(goo-roosh-mek ooz-air-eh) Until we meet again.
The final week of the program passed quickly, with everyone scrambling to finish their culminating projects, do last minute gift shopping, and pack their suitcases – all on top of the regular schedule of classes, language practice, and group meetings.
On Tuesday, the students also had the opportunity to learn about the traditional water marbling technique known as ebru, thanks to the municipal arts center in Bursa. After a brief presentation from an expert teacher, the students all got to try their hands at making tulip designs. One courageous student even attempted the more complicated carnation design. The results were impressive for a first attempt, but everyone agreed the teacher made it look much easier.
On Thursday evening, the students and families gathered for a special goodbye program at the park where we have been holding language practice every Tuesday. The homestays have been the central component of the program, and watching everyone interact over tea and snacks, it was clear the students were no longer visitors in Turkey, but had become honorary members of their host families. Some would have lingered longer, but with classes and project presentations on Friday morning, most students wanted to make sure they got in some sleep too – or at least made it home early enough to finish packing!
The real farewells came Friday evening, when teary eyed students boarded the bus for Istanbul, waving goodbye from the windows as the host families disappeared behind us in the hot August night. When the program first began, some students worried that the program might feel too long, the six weeks seeming to stretch out before them. Now that they have come to the other side, many wish they had more time. Fortunately, this ending also promises future possibilities. In Turkey, the eager expectation is expressed in with a special idiom:
Dört gözle bekliyorum!
I leave it to the students to translate.
