NSLI-Y Turkey 2022 – Week 2
Settling In
After a very busy start, our second week here gave us a chance to slow down and settle in. Students had a chance to spend some quality time with their host families over the first weekend in Bursa and catch up on rest. Some students were whisked around town to see different things all weekend, but many reported a good amount of downtime spent with their new Turkish families.
Turkish family life can be quite similar to what our students are used to back home; the differences students pick up on are often small things: families almost always eat together, breakfasts can be very elaborate, in the evening families like to watch TV together, relatives and neighbors are frequently visiting or vice versa, tea time seems to be all the time, people go to bed very late here… The last difference is often the biggest challenge in the first week as our students learn to set appropriate bedtimes, sometimes many hours before their host family will go to sleep. By the second week, our students are getting more sleep and are generally less lethargic overall. Trying new things can be exciting but setting some reliable routines is key to making the best of the program.
On Tuesday, students and host siblings had the opportunity to visit Umurbey Silk Production and Design Center. Founded in 2015, the center has been reviving traditional silk techniques, with production done entirely by hand. While Bursa has long been known as a leading city of the Silk Road, mechanical production has taken over the industry since the 1950’s. Today, more than a thousand local women are being trained through this special initiative to build livelihoods and preserve the tradition. Students were taken step-by-step through the entire process, from the lifecycle of a silkworm to the elaborately woven finished products. Students and host siblings alike were impressed to see how something as seemingly ordinary as moth larvae could lead to exquisite works of art, a good lesson in patience and humility.
On Thursday, we gathered with host siblings in a local park for our second peer language activity. In class, students have been learning about time and with holidays quickly approaching, we continued the focus with activities built around months and seasons. In one activity, students participated in a calendar design contest with their partners. In the beginning stages of learning a language, pictures really are worth a thousand words, and if the colorful results are any indication, the students and host siblings had plenty to communicate.
As the class week drew to a close, students prepared for a long holiday break. Kurban Bayramı — known as Eid-al-Adha in much of the Muslim world — was about to begin!
Freya, Lucia, and some of our Turkish host siblings learn about traditional silk production.
Our guide demonstrates the transformation of cocoon to thread for Noura, Chelsea, and Freya.
Group photo outside of the silk production center (not pictured: Greg and Noura).
Peer Language Partners: Justin with his host brother Erenalp.
Peer Language Partners: Louis with his host brother Arda.
Peer Language Partners: Evan and host brother Ozan show off their design.
Lucia enjoys a cup of Turkish coffee.
Lucia, Greg, and Kathryn pause on their walk to the metro for a quick selfie with the Bursaspor crocodile stadium.
Seth (R) attends the wedding of a family friend with host brother Mert (L).
Seth submitted this photo of the view of Bursa from Tophane.