiped my computer clean - there was NOTHING on it. I started tearing up just thinking about all the time I had spent on these documents that were now gone. At this point one of my students came in and asked if I was tired. I told her no and then she asked if I was sad. I told her yes, that I had lost some very important things and didn’t know if I would ever get them back. She just nodded her head and went back outside.

I continued sulking and throwing myself a pity party. I wanted so desperately to complain to someone and for them to make it better! I even sent out a few pathetic emails. Later that morning when we were doing PR that same student asked that we pray for “Miss Price to find her documents.” Out of the mouth of babes, now why hadn’t I thought of that? Pray. There is an idea.

As the day went on it I finally got out of the daze I was in and accepted that the documents were gone, but that it was going to be okay. I would just have to rearrange a few things in my schedule to find time to catch up on the work load. After lunch I was typing another document and my computer suddenly said it needed to restart. I saved the document and decided to leave the computer alone for a while. Later that afternoon when I went to sign back on, I noticed my background picture was back!! I thought to myself, NO WAY! And then I opened up My Documents and they were all there! Everything was back to normal, from my picture albums to my favorites folder in Internet Explorer.

I don’t understand it or know why/how it happened. All I can figure is that my Father was being extra kind to me. I know for some of you this may sound a bit ridiculous or dramatic, but it greatly affected me and my day. I think it just goes to show how my Father is involved in the big and small things. He cares about me and all his children. Lamentations 3 says:

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

I am looking forward to experiencing His compassions in a new and sweet way tomorrow morning. GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS

A Lot of Things Different

I was recently talking with a friend about my time in Turkey, and she asked me, "In what ways have you changed since you moved here?" I gave her some quick, generic answer about being more culturally aware of things or something like that. But it really got me thinking about the ways in which I have changed over the last year and a half. No matter where you are in life or what you are doing, life is full of changes. I've learned that, not just because I have lived overseas. Many of the changes I have experienced this year are a result of my relationship with the Father and with the people He has placed in my life. But, some of these changes are a direct result of living in a big city in a foreign country.

For instance, last weekend we went to Rainforest Cafe to celebrate my birthday. We left my apartment at 11:30am and after 3 hours and multiple modes of transportation (bus, boat, and taxi) we arrived at the restaurant! In that amount of time I could have driven from Raleigh to Rose Hill. In the states, I would never plan to go eat at a place that is 3 hours away from my house, but here it is what I do. Riding and depending on public transportation is a part of my life and I expect it to take me at least an hour to get anywhere in the city...if not more.

Another significant change in my life: my tolerance for heat and cold. In the states when I get cold I start complaining and jack the heat up. Or in the summer I freak out and ask why the air is not on! Well here I just kinda deal with it. Unless I am miserable (which hasn't happened much) I don't change the temperature and I just learn to be a little bit uncomfortable.

It is very Turkish to take off your shoes when you enter someone's house. We started doing that at our apartment and I love it. It is such an easy way to keep the apartment clean. When I was home last summer I felt so weird walking around the house in my shoes. As soon as I walk in the door I automatically slip off my shoes without even thinking about it.

I have learned when I eat at restaurants here to make my drinks last. In the states we have unlimited refills. Not so here. Regardless of if I ordered a coke or a water I get about 12oz that needs to last me the whole meal. I find myself drinking less and saving it until I get my food.

Long gone are the days of talking on my cell phone. It costs so much that I normally just text. In the states I could easily talk for 45 minutes on my phone. The other day I was got anxious because the conversation lasted almost 5 minutes.

I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies here. They are so cheap and so good, no perservatives! As a result I have to go to the market every week. I use a little cart to carry my groceries to my house.